Abstract
Pragmatic competence has long been considered an important aspect of second language learners’ language ability, yet pragmatic instruction is rarely found in Chinese as a foreign or second language setting. This paper presents a 75-minute pragmatic lesson on accepting invitations and offers in Chinese using authentic and semi-authentic language materials. The effectiveness of the instructional unit was tested empirically with a small group of students, who did the same roleplay task both before and after the instruction as well as in interview to elicit their reflection on the learning process and comments on teaching materials. The students were able to sequence their production in a more target-like way after the instruction and provided positive feedback on the instructional unit. This paper also makes recommendations for how to develop teaching materials for pragmatics and incorporate pragmatic instruction into regular CFL/CSL curricula.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 43-75 |
Journal | Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages |
Volume | 24 |
State | Published - 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Pragmatic instruction
- conversation
- authentic materials
- second language Chinese