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TEACHING PRAGMATIC SPEECH ACTS TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE
Xolmatova Nozimaxon Iqbol qizi
English language teacher, Fergana Academic Lyceum of Ministry of Internal of
Affairs, Republic of Uzbekistan
Abstract: Teaching pragmatic speech acts for students is important in teaching a foreign language. In order to teach students pragmatic knowledge teachers should be creative and use a number of methods as some textbooks are not focused on pragmatic units of the language. In this article, I recommend some useful methods that teachers can use for teaching pragmatic units of English.
Key words: pragmatics, pragmatic speech acts, explicit instruction, awareness-raising methods, authentic materials, role play, discourse analysis task (DST) and feedback.
Teaching pragmatic speech acts to secondary school students learning English as a second language requires engaging and culturally sensitive methods. Pragmatic speech acts, such as requests, refusals, and apologies, are crucial for effective communication in a second language (L2). For secondary school students learning English as their L2, understanding and using these speech acts appropriately can significantly enhance their communicative competence. This synthesis explores various methods and findings related to teaching pragmatic speech acts to secondary school students using English as their L2.
According to Aisha Siddiqa (2021) pragmatic instruction is often not prioritized in textbooks and classroom interactions, leading to limited opportunities for students to develop pragmatic competence in L2. So that teachers should be able to create handouts and materials for teaching speech acts for their learners.
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Firstly, Teacher should use Explicit Instruction and Awareness-Raising methods and introduce the concept of speech acts and how they function in communication.
Following speech acts should be taught.
Requests: Teach different ways to make requests, from direct (e.g., "Give me the book") to indirect (e.g., "Could you possibly pass me the book?"). Explain how factors like politeness, formality, and power dynamics influence the choice of request strategy.
Apologies: Teach various ways to apologize, from simple (e.g., "Sorry") to more elaborate (e.g., "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that"). Discuss the importance of sincerity and taking responsibility for one's actions.
Refusals: Equip students with strategies for refusing invitations or requests politely and effectively. Role-play different refusal scenarios, focusing on how to soften the refusal and offer alternatives.
Compliments: Teach students how to give and receive compliments appropriately. Discuss cultural differences in complimenting behavior and the potential for misinterpretations.
Introduce the concept of speech acts and how they function in communication. Explain that the same speech act can be performed in different ways depending on the context and relationship between speakers.
Secondly, teachers should highlight cultural differences with students. Discuss how speech acts are performed differently across cultures. Compare and contrast how requests, apologies, or compliments are expressed in English and the students' native languages. For instance, teachers should ask students how to request in uzbek language in their family. Students give their examples and teacher gives examples in English and they compare the differences between two language samples. In that
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case, students can understand the degree of politeness, directness and other social norms.
Thirdly, using authentic examples from movies, TV shows or real-life conversations to illustrate how speech acts are used in context is also effective. Tsui-Ping Cheng (2016) claimed that utilizing audiovisual depictions of authentic L2 interactions can enhance students' pragmatic awareness. These materials help students understand contextual factors, compare different pragmatic practices, and make informed decisions about their speech act choices.
The difficulty of producing oral speech acts in L2 varies depending on contextual variables such as power, social distance, and imposition. Understanding these variables can help to tailor instruction to address specific challenges faced by learners. So that teachers should create activities for urging students to correctly use speech acts by taking into account power, social distance, and imposition. For instance, teacher should engage students in role-playing activities where they practice performing different speech acts in various scenarios. This allows them to experiment with different levels of formality and directness. Designing activities in which based on specific pragmatic features effectively develop students' pragmatic competence. For instance, I personally create role play and discourse completion task (DCT) for teaching pragmatic aspects of language.
Role play for teaching requests:
1. You are in the train station in Fergana Margilan. You should ask the officer when does the train to Tashkent leave?
2. You are in the airport in Tashkent. Your telephone battery died. You should ask somebody the time.
3. You are in the underground train station in Tashkent. You are in Gafur Gulom station. You don't know how to get Hamid Olimjon station.
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4. You are in the bus station. You are very thirsty. You don't have any water. You should ask somebody where water is sold.
In order to do the above mentioned task students should divided into four groups and create role plays according to given situation.
In addition, providing students with dialogues or scenarios and asking them to identify the speech acts being performed are also useful methods. Having them rewrite dialogues helps to make them more pragmatically appropriate.
Moreover, integrating pragmatics with other language skills is also important and teachers should encourage students to identify the speech acts with reading and listening tasks. Also, having students write dialogues, emails or other texts that require the use of specific speech acts is essential to develop pragmatic competence of the learners.
Furthermore, offering specific feedback on students' performance of speech acts and focusing on both linguistic accuracy and pragmatic appropriateness are helpful for students using correctly speech acts. Additionally, teachers should encourage students to reflect on their own pragmatic development and identify areas for improvement. Peer-feedback plays also significant role for improving pragmatic competence. Teachers should have students provide feedback to each other on their performance of speech acts in role-plays or other activities.
In conclusion, by using a combination of explicit instruction, interactive activities, and culturally sensitive approaches, teachers can effectively teach pragmatic speech acts to secondary ESL students and empower them to communicate confidently and appropriately in English. I personally integrate above mentioned teaching methods in my classes.
References:
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1.Aisha Siddiqa and Shona Whyte (2021).Classroom learning of English L2 requests: Input and interactional opportunities in French secondary schools.Teaching Research
2. Tsui-Ping Cheng. (2016). Authentic L2 interactions as material for a pragmatic awareness-raising activity. Language Awareness
