L2 Pragmatic Development in Study Abroad Contexts

Wei Ren

• 12 mei 2015
• 9783034313582

Samenvatting:

The book explores both productive and receptive pragmatic competences of Chinese learners of English at a study abroad and an at home contexts over one year, to shed light on their pragmatic development. Additionally, it longitudinally investigates the cognitive processes of advanced L2 learners engaged in pragmatics during their study abroad.



Pragmatic competence plays a key role in intercultural communication, particularly for students studying in a target community. This book investigates the effect of study abroad on second language learners’ productive and receptive pragmatic competences, as well as their cognitive processes during speech act production. It employs a variety of research instruments, both quantitative and qualitative, to explore learners’ pragmatic development over one year. The inclusion of a control group is a methodological strength of the longitudinal study, many such studies often not including a control group. In addition, the study longitudinally examines learners’ cognitive processes during study abroad with innovative and insightful analyses. The book makes an important contribution to second language pragmatics with regard to developmental changes in both speech act production and perception during such processes.