Naoko Taguchi

Teaching Pragmatics: Trends and Issues

Theoretical, empirical, and practical interest in pragmatic competence and development for second language (L2) learners has resulted in a large body of literature on teaching L2 pragmatics. This body of literature has diverged into two major domains: (a) a group of experimental studies directly testing the efficacy of various instructional methods in pragmatics learning and (b) research that explores optimal instructional practice and resources for pragmatic development in formal classroom settings. This article reviews literature in these two domains and aims at providing a collective view of the available options for pragmatics teaching and the ways that pragmatic development can best be promoted in the classroom. In the area of instructional intervention, this article reviews studies under the common theoretical second language acquisition paradigms of explicit versus implicit instruction, input processing instruction, and skill acquisition and practice. In the area of classroom practice and resources, three domains of research and pedagogical practices are reviewed: material development and teacher education, learner strategies and autonomous learning, and incidental pragmatics learning in the classroom. Finally, this article discusses unique challenges and opportunities that have been embraced by pragmatics teaching in the current era of poststructuralism and multiculturalism.

Instructed Pragmatics at a Glance: Where Instructional Studies Were, Are, and Should Be Going.

This paper brings together the research and developments of instructed pragmatics over the past three decades by reporting the synthesis findings of instructional intervention studies in interlanguage pragmatics. Two questions have guided this investigation: (1) is instruction effective in learning pragmatics?; and (2) what methods are most effective in learning pragmatics? Exhaustive electronic bibliographical searches yielded a body of 58 instructional intervention studies for the review. Findings across these studies are compared and explored for common patterns and inconsistencies that emerge among them. The paper concludes with implications for future research based on the survey of the existing practice.

THE ROLE OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRAGMATIC COMPREHENSION

This study examines the role of environment in the development of pragmatic comprehension. It tracks two groups of Japanese students of English: 60 students in a college in Japan (English as a foreign language [EFL] learners) and 57 students in a college in the United States (English as a second language [ESL] learners). The learners completed a computerized listening task that measured their ability to comprehend two types of implied meaning: indirect refusals ( k = 24) and indirect opinions ( k = 24). The task was given to each group twice, before and after the students received approximately 120–130 hr of classroom instruction. Comprehension was analyzed for accuracy (scores) and speed (average time taken to answer each item correctly). Results showed that, in both learner groups, accuracy and comprehension speed improved significantly over time. For the EFL group, the magnitude of effect was much less for speed than for accuracy. In contrast, ESL learners showed significant improvement in comprehension speed, with a sizable effect size, but only marginal improvement in accuracy.

Do Proficiency and Study-Abroad Experience Affect Speech Act Production? Analysis of Appropriateness, Accuracy, and Fluency.

Abstract This cross-sectional study examined the effect of general proficiency and study-abroad experience in production of speech acts among learners of L2 English. Participants were 25 native speakers of English and 64 Japanese college students of English divided into three groups. Group 1 (n = 22) had lower proficiency and no study-abroad experience. Group 2 (n = 20) and Group 3 (n = 22) had higher proficiency than Group 1 but differed in their study-abroad experience. Group 2 had no study-abroad experience, but Group 3 had a minimum of one-year study-abroad experience in an English-speaking country. They completed a pragmatic speaking test (PST) measuring their ability to produce two speech acts: requests and opinions. Speech acts were examined for appropriateness, grammaticality, planning time, and speech rate. Results revealed a significant effect of proficiency on appropriateness, grammaticality and speech rate, but study-abroad experience had no effect on these variables. There was no significant group difference on planning time.

English-medium education in the global society

In step with advancing globalization, teaching English as an international language is increasingly emphasized in an expanding circle of countries in which English has no official status but is the de facto international language for global communication (Coleman 2006; Graddol 2006; Kubota & Mckay 2009; for a recent review, see Smit & Dafouz 2013; Doiz, Lasagabaster & Sierra 2011 2013a). In these countries, English is not an official language to connect local people but receives symbolic power as a world language that could provide social and intellectual mobility in the international arena. Although the ideological value attached to English has been criticized in the poststructuralist discourse (Bolton & Kuteeva 2012; Canagarajah 1999 2007; Nettle & Romaine 2002; Pennycock 2007; SkutnabbKangas 2001), the demand for English in the world’s educational systems remains great, and an increasing number of countries are making the mastery of practical English abilities a national policy goal (e.g., Saarinen & Nikula 2013; Unterberger 2013). This special issue offers critical insights into the practice of teaching English as an international language by presenting models of English-medium education sampled across the world. English-medium education refers to curricula using English as a medium of instruction for basic and advanced courses to improve students’ academic English proficiency. The goal of English-medium education is to broaden students’ general and specialized knowledge in academic subjects, and to promote professional expertise in English that enables students to take leadership in the international community. In such a context, English is viewed as a tool for academic study, not as a subject itself. Attainment of English skills is a by-product of the process of gaining content knowledge in academic subjects.

Developing Interactional Competence in a Japanese Study Abroad Context

Chapter 1 - Interactional Competence in Japanese Study Abroad: An Introduction Chapter 2 - Linguistic and Interactional Resources in Japanese Conversation: Speech Styles and Incomplete Sentence Endings Chapter 3 - Context of Study: Study Abroad as a Site for Language Learning Chapter 4 - Methods of the Study Chapter 5 - Speech Styles Chapter 6 - Style Shifting Across Discourse Boundaries Chapter 7 - Incomplete Sentences in Joint Turn Construction Chapter 8 - Case Histories of Interactional Development and Study Abroad Experience Chapter 9 - Conclusion References Appendices

Contexts and Pragmatics Learning: Problems and Opportunities of the Study Abroad Research.

Despite different epistemologies and assumptions, all theories in second language (L2) acquisition emphasize the centrality of context in understanding L2 acquisition. Under the assumption that language emerges from use in context, the cognitivist approach focuses on distributions and properties of input to infer both learning objects and process of acquisition. The interactionist approach views context more narrowly by analyzing how a particular linguistic item is attended and processed during a task-based interaction, and how it becomes intake as learning outcomes. For socially-oriented theories such as the sociocultural theory and language socialization, learning is fundamentally situated in context. Through mediated participation in learning as social practice, learners come to appropriate linguistic knowledge. Context is also fundamental in the complex, dynamic systems theory, which views learning as a non-linear, adaptive process emerging through an interaction of resources and individuals within a given context. All of these theories give the central power to context to describe and explain L2 learning. Context serves as the site where acquisition is examined. Context also helps explain the process and outcomes of acquisition.

Assessment of study abroad outcomes in Chinese as a second language: gains in cross-cultural adaptability, language contact and proficiency

Abstract Participants were 109 American college students studying Chinese in a study-abroad programme in Beijing. Following Kelley and Meyer, intercultural competence was defined as cross-cultural adaptability involving four dimensions (emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity and personal autonomy) and was measured with a survey. A language contact questionnaire was used to document the amount of time spent on social activities. Language proficiency was measured with a standardised Chinese test. Results revealed that intercultural competence and language contact combined explained 37.7% of the proficiency gains. Language contact had direct effects on proficiency, but intercultural competence had indirect effects, mediated by language contact.

Replication research in contextual and individual influences in pragmatic competence: Taguchi, Xiao & Li (2016) and Bardovi-Harlig & Bastos (2011)

Recent development in L2 pragmatics research in a study abroad context has witnessed an emerging line of studies investigating the joint influences of contextual and individual learner factors on second language (L2) pragmatic development. This paper argues for the replication of two representative quantitative studies in this new research direction. Situated within the fields increasing emphasis on explaining the development of L2 pragmatic competence, the first part of this paper makes a case for the necessity of replicating quantitative studies investigating the study abroad context, highlighting why and how the field can benefit from replication research. The second part of this paper presents detailed accounts of the two focus studies and suggests several options for approximate and conceptual replications.

Pragmatic competence of heritage learners of Chinese and its relationship to social contact

Abstract This study aimed to investigate: (1) Chinese heritage learners’ (CHLs) pragmatic competence in comparison to foreign language learners of Chinese (CFLs) and (2) the relationship between CHLs’ pragmatic competence and their language contact in a range of social settings. Focal linguistic forms included sentence final particles (SFPs) and formulaic expressions (FORs). Sixty Chinese language learners in the intermediate- and advanced-level classes (31 CHLs and 29 CFLs) participated in the study. Participants completed a computerized listening comprehension task, a written production task, and a language contact questionnaire. Findings showed that CHLs outperformed CFLs in both comprehension and production of Chinese sentence final particles and formulaic expressions. The analysis of language contact questionnaire revealed that learners who reported a greater amount of interactive language contact achieved higher scores on the pragmatic tasks, regardless of the constructs and skill domains assessed.