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Article published In:
ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 171:1 (2020) ► pp.113–141

Second language pragmatics development through different instructional techniques

Focus on speech act of criticizing

| University of Isfahan
| University of Isfahan
| University of Isfahan

This study investigated the effectiveness of three types of instruction on learning the speech act of criticizing by 100 Iranian learners of English. For 10 weeks, the consciousness raising group (N = 27), input enhancement group (N = 23), and ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)-sensitive group (N = 25) participated in the study. The three treatment groups were compared with a control group (N = 25) on pre-tests, immediate and delayed posttests performance of discourse completion test and role-play test. The results revealed that treatment groups significantly improved and outperformed the control group. They maintained their improvement in the delayed posttest. In addition, the results showed the superiority of ZPD-sensitive instruction in relation to two other methods, and better performance of consciousness raising instruction than input-enhancement method. Finally, by interviewing the participants, the researchers could understand the opinions of learners about the instructions they received. The findings and implications are discussed.

Keywords: consciousness raising instruction, input enhancement instruction, ZPD-sensitive instruction, speech act of criticizing, Discourse Completion Test, Role-play test
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • Pragmatic instruction methods
    • Specific instructional techniques instead of explicit/implicit approaches
    • Beyond cognitive-based instruction: ZPD-sensitive pragmatics instruction as a subset of sociocultural paradigms
    • Pragmatic assessment measures
    • Speech act of criticizing
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Instruments
      • TOEFL
      • Discourse completion test (DCT)
      • Role-play (RP) test
      • Interview
    • Procedure
      • Consciousness-raising instruction
      • Input-enhancement instruction
      • ZPD-sensitive instruction
      • Control group
  • Results
    • DCT: Immediate and delayed post-tests
    • RP: Immediate and delayed post-tests
      • Instruction efficacy
      • Interesting tasks and tests
      • L1 pragmatic awareness
      • Classroom atmosphere
      • Clarity levels
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion and implications
  • References
Published online: 25 June 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.17001.zaf
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