Defining and Operationalizing the Construct of Pragmatic Competence: Review and Recommendations

Laughlin, Veronika Timpe; Wain, Jennifer; Schmidgall, Jonathan

doi:10.1002/ets2.12053

Cited by 38 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 86 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Over the last three decades, pragmatic competence, the ability to conduct socially appropriate communication by linking linguistic forms to communicative functions in social contexts (Leech 2014;Taguchi and Roever 2017;Timpe-Laughlin et al 2015), has become one of the central components in major models of communicative language ability (e.g., Bachman and Palmer 2010;Purpura 2004). Correspondingly, research on assessing second language (L2) pragmatic competence has witnessed development since the early 1990s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a test of L2 Chinese pragmatic comprehension ability

2018

Lang Test Asia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: This study aims to develop a test for assessing pragmatic comprehension ability in Chinese as a second language (L2). Following the framework of an argument-based approach to test validation, this study attempts to obtain backing for the Evaluation and Explanation inferences. Methods: Test items were developed based on two sources of authentic language use (i.e., field notes and a corpus of natural language use). Following a series of piloting, 107 examinees of L2 Chinese completed the test (k = 39) in the main study. Among them, nine examinees had retrospective interviews that probed the knowledge, strategies and processes involved in completing the test. Results: The assumption underlying the Evaluation inference was supported by satisfactory statistical characteristics of the test (e.g., item/test difficulty, item discrimination, distractor functioning, and item/person fit); moreover, the two assumptions associated with the Explanation inference were backed by quantitative and qualitative evidence demonstrating that variations in test performance were attributable to the targeted construct of pragmatic comprehension ability. Conclusion: The test appears to be a reliable instrument for assessing pragmatic comprehension ability in L2 Chinese. The test results can be used to inform decisionmaking on curriculum development for interested Chinese programs.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a test of L2 Chinese pragmatic comprehension ability

2018

Lang Test Asia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As Canale and Swain [2] stated, sociolnguistic competence is one of competences which also covers the so called pragmatic competence. Pragmatic competence is the ability to use language appropriately and effectively in a particular context [4][5]. Pragmatic competence comprises two main aspects, pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic competence [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Task-Based Language Teaching: To What Extent is Communicative Competence Achieved?

Somawati¹,

Kanca²,

Widanta³

2018

Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Social Sciences (ICSS 2018)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study was in attempt to recognize to what extent task-based language teaching (TBLT) effective to achieve learners' communicative competence (CC). CC is realized as a competence comprising two aspects, they are fluency and accuracy. Fluency is built up of three aspect of 'fluency', 'pronunciation', and 'comprehension', while accuracy comprises two aspect, they are 'grammar' and 'complexity'. Sixty two students of Tourism department from two classes were involved to be research participants whom were given pre-test, treatment, and post-test. The treatment was given for ten sessions using English for Tourism module designed with TBLT approach. Result of both tests were analyzed and compared to see how it was effective to the learners CC improvement. Results of discussion fostered that TBLT was effective for the improvement of learners, CC, especially that of fluency and one aspect of accuracy, i.e. 'complexity'. The further investigation should be undertaken to recognize why TBLT failed to improve learners' 'grammar'. In addition, it should be put in an attempt to see what technic should be affixed or developed to find a visible one for its solution.

show abstract

“…For a detailed discussion of the distinction between sociopragmatics and pragmalinguistics, see Timpe‐Laughlin et al ().…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning and Development of Second and Foreign Language Pragmatics as a Higher‐Order Language Skill: A Brief Overview of Relevant Theories

Timpe‐Laughlin

2016

ETS Research Report Series

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The development of effective second and foreign (L2) language learning materials needs to be grounded in two types of theories: (a) a theory of language and language use and (b) a theory of language learning. Both are equally important, insofar as an effective learning environment requires an understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are being targeted as well as an idea of how learner development progresses. Although the author and colleagues have previously provided a theoretical basis for the construct of L2 pragmatic ability, and thus a theory of language use, the current paper focuses on learner development, particularly on the theoretical orientation towards L2 pragmatic learning. Given this superordinate goal, the paper will briefly review different theoretical paradigms that have been employed in adult L2 pragmatics development research. In the first part of the paper, I will provide an overview of the cognitive, socially oriented, and emergentist perspectives used in research on L2 pragmatic development. Then, based on the different ontological perspectives, I will discuss the affordances and challenges of applying a theoretical perspective to designing L2 pragmatic learning environments, drawing upon the example of the cognitively oriented information processing theory.

show abstract

Defining and Operationalizing the Construct of Pragmatic Competence: Review and Recommendations

Cited by 38 publications

References 86 publications

Developing a test of L2 Chinese pragmatic comprehension ability

Developing a test of L2 Chinese pragmatic comprehension ability

Implementation of Task-Based Language Teaching: To What Extent is Communicative Competence Achieved?

Learning and Development of Second and Foreign Language Pragmatics as a Higher‐Order Language Skill: A Brief Overview of Relevant Theories

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About