The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners’ Proficiency Level and Their Knowledge of Idiosyncratic and Formulaic Implicatures

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Author
A. Derakhshan
/ Assistant Professor- Department of English Language and Literature- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences- Golestan University- Gorgan, Iran
Abstract
Conversational implicature, which is a component of speaker meaning that constitutes an aspect of what is meant in a speaker’s utterance without being part of what is said, is subsumed under interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) which has attracted considerable attention from pragmatics practitioners and theoreticians. Nonetheless, very few studies have explored the correlation between implicature knowledge and the proficiency level; therefore, the present study, conducted at Golestan University among Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and English Literature students, aimed to find out not only whether there would be any statistically significant relationship between 102 (35 males and 76 females) Iranian EFL learners’ proficiency level (High vs. Low) and their implicature knowledge as well as the subcategories of idiosyncratic and formulaic implicatures, but also whether there would exist any significant relationship between male and female EFL learners’ proficiency level (High vs. low) and their implicature knowledge. Moreover, this study investigated to what extent the (sub)categories of idiosyncratic and formulaic implicatures could be predicted by the proficiency level. The results of Pearson correlation indicated that there was a positive significant relationship between proficiency score and both formulaic implicatures and idiosyncratic implicatures. Moreover, among three sub-constructs of formulaic implicatures, Understand Criticism had the highest positive significant correlation and the Pope Q had the lowest correlation with proficiency. In addition, among four sub-constructs of idiosyncratic implicatures, Relevance Disclosure had the highest positive significant correlation and Relevance General had the lowest correlation with proficiency. However, the results of independent-samples t-test indicated that there is no significant difference in the implicature knowledge between male and female students. Results of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that both types of implicatures are predicted positively and significantly by proficiency level. Therefore, one of the implications of the present study for materials developers is to include idiosyncratic and formulaic implicatures in the textbooks to enhance the leaners’ implicature comprehension; teachers can also focus on the significance of interpreting the implied meaning rather than just focusing on linguistic features.

Keywords

Subjects

• Armstrong, S. J. (2007). “Grice's cooperative principle at work in an ESL classroom: A case for teaching implicature”. Journal of Inquiry and Research. 86(8).Pp: 77-95.
• Bouton, L. (1992). “The interpretation of implicature in English by NNS: Does it come automatically without being explicitly taught?”. In L. Bouton & Y. Kachru (Eds.), Pragmatics and language learning monograph series. Vol. 3 (Pp: 66–80). Urbana Champaign, IL: University of Illinois.
• Bouton, L. (1999). “Developing nonnative speaker skills in interpreting conversational implicatures in English”. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning (Pp: 47–70). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Bouton, L. F. (1988). ”A cross-cultural study of ability to interpret implicatures in English". World Englishes. 7(2).Pp: 183–196.
• Bouton, L. F. (1994a). “Can non-native speakers’ skill in interpreting implicature in American English be improved through explicit instruction? A pilot study”. In L. F. Bouton (Ed.), Pragmatics and language learning (Vol. 5.Pp: 88–109). Urbana-Champaign, IL: University of Illinois, Division of English as an International Language.
• Bouton, L. F. (1994b). “Conversational implicature in a second language learned slowly when not deliberately taught”. Journal of Pragmatics. 22(2).Pp: 157–167.
• Cook, M. & A. J. Liddicoat, (2002), “The development of comprehension in interlanguage pragmatics: The case of request strategies in English”. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. 25(1). Pp: 19–39.
• Derakhshan, A. (2014). The effect of consciousness-raising video-driven prompts on the comprehension of implicatures and speech acts (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Allameh Tabataba’i University: Tehran, Iran.
• Garcia, P. (2004). “Developmental differences in speech act recognition: A pragmatic awareness study”. Language Awareness. 13(1). Pp. 96–115.
• Grice, H. P. (1975). “Logic and conversation”. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and semantics, Vol. 3 (Pp: 31–58). New York, NY: Academic Press.
• Kecskes, I. (2014). Intercultural Pragmatics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Köylü, Y. (2018). “Comprehension of conversational implicatures in L2 English”. Intercultural Pragmatics. 15(3).Pp:373-408.
• Lee, J. S. (2002). “Interpreting conversational implicatures: A study of Korean learners of English”. The Korea TESOL Journal. 5(1).Pp: 1-26.
• LoCastro, V. (2003). An Introduction to Pragmatics: Social Action for Language Teachers. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
• Roever, C.; S. Wang & S. Brophy, (2014), “Learner background factors and learning of second language pragmatics”. International Review of Applied Linguistics. 5(4). Pp: 377-401.
• Shively, R.; M. Menke & S. Manzón-Omundson, (2008), “Perception of irony by L2 learners of Spanish”. Issues in Applied Linguistics. 16(1).Pp: 101–132.
• Sperber, D. & D. Wilson, (1995), Relevance: Communication and Cognition (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Taguchi, N. & , C. Roever, (2017), Second Language Pragmatics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Taguchi, N. & S. Yamaguchi, (2019), “Implicature comprehension in L2 pragmatics research”. In Taguchi, N. (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Pragmatics (Pp: 31-46). New York/London: Routledge.
• Taguchi, N. (2002). “An application of Relevance Theory to the analysis of L2 interpretation processes: The comprehension of indirect replies”. International Review of Applied Linguistics. 40(2).Pp: 151-176.
• Taguchi, N. (2005). “Comprehending implied meaning in English as a foreign language”. Modern Language Journal. 89(4).Pp: 543 - 562.
• Taguchi, N. (2009). “Comprehension of indirect opinions and refusals in L2 Japanese”. In N. Taguchi, (Ed.), Pragmatic competence (Pp: 249–274). New York, NY: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Taguchi, N. (2011). “The effect of L2 proficiency and study-abroad experience in pragmatic comprehension”. Language Learning. 61(3).Pp: 904-939.
• Taguchi, N. (2015). “Instructed pragmatics at a glance: Where instructional studies were, are, and should be going. State-of-the-art article”. Language Teaching. 48(1).Pp: 1–50.
• Taguchi, N. (2018). Advanced pragmatic competence. In P. A. Malovrh & A. Benati (Eds.), The handbook of advanced proficiency in second language acquisition (Pp: 505–526). Wiley-Blackwell.
• Taguchi, N. (Ed.). (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Pragmatics. New York/London: Routledge.
• Taguchi, N.; S. Li & Y. Liu (2013). “Comprehension of conversational implicature in L2 Chinese”. Pragmatics and Cognition. 21(1).Pp: 139–157.
• Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics. London: Longman.
• Watts, R. J. (2003). Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Yamanaka, J. (2003). “Effects of proficiency and length of residence on the pragmatic comprehension of Japanese ESL Learners”. Second Language Studies. 22(1). Pp: 107–175.
Language Related Research
Volume 10, Issue 5 - Serial Number 53
November and December 2019
Pages 1-27