This course introduces students to the large and fast-growing field of second language research known as interlanguage pragmatics, which explores politeness and appropriateness in a second language. Students explore key issues and findings such as: how do learners’ ways of (e.g.) requesting, apologising, refusing, thanking, complaining or taking leave differ from those of native speakers of the target language? What methods are used to collect data on learner pragmatics, and what are the strengths and drawbacks of each method? What aspects of pragmatics are easiest to learn, and hardest? What factors aid a learner's acquisition of pragmatics? How well do learners acquire pragmatics in a target culture setting compared to in a foreign language classroom? Why do some individuals show a lot more pragmatic development than other individuals in a similar setting? How successfully can pragmatics be taught in the classroom?

The course draws on findings from studies of learners of a wide range of target languages in a range of settings. As part of the course students will have the chance to implement their new knowledge and skills by proposing a small-scale original research project, carrying out the project and discussing the results in a report.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

(1) propose and evaluate explanations for second language learners’ pragmatic behaviour

(2) identify the strengths and drawbacks of methods for probing learners’ pragmatic performance

(3) analyse and evaluate evidence presented in empirical studies of learner pragmatics

(4) design an instrument to obtain data on a learner’s pragmatic performance

(5) collect and analyse samples of data on learners' performance of common speech acts (e.g. requests)

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- one 5,000-word report on own research project (60%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 4 & 5]

- 1,000 words of written contributions to on-line discussion forum  (20%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2 & 3]

- final written exam (20%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2 & 3]

Ten hours a week, consisting of two hours of seminars + one hour of on-line activity + 6-7 hours of related work.

n/a

Assumes some familiarity with the types of differences that may exist across languages, either obtained through study of a language or through study of linguistics.

All essential material will be provided on the course Wattle site.

Suggested preliminary reading:

1. Cross-cultural pragmatics : requests and apologies. Edited by Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Juliane House, Gabriele Kasper. Published Norwood, N.J : Ablex Pub. Corp, 1989

2. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage (2^nd edition). By Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson, 1987. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Access to internet