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Abstract:
In the pedagogy of language education, the importance of teaching Eng-
lish pragmatic competence has received considerable attention lately. As an attempt to
contribute to the literature in this field, this study investigated the importance of teaching
pragmatic competence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. It explored the
extent to which Uzbek EFL teachers implement pragmatic competence features in their
daily classroom practice. It also identified the difficulties they encounter during classroom
procedures and practices. In order to achieve the study objectives, a mixed pragmatic
competence and other types of competence.
Keywords:
pragmatic competence, pragmatics teaching, EFL, interlanguage, pragma-
tic failure, L1, L2
Pragmatic competence is a broad concept that has been looked at different-
ly according to the perspective of various researchers as shown in the preceding
models. One of the earliest and widely cited definitions of pragmatic competence
is that of Thomas (1983). She defines pragmatic competence as: “the ability to use
language effectively in order to achieve a specific purpose and understand langua-
ge in context” (Thomas, 1983: 92). This ability is reflected in two aspects: pragma-
linguistic and sociopragmatic. The former is related to the knowledge of the prag-
matic force of linguistic items, and the latter refers to appropriate use of language
in different social contexts. Leech (1983: 10-11) describes sociopragmatics as ‘socio-
logical interface of pragmatics’ and pragmalinguistics as being related to ‘the more
linguistic end of pragmatics’. These two aspects are mirrored in Barron’s (2003: 10)
definition of pragmatic competence as: “knowledge of linguistic resources available
in a given language for realizing particular illocutions, knowledge of the sequential
aspects of speech acts and finally, knowledge of the appropriate contextual use of
particular languages’ linguistic resources”. A similar definition is provided by Murray
(2009: 239): “Pragmatic competence can be defined as an understanding of the
relationship between form and context that enables us, accurately and appropria-
tely, to express and interpret intended meaning”. Likewise, Fraser (2010: 15) defines
pragmatic competence as “the ability to communicate your intended message with
all its nuances in any society”.
KHODIYEVA SHAKHNOZA
ABDULLAYEVNA
Senior teacher Applied
science department English
philology faculty
STARS International
University
INTEGRATING
PRAGMATIC
COMPETENCE TO
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE CLASSES
https://doi.org/10.47689/STARS.
university-pp276-279
STARS International University
277
SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE
Research clearly shows that cultural differences lead to pragmatic differences
among learners from different language backgrounds (Olshtain and Weinbach
1993; Murphy and Neu 1996). Even advanced learners tend to transfer pragmati-
cs from their first language and culture to their L2. For example, when comparing
the complaints of native and non-native speakers of Hebrew, Olshtain and Wein-
bach (1993) found that non-native learners tended to give longer and less severe
complaints, while native speakers’ complaints were shorter, more direct, and more
severe. Although pragmatic differences can result in positive transfer if the speech
act is similar in the first and second languages, it can also result in negative trans-
fer if there are cultural and pragmatic differences between the two languages. For
example, when Russians and Moroccans were asked to react to the idea of someone
stealing their parking space in a parking lot, the Russians responded with warnings
and threats, while the Moroccans either opted not to complain or used much softer
strategies. The Russians felt that people should “play fair” in a parking lot, while the
Moroccans felt that it was not serious.
THE SPEECH ACT OF COMPLAINING
Speech acts are the most basic unit of communication, with each speech act
accomplishing a different communicative function. This article focuses on deve-
loping L2 students’ pragmatic competence for the speech act of complaining,
which is used to express the speaker’s dissatisfaction. Speech acts can be bro-
ken down into smaller components, or strategies, that speakers use to accomplish
the communicative function. For example, Murphy and Neu (1996, 199–203) iden-
tify four strategies that can be used in the speech act of complaining. The spea-
ker first initiates the conversation and explains the purpose, then makes a comp-
laint. This is followed by a justification or explanation for complaint and request
to rectify the situation, as shown in Strategy Example 1. Initiation and explanation
of purpose “Excuse me, professor, but I wanted to talk to you about my grade.”
2. A complaint “My grade’s too low.” 3. A justification “I come to every class, and I
study hard. I just didn’t do well on one test.” 4. A request “Can I do an extra credit
assignment to improve my grade?” Table 1. Four strategies for complaining (adap-
ted from Murphy and Neu 1996, 199–203)
ESL STUDENTS’ PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE FOR COMPLAINTS
To determine the pragmatic competence of my own ESL students, we recorded
the complaints of 27 students completing a role play in pairs. The students were
allowed to choose from three scenarios: complaining to a server at a restaurant,
complaining to a neighbor about a noisy party, and complaining to a teacher about
a grade. The students’ videos were analyzed for the speech act of complaining and
then compared to videos of six native-speaking English teachers completing the
same tasks. Finally, the overall pragmatic appropriateness of the L2 learners was ju-
dged by a native speaker to determine whether the students were able to complain
successfully in their L2. Results for all three complaint role plays, the native spea-
kers followed the same format, including an initiation, a statement of the complaint,
a justification or explanation of the complaint, and a request. In contrast, the L2
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students did not always include all four strategies in their complaints. Although all
students included a clearly stated complaint in their role plays, some did not include
an initiation, a justification or explanation of their complaint, or a request. To many
English speakers, leaving out an initiation or justification makes the student appear
rude or impolite, while not including a request could mean that the student will not
receive a satisfactory resolution to the complaint. Students can watch a video ba-
sed on pragmatic competence
Problem Example from Video Aggressive Complaint “Is there something wrong
with me? Why do you hate me?” “It’s not fair. Everyone in the class gets A, A. Just
me. It’s not fair.”
Criticism of Teacher “And you put me low grade. And you, you didn’t grade me
that well.”
Distrust of Teacher “I have my American friend; he always helps me. So,
I’m sure 100 percent of my answers, they are correct. So don’t tell me it’s wrong or
something, because, I’m sure”. “But when you check and you write on the blackbo-
ard, are you sure this is my name? You put my grades in my name, you don’t put
somediv else? Because you have some guys, you know, they are lower grade, but
you put for them A”.
Threat “I will gonna go to the office and complain about you. I will wait till tomor-
row. If nothing change, I will gonna go to the office and complain. I don’t want to do
that, but …” Pragmatically inappropriate complaint to a teacher by an L2 student.
Discussion of speech act According to Limberg (2015), class discussions that
compare students’ native language (L1) and culture with the target language and
culture help raise students’ pragmatic awareness of cultural norms. Students dis-
cuss the questions in small groups
Activity 1. Discussion Questions for Complaining
1. What is a complaint? What are some situations in which you might complain
to someone? 2. What do people say to express a complaint in your first language?
How is it different from what people say to express a complaint in English? 3. Is it
common to complain about bad service in your country? Is it common to complain
to a parent, a boss, or a teacher? Why or why not? 4. Would you complain different-
ly to a friend, a server, and a teacher? Why or why not?
Activity 2.
Instructions: Imagine you are complaining to someone in your first langu-
age. Write down what you would say for the three situations in the chart be-
low, and then translate them directly to English without changing anything.
How does the English version sound? Your First Language English Situation
1: Your classmate always comes late to group meetings and is not helping at all with
your group’s presentation. Complain to that classmate. Situation 2: Your son was
supposed to clean his room and take out the trash. He has not done either of these
chores. Complain to your son. Situation 3: Your supervisor has been giving you a
lot of extra work and projects, but your coworkers are not busy. Complain to your
supervisor.
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