Learning Pragmatics from Native and Nonnative Language Teachers (Second Language Acquisition, 123) - Softcover

Cohen, Andrew D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1783099917 ISBN 13: 9781783099917

Verlag: Multilingual Matters, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

This book deals with intercultural pragmatics and how both nonnative teachers (NNTs) and native teachers (NTs) may enhance their classroom instruction regarding target language (TL) pragmatics. It focuses primarily on the experiences of instructors as they teach their learners about the pragmatics of the TL, both in second and foreign language learning settings. It makes clear that there are aspects of teaching pragmatics where it may help to be an NT and other areas where it may help to be an NNT and proposes creative ideas that both sets of teachers may draw on to compensate for gaps in their knowledge. Further themes in the book include ideas for motivating students who want to learn about pragmatics, the role of technology in teaching and learning pragmatics, the role of learning strategies, the assessment of pragmatics and ways to research pragmatics. The book will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators and students interested in researching and improving the teaching of pragmatics.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Andrew D. Cohen is Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, USA. He has published extensively in the areas of pragmatics, language assessment, and language learner strategies, and frequently presents his research at international conferences. He was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award from the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). He is also a hyperpolyglot, currently learning his 13th language, Mandarin.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Learning Pragmatics from Native and Nonnative Language Teachers

By Andrew D. Cohen

Multilingual Matters

Copyright © 2018 Andrew D. Cohen
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-78309-991-7

Contents

Acknowledgments, vii, 
Acronyms, ix, 
Foreword Rachel L. Shively, xi, 
1 An Introduction to Pragmatics for Learners and Teachers, 1, 
2 The Development of Pragmatic Ability with Lauren Wyner, 26, 
3 The Handling of Pragmatics by Native and Nonnative Teachers, 57, 
4 What Native and Nonnative Teachers Know About Pragmatics and What They Report Doing, 81, 
5 Basic Issues in the Teaching of Pragmatics with Lauren Wyner, 101, 
6 Ideas for Teaching Pragmatics and for Motivating Learners, 125, 
7 The Role of Technology in Teaching and Learning Pragmatics, 154, 
8 The Learning of Pragmatics, 181, 
9 The Assessment of Pragmatics, 211, 
10 Researching Pragmatics, 241, 
11 Conclusions, 264, 
References, 270, 
Author Index, 287, 
Subject Index, 292, 

CHAPTER 1

An Introduction to Pragmatics for Learners and Teachers

1.1 The Aim and Scope of the Book

This book deals with intercultural pragmatics and focuses on how both nonnative teachers (NNTs) and their native teacher colleagues (NTs) may be able to enhance their classroom instruction regarding target-language (TL) pragmatics. The immediate audience for the book is teachers and teacher educators. The intention is to provide ideas for how they can make pragmatics as accessible as possible to learners. The ultimate goal is to improve the teaching of pragmatics for the sake of learners, who stand to benefit from insights as to how to be pragmatically appropriate in their TL of choice.

At the outset, it needs to be stated that just as it is problematic to define what native speaker means (see Davies, 2003), there can undoubtedly be considerable differences among so-called NTs, just as there can be differences among so-called NNTs. Here are some of the sources of such differences among NTs:

• NTs can have varying degrees of contact with the first language (L1) that they teach. Whereas some may never leave the L1 community, others may find themselves living in another community where their use of the L1 is affected by the use of one or more other languages.

• While still living within the L1 community, the NTs may have differential use of their L1 for numerous reasons.

• The number of years that the NTs have been teaching their L1 would expectedly have an impact on their facility with the language in the various skill areas.

• NTs may also be fluent speakers of other languages and may actually be exposed to several languages from birth.

• Some NTs are more natural teachers than others.

• Some NTs are more knowledgeable about pragmatics in their L1 than are others.

Likewise, there can also be differences among NNTs:

• NNTs can have differing exposure to the TL, not just by virtue of time spent living in a community where it is spoken as the dominant language, but also as a result of their own personal contact with that language in the community. The fact that it is available in the community does not necessarily mean that the NNTs develop nativelike ability in the pragmatics of that language.

• Teachers differ with respect to how proficient they actually become in the TL. For example, some become better at certain skill areas in the TL than do others. This may be a function of how many other languages they have studied, their language aptitude and language strategy repertoire, their knowledge of linguistics and their ability to make practical use of this knowledge.

• Teachers may differ not only with respect their knowledge base regarding pragmatics in the TL, but also with respect to their ability to perform this knowledge in a pragmatically appropriate way in a given situation.

• Just as with NTs, some NNTs may be more natural teachers than others.

Therefore, given the myriad of differences among so-called NTs and likewise among NNTs, when these labels are used in the book, the intended reference will be to the average representative of the NT or NNT group, knowing full well that there is variation within each group.

The position taken in this volume is that pragmatics deserves to be taught in a TL class and ideally even from day one in the beginning-level language class. For example, greetings are introduced right away in language class, but how they are used differs dramatically from language community to language community. Since greetings are so external, they are highly discernible, but still may possess some subtle features. Since they function as an important social lubricant, instruction in their appropriate use can be extremely valuable. For instance, bonjour in French does not have the same distribution as buenos días in Spanish. In addition, the use of buenos días varies according to the specific speech community. In other language communities, greetings do not necessarily involve time of day, but rather how the other person is doing or even whether or not they have eaten.

The stance that pragmatics needs to be explicitly taught from the early stages of language instruction calls for taking a close look at the potential role of any instructors in bringing this about, which means that there are challenges for both NTs and NNTs. Furthermore, the concerns of teachers – especially NNTs – regarding instruction about pragmatics are not necessarily addressed in teacher development programs. It would appear that teachers may not have easy access to practical suggestions as to what to do about their own gaps in knowledge when it comes to pragmatics. This book is intended to provide numerous suggestions for closing the gap.

The book will focus primarily on the experiences of instructors as they teach their learners about the pragmatics of the TL, whether it be more a second-language (L2) experience since the language is spoken extensively in the learners' immediate community, or more a foreign-language (FL) experience in that the language is not spoken extensively in the learners' immediate community. All the while, there is the realization that this traditional dichotomy is giving way to a more hybrid reality in an increasingly globalized world. Therefore, it is fair to say that there is less of a dichotomy between L2 and FL, and more of a continuum. Not only would this be the case as it applies to globalized English (section 1.2.4), but also as it applies to other languages that have an international presence, such as Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese, to name just a few. Language users are drawing on the internet, and especially on social media, in new and engaging ways. The consequence is that traditional means of interpreting pragmatic intention across languages may not work as well as they used to. It is no longer possible to make assumptions as to how FL pragmatics are disadvantaged by virtue of the distance from the TL speech community, nor to assume that users of the TL as an L2 are automatically likely to use pragmatics that are more in step with the TL speech community.

It will be made clear in the book that there are aspects of teaching pragmatics where it may help to be an NT and other areas where it may help to be an NNT. The book will speak to both of these areas where teachers may be looking for creative means to compensate for their gaps in knowledge about TL pragmatics. The book will consider the issue of...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Multilingual Matters
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1783099917
• ISBN 13: 9781783099917
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 318
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland