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Designing and piloting part of an introductory pragmatics workbook for 3rd level students of the english degree course, University of Cuenca

Abstract:

Pragmatics is an area of linguistics which, according to authors mentioned later on in this study, concerns the manner people use language and the influence that word choice has on other people. Much research has been done regarding the development of pragmatic skills and its influence on achieving communicative competence. However, this area of language learning is only starting to being researched in Ecuador, especially in the area of EFL teaching and learning. This research paper examines the extent to which a mini-pragmatics workbook based on American English,improvedstudents’ pragmatically appropriate language comprehension and production. The element of pragmatics which stood out, and was therefore analyzed, was the speech act of clarification. The workbook was appliedover 36 sessions each lasting one hour. The main participants in this project were thirty-one students in the 3rdlevel of English“Conversation” classes in the English and Literature Degree Course, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cuenca, Ecuador. The areas of pragmatics this project focused on were pragmatics in cross-cultural communication, non-verbal communication, and culturally boundexpressions in American English. The instruments used for the data collection started with a discussion session involving a native speaker and the participants. This was followed bya demographic questionnaire, tests, role playsand a free discussion session amongst the students in groups. The latteractivity was used to test the students’ production after the application of the workbook. The results of the study suggest that, in general, the students’ pragmatic skills need to be improved, especially with regard to asking for and offering clarification. Another important finding was the fact that the students were able to use the target expressions in an accurate manner when the teacher elicited these expressions; in other words, when they were asked to use them. However, when they participated in free discussions,only 2 expressions of the 40 introduced during the application of the workbook were used; this occurred on two occasions in two different groups. Future research regarding the use of expressions in EFL students’ natural conversations might be needed.