View Content #29027

Welcome to week five, the final week of the CASLS Greatest Hits Challenge! Whether you’ve been playing along since week one or are just starting this week, grab your Greatest Hits Bingo card and play along!

This week’s Greatest Hits video is What is Pragmatics?: Intercultural Pragmatic Interactional Competence Overview. Pragmatics is the study of language and the way that we interpret and communicate meaning. Studying pragmatics in a second language, for example, can include exploring strategies for delivering a sincere apology or request, exploring how social status (power) or social distance (closeness) influences language choices, discovering how to signal when one is ending a conversation, and much more! Studying pragmatics in your L2 can help you both understand more about the cultures and places where the target language is spoken and ensure you communicate the meaning you intend.

Here’s how to play:
First, watch this week’s video.

Then, reflect on some similarities and differences in the ways one typically communicates meaning in your L1 versus in the language you are studying. In particular, think about:

1. What strategies (e.g., including explanations) for apologizing or requesting do I use in my L1 that I may not use in my L2? Do I know what strategies are common in my L2?
2. How collective is my L2 compared to my L1? Do I understand politeness?
3. How do I talk, sign or write to someone who is in a position of power in each language (e.g. a teacher, a boss, etc.)? Is it different from how I would interact with a peer, friend, or classmate?
4. Does the closeness of a relationship affect how I interact with others? Would I interact differently with someone I am close to versus with someone I do not know well?
5. Does the size or importance of the situation affect how I communicate in either language? Is what I say, sign, write, or do different in a situation of minor importance versus one of great importance?

Next, pull out your Bingo card and explore this week’s activities. Complete one or complete all five - it’s up to you!

Choose from:
1. Politeness
2. Power
3. Social Distance
4. Imposition
5. Intercultural Pragmatic Interactional Competence Measure (IPIC) in Practice

Remember, complete any five activities in a row (horizontal, vertical, and/or diagonal) to win! Also, if you find these videos to be beneficial, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

When your card is completed, email us a copy of it info@uoregon.edu with “Greatest Hits Challenge” in the subject line, and we will mail you a prize!

Note: Educators, are you looking for a pre-made activity to go along with this week's Bingo card videos? Find selected activities here: Politeness Orientation Predictogram, Power and Communication, Social Distance and Textbooks, Rank of Imposition, and Getting Started with IPIC.