The Importance of Teaching Pragmatics in the Classrooms (Focus on Complimenting)

Abstract

This review explores the importance of teaching pragmatics in the classrooms. Developing pragmatic competence needs experience, knowledge and language awareness. According to Fasold (2006) pragmatics involves using language in particular situations. In this review the speech act of complimenting is selected as the focus of teaching. People compliment each other to maintain or create a special relationship to improve their actions. The early studies by Manes and Wolfson (1981) report the formulaicity of compliments in American English. Finally, this review shows that teachers should pay more attention to pragmatics and teaching it in the classroom. Lack of pragmatic knowledge may cause a failure in communication. Besides emphasizing on only grammar aspects teachers should teach the appropriate usage of language in different situations.

Politeness and Speech acts of Refusal and Complaint among Jordanian Undergraduate Students

“…Pragmatic competence on their part is required, because a lack of knowledge about speech act strategies and patterns when people from different cultures communicate may cause intercultural and interethnic communication breakdowns (Sattar, et al, 2011). Improving EFL students' prag-matic knowledge is therefore crucial, and EFL teachers should be at the forefront of pragmatic education (Shokouhi and Rezaei, 2015). Sometimes, intercultural miscommunications can cause learners to fall back to their sociocultural L1 practices in the process of performing speech acts in using a foreign language, which is a form of pragmatic transfer.…”

The concept of complimenting in light of the Moore language in Burkina Faso

“…), their place within discourse (Bruti (2006), Valkova (2013) Lewandowska-Tomaszcyk (1989) etc. ), and some pedagogical implications (Holmes & Brown (1987), Shokouhi & Rezaei (2015)). However, looking at my complimenting data in Moore, my native language, I faced difficulties fitting some of what I consider to be complimenting behaviour within the types suggested in the literature.…”

“…Since Pomerantz's (1978) pioneering discussion, interest in compliments and compliment responses has kept surging as rightly predicted by Holmes in her illuminating paper: "Research in complimenting behavior will clearly prove a fruitful and fascinating area of pragmatic and sociolinguistic study for considerable time to come" (Holmes (1986, 505)). As a matter of fact, there are many very recent studies on compliments (Shokouhi & Rezaei 2015) adding to the flourishing literature in the field.…”

Place of Pragmatics in EFL Classroom

“…Bouton (1996), mentioned that "pragmatics provides language teachers and learners with a research-based understanding of the language forms and functions that are appropriate to the many contexts in which a language is used an understanding that is crucial to a proficient speaker's communicative competence". Shokouhi and Rezaei (2015), argued that "lack of pragmatic knowledge may cause a failure in communication". Hui (2007), argued that through teaching and learning pragmatics can pay attention more the difficulties of international communications for both native and non-native speakers.…”