Abstract:
Interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) has witnessed a growing body of research in the past two decades. One of the under-explored domains of L2 pragmatics is the role of learning strategies specifically tailored for the development of ILP knowledge. Therefore, this investigation aimed to determine the significant interlanguage pragmatic learning strategies (IPLS) used by high vs. low L2 pragmatic achievers. It was conducted in two phases. First, a multiple-choice discourse completion test including five common English speech acts was administered to 500 EFL learners. Next, 80 highest and 80 lowest ILP performers were orally interviewed and their answers were audio-taped. The most important interlanguage pragmatic learning strategies were extracted from L2 learners' interviews. The elicited IPLS were arranged based on Cohen's (2005, 2010) classification, the findings of the study itself, and an analogy with general language learning strategies (LLS) classification suggested by Oxford (1990). The extracted IPLS were divided into six categories of memory-related, cognitive, social, affective, metacognitive and compensatory IPLS. The high ILP performers used more strategies in all the six categories. The main conclusion of this study is that the use of more IPLS means a better ILP knowledge of speech acts. The most significant implication of the current study was that ILPS need to be taught to L2 learners to enhance their ILP knowledge in general and their speech-act-specific competence in particular.
Machine summary:
Cohen (2005, 2010) maintains that although his taxonomy provides an effective list including the interlanguage pragmatic learning strategies (IPLS) and pragmatic performance strategies, it has not been confirmed by a considerable number of studies and its application to the acquisition of speech acts is still limited and preliminary.
The focus of questions in the semi-structured oral interview No. Content 1 noticing different speech acts, focusing on them and practicing them 2 noticing the relation powers, contextual factors, age and gender considerations; practicing and using them 3 noticing politeness considerations in the use of speech acts and mastering them 4 noticing sociocultural norms, learning and using them 5 noticing lexical and grammatical aspects of speech acts, learning and using them 6 noticing fixed conversational patterns, gambits, routines and collocations; learning; practicing and using them 7 understanding implicatures 8 cross-cultural comparisons between Persian and English speech acts, sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic aspects; practicing and using them 9 the role of external factors such as book, instructional materials, and the teacher’s methodology on ILP development 10 flash cards, highlighting, note-taking, underlining, recording, and repetition in ILP development 11 using English appropriately by involving in face-to-face conversations, telephone conversations, chat rooms, social networks, and so on 12 referring to teacher, instructional and conversational books, dictionary, language software, website, or native speaker 13 asking for help from the other interactants 14 organizing, evaluating and shaping the ILP knowledge 15 handling feelings in the case of pragmatic failures/ misunderstandings The interviews were audio-taped for further analysis after data collection.