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"interlanguage pragmatics"
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Investigating the learning of pragmatics across ages and contexts
\"A timely contribution to the field of interlanguage pragmatics. The nine chapters presented here expand the scope of research to date by including different contexts (i.e., formal instruction, stay-abroad, and online) and age groups which have received less attention (for example, young learners and adolescents). Whereas the speech act of requesting is the one that has been most explored in the field of interlanguage pragmatics, as attested by several chapters in the present volume, disagreements and directives are also tackled. This book embraces research addressing both elicited and naturally-occurring data in studies which deal with pragmatic use, development, and awareness\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Speech Acts of Suggestion in Social Media Communication: A Pragmatic Analysis of Instagram Comments
This study examines the use of suggestion speech acts in Instagram comments, with particular attention to how Saudi EFL users demonstrate pragmatic competence in digital communication. Drawing on Martínez Flor’s taxonomy of suggestion strategies, the study analyzes 103 suggestion-oriented comments selected from an initial dataset of 150 Instagram comments. A mixed-methods design was adopted: qualitative analysis was used to classify suggestion strategies into direct, conventionalized, and indirect forms, while quantitative frequency analysis was applied to identify their distribution across the dataset. The findings show that indirect strategies were the most frequently used, accounting for 40 instances, followed by conventionalized forms (33) and direct strategies (30). At the sub-strategy level, impersonal constructions were the most dominant form, indicating users’ preference for mitigating imposition and reducing face-threatening effects in online interaction. The qualitative analysis further reveals that Instagram users employ suggestions not only to advise or recommend actions but also to express critique, negotiate social distance, and maintain politeness in public digital discourse. The study contributes to research on interlanguage pragmatics and computer-mediated communication by showing how suggestion speech acts are shaped by platform-based interaction, sociocultural norms, and digital politeness practices. However, the findings should be interpreted within the limits of the selected dataset and the specific Instagram context examined.
Journal Article
When apology replaces justification: pragmatic transfer and interactional patterns in Korean learners’ Thai complaints
This study examines how complaint behaviour is shaped by pragmatic transfer in Korean learners of Thai, moving beyond a focus on strategy choice to consider the interactional organisation of speech acts. From an interlanguage pragmatic perspective, it investigates how complaints are constructed across contexts differing in social distance and power. Data were collected through Written Discourse Completion Tasks (WDCTs) involving three scenarios: confidentiality violation, ignored help request and false accusation. The findings reveal systematic differences between Korean learners and Thai native speakers, not only in levels of directness but also in the sequencing and interactional framing of complaint acts. Thai speakers tend to foreground epistemic entitlement through justification and requests for clarification, particularly in peer contexts. In contrast, Korean learners show a stronger preference for mitigation, apology-first sequencing and alignment strategies, especially in hierarchical interactions. These patterns suggest that learners interpret power relations through culturally grounded understandings of hierarchy and interpersonal relations, resulting in heightened sensitivity to hierarchical risk and, in some cases, communicative inhibition. The study contributes to interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) by demonstrating that pragmatic transfer operates at the level of interactional organisation. A two-layer model of pragmatic transfer is proposed, integrating sociopragmatic calibration and pragmalinguistic realisation, with implications for context-sensitive pragmatic instruction.
Journal Article
Pragmatic Realization in Exploiting Request Expressions: A Study of Language Proficiency and Social Context among Saudi EFL Learners
Interlanguage pragmatic studies predominantly focus on teaching and learning English as a second or foreign language. However, there is a substantial research gap in understanding the interlanguage characteristics of those learning English as a second language, particularly within the Saudi context. To bridge this critical gap, this paper undertakes a comprehensive examination of the interlanguage pragmatic competence exhibited by a cohort of 51 High Achievers (HAs) juxtaposed with 48 Low Achievers (LAs). A Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and the ScaleResponse Questionnaire (SRQ) were administered to elicit request utterances. The paper concludes that HAs tended to use a wide range of linguistic forms in using mitigated request expressions significantly compared to LAs' performance. Regarding the influence of contextual variables, HAs showed more awareness of both social power and distance compared to LAs. In conclusion, there is a robust connection between language proficiency and the pragmatic competence of request acts among Saudi learners.
Journal Article
The effect of Bloom-based activities and Vygotskian scaffolding on Iranian EFL learners’ use of the speech act of request
The purpose of this study was to determine if Bloom-based Interlanguage Pragmatics (ILP) instruction could enhance EFL learners’ use of the speech act of request. Based on their OQPT scores, 43 students were assigned to a control group (n=23) and a treatment group (n=20). A written discourse completion task (WDCT) was developed to measure participants’ use of the speech act of request before and after the intervention. The results pointed to a significant difference between the performance of the treatment group in which Bloom-based treatment supported by Vygotskian scaffolding was employed and the control group which received no explicit ILP instruction. The treatment group also yielded significant gains from the pretest to posttest and to delayed posttest, while no significant improvement was observed in the performance of the control group. In-depth examination of the participants’ WDCT performance indicated that the four pragmatics factors (correct use of speech acts, type of expressions, amount of information, and degree of politeness) measured in this study, improved significantly, but differentially, from the pretest to delayed posttest. Comparison of the pretest and posttest data suggested that the component of degree of politeness enjoyed the highest degree of gain followed by amount of information, correct use of speech acts and type of expression.
Journal Article
The Development of Pragmatic Markers in English as a Second Language: Do Age and Learning Context Matter?
The present study explores the development of pragmatic marker (PM) use by children and adult L2 English learners in two learning contexts: study abroad (SA) and at home (AH). The study involved a group of 35 Catalan/Spanish girls (aged 11 to 13) learning English AH (n = 16) and abroad in Ireland (n = 19), and a group of 16 adult students aged 19–31 learning English in the UK and Ireland (n = 10) and at their home university in Barcelona (n = 6). To test their pragmatic development, the use of PMs was prompted through pre-test and post-test semi-structured interviews. The results indicated an effect of both age and context on PM development. Children in the SA context increased their use of some PMs, whereas their peers who remained at home did not show any development. Regarding the adults, both SA and AH participants increased their use of specific PMs. These findings shed some light on a topic that has not received scholarly attention in the field of L2 pragmatics: the development of PM use by children. Additionally, they contribute to the very small body of longitudinal studies on the development of PM use during SA.
Journal Article
“I am sorry, professor”: a pragmatic analysis of the apology speech act realization by Egyptian HSL learners
This study examines how Egyptian learners of Hebrew as a second language realize the speech act of apology compared to native Israeli Hebrew speakers. While apologies have been extensively studied in English and Arabic, Hebrew remains underexplored in interlanguage pragmatics, particularly in Arabic–Hebrew pragmatic transfer. Data were collected from 30 Egyptian learners at the Hebrew Language Department at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, and 30 Israeli native speakers using a Discourse Completion Test comprising five social situations. The results reveal significant similarities between the two groups, with both preferring Illocutionary Force Indicating Devices and taking responsibility, while rarely employing concern for the hearer or promises of forbearance, demonstrating the learners’ awareness of Hebrew pragmatic norms. However, notable differences have emerged: Egyptians relied more heavily on detailed explanations and supportive moves—such as honorific address terms and religious expressions—than Israelis, reflecting a negative pragmatic transfer from Arabic norms. This study highlights the importance of addressing cross-linguistic differences in Hebrew instruction to enhance learners’ pragmatic competence and alignment with native speaker conventions.
Journal Article
The Use of I Think as Different Types of Markers in English Conversations
This research investigated the use of I think as different types of markers by Thai learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to determine whether the use of I think by Thai intermediate- and advanced-level EFL participants showed any significant differences. The types of markers and the functions of I think used by the Thai EFL participants were identified, as were their inappropriate uses of I think. In total, 72 Thai EFL participants were involved in this research, and dyadic English conversations were conducted for data collection. The statistical results illustrated that the Thai intermediate-level EFL participants used I think significantly more often than the Thai advanced-level EFL participants, particularly as a stance marker (SM). By contrast, the Thai advanced-level EFL participants used I think significantly more often as a pragmatic marker (PM) and as a politeness marker (PoM) than the Thai intermediate-level EFL participants. The Thai intermediate-level EFL participants mainly used the SM I think to express a subjective evaluative stance, while the Thai advanced-level EFL participants used I think across a broader range of markers and functions. Their inappropriate uses of I think are also discussed.
Journal Article