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Applied Linguistics Perspectives on CLIL
Edited by Ana Llinares and Tom Morton
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 47] 2017
► pp. 67–88

Investigating pragmatics in CLIL through students’ requests

| San Jorge University

The study compares how three groups of learners at different educational levels in CLIL, post-CLIL and EFL classes modify their requests which were elicited by means of a written discourse completion task with two situations (different power relations). Data analysis is based on earlier request taxonomies (Alcón-Soler et al. 2005; Blum-Kulka et al. 1989), but the study also introduces new pragmatic features that appeared in the learners’ data. Qualitative and quantitative differences point to a duality in how learners use softening and aggravating request modifications, attributed to insufficient sociopragmatic knowledge. Among other finer results, the study shows that CLIL, as an educational approach, does not necessarily contribute to enhancing learners’ pragmatic competence if seen through the lens of making requests.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Interlanguage pragmatics in CLIL
  • A study of requests by CLIL and non-CLIL students
    • Softening external modifiers
    • Softening internal modifiers
    • Softening strategies
    • Marked please and aggravating external modifiers
    • Aggravating internal modifiers
    • Aggravating strategies
    • Imperatives, obligation-statements and HA-SOA/P
    • Action-ceasing verbs
  • Discussion and concluding remarks
  • Note
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 16 March 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.47.05sob
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