Ilm fan taraqqiyotida raqamli iqtisodiyot va zamonaviy
ta'limning o'rni hamda rivojlanish omillari
4-To’plam 2-son Aprel , 2025
294
ADDRESSING INTERCULTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL-
COMMUNICATIVE CHALLENGES IN TEACHING PRAGMATIC
COMPETENCE
Shamsutdinova L.R.
Doctor of Philosophy of Pedagogical Sciences,
Uzbek State University of World Languages
Annotation. The development of pragmatic competence has become
increasingly significant in foreign language education, as learners must acquire
not only grammatical knowledge but also the ability to communicate
appropriately across diverse sociocultural contexts. This article highlights the
essential role of instructors in fostering learners’ awareness of the communicative
norms of the target language and in guiding them through the process of
understanding the “other” in intercultural communication. It explores key
barriers to pragmatic competence, such as interlingual interference, interlingual
gaps, and pragmatic transfer both pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic. Using
the speech act of advice as an example, the article compares strategies used by
native speakers of English and Russian, demonstrating how differences in
modality, tone, and formality can impact communication.
Keywords:
pragmatic
competence,
foreign
language
teaching,
intercultural
communication,
speech
acts,
pragmalinguistic
transfer,
sociopragmatic
norms,
interlingual
interference,
interlingual
gaps,
communicative competence, language instruction strategies
Recently, there has been an increasing need in foreign language teaching to
develop functional-communicative and intercultural communication skills.
Therefore, when improving pragmatic competence, special attention should be
paid to organizing effective and well-thought-out actions on the part of the
instructor. It is important to consider the structural and functional characteristics
of the target language at the level of communicative acceptability. In this regard,
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we agree with the hypothesis proposed by S.V. Pavlova, which notes that the
necessary action of the teacher in lessons should aim at introducing the learner to
the concept of the “other” –a person speaking a different language, in different
situations, and in a new sociocultural context, with different ideas about the
appropriateness and rationality of speech acts [1, 97]. As a result, it can be
assumed that applying this approach in foreign language lessons will help students
form a correct understanding of the language being studied, which will influence
the development of their pragmatic competence.
Pragmatic competence helps both the speaker and the listener provide an
adequate interpretation of speech acts, taking into account the situational
relevance of utterances, sociocultural context, mentality, age, education, and
social status of the speakers, as well as the appropriateness and rationality of
speech conventions. Undoubtedly, this is particularly relevant in the context of
cultural dialogue [5, 154]. However, in the absence of this competence, a foreign
language speaker may fail to achieve the communicative goal or face a number of
communication failures. Based on the above, it can be inferred that ignoring the
pragmatic aspect of communication leads to situations where students, while
mastering language structures, do not always relate them to a specific
communicative task in a given context. For this reason, learners may encounter
situations where communication with a native speaker in real-world speech
settings does not align with reality. A. Trosborg writes that successful
communication implies knowledge of social norms, values, status characteristics,
and the communication register. It is precisely pragmatic competence that ensures
the correct interpretation of the communicative intent and attitude of the
interlocutor when such interpretation is not always clear from the literal meaning
of the language forms or non-verbal cues used [2, 57].
When students possess knowledge of the norms of language use, they have
all the necessary information for maintaining a successful communicative act.
However, there are situations where students, studying a foreign language,
subconsciously transfer the pragmatics of their native language and culture to the
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language being learned. The different linguistic and cultural backgrounds of
communicants can lead to misunderstandings and pragmatic mistakes. The
problem is as follows: what seems natural and appropriate to one side (the
speaker) may be perceived as inadequate and deviating from the norm by the other
side (the addressee). Moreover, violations are most often understood as deviations
from communicative expectations [4, 187]. The main factors hindering the
development of pragmatic competence are interlingual interference and
interlingual gaps [6, 796].
Interlingual interference is traditionally understood as the result of a one-
sided process: a negative impact from the features of the native language on the
foreign language being studied. Meanwhile, interlingual gaps are understood as
elements of non-verbal aspects of the “foreign” culture, causing reactions of
underestimation, rejection, disagreement, and misunderstanding, which the
speaker compensates for by choosing the optimal way to achieve mutual
understanding, resorting to linguistic and extralinguistic norms of the native
language [6, 796]. It should be noted that when improving pragmatic competence,
students may encounter two types of pragmatic transfer: pragmalinguistic and
sociopragmatic.
Pragmalinguistic inadequacy involves the speaker presenting incorrect
presuppositions about the meanings and conditions for the use of language forms
in discourse, using certain utterances for communicative meanings that are not
characteristic of them (or for performing speech acts that cannot be carried out
with these utterances) [5, 155]. As an example, consider the use of the speech act
“advice” in accordance with pragmalinguistic norms in English and Russian.
When giving advice, English speakers tend to use modal and question forms,
while imperative forms are used less frequently. In contrast, Russian speakers
clearly prefer imperative forms with modal constructions, while question
constructions are virtually absent. Moreover, in English modal expressions, the
meaning of advice (you should/you ought to) predominates, while in Russian, it
conveys obligation (ты должен/тебе надо). Thus, the advice to go to the doctor
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would differ in grammatical structure in both languages: “You probably need to
go and see the dentist” versus “Ты обязательно должен пойти к врачу.” While
English speakers use hedging to soften their impact (I think you should go to the
dentist), Russian speakers, on the other hand, intensify it (ты обязательно
должен/тебе срочно надо) [3, 255-258].
From the analysis of these examples, it can be inferred that the expression
of the speech act in English and Russian follows different strategies in the
construction of grammatical forms and structures, which influence lexical
choices. Failure to observe these strategies often leads to communicative
breakdowns between communicants. It should be taken into account that not only
grammatical and lexical structures can cause communicative failures, but also the
incorrect application of sociopragmatic norms.
In conclusion, pragmatic competence serves as a vital component of
successful communication in a foreign language, bridging the gap between
linguistic knowledge and real-life language use. Its development requires more
than mastering vocabulary and grammar; it necessitates a deep understanding of
the sociocultural norms, communicative conventions, and contextual nuances that
govern interactions in the target language. Teachers play a crucial role in this
process by creating opportunities for learners to engage with authentic materials
and culturally rich communicative situations. Addressing issues such as
interlingual interference, interlingual gaps, and pragmatic transfer can
significantly improve learners’ ability to interpret and produce speech acts
effectively. By recognizing the variability of speech act realization across cultures
and integrating this understanding into foreign language instruction, educators can
better prepare students for meaningful and appropriate interaction in global
communication settings.
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