Learning pragmatics in the English learning process - Article (Rosmery Barrios)

 

Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on studying how context influences the interpretation of the meaning of a message.

Pragmatics is the way we convey the meaning through the communication. The meaning includes verbal and non verbal elements and it varies according to the context, to the relationship between utterers, also to many other social factors.Its dynamic growth makes English an international language that connects people all around the world. As a consequence, English can be regarded as the common focus of all English speakers who do not share a language or a culture. As a matter of fact, English is spoken in different settings and levels of intercommunication. As a result, speakers must know many pragmatic elements in order to avoid inaccuracies and misunderstandings during communication. Such a great usage of English language requires a pragmatic competence which will help all those who speak or learn English as a second language. 

It is important that we know the culture of the country because it can cause problems when communicating with native speakers of the language, we always have to keep in mind that each country and culture has different ways of expressing and communicating. 

There are a lot of techniques; but is good to know the development of pragmatic competence depends on general communicative knowledge and interactional opportunities to:

1. Practise the target language, allowing learners to demonstrate their skills 

2. Receive constructive feedback

3. Observe linguistic input.

4. Teachers should use activities such as role- play, simulation and drama which can provide cultural awareness to students and to make students familiar in the target language situations or contexts (Kasper, 1997; Jung, 2002; EslamiRasekh, 2005). 

5. Teachers should encourage their students to understand their own culture first in order to be able to communicate with people from different cultures (Chen, 1990, cited in Lin, 2008). 

Examples: 

1. If a Spanish speaker asks his interlocutor:

"¿Vendrás a mi fiesta mañana?", he is actually using this question by way of an invitation. He is saying, "Come to my party tomorrow."

If the interlocutor is not a native speaker, he/she may stick to the literal meaning of the question (asking for information), thus producing a misunderstanding.

2. Also in the Hispanic culture, when faced with a compliment such as "I love your jacket", the recipient of the compliment tends to downplay its importance with answers such as "it cost me very little" or "it's very old".

The response of an Anglo-Saxon, in whose culture compliments are thanked only with a "thank you", could be rude.

3. When a Hispanic/Latino greets an American, Canadian or European person, it is usually in a very affectionate and friendly manner, as many of us do when we give a kiss on the cheek or a hug. But this gesture is a bit over the top for the foreigner, who may feel a bit uncomfortable, attacked, etc. For this type of situation it is important to know the culture, manners and behaviors of the native speakers of the language. 

Check out the link to this video for more information about pragmatics: https://youtu.be/rVP-TWE-Ikg