Search Results (5)

While Greek EFL learners’ pragmatic competence has been frequently investigated, few studies have focused on Greek EFL teachers’ pragmatic knowledge. Complementing these earlier studies based on semi-structured interviews, we employed an extended online questionnaire and discourse completion tasks (DCTs) to explore the pragmatic competence of 72 Greek EFL teachers. Pragmatic comprehension was evaluated using scenarios that required participants to assess speech acts, while their ability to produce pragmatically appropriate responses was also assessed. Likert-scale items explored teachers’ perceptions about L2 instruction and their own abilities in this regard. Findings suggest that Greek EFL teachers possess an above average level of pragmatic competence, which nevertheless has not led to them systematically integrating L2 pragmatic instruction in their classrooms. Additional qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews suggest that teachers’ lack of integration of explicit pragmatic instruction is not due to their not recognizing its importance, but rather to feeling inadequately prepared to implement this, which in turn points to the lack of emphasis on L2 pragmatics in teacher education programs. We catalog the most significant challenges in incorporating L2 pragmatic instruction in Greek EFL classrooms in terms of teacher and learner factors, as well as the Greek EFL context itself. Full article

This qualitative study investigates how Greek university students navigate the complex dynamics of their hierarchical student–faculty L2 email interactions. In doing so, it examines students’ perceptions and metapragmatic judgments of politeness and appropriateness byanalysing authentic emails exchanged in academic contexts. It uses interviews with Greek undergraduate students (advanced learners of English), and, through thematic analysis, it explores the extent and the way in which cultural values and sociopragmatic norms might impact the learners’ metapragmatic judgments regarding email writing. Thematic analysis revealed that the students draw on their own culturally embedded frameworks, shaped by Greek norms of politeness, respect and deference, to guide their email evaluations. They prioritise formality as an essential component of email politeness, linking it to professionalism, clarity and respect. Politeness and respect emerged as intertwined concepts, with students emphasising the importance of acknowledging power dynamics and expressing deference to authority figures through formal framing moves, email mechanics and email structure. Cultural values, particularly the Greek norm of heightened respect for authority and older individuals, deeply influenced learners’ perceptions regarding formal greetings, email mechanics and careful phrasing. Additionally, learners demonstrated a desire to tailor their communication style based on the recipient’s status, age and familiarity, attesting to their sociopragmatic awareness. The findings overall underscored the interplay between cultural values and learners’ pragmatic awareness, offering valuable implications for the teaching of email pragmatics and intercultural communication in academic contexts. Full article

The role that individual difference factors play in pragmatic learning behavior has received increasing attention in second-language (L2) pragmatics. However, there is a dearth of studies exploring the relationship between learners’ motivational variables and their pragmatic production. To address this gap, the present study aims to examine a model of the ideal L2 self, self-efficacy, willingness to communicate (WTC), and pragmatic production among English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. The study also seeks to explore the mediating role of WTC within this structural model. For this purpose, a total of 427 undergraduate students at a public university in China were recruited for an online survey. The structural validity of the questionnaires was established using a confirmatory-factor analysis, while the hypothesized structural relations between the variables were tested through structural-equation modeling. The results demonstrated that self-efficacy and WTC significantly and directly predicated pragmatic production. Nevertheless, the ideal L2 self influenced pragmatic production indirectly, through the mediation of WTC. The study concludes by providing implications for teaching and by offering suggestions for future research. Full article

For researchers, the typical way of determining whether a pedagogical innovation works is by conducting an experiment. In migrant settings, however, experiments are more challenging to carry out due to the diversity of the learner population. Unfortunately, how to deal with these challenges is not addressed in a practical way in research methods textbooks, which typically provide a normative view of the research process. This paper aims to draw attention to the realities of classroom research carried out in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) setting. These classes consist of adult immigrants and refugees from a wide range of cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds. We illustrate how this diversity along with other characteristics of LINC programs impact the decision-making of the researcher with respect to a pedagogical experiment focused on pragmatics. The study compared a formula-enhanced approach to teaching speech acts to the more mainstream approach aimed at raising learners’ meta-pragmatic awareness about speech act behaviour. The pre-post-delayed-post-test gains appear to favour the Formula group, but the interpretability of these results is compromised by the fact that the composition of the two classes was very different. Discussion of the limitations of this case study feeds into a broader consideration of the implications for classroom research of linguistic and cultural diversity typical of L2 educational contexts like LINC. Full article

Introduced in 2013, the A.L.P.E.S. approach (AgiLe aPproaches in higher Education Studies) aims to apply agile practices to teaching. Agile approaches are project management practices for IT development. More pragmatic than traditional methods, they allow to be closer to the applicant and to involve him/her as much as possible. They offer a great reactivity and a good adaptation to best meet the needs. They are used today in a large part of IT companies. Largely inspired by agile approaches, the A.L.P.E.S. approach allows the teaching of project management in a transverse way to a main course. It makes teaching more flexible and more adapted to the students. In this article, we describe the approach. We describe the tools, the process of creating a course, and the process of running a course. Full article