View Content #22901

By Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

This week’s Topic of the Week was inspired by a question a graduate student asked me after a presentation earlier this week. It was both a profound question and one that warranted a response.  I address it here as our discussion is both relevant and meaningful for language educators working in a variety of teaching and learning contexts. He asked (my paraphrasing):

“In this era of increased globalization, how do we help people on the local level understand the critical nature of pragmatics when meeting people from other parts of the world? While, in many cases, learners should adapt to the cultural norms of where they visit, the pure nature of co-constructing conversation would indicate the need to understand one’s own pragmatic behaviors as well.”

I couldn’t agree more. Incorporating pragmatics in the L2 pragmatics classroom must include a focus on the explicit development of learners’ awareness of their own pragmatic behaviors, in addition to common patterns and dynamics of the language and culture being studied. In addition to impacting learners’ second or third language interactions they will, in most cases, also change their interactional patterns in the dominant languages. With the development of pragmatic skills, learners become more adept at engaging in meaningful interaction, understanding the reasons for communicative misunderstandings, and analyzing different patterns of performing and interpreting language functions (e.g., apologies, requests, refusals).

 A key to the development of interlanguage pragmatic skills is self-awareness. This can be incorporated in a language classroom in a number of ways. For example, learners could be asked to keep a journal over the course of one week in which they write down any instances of miscommunication and then try to determine why that occurs, most often being attributed to differing pragmatic patterns within the L1 group. This journal can then be used as a starting point for jumping in to further exploration of target language behaviors. Also, common pragmatic missteps by learners of English who are target language speakers can be included to help learners begin to consider their own patterns. Regardless of the approach taken, self-analysis serves as a catalyst for the development of the pragmatic skills needed to engage in interaction and advance discursive skills. As we consider the impact of the integration of pragmatic skills, we see impact on both L2 pragmatic behaviors as well as influence on L1 interactions. Understanding one’s own L1 tendencies can have a profound impact on the way learners engage with others from all over the world.