Pragmatic Competence

1. Pragmatic
Competence
in Second Language Learning
By Mohammad Faisal

2. David Crystal (1997)
"the study of language from the point of view of users, especially of the
choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in
social interaction and the effects their use of language has on other
participants in the act of communication" (p.301).
Defining ‘Pragmatic Competence’
Noam Chomsky (1980)
“knowledge of conditions and manner of appropriate use (of the
language), in conformity with various purposes” (p.224).
Rover (2005) “it is the ability to use language in context”.
George Yule “The study of contextual meaning communicated by a
speaker or writer and interpreted by a listener or reader.”

3. The door is open.
1) Stating or explaining the fact “the door is open”
2) Reminding the hearer of closing the door when he or she
leaves.
3) Scolding the hearer of not having closed the door.
4) Suggesting that it is cold in the room and requesting the
hearer to close the door.
Examples

4. Sherlock saw the man using binoculars. Sherlock saw the man using binoculars.
Pragmatics is similar to semantics

5. Communicative Competence and Pragmatic
Competence
Communicative competence has a broader scope and involves capacity to
participate in communicative situations. Pragmatic competence, differently, is not
only this capacity, but also the appropriateness of what is said by the speaker
according to the context.
Pragmatic competence is a much more specific concept. It involves linguistic
competence, communicative competence and also a notion of how the context is
built and what it demands from the participants.
Participants, status, age, situation, and other features make part of the context of a
communicative situation.

6. Trying to make the students aware of cultural and contextual interferences in
communication and make them more capable of using the language in the
appropriate context.
Gabriele Kasper (2004) suggests that adult learners of a second or foreign language
can acquire a great number of pragmatic features without instruction considering the
fact that some of these pragmatic features are universal.
Considering that, it is possible to say that in a natural environment, as in second
language learning contexts, indirect instruction seems to be efficient, once the
learner will be exposed to the culture and the language outside the classroom. On
the other hand, when we deal with a foreign language instruction context, a need for
explicit instruction appears.
How can we develop pragmatic competence? Can it be
taught?

7. Task-based language teaching (TBLT), also known as task-based instruction (TBI),
focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks
using the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an
interview, or calling customer service for help.
The task-based approach, from now on TBA, is considered a communicative approach.
This approach provides students with the negotiation of meaning.
The interaction often makes students face new knowledge
Task-based approach

8. According to Larsen-Freeman (2000:150), project work or task
work “helps to bridge the gap between language study and language
use”.
The author also argues that “learning to communicate by
communicating, rather than by preparing to do so through practicing
the various pieces of language, is a different way to approach the
goal of developing student’s communicative competence”
(2000:155).

9. The End