Second Language Acquisition- Measuring Second Language Pragm ...

Rod Ellis

• 12 maart 2024
• 9781800417724

Samenvatting:

Extending earlier work on grammar, this book investigates the development of tests measuring second language learners’ implicit and explicit pragmatic abilities in English. It reports detailed analyses of the use of the tests with two groups of learners and in studies investigating study abroad and the effects of instruction.

Taking a psycholinguistic perspective, this book investigates how second language (L2) learners’ pragmatic abilities in English can be measured. It complements and extends earlier work on the testing of implicit and explicit grammar. The authors present a set of tests they developed using both well-established methods of measuring pragmatic knowledge (e.g. a Metapragmatic Knowledge Test and role plays) and more original tests (e.g. an Irony Test and an Elicited Imitation Test). They explain the development of the tests and report the results of their work with native speakers of English and Chinese and Japanese L2 learners. A confirmatory factor analysis lends support to the theoretical basis of the tests. The authors also report studies that explored the use of the tests to investigate L2 linguistic proficiency, study abroad and formal instruction. In concluding, they consider the strengths and limitations of the tests and propose some directions for future research.