Proficiency, length of stay, and intensity of interaction and the acquisition of conventional expressions in L2 pragmatics

Abstract

This study investigates the contribution of proficiency, length of stay, and intensity of interaction to the recognition and use of conventional expressions in L2 pragmatics by host-environment learners of English. An aural recognition task and an oral production task targeting conventional expressions were completed by 122 learners and 49 native speakers of American English via two computer-delivered tasks: The aural recognition task consisted of 60 conventional and modified expressions, and the oral production task consisted of 32 scenarios pretested to yield conventional expressions (Bardovi-Harlig 2009). Proficiency was determined by scores on a 3.5-hour, four-part placement exam, yielding four low-intermediate to low-advanced levels. Length of stay in the host environment was measured in months. Intensity of interaction was measured by self-report of weekly English language use outside class with native speakers, daily use with other learners, and television viewing. A repeated measures logistic regression model showed significant influence of intensity of interaction on recognition of conventional expressions. A separate repeated measures logistic regression model showed that both proficiency and intensity of interaction have a significant influence in the production of conventional expressions. Length of stay did not have a significant effect on either recognition or production.

Learning Pragmatic Routines during Study Abroad: A Focus on Proficiency and Type of Routine

“…Comparison with production by NSs also allowed the limits of variability to be established. Correct responses were measured as fitting within the boundaries of variation, which may take many forms, lexical, morphological or syntactic-see Nattinger and DeCarrico (1992), Schmitt and Carter (2004) and Bardovi-Harlig and Bastos (2011). For example, Nice to meet you and Nice meeting you were considered under the same routine, as well as contractions or lack of copula, such as in I'm sorry, I am sorry or Sorry.…”

Exploring Cross-cultural Pragmatic Judgment of Two Groups of EFL Teachers on Formal Written Requests

“…Results below grade F are designated as unclassified (UNCL). 3 A category in a group is considered to show a pre-dominant pattern if the first and the second highest percentages of teachers who chose that category show a significant difference at the 95% confidence level, as shown by Proportional t test.…”

Acculturation and acquisition of pragmatic routines in the study abroad context

“…Moreover, longitudinal investigations have pointed out that increased exposure to the TL environment has an overall positive effect on pragmatic acquisition, although length of stay alone is not enough to explain pragmatic development. For example, Schauer (2006) A number of studies have compared the influence of length of stay together with additional variables, finding that length of stay has a smaller impact on pragmatic development compared to other factors (Alcón, 2014;Bardovi-Harlig & Bastos, 2011;Shardakova, 2005;Xu, Case & Wang, 2009). Alcón (2014), for instance, analysed the effect of teachability and length of residence in the TL setting on students' (60 Spanish ESL learners in the UK for one year) ability to mitigate requests in communication with their teachers through emails.…”

“…conclusions have been reached in 3 areas: studies that have revealed a significant effect of length of stay on the acquisition of routines (Roever, 2005(Roever, , 2011Roever, Wang & Brophy, 2014), studies that have reported no significant effect of amount of time spent abroad on pragmatic acquisition (Bardovi-Harlig & Bastos, 2011;Kecskes, 2000), and studies that have observed some positive effect, although they have claimed that length of stay does not determine reaching full native-like pragmatic performance (Barron, 2003;Taguchi et al, 2013). In the three cases, intensity of interaction, understood as quantity and quality of interactions with L2 users, had a positive influence on the acquisition of pragmatic routines.…”