Developing awareness of crosscultural pragmatics: The case of American/German sociable interaction

Abstract

The elaboration of the theoretical notion of communicative competence reflects a growing awareness of the importance of pragmatic knowledge in achieving mastery of a second language. Such awareness includes the recognition that teaching language effectively includes teaching culture in the most fundamental sense. Using the framework of interactional sociolinguistics to link theoretical work on cultural ethos and research in crosscultural pragmatics 1 with the interpretation of situated language use, this article draws teachers' attention to three interrelated aspects of conversational style which are important in initial crosscultural encounters between Americans and Germans. The goal is to provide teachers of both English and German as second languages with conceptual frameworks for and ideas about classroom practice which will teach culture appropriately by fostering pragmatic awareness and interactional competence crossculturally. 2 The argument is made that language teachers should give pragmatic competence/awareness the highest priority in the classroom, from the beginning of language study.

A Study of EFL Learners' (Meta) Pragmatic Learning through Explicit (Teacher Explanation) and Implicit (Foreign Film) Interventions: The Case of Compliment

“…The findings of this study confirm previous research on the positive effect of explicit and implicit instruction on learners' pragmatic development in terms of speech acts (Billmeyer, 1990; Kasper, 1997 The results of our study contribute to previous research on the facilitative effects of instruction on second and foreign language learning in general (Billmyer, 2007;Kasper & Rose, 2001, Kasper, 1997Silva, 2010 andJianda, 2007), and the benefits of instruction on the development of learners' pragmatic ability of giving compliments in particular (Kim, 2009 Surprisingly the results of the study showed that neither groups outperformed the other in terms of raising EFL learners' (meta) pragmatic development. This is different from some other studies such as Davies (2004) that revealed the use of authentic discourse such as video clips from films and television, illustrating prototypical discourse from both the native culture and the target culture, is extremely important and can easily foster learners' awareness of pragmatic routines and strategies. In contrast the present research found that meta-pragmatic instruction which combines explicit instruction, awareness-raising activities, guided practice and meaningful opportunities for language use also results in significant (meta) pragmatic gains for beginner EFL learners.…”

Output and English as a Second Language Pragmatic Development: The Effectiveness of Output-focused Video-based Instruction

“…In fact, the stated goal of much developing L2 pragmatics research has been to contribute results that are of interest to general SLA theory (Bardovi-Harlig, 1999;Kasper & Roever, 2005). A number of studies have found beneficial effects for interaction (e.g., Belz & Kinginger, 2003;Davies, 2004;Ohta, 2001Ohta, , 2005Yoshimi, 2001) or instruction (e.g., Koike & Pearson, 2005;Liddicoat & Crozet, 2001;Martínez-Flor & Fukuya, 2005;Silva, 2003) on pragmatic development. Roever (2009) concludes that, although both sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic proficiency appear to be amenable to instruction, pragmatics is rarely a featured part of instructional approaches.…”

Failed humor: Issues in non-native speakers' appreciation and understanding of humor

“…With respect to humor, it is likely that instruction that aims to raise awareness of when, where, and with whom humor is usually appropriate may be a more fruitful starting point, rather than beginning with form. For example, in exploring ways that teachers might facilitate the development of cross-cultural pragmatic awareness, Davies (2004) notes that Germans, who tend to view joking as a private activity, often see Americans as "frivolous" due to the amount of joking they do in public, as well as private. Exploring this type of observation with learners may at least help them avoid using humor in inappropriate contexts or in negatively judging the ways humor is used in the target culture.…”