<p>This investigation examined the functions of two Spanish discourse markers, <i>pues</i> and <i>bueno</i>, in the interlanguage of intermediate English-speaking learners of Spanish. <i>Pues</i> is translated in English to ‘so’, ‘then’, ‘cos’, and ‘well’, and <i>bueno</i> is translated in English to ‘well’ and ‘alright’. Discourse markers like <i>pues</i> and <i>bueno </i>provide cohesion in spoken interaction, and despite the lack of attention received in second language research and classrooms, they are important linguistic features for second language users. While several studies have addressed discourse markers by non-native speakers, the present investigation contributed to the scarce body of research on interlanguage discourse marker use in Spanish and to general theoretical discussions about second language discourse marker use and acquisition by considering discourse marker frequency in input and describing the use of <i>pues</i> and <i>bueno</i> in the interlanguage of Spanish learners. In this investigation, frequency of use, functional range, and functional distribution were analyzed as three distinct facets of discourse marker proficiency.</p> <p>Using a native speaker functional framework established by Travis (2005) for reference, the analyses responded to the following general questions: How do Spanish learners compare to native speakers of Peninsular Spanish in their frequency of use, functional range, and functional distribution of <i>pues</i> and <i>bueno</i>? How are these three variables among learners affected by a 6-week, language immersion study abroad program? Finally, how do native speakers of Peninsular Spanish and second language learners of Spanish compare in their characteristic patterns of <i>pues</i> and <i>bueno</i> functional use? Using oral interviews of 58 non-native (L2) Spanish speakers at the beginning and end of a program abroad and 14 native speakers (NS) of Spanish from Madrid, all tokens of <i>pues</i> (<i>N</i> = 506) and <i>bueno</i> (<i>N</i> = 273) were analyzed according to the functional framework (Travis, 2005). Analyses revealed infrequent L2 use of <i>pues </i>and <i>bueno</i> with a limited range of functions and distinct functional distribution compared to NS data. Over the program abroad, learners significantly increased their functional range of <i>pues</i>.<i> </i>No other significant differences in learner use over the program were identified. Detailed analysis of the patterns of use of native speakers and learners led to the identification of unique discourse marker uses in the interlanguage of learners. These findings were discussed in light of issues of interlanguage discourse marker use, discourse marker frequency in input, and second language instruction.</p>

The assessment of pragmatic skills in a foreign or second language (L2) is usually investigated with regard to language learners, but rarely with regard to non-native language instructors, who are simultaneously teachers and (advanced) learners of the L2. With regard to English as the target language, this is a true research gap, as nonnative English-speaking teachers (non-NESTs) constitute the majority of English teachers world-wide (Kamhi-Stein 2016). Addressing this research gap, this paper presents a modified replication of Bardovi-Harlig and Dörnyei’s (1998) renowned study on grammatical vs. pragmatic awareness, carried out with non-NEST candidates. While the original study asked the participants for a global indication of (in)appropriateness/ (in)correctness and to rate its severity, the participants in the present study were asked to identify the nature of the violation and to suggest a repair. Inspired by Pfingsthorn and Flöck (2017), the data was analyzed by means of Signal Detection Theory with regard to Hits, Misses, False Alarms and Correct Rejections to gain more detailed insights into the participants’ metalinguistic perceptions. In addition, the study investigated the rate of successful repairs, showing that correct problem identification cannot necessarily be equated with adequate repair abilities. Implications for research, language teaching and language teacher education are derived.

Pragmatic competence has become an essential component of L2 (second language) proficiency. The purpose of this case study is to investigate how pragmatic competence in English is taught in a public Swedish secondary and upper secondary school. The aim with this study is to reach an in-depth understanding of how the teachers in this specific school view, value and teach pragmatic competence. The study has a qualitative approach and was conducted through semi-structured interviews with two teachers. In addition to the interviews, an analysis of the pedagogic material used in the classroom was made. The most significant findings of the study show that pragmatic competence and cultural knowledge are teachable and are indeed being taught in the studied school. Different types of oral activities are the mostly used pedagogical practices to teach different aspects of pragmatic competence. The aspects of pragmatic competence that are in focus, in both secondary and upper secondary school, are formal and informal language, adaptation of the language and politeness.

本研究旨在探討中美文化差異對於建議語行為的影響，並且進一步探究文化差異以及社會地位、人際熟悉度等情境因素如何影響台灣英語學習者的建議語行為。本研究的三組受試者分別為35位英語母語人士、35位中文母語人士、35位英文程度佳的台灣英語學習者。語料蒐集工具為言談情境填充問卷(DCT)。所蒐集的語料針對受試者的建議語策略使用來進行量化以及質化的分析。 研究結果顯示，中文組的建議語行為比英語組來的直接。而學習者組在建議語的策略使用上則近似於中文組，也表現出比英語組直接的建議語行為。這樣的結果很可能由中美文化的差異所導致。此外，台灣英語學習者的建議語行為受到了文化差異的影響，表現出來自於母語的語用移轉(pragmatic transfer)，除了語用移轉所造成的語用失敗(pragmatic failure)之外，研究者還發現兩項學習者在建議語使用上的語用失敗，分別是：教學引起的誘發性錯誤(teaching-induced errors)，以及使用過多文字(waffle phenomenon)。有鑑於這些語用失敗，本研究提出兩點教學上的啟示。一、語言教師必須引導學生瞭解文化差異對於跨文化溝通的影響。二、語言教師以及教材編者必須提供充足的語境訊息(contextual information)以教導英語學習者如何適宜地的表達。 / The present study aimed to explore the cross-cultural differences between the suggestion behaviors by Chinese and Americans, and further investigated how the differences affect Taiwanese EFL learners’ interlanguage suggestion under two social variables. Three groups of participants were concerned in this study. They were 35 native speakers of American English, 35 native speakers of Mandarin Chinese and 35 Taiwanese EFL learners. The data were collected by written DCT elicitation questionnaire. Participants’ responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively to see how the three groups of participants employed the suggestion head act strategy, hedging devices, supportive moves and suggestion patterns. The results showed that the Chinese group was more direct than the American group. Besides, the learner group approximated the Chinese group and thus also employed more direct suggestion patterns and strategies than the American group did. This may be possibly due to the cultural differences between the Chinese and the American culture. This study also found that the EFL learners transferred both their native socio-cultural norms and pragmalinguistic conventions into their suggestion behaviors. In addition to pragmatic transfer, two more pragmatic failures were found; they were teaching-induced errors and the waffle phenomenon. With regard to these failures, this study suggested that language teachers should make learners aware of the importance of cultural differences in cross-cultural communication. Besides, teachers and language materials designers should provide as much contextual information as possible so that learners can learn the appropriate form or structure for its corresponding function.

La présente recherche a pour objectif d’examiner les stratégies de politesse utilisées par des apprenants coréens qui apprennent le français comme langue seconde lors des situations de demande et de mettre en évidence le rôle de la L1 et de la culture d’origine des apprenants quant à leurs choix des stratégies de politesse en français. Trois groupes de répondants ont participé à la recherche : 30 locuteurs natifs coréens qui habitent à Séoul, en Corée, 30 étudiants coréens apprenant le français comme langue seconde à Montréal, au Canada, et 30 locuteurs natifs francophones habitant Montréal. Les données recueillies auprès des locuteurs natifs ont servi de bases de données reflétant respectivement les normes de la L1 et celles de la langue cible. Pour la collecte de données, nous avons utilisé quatre outils : le Discourse Completion Test (DCT) écrit, des échelles d’évaluation des variables contextuelles, un Questionnaire à choix multiples (QCM) ainsi qu’une entrevue semi-structurée. Les réponses obtenues au DCT écrit ont été analysées à l’aide du schéma de codage élaboré dans le cadre du Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) (Blum-Kulka, House, & Kasper, 1989). Les résultats de notre recherche ont démontré que les apprenants coréens ont estimé les variables contextuelles, comme l’intimité et le pouvoir social ressentis vis-à-vis de l’interlocuteur dans les situations de demande de façon similaire aux locuteurs natifs francophones, alors qu’ils ont eu tendance à estimer une plus grande gravité d’imposition de la demande que les deux groupes de locuteurs natifs dans plusieurs situations de demande. Quant aux stratégies de demande, tandis que ce sont les stratégies indirectes qui ont été le plus fréquemment utilisées par les apprenants coréens et les locuteurs natifs francophones, les apprenants coréens ont montré une tendance au transfert pragmatique de la L1, en recourant aux stratégies directes plus fréquemment que les locuteurs natifs francophones. De plus, étant donné que les apprenants coréens ont utilisé beaucoup moins d’atténuateurs que les locuteurs natifs francophones, leurs formules de demande étaient plus directes et moins polies que celles employées par les locuteurs natifs francophones. En ce qui concerne les mouvements de soutien (supportive moves), les apprenants coréens se sont démarqués des deux groupes de locuteurs natifs, en recourant plus fréquemment à certaines catégories de mouvements de soutien que les autres répondants. Les analyses de corrélation entre l’estimation des variables contextuelles et le choix des stratégies de politesse nous ont permis de constater que les apprenants coréens ainsi que les locuteurs natifs francophones ont eu tendance à utiliser davantage d’atténuateurs lorsque le locuteur possède moins de pouvoir social. Les implications des résultats pour l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des aspects de la politesse dans la classe de français langue seconde ont été exposées. / The aim of this study is to investigate request strategies that Korean learners of French use in request situations. The role played by the learners’ first language and their culture of origin in making these choices will also be explored. Three groups of respondents participated in this study: 30 native Korean speakers living in Seoul, Korea, 30 Korean French learners in Montreal, Canada, and 30 French native speakers living in Montreal. Data collected from native speakers of both Korean and French were used to create baseline data reflecting first and second language norms respectively. Four data collecting methods were used: the Discourse Completion Test (DCT); an assessment questionnaire evaluating situational factors such as intimacy, the social power between interlocutors and the degree of imposition of requests; the multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ); and a semi-constructed interview. The responses obtained from the written DCT were analysed using the coding scheme elaborated in the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) (Blum-Kulka, House, & Kasper, 1989). The results of the study showed that the Korean French learners estimated situational factors like intimacy and the relative social power that they feel with interlocutors in a manner similar to that of the French native speakers. However, in many situations, the Korean learners of French tended to estimate that a request represented a greater imposition than either group of native speakers. Further, while the Korean French learners frequently used indirect strategies as the French native speakers used them, they showed a tendency towards pragmatic transfer from their first language (L1), using direct strategies more frequently than their native French-speaking counterparts. Moreover, as the Korean French learners used downgraders far less frequently, their semantic formulas were more direct and less polite than the ones used by French native speakers. Concerning supportive moves, the Korean French learners showed a different tendency from the two groups of native speakers, in that they used some categories of supportive moves more frequently. The correlation analysis between the results of the assessment questionnaire about situational factors and the politeness strategies used by respondents revealed that the Korean learners and the French native speakers used more downgraders when they have less social power than the hearer. Finally, the implications of these findings as relates to the pedagogical and didactic aspects of politeness in French as a second language classroom are examined.

La présente recherche a pour objectif d’examiner les stratégies de politesse utilisées par des apprenants coréens qui apprennent le français comme langue seconde lors des situations de demande et de mettre en évidence le rôle de la L1 et de la culture d’origine des apprenants quant à leurs choix des stratégies de politesse en français. Trois groupes de répondants ont participé à la recherche : 30 locuteurs natifs coréens qui habitent à Séoul, en Corée, 30 étudiants coréens apprenant le français comme langue seconde à Montréal, au Canada, et 30 locuteurs natifs francophones habitant Montréal. Les données recueillies auprès des locuteurs natifs ont servi de bases de données reflétant respectivement les normes de la L1 et celles de la langue cible. Pour la collecte de données, nous avons utilisé quatre outils : le Discourse Completion Test (DCT) écrit, des échelles d’évaluation des variables contextuelles, un Questionnaire à choix multiples (QCM) ainsi qu’une entrevue semi-structurée. Les réponses obtenues au DCT écrit ont été analysées à l’aide du schéma de codage élaboré dans le cadre du Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) (Blum-Kulka, House, & Kasper, 1989). Les résultats de notre recherche ont démontré que les apprenants coréens ont estimé les variables contextuelles, comme l’intimité et le pouvoir social ressentis vis-à-vis de l’interlocuteur dans les situations de demande de façon similaire aux locuteurs natifs francophones, alors qu’ils ont eu tendance à estimer une plus grande gravité d’imposition de la demande que les deux groupes de locuteurs natifs dans plusieurs situations de demande. Quant aux stratégies de demande, tandis que ce sont les stratégies indirectes qui ont été le plus fréquemment utilisées par les apprenants coréens et les locuteurs natifs francophones, les apprenants coréens ont montré une tendance au transfert pragmatique de la L1, en recourant aux stratégies directes plus fréquemment que les locuteurs natifs francophones. De plus, étant donné que les apprenants coréens ont utilisé beaucoup moins d’atténuateurs que les locuteurs natifs francophones, leurs formules de demande étaient plus directes et moins polies que celles employées par les locuteurs natifs francophones. En ce qui concerne les mouvements de soutien (supportive moves), les apprenants coréens se sont démarqués des deux groupes de locuteurs natifs, en recourant plus fréquemment à certaines catégories de mouvements de soutien que les autres répondants. Les analyses de corrélation entre l’estimation des variables contextuelles et le choix des stratégies de politesse nous ont permis de constater que les apprenants coréens ainsi que les locuteurs natifs francophones ont eu tendance à utiliser davantage d’atténuateurs lorsque le locuteur possède moins de pouvoir social. Les implications des résultats pour l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des aspects de la politesse dans la classe de français langue seconde ont été exposées. / The aim of this study is to investigate request strategies that Korean learners of French use in request situations. The role played by the learners’ first language and their culture of origin in making these choices will also be explored. Three groups of respondents participated in this study: 30 native Korean speakers living in Seoul, Korea, 30 Korean French learners in Montreal, Canada, and 30 French native speakers living in Montreal. Data collected from native speakers of both Korean and French were used to create baseline data reflecting first and second language norms respectively. Four data collecting methods were used: the Discourse Completion Test (DCT); an assessment questionnaire evaluating situational factors such as intimacy, the social power between interlocutors and the degree of imposition of requests; the multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ); and a semi-constructed interview. The responses obtained from the written DCT were analysed using the coding scheme elaborated in the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) (Blum-Kulka, House, & Kasper, 1989). The results of the study showed that the Korean French learners estimated situational factors like intimacy and the relative social power that they feel with interlocutors in a manner similar to that of the French native speakers. However, in many situations, the Korean learners of French tended to estimate that a request represented a greater imposition than either group of native speakers. Further, while the Korean French learners frequently used indirect strategies as the French native speakers used them, they showed a tendency towards pragmatic transfer from their first language (L1), using direct strategies more frequently than their native French-speaking counterparts. Moreover, as the Korean French learners used downgraders far less frequently, their semantic formulas were more direct and less polite than the ones used by French native speakers. Concerning supportive moves, the Korean French learners showed a different tendency from the two groups of native speakers, in that they used some categories of supportive moves more frequently. The correlation analysis between the results of the assessment questionnaire about situational factors and the politeness strategies used by respondents revealed that the Korean learners and the French native speakers used more downgraders when they have less social power than the hearer. Finally, the implications of these findings as relates to the pedagogical and didactic aspects of politeness in French as a second language classroom are examined.

"September 2008". / Thesis (DAppLing)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics and Psychology, Dept. of Linguistics, 2009. / Bibliography: p. 189-196. / The purpose of this research was to analyse the pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic development of language groups at different proficiency levels and investigate the relationship between interlanguage pragmatics and grammatical competence. For this study, 36 native Spanish speaking EFL learners at different proficiency levels were asked to respond in English to 24 different situations which called for the speech acts of request and apology. Their English performances were compared to those of 12 American English native speakers in order to provide base-line cultural data. Thirty six Mexican Spanish native speakers also participated as a control group in order to analyse the role of the mother tongue in the performances of the EFL learners. The data, collected using a carton oral production task (COPT), were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results showed three important findings that illuminate the relationship between pragmatic development and grammatical competence and lent support to Kasper and Rose's (2003) claim of a universal pragmatic principle. The first finding suggested that basic adult learners possess a previous pragmatic knowledge in their L1 that allows them to focus on the intended meaning and, in most cases, and to assemble (from the linguistic structures available to them) an utterance that conveys a pragmatic intention and satisfies the communicative demands of a social situation. The second finding revealed that there are two essential conditions to communicate a linguistic action: the knowledge of the relevant linguistic rules and the knowledge of how to use them appropriately and effectively in a specific context. Without an elementary knowledge of the linguistic rules, it is impossible to select the forms to realize a speech act in a target-like manner. The findings further suggested that advanced learners possess the grammatical knowledge to produce an illocutionary act, but they need to learn the specific L2 pragmatic conventions that enable them to know when to use these grammatical forms and under what circumstances. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xi, 238 p. ill

The focus of dissertation belongs to the field of learning Czech as a foreign language and deals with the acquisition of pragmatic competence of non-native speakers. Whereas this is a broad area, the work concentrates on speech act request. The aim is to describe how two students of Czech acquired the speech act during a one-year intensive course. The theoretical background is given in Chapter I. The term Interlanguage Pragmatics is introduced to Czech readers. The Chapter further maps what the pragmatic research of non- native speakers generally deals with and what questions it asks. Attention is paid to possible methods for collecting data for research of pragmatic competence, what kinds of errors non- native speakers usually make, what environment is suitable for the acquisition of pragmatic competence or how individual differences among students affects pragmatic competence. In the second chapter attention is paid to speech act request. We present an overview of major longitudinal studies. On the bass of this longitudinal research it was found that students of English go through five stages of development when acquiring request. The stages are presented here in detail. In the research part of the dissertation the investigation of how two non-native speakers (a student from Taiwan and a student...

El objetivo de esta monografía es tratar de determinar en qué medida y de qué manera cuatro manuales didácticos suecos de español como lengua extranjera (ELE), usados en la enseñanza en el nivel de bachillerato, tratan aspectos pragmáticos. Además, evaluaremos el potencial y la relevancia de la información metapragmática y las actividades relacionadas a los aspectos pragmáticos para el proceso de adquisición de una competencia tanto metapragmática como pragmática. En este estudio se parte de la noción de la competencia pragmática como una destreza orientada a saber crear y comprender significados en la interacción de manera eficaz (Thomas, 1995), que supone, más que los conocimientos lingüísticos en una interacción intercultural, los conocimientos extralingüísticos (cf. Bravo, 2005). La hipótesis de partida de este trabajo postula que los manuales no explican a fondo por qué cierto lenguaje se utiliza en ciertos contextos y que el contenido pragmático sería poco variado y difícil de asimilar y que los ejercicios no estarían diseñados principalmente para desarrollar la competencia pragmática. Hasta cierta medida se puede decir que los resultados de esta investigación confirman la hipótesis: los manuales podrían efectivamente ser más exhaustivos en cuanto a los temas que abarcan, asimismo podrían variar y explicar más a fondo aquellos temas. No obstante, parece haber un esfuerzo de incorporar actividades comunicativas e información extralingüística, sin embargo, hace falta una conceptualización y progresión en cuanto a cómo tratar estos temas como el propósito principal. Ni siquiera se ofrecen en las guías del profesor modelos didácticos o información adicional, y por lo general, no se combina la información metapragmática en los manuales con actividades complementarias que pretenden desarrollar las destrezas comunicativas. / The purpose of this paper is to try to determine to what extent and in what way four Swedish textbooks on Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) treat pragmatic aspects, as well as to evaluate the potential and relevance of the metapragmatic information and activities related to pragmatic aspects provided by the textbooks, for the development of pragmatic awareness and competence in Spanish. This study parts from the notion of pragmatic competence as a skill of knowing how to create and understand meanings in interaction effectively (Thomas, 1995), which in intercultural interaction probably requires extra-linguistic knowledge more than language skills (cf. Bravo, 2005). The hypothesis postulated at the beginning of the study was that the manuals would not fully explain why certain language is being used in certain contexts, that the pragmatic content would be scarcely varied and rather difficult to assimilate and that the exercises would not be designed primarily to develop a pragmatic competence. To some extent it can be said that the hypothesis is confirmed: the manuals could have been more comprehensive in terms of the topics covered, they could also have varied and explained those issues further. Despite the fact that there seems to be an effort to incorporate extra-linguistic information and communicative activities, the results indicate that there is a lack of emphasis on or progression on how to treat these issues. For example, there are no didactic models or suggestions in the teacher’s guide, nor is additional information provided elsewhere; usually the metapragmatic information is not combined with any activities, and the activities that aim to develop communicative skills are not combined with further metapragmatic information.