Ontario-Canadian Perspectives of Pragmatic Competence

1. Ontario-Canadian Perspectives of Pragmatic Competence Amanda Careena Fernandes

2. Pragmatic Competence

3. Research Questions The purpose of this study is to examine current Ontario-Canadian teachers’ perceptions of the use and assessment of pragmatic competence instruction • Do French as a Second Language teachers impart importance to the use of pragmatic competence instruction? • What are French as a Second Language teachers' current opinions about the use of pragmatic instruction in the French as a Second Language classroom? • Which assessment strategies do French as a Second Language teachers believe best assess the impact of pragmatic competence instruction on students' understanding of a non-native language?

4. Study Framework • Realist ethnographic qualitative approach • Based on the interpretative framework of social constructivism • Utilized interviews • Data were gathered for this study through the completion of interviews with three Ontario-Canadian French as a Second Language teachers

5. Data Analyses

6. 1st Cycle Analysis

7. 2nd Cycle

8. 3rd Cycle

9. 4th Cycle

10. Research Question 1. Do French as a Second Language teachers impart importance to the use of pragmatic competence instruction? • Participants believe pragmatic competence is important • There is a lack of knowledge as to what pragmatic competence truly is • This general lack of understanding may impact the participants' opinions about its importance

11. Research Question 2. What are French as a Second Language teachers' current opinions about the use of pragmatic instruction in the FSL classroom? • It is seen as being challenging to teach and assess • Teachers are not being truly comfortable or aware of the use and importance of pragmatic competence instruction • Pragmatic competence instruction is seen as being difficult and a challenge • Participants identified that it concerns "real-life" situations which are spontaneous

12. Research Question 3. Which assessment strategies do French as a Second Language teachers believe best assess the impact of pragmatic competence instruction on students' understanding of a non-native language? • Pragmatic competence assessment should be authentic in that it is spontaneous and in situ • It is identified as being a highly social aspect of language • There is a lack of knowledge concerning how to best assess pragmatic competence

13. Conclusions • Pragmatic competence instruction is important to second-language learning and teaching. • Participants currently do not truly understand what pragmatic competence instruction is and how it can be practiced or assessed. • Participants all agree that pragmatic competence is a highly social aspect of language learning. • It is best taught and assessed through social interactions that aim to be "real-life" and authentic in nature.

14. References Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Huang, J., Sheeran, T., Zhao, B., & Xiong, Y. (2013). Faculty perceptions of assessing Chinese college students' pragmatic competence: The hidden face of communication. Language and Communication Quarterly, 2(1), 1-21. Ishihara, N. (2010). Instructional pragmatics: Bridging teaching, research, and teacher education. Language and Linguistics Compass, 4(10), 938-953. Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Saldaña, J. (2012). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.