PRAGMATICS AND LANGUAGE TEACHING: CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE USAGE OF PRAGMATICS

PRAGMATICS AND LANGUAGE TEACHING: CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE USAGE OF PRAGMATICS

Sofović, Dina

To communicate in English language, English language learner needs to develop different competencies. Communication is the main purpose of learning a second language and pragmatics is one of the key elements a language learner must develop. Pragmatic incompetence in the second language can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. Misunderstanding and miscommunication can have a big impact on native speaker, because he or she will think that the other speaker is impolite or ignorant. Second language teachers often overlook pragmatics and they focus on grammar. As Pohl (2004:6) claims ''Striving for intercultural competence does not mean assimilation into the target culture.'' This is not the goal. The goal is that we need to observe and learn norms of the other culture, how they behave and speak, without changing our personality. Establishing precise linguistic norms, for example making text interesting, personal or purposeful is the goal of pragmatics. The purpose of this paper is to identify different teaching and learning activities that will help learners become fluent and successive communicators. Learners will be active and more involved in the classroom activities, because pragmatics will guide them through good grammatical competence. Learners will react fluently, accurately and coherently. Cultural characteristics are common in every language, and shape the way language is spoken, regarding connotations and denotations of words, phrases. Pragmatics helps learner to become familiar with different pragmatic practices and norms in target language.

Thesis
NonPeerReviewed

2014

2867