EXPLORING THE UNDERREPRESENTATION OF PRAGMATIC COMPETNECE IN THE L2 CLASSROOMS IN IRAN

Year 2012, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 73 - 84, 01.06.2012

Azizullah Mirzaei Masoumeh Seyyed Rezaei

Abstract

Considering the importance of pragmatic competence as one of the components of communicative language ability, SLA researchers have recently called for the inclusion of L2 pragmatics into the classrooms and teaching materials. Despite such calls, it seems to be largely underrepresented in L2 classrooms in Iran. This study, adopting a multi-method data collection procedure, attempted to investigate how and why underrepresentation of pragmatic competence occurs in L2 teaching materials and classrooms in Iran. Two questionnaires were developed based on Bachman’s (1990) and Bachman and Palmer’s (1996, 2010) models of communicative language ability and administered to the participants. Twenty five L2 classrooms were observed and appraised using a checklist developed based on the above-mentioned models. The results of the study indicated that L2 classrooms did not provide language learners with the required information, instruction, and practice in L2 pragmatics. It was evidenced that EFL teachers in Iran generally emphasized the isolated, mechanical aspects of language as these have been given special momentum in the school curriculum, course books, time limitation, and the related tests. In contrast, the main focus of the classroom activities was on developing reading skills, learning new vocabularies, word formation, and grammar. It was also argued that the present underrepresentation of L2 pragmatics would not lead learners to develop pragmatic competence as a central objective in developing communicative language ability

Keywords

Pragmatic competence, Underrepresentation, L2 classrooms

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