Teaching GR/L2 Learners to Disagree: Pragmatic Competence and Behavior

Abstract

The lack of sources and data from classroom-based research in the teaching of speech acts is particularly problematic in the field of Instructional Pragmatics (Ishihara, 2010; Kasper, 2001; Tateyama, 2019). In a similar vein, an equivalent research gap has been observed in Greek as a second language (GR/L2). In an attempt to address these shortcomings, the current study aims to contribute to the field by providing interlanguage data of the speech act of disagreement in GR/L2, as a result of an explicit instructional intervention (Kasper, 2001). More precisely, the study discusses the structured teaching conditions which were applied in the classroom with the aim to teach the speech act of disagreement to GR/L2 adult learners. It presents the pragmalinguistic patterns of the learners, assesses the appropriateness of their choices and discusses the sociopragmatic practices adopted by them. The pedagogical value of this study lies, in general terms, in examining the benefit of explicit instruction on learners’ pragmatic development and providing interlanguage data of a scarcely explored speech act in GR/L2. Therefore, it aspires to bridge the field of research with the realm of teaching by providing new interlanguage research findings and consequent pedagogical implications.