Using Computer-Mediated Communication and Virtual Instruction to Develop L2 Pragmatic Ability: The Speech Act of Making Suggestions

Introduction

A myriad of previous studies have shown that many foreign/second language (L2) curricula are often grammar-oriented (Bardovi-Harlig, 2001; Ren & Han, 2016; Zhang, 2020, 2021). However, learning an L2 is not just about grammatical rules and vocabulary. We also need to consider the pragmatic dimension of languages.

Pragmatics can be defined as “the study of language from the point of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in social interaction, and the effects their use of language has on other participants in the act of communication” (Crystal, 1997, p. 301). Thus, in addition to learning/teaching grammar and vocabulary, L2 acquisition involves an ability to use the target language in socially proper manners by taking into consideration factors such as politeness, the social distance between interlocutors, and status (Taguchi & Rover, 2017). This is referred to as pragmatic ability, which is one of the main components in Bachman and Palmer’s (1996, 2010) model of communicative competence. Specifically, pragmatic ability is composed of two types of knowledge: pragmalinguistic knowledge (i.e., knowledge with respect to linguistic forms to perform communicative acts) and sociopragmatic knowledge (i.e., knowledge pertaining to cultural norms and contextual factors such as status and social distance) (Leech, 1983).

This chapter focuses on both pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic knowledge and aims to help English as a foreign language (EFL) learners increase their awareness of the pragmatic aspect of the English language and conduct effective cross-cultural exchange without inducing unnecessary miscommunication (Zhang, 2021).

Another focus of this chapter is technology. Nowadays, technology plays an indispensable role in the field of L2 acquisition (Gass et al., 2020). This has been especially true since March 2020, when the World Health Organization categorized COVID-19 as a pandemic (UNESCO, 2020). Most schools and universities across the globe have experienced a technological and educational transformation and pivoted to emergency remote teaching (ERT), which presented challenges for teachers including EFL instructors because prior to the pandemic, technology had primarily played a subordinate role in teaching rather than a prominent role (Gao & Zhang, 2020). Since 2020, EFL teachers have sought ways to adopt ERT and incorporate technology into their everyday teaching (Can & Silman-Karanfil, 2022).

In technology-oriented research, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has garnered an increasing amount of attention and interest in recent years (Gonzalez-Lloret, 2019; Zhang, 2021). The foci of most former research projects are on how CMC influences grammar and vocabulary learning (Plonsky & Ziegler, 2016). Few studies have examined technology-facilitated L2 pragmatics. And even fewer studies have explored the effects of CMC and instruction on EFL learners’ pragmatic ability. This chapter intends to fill the gap in the existing literature and investigates how CMC and virtual instruction (i.e., instruction conducted via electronic devices) can influence EFL learners’ pragmatic ability.