Developing sociopragmatic capacity in a second language through concept-based instruction
Open Access
- Author:
- Van Compernolle, Remi Adam
- Graduate Program:
- Applied Linguistics
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 20, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Celeste S Kinginger, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
James Lantolf, Committee Member
Joan Kelly Hall, Committee Member
Heather Mccoy, Committee Member - Keywords:
- second language pedagogy
pragmatics
sociopragmatics
sociocultural theory
concept-based instruction
French - Abstract:
- This thesis reports on a study that sought to support intermediate-level US university learners of French (N = 8) in developing advanced second language (L2) sociopragmatic capacity through concept-based instruction. Although a number of studies have explored the teaching of pragmatics, such research typically focuses on speech act realizations in relation to social conventions of appropriateness. Sociopragmatic information, if provided to learners, is limited to such factors as the formality of context and the relative age and/or status of one’s interlocutor. In the present study, an alternative approach—concept-based instruction—is proposed in order to focus on the underlying sociopragmatic meanings instantiated by linguistic resources. Concept-based instruction derives from Vygotsky’s claim that the goal of formal education should be to lead students to internalize scientific concepts in order to promote abstract thinking, and then to link scientific knowledge to practical activity. Drawing on the work initiated by Galperin and Davydov, and extended to the L2 field by Negueruela and others, the study focused on promoting the internalization of sociopragmatic concepts (e.g., indexicality, social distance, power hierarchies) that were linked to specific communicative practices (e.g., second-person address forms). Through the analysis of verbalization tasks, appropriateness judgment questionnaires, and spoken strategic interaction scenarios, the study documents (1) the development of concept-based sociopragmatic knowledge; (2) the development of spoken performance abilities; and (3) the relationship between sociopragmatic knowledge and performance abilities. The results show gains in sociopragmatic knowledge and spoken performance abilities. It is also argued that the learners’ sociopragmatic knowledge provided a systematic orienting basis for choosing the pragmatic forms that fit their communicative needs. In addition, the analysis highlights the role of cooperative interaction between a tutor and the learners in mediating concept development and gains in control in spoken performance.