Pragmatics and its Applications to TESOL and SLA

A concise introduction to the field of theoretical pragmatics and its applications in second language acquisition and English-language instruction Pragmatics and its Applications to TESOL and SLA offers an in-depth description of key areas of linguistic pragmatics and a review of how those topics can be applied to pedagogy in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). This book is an excellent resource for students and professionals who have an interest in teaching pragmatics (speech acts, the cooperative principle, deixis, politeness theory, and more) in second language contexts. This book introduces technical terminology and concepts—including the fundamentals of semantics and semiotics—in simple language, and it provides illuminating examples, making it an excellent choice for readers with an elementary linguistics background who wish to further their knowledge of pragmatics. It also covers more advanced pragmatics topics, including stance, indexicality, and pragmatic appropriateness. Key features include: A comprehensive introduction to pragmatics, covering meaning, speech acts, the cooperation principle, politeness, metapragmatics, and more A unique orientation toward practical application in second language acquisition studies and English-language instruction Two-part chapters clearly separating theoretical introductions from concrete, real-world applications of the theory Thorough coverage that is accessible to both students and professionals currently teaching English to speakers of other languages, including sample lesson plans Practical chapters on the interface between pragmatics and teaching, and on research design Pragmatics and its Applications to TESOL and SLA is a comprehensive and coherent introduction, perfect for students, researchers, and scholars of pragmatics, second language acquisition, language teaching, and intercultural communication. It is also an excellent resource for professionals in the field of English-language education.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables xi List of Figures xiii Preface xv Typographical Conventions xix 1 Meaning 1 1.1 What Do We Mean By Meaning? 2 1.1.1 Semiotics 2 1.1.2 Extensional and Intensional Semantics 4 1.1.3 Language in Context 8 1.1.4 The Semantics/Pragmatics Boundary 9 1.1.5 Modularity 10 1.2 A Real Life Application 13 1.3 Conclusion 14 2 The Language Teaching and Pragmatics Interface 15 2.1 Are There Universals in Pragmatics That Students Can Bring To Their L2? 16 2.2 What Do Learners Typically Transfer From Their L1? 17 2.3 Can Pragmatics Be Taught Through Instruction? 19 2.4 Is There a Developmental Path for Pragmatics? 20 2.5 Is Acquisition of Pragmatics Different for L2 Child and Adult Learners? 21 2.6 Does the Learner Have To Sound Exactly the Same As a Native Speaker? 22 2.7 Can Pragmatics Be Assessed in the Classroom? 22 2.8 Conclusion 23 3 Speech Acts 23 3.1 Ordinary Language Philosophy, Oxford, and Austin 24 3.1.1 Austin and Performativity 26 3.1.2 Speech Acts, Searle 27 3.1.3 Realization Patterns 29 3.1.4 How Speech Acts Work 29 3.1.5 Indirect Speech Acts 32 3.1.6 Public Commitment for Speech Acts 33 3.2 Conclusion 35 3.3 Speech Acts in SLA and Applications to TESOL 35 3.3.1 Speech Acts in the TESOL Classroom: Materials 37 3.3.2 Sample Teaching Materials 39 4 Grice’s Principle of Cooperation 41 4.1 Gricean Pragmatics as Rational Cooperation 41 4.1.1 Conversational Cooperation Is Rational 42 4.1.2 Implicatures 43 4.1.3 Scalarity and Implicatures 45 4.1.4 Flouting and Implicatures 46 4.1.5 Difference between Inferences, Presuppositions, and Implicatures 48 4.1.6 Developments of Grice’s Theory 49 4.1.7 Modularity in Light of Gricean Pragmatics 55 4.2 Conclusion 56 4.3 Applications to SLA 56 4.3.1 Grice in SLA 56 4.3.2 Relevance Theory and SLA 59 4.3.3 TESOL Classroom Materials 61 4.3.4 Sample Teaching Materials 62 5 Politeness 64 5.1 Theories of Politeness 64 5.1.1 Classical Politeness Theories 65 5.1.2 Second Wave Approaches (1990 and forward) 70 5.1.3 Third Wave Theories: Ritualization and Norm 76 5.1.4 Universality of Politeness 78 5.1.5 Sociopragmatics and Power 80 5.2 Conclusion 81 5.3 Politeness and SLA 81 5.3.1 Politeness in the TESOL Materials 84 5.3.2 Sample Teaching Materials 85 6 Functional Sentence Perspective 87 6.1 Theoretical Background 87 6.1.1 Functionalism 87 6.1.2 Markedness 89 6.1.3 Word Order 90 6.1.4 Prominence 92 6.2 Aspects of FSP 92 6.2.1 Newness 93 6.2.2 Known-ness 94 6.2.3 Definiteness 95 6.3 Applications of FSP 97 6.3.1 FSP Reflects the Organization of Ideas in the Mind 97 6.3.2 Paragraph and Textual Organization 98 6.3.3 Marked Constructions 98 6.4 History and Terminology 101 6.4.1 The Prague School 101 6.4.2 European Functionalism 102 6.4.3 Generative Functionalism 103 6.4.4 West Coast Functionalism 105 6.5 Conclusion 105 6.6 FSP in SLA and the TESOL Classroom 105 6.6.1 FSP in SLA 105 6.6.2 FSP in TESOL 106 6.6.3 Sample Teaching Materials 107 7 Stance, Deixis, and Pragmatic markers 110 7.1 Modality 111 7.1.1 Modal Verbs 111 7.1.2 Epistemic and Deontic modality 113 7.2 Deixis 114 7.2.1 Place and Time deixis 115 7.2.2 Discourse Deixis 115 7.2.3 Social Deixis 116 7.3 Pragmatic Markers 116 7.3.1 Schiffrin’s Discourse Markers 117 7.3.2 Procedural Information Markers 119 7.3.3 Connectors 119 7.4 Stance 120 7.5 Corpus-assisted Work 123 7.6 Conclusion 125 7.7 Pragmatic Markers in SLA and TESOL 126 7.7.1 Contrastive and Intercultural Studies in SLA and TESOL 126 7.7.2 Sample Teaching Materials 128 8 Interactional Sociolinguistics 130 8.1 The California Milieu 130 8.1.1 The Sociological/Phenomenological Approach 131 8.1.2 Conversation Analysis 134 8.2 Communicative Competence 135 8.3 The Definition of Context 136 8.3.1 Context 136 8.3.2 Communicative Practices 138 8.3.3 Conversational Inferences 139 8.3.4 Contextualization 140 8.4 Conclusion: Gumperz’s Interactionism 146 8.5 Sociocultural Interaction and SLA 147 8.5.1 Interactional Sociolinguistics in the TESOL Classroom 151 8.5.2 Sample Teaching Materials 151 9 Data Collection and Research Design in Studies of L2 Pragmatics 153 9.1 Discourse Completion Tasks 153 9.2 Interactional Studies 156 9.2.1 Follow Up Interviews 157 9.3 Pseudolongitudinal 158 9.4 Longitudinal 158 9.4.1 Study Abroad 159 9.5 Computer Mediated Communication 160 9.6 Action Research 161 9.6.1 Student-collected Research 162 9.7 Conclusion 164 10 Metapragmatics 165 10.1 Metalanguage and Object Language 165 10.1.1 The Origins of the Language/Metalanguage Distinction 165 10.1.2 Uses of Metalanguage in Linguistics 167 10.1.3 Metadiscourse 168 10.2 Deixis, Indexicality, and the Semiotic Turn in Sociolinguistics 169 10.2.1 Deixis 169 10.2.2 Indexicality 170 10.2.3 The Semiotic Turn in Sociolinguistics 172 10.3 Metalinguistic Awareness 174 10.3.1 Implicit and Explicit Awareness 175 10.4 Ideology, or the Lack of Awareness 175 10.4.1 Definition of Ideology 175 10.5 Conclusion 180 11 Frontier 181 11.1 Pragmatic Resources in English as a Lingua Franca 181 11.2 Multilingualism 182 11.3 Embodied Cognition 185 11.4 Complexity Theory 186 11.4.1 Complex Systems 186 11.4.2 Applications to Linguistics 188 11.5 Cyberpragmatics 189 11.6 Neuropragmatics 191 11.6.1 Lateralization and Specialization 193 11.6.2 The Theory of Mind 194 11.6.3 Pragmatic Disorders 195 11.7 Conclusion 196 Bibliography 198 Name Index 229 Subject Index 239