Author/s:
Ghavamnia, Maedeh*
University of Isfahan, Iran (ghavamniam@yahoo.com)
Eslami-Rasekh, Abbass
University of Isfahan, Iran (abbasseslamirasekh@yahoo.com)
Vahid Dastjerdi, Hossein
University of Isfahan, Iran (h_vahid@yahoo.com)
Abstract:
Due to the fact that unlike grammatical errors, pragmatic errors may cause communication breakdown, studies in the area of interlanguage pragmatics have placed greater emphasis on the instruction of second/foreign language pragmatics. As thus, the present study investigated the relative effectiveness of four types of input-based instruction on the type of strategies the Iranian learners’ of English used in making suggestions and requests. Over a 16 week course, input delivered through video clips was enhanced through: a) metapragmatic explanation (N=21), b) form-comparison (N=21), c) meaning-focused (N=28), and d) typographically enhanced input at a university in Iran with female undergraduates majoring in English Translation. The four treatment groups were compared with a control group (N=15) on the strategies they used for making suggestions and requests on the pre-tests and post-tests, consisting of two production tasks: leaving a message on an answering machine and sending an email. The qualitative analysis of the utterances produced by the participants indicated that there was a great shift in the strategies the participants used from informal and inappropriate to appropriate strategies. The results are discussed with implications for classroom practices and future research.
Keywords: EFL context; input-based instruction; pragmatic instruction; requests; suggestions; qualitative research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2014.892
*Corresponding Author