The Importance of Developing Cross-cultural Pragmatic Competence

本文着重分析了跨文化交际的重要性,指出了文化背景知识在交际中的重要作用,从而提出了在外语教学中不仅应注意提高学生准确掌握语言的能力,还应把提高学生的跨文化语用能力放到一个重要位置。

Pragmatic Failure in Sino-western Cross-cultural Communication and Implications for Improving Chinese EFL Learners' Communication Competence

Due to the social and cultural differences,people from different countries would always encounter pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication,which may lead to the breakdown of communication.In light of Thomas'(1983) classification of pragmatic failure,this article firstly analyzes the types of pragmatic failure in Sinowestern cross-cultural communication and their underlying factors.Then,the article tries to explore the strategies for avoiding such pragmatic failures and improving Chinese EFL(English as a Foreign Language) learners' communication competence from the perspective of English instruction.In Sino-western cross-cultural communication,there are mainly two types of pragmatic failure:pragmalinguistic failure and socio-pragmatic failure.Cultural difference and negative transfer of the mother language are the major factors for pragmatic failure.In English teaching,teachers should arouse students' cross-cultural awareness,effectively combine cultural instruction with language teaching,carry out extra-curricular cross-cultural communication activities,and develop students' good habit of leaning English.

A Cognitive Study on Politeness Intention Processing and Its Association with Pragmatic Failure in Cross-Cultural Communication

Although a large number of studies have focused on various aspects of politeness,very little is known about how politeness intention is activated cognitively during verbal communication.The present study aims to explore the cognitive mechanism of politeness intention processing,and how it is related to pragmatic failure during cross-cultural communication.Using 30 Chinese EFL university students who were instructed to finish a probe word judgment task with 96 virtual scenarios,the results indicate that within both mono-and cross-cultural contexts,the response time in the experimental scenarios was significantly slower than that of the filler scenarios.This suggests that politeness intention was activated while understanding the surface meaning of the conversation;however,the EFL learners could not completely avoid the negative transfer of their native politeness conventions when they were comprehending the conversational intention of the target language.Furthermore,no significant differences in response time were found between the groups with high and low English pragmatic competence,illustrating that transferring the pragmatic rules and principles into cross-cultural communication skills was more cognitively demanding.Overall,this study adds to the literature on politeness research and provides some implications for foreign language pragmatic instructions.

A Comparative Study of the L2 Pragmatic Competence of University Students in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland:The Contributions of Sociocultural Context and Linguistic Proficiency

This study investigates the differences in pragmatic competence between Hong Kong and Chinese mainland university students.Participants included 19 native speakers of English,115 Chinese mainland students,divided into those who had spent time abroad in an English-speaking country(CM A)and those who had not(CM NA),and 97 Hong Kong students,divided into those from an English-medium secondary school(Hong Kong EMI)and those from a Chinese-medium school(Hong Kong CMI).Linguistic proficiency was measured by a C-test,and pragmatic competence by a Metapragmatic Knowledge Test,an Irony Test and a Monologic Role Play.Group scores were compared using ANCOVAs to control for differences in proficiency.The results point to a continuum of pragmatic competence—EMI>CMI>CM A>CM NA—reflecting the groups’access to English in real-life contexts.The differences between the Hong Kong groups and the Chinese mainland groups were clearest in those tests measuring processing capacity(i.e.,Irony Response Time and the Monologic Role Play).CM A,but not CM NA,performed as well as the Hong Kong groups on measures of metapragmatic awareness.The results are discussed in terms of Bialystok’s(1993)distinction between analyzed representation and control of processing.

Taking Stock of Grammar-Translation Teaching Method in Developing Intercultural Pragmatic Competence

Grammar-translation teaching method(GTTM as a shorthand below) has long been a buzzword when it is adopted in the class of English as a foreign language.It has been universally acknowledged that such teaching method contradicts the development of communicative language competence advocated in recent decades.However,I positively argue that GTTM in English class,as a comparative and intercultural model,should be given a due reconsideration to improve L2 learners' pragmatic competence.

Application of cross-cultural cognitive pragmatic analysis to translation education

Translation is cross-cultural activity existing between two different language signs. In the process of translating, translators can not get out of the influence of cultural elements. From the angle of cross-cultural pragmatic contrasting, the author makes analysis of the problems of difference existing between the volume of information borne or transmitted between two different language signs in the process of translating under the influence of cultural elements, and points out that to study these problems, translators must consider a series of problems about cross-cultural cognitive context. This article also makes cross-cultural pragmatic contrastive analysis in world view difference, register difference, imaginative difference and metaphor difference. The author introduces the method of cross-cultural pragmatic contrastive analysis and suggests taking a series of measures to improve translation education.

Investigating L2 Request Strategies: A Case Study of Chinese English teachers' L2 Pragmatic Competence

Empirical descriptions of how the teacher performs requests in English can make them realize the importance of improving pragmatic competence, so that they could help students develop more native-like pragmatic behaviors and enhance cultural competence. This case study is to explore the pragmatic competence of a Chinese EFL teacher by investigating the patterns of realization strategies and the ways of reacting to the different social and contextual variables in her requests. It was found out that the teacher investigated in the study had good pragmatic awareness and pragmatic competence to produce the speech act of requests and develop students' pragmatic competence, but more explicit instructions should be provided to help students develop more native-like speech acts by providing more explicit instructions.

Cross-cultural Communicative Competence Training in Maritime Spoken English Teaching

As a means of communication,English has been internationalized.Communication in English always happens among the seafarers from different cultures.If crews couldn’t deal with the cultural differences well,successful communication and shipboard safety,which are just what STCW (Standards on Training,Certificate and Watch -keeping) calls upon,are difficult to be arrived at. Therefore cross -cultural communicative competence training,or how to teach maritime spoken English is the problem or the challenge that we,English teachers,are facing.To show how the teaching can be made more efficient and practical so as to narrow the gap between the training of the seaman in China and the requirements of STCW,through the teaching process,including the syllabus design and the materials selecting,we must consider the notion of language function as the key point.

Cross-cultural pragmatics: compliments and compliment responses in English and Chinese

Language and culture are distinctly interdependent;one reflects the other.In cross-cultural communications,it is critical for language users to use and understand the language appropriately in a certain socio-cultural context.This paper aims to compare the similarities and differences of compliments and compliment responses in English and Chinese from the cross-cultural pragmatic perspective.The implications for teaching are also discussed so as to bridge the gap caused by cultural differences and minimize the occurrence of potential cross-cultural pragmatic failures.

A Research on the Improvement of Pragmatic Competence in College English Teaching

A core issue in foreign language teaching is to foster actual competence of language learners to practically utilize language, which is called pragmatic competence. But compared with traditional linguistic competence, the levels of their pragmatic competence need to be further understood. Thus it is essential to make an investigation into this. From the investigation results it is expected to reveal from which aspects teachers and students should carry on in order to improve pragmatic competence and meet foreign language learning need in new age.

A Review of Research on Development of Interlanguage Pragmatic Competence from a Cognitive Perspective

English language learners' pragmatic competence is related to their success incross-cultural communication. Cognitive approaches, mainly the Noticing Hypothesis and Analysis/Control Model, have provided some insights into the question of how to effectively develop second language(L2) learners' pragmatic competence. Empirical studies based on cognitive theoretical constructs suggest that pragmatic activitiesthat draw learners' attention and help them control attention to relevant and appropriate information and integrate those forms in real time of communication contribute to the development of interlanguage pragmatic competence.

Online International Peer Interaction:An Exploration of Impacts on Comprehensive Competencies,Global Perspectives,and Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

With the increasing trend of globalization and the rapid advancement of information technology,online learning platforms such as Zoom are becoming increasingly influential in the field of education.The focus of this study was the online international peer interaction based on the Zoom platform,detailing how such interaction programs are conducted and exploring in depth the specific impacts of this interaction mode on students’comprehensive competencies,global perspectives,and cross-cultural communication skills.This research not only provides new practical references for online learning and international education but also offers new research perspectives and directions for educators and researchers.

Motor competence and health-related fitness in children:A cross-cultural comparison between Portugal and the United States

Background: Motor competence and health-related fitness are important components for the development and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle in children. This study examined cross-cultural performances on motor competence and health-related fitness between Portuguese and U.S.children.Methods: Portuguese(n = 508; 10.14 § 2.13 years, mean § SD) and U.S.(n = 710; 9.48 § 1.62 years) children performed tests of cardiorespiratory fitness(Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run), upper body strength(handgrip), locomotor skill performance(standing long jump), and object projection skill performance(throwing and kicking). Portuguese and U.S. children were divided into 2 age groups(6à9 and 10à13 years) for data analysis purposes. A twoàfactor oneàway analysis of covariance(ANOVA) was conducted with the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run, handgrip, standing long jump scores, kicking, and throwing speed(km/h) as dependent variables.Results: Results indicated that Portuguese children, irrespective of sex, presented better performances in locomotor and cardiorespiratory performance(standing long jump and Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) than U.S. children in both age bands. U.S. children outperformed Portuguese children during throwing and handgrip tests. Kicking tests presented gender differences: Portuguese boys and U.S. girls outperformed their internationally matched counterparts.Conclusion: Cultural differences in physical education curricula and sports participation may impact differences in motor competence and fitness development in these countries.

A study on pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication

Through analyzing and comparing the anecdotes of pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication from the aspects of lexicon, syntax and discourse, some pragmatic strategies are suggested in intercultural communication. To improve learners＇ cultural awareness and communicative competence, a cultural-linguistic approach in foreign language teaching should be adopted.

Chinese EFL Teachers' Pragmatic Competence in China

The focus of this study is to outline the survey results carried out on the pragmatic competence of the High School Chinese EFL Teachers in China. The research participants in this study comprised of 40 teachers. The tools used to carry out the research included: a) a questionnaire made up of two parts: the background information of the respondents, and the Multiple Choice Discourse Completion Test(MDCT).b) the retrospective interview questions. The main purpose of the MDCT is to examine the level of pragmatic competence of the teachers by analyzing their practical shortcomings. On analyzing the results on the data collected from the teachers, the extent of the Chinese EFL teacher's pragmatic competence was observed. Analysis of the answers obtained from the teachers also implied how the High School EFL teachers can help in developing the level of the student's pragmatic competence. The analysis of the results showed the various responses to the questionnaire questions based on the items of the speeches showing the different points of weakness that need to be improved.

Developing Pragmatic Competence in Chinese EFL Classroom

This paper aims at investigating effective classroom-based instructive methods that facilitate the development of pragmatic competence of the intermediate-level adult English learners in China,who have gained relatively high grammatical competence but low pragmatic competence.The paper starts with the importance and components of pragmatic competence.It then examines what should be taught to help develop learners' pragmatic competence.The paper focuses on some explicit instructive methods adopted by the author in her conversational English class that may raise learners' awareness of pragmatic knowledge and enhance learners' practice of pragmatic abilities:1) Encouragement of learners' observation of pragmatic phenomena by English speakers from authentic audio-visual materials;2) Discussion of linguistic variations for each speech act and strategies of carrying out certain speech acts according to contextual cues;3) Role-play tasks engaging students in different speech events and communicative actions.The effectiveness of these methods is shown by test results after at the end of the course.

Developing Pragmatic Competence in EFL Speaking Classes： From Theory to Practice

Fostering students＇ pragmatic competence in ESL/EFL classrooms has been the subject of a large number of studies over the last several decades. This paper will examine the importance of pragmatic competence in L2 spoken communication and investigate factors leading to pragmatic failures. It will also discuss possible ways to help foster students＇ pragmatic competence in EFL speaking classes.

On Teaching L2 Learners’ Pragmatic Competence

On the basis of the explanation of the notion of pragmatic competence and review of its previous teaching, this paper con-cludes that instructions can improve L2 learners’ pragmatic competence.

A Study on Pragmatic Competence in Using Apologies by Medical College Students

Apology becomes the focus in the field of pragmatics.As future caregivers,learning how to use English apologetic expressions is essential for the medical college students,especially in the present day of globalization.This thesis is an effort to analyze a full and accurate data on a test about the use of“I’m sorry”and“Excuse me”and a questionnaire survey about learning of“I’m sorry”and“Excuse me”,aiming at investigating the similarities and differences in using“I’m sorry”and“Excuse me”among Chinese medical college students.

A Study of Pragmatic Failures in Cross-Cultural Communication

This paper focuses on pragmatic failures in cross-cultural communication and explores the difficult meanings in cross-cultural pragmatics. Through exploring the differences in address, greeting, politeness and other cross-cultural aspects, the author explains the cross-cultural basis for pragmatics. The author first explains certain concepts, including culture, pragmatics, pragmatic failures and cross-cultural communication, and then illustrates some pragmatic failures in cross-cultural communication and discusses the causes of these failures. Finally, she gives some suggestions on improving competence in cross-cultural communication. This thesis is intended to remind English learners of the importance of learning cultures of English-speaking countries and facilitate cross-cultural communication.