The role of instruction in the development of EFL learners’ pragmatic competence

Authors

  • Sajjad Gharibeh Gharibeh Urmia University, Iran
  • Meisam Mirzaee Department of English Language and Literature, Allameh Tabataba'i University
  • Massoud Yaghoubi-Notash University of Tabriz, Tabriz, IRAN

Keywords:

explicit instruction, refusal speech act, pragmatic development, EFL, Iran

Abstract

This paper reports on a study which examined the efficacy of explicit instruction at the pragmatic level. Specifically, the main purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of explicit instruction on EFL learners’ development of refusal-related speech acts. A total of 104 EFL learners participated in this study and were assigned to two groups (explicit and control). The explicit group received direct instruction, explanatory handouts, role play, and metapragmatic explanation on the use of appropriate refusals. The control group received none of these. Findings indicated that the explicit group outperformed the control group.

Author Biographies

  • Sajjad Gharibeh Gharibeh, Urmia University, Iran

    Sajjad Gharibeh Gharibeh is a PhD student in TEFL at Urmia University. His areas of research interest are interlanguage pragmatics,instructional strategies, individual differences, corrective feedback, and interaction analysis.

  • Meisam Mirzaee, Department of English Language and Literature, Allameh Tabataba'i University

    Meisam Mirzaee is a PhD candidate in TEFL at Allameh Tabataba'i University in Iran. His research interests lie in language instruction, explicit and implicit instruction, interlanguage pragmatics, sociocultural theory, interactional hypothesis, corrective feedback, and teacher education.

  • Massoud Yaghoubi-Notash, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, IRAN

    Massoud Yaghoubi-Notash holds a PhD in English Language Teaching (ELT). He is currently an assistant professor of ELT, and a member of the English Department at Tabriz University. His areas of interest include task-based language teaching/learning, discourse and ELT, and gender issues in language education.

The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Volume 3. Issue 2. October 2016

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Published

2016-10-30

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2016)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

The role of instruction in the development of EFL learners’ pragmatic competence. (2016). The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 173-184. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/368