PRAGMATICS IN LANGUAGE

TEACHING

This innovative book links theory to practice with regard to teaching

pragmatics. In laying out why this is useful, how it is achievable, and what
to teach when it comes to pragmatics, this book outlines the theoretical
background and offers a wide range of hands-on activities. While offering
coverage of timely issues like pragmatics in text messaging, the authors
expertly provide further guidance for developing pragmatics curricula for
learners of different ages and languages, and at different proficiency levels
in a research-based, practical way. This reader-friendly resource gives pre-
and in-service FL/L2 teachers the tools and confidence to understand
and implement these principles in the classroom and beyond. Advanced
students and researchers of applied linguistics, education, and psychology,
as well as curriculum developers, teacher trainers, and aspiring teachers
around the world – and their students – will benefit from this unique
book.

Júlia Barón is Serra Hunter Fellow of Modern Languages & Literatures

and English Studies at the University of Barcelona, Spain.

María Luz Celaya is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) of Modern

Languages & Literatures and English Studies at the University of
Barcelona, Spain.

Peter Watkins is Principal Lecturer of English Language and Linguistics at

the University of Portsmouth, UK, and has been an ELT teacher, teacher
trainer, speaker, consultant, and materials developer in many countries for
over 20 years.
Research and Resources in Language Teaching
Series Editors: Anne Burns, University of New South Wales, Australia and Jill Hadfield,
Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand

Research and Resources in Language Teaching is a groundbreaking

series that aims to integrate the latest research in language teaching and
learning with innovative classroom practice. Books in the series offer
accessible accounts of current research on a particular topic, linked to a
wide range of practical and immediately usable classroom activities.
Extensive Reading
The Role of Motivation
Sue Leather and Jez Uden
Digital Literacies 2e
Mark Pegrum, Nicky Hockly, and Gavin Dudeney
Sustaining Action Research
A Practical Guide for Institutional Engagement
Anne Burns, Emily Edwards and Neville John Ellis
Initial Language Teacher Education
Gabriel Diaz Maggioli
Critical Thinking
Gregory Hadley and Andrew Boon
Becoming a Reading Teacher
Connecting Research and Practice
Jane Spiro and Amos Paran
Pragmatics in Language Teaching
From Research to Practice
Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya, and Peter Watkins

For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/

Research-and-Resources-in-Language-Teaching/book-series/PEARRLT
PRAGMATICS IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING
From Research to Practice

Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya,

and Peter Watkins
Designed cover image: © Getty Images | scyther5
First published 2024
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2024 Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya, and Peter Watkins
The right of Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya, and Peter Watkins to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right on the
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line at the bottom of the page. No other parts of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-01821-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-01820-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-18021-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003180210
Typeset in Galliard
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
CONTENTS

Series Editors’ Preface viii

Acknowledgements x

PART I
From research to implications 1
Introduction 1
Section 1. An introduction to pragmatics 2
Defining pragmatics 2
A brief historical overview 4
Culture, society, and context 5
(Im)politeness 7
Identifying pragmatics in speech 8
Excerpt transcript 9
Summary 10
Section 2. Pragmatics in second language learning and teaching 10
Acquiring L2 pragmatics 10
Research on requests: Types and mitigation strategies 11
Research on requests: General findings 12
Research on requests: Two examples 13


vi Contents

Some reflections on research 14

Teaching L2 pragmatics 17
A research overview 17
Two examples 18
Approaches to teaching L2 pragmatics 19
Summary 20

PART II
From implications to application 21
Introduction 21
Section A. Raising pragmatic awareness 25
Section B. Using rich pragmatic input 42
Section C. Eliciting pragmatic output and enhancing interaction 56
Section D. Pragmatics and social media 69
Section E. Pragmatics in the world 79

PART III
From application to implementation 89
Introduction 89
Choosing what and how to teach 89
Assessing pragmatics: How and why 95
Assessing students’ pragmatic awareness and perceptions 95
Assessing students’ pragmatic performance 98
Assessing students’ oral and written production 100
Implementing pragmatics into the classroom and curriculum 101
Summary 105
Further reading 105

PART IV
From implementation to research 106
Introduction 106
From research to practice, and from practice to research:
Building a cycle 107
 Contents vii

Linking theory and practice 107

Designing a study 108
Collecting the data 109
Analysing the data 111
Topics to be investigated 113
Concluding remarks 114

Glossary 117
References 119
Index 122
SERIES EDITORS’ PREFACE

About the series

Research and Resources in Language Teaching is a ground-breaking series
whose aim is to integrate the latest research in language teaching and learn-
ing with innovative classroom practice. The books are written by a part-
nership of writers, who combine research and materials writing skills and
experience. Books in the series offer accessible accounts of current research
on a particular topic, linked to a wide range of practical and immediately
useable classroom activities. Using the series, language educators will be
able both to connect research findings directly to their everyday practice
through imaginative and practical communicative tasks and to realise the
research potential of such tasks in the classroom. We believe the series
represents a new departure in language education publishing, bringing
together the twin perspectives of research and materials writing, illustrat-
ing how research and practice can be combined to provide practical and
useable activities for classroom teachers and at the same time encouraging
researchers to draw on a body of activities that can guide further research.

About the books

All the books in the series follow the same organisational principle:
Part I: From research to implications
Part I contains an account of current research on the topic in question and
outlines its implications for classroom practice.
Part II: From implications to application


 Series Editors’ Preface ix

Part II focuses on transforming research outcomes into classroom practice

by means of practical, immediately useable activities. Short introduc-
tions signpost the path from research into practice
Part III: From application to implementation
Part III contains methodological suggestions for how the activities in
Part II could be used in the classroom, for example, different ways in
which they could be integrated into the syllabus or applied to different
teaching contexts.
Part IV: From implementation to research
Part IV returns to research with suggestions for professional development
projects and action research, often directly based on the materials in
the book. Each book as a whole thus completes the cycle: research into
practice and practice back into research.

About this book

The aim of learning a foreign or second language is to become a competent
speaker who can communicate in a variety of contexts and with differ-
ent interlocutors. As teachers, to help students achieve this goal, we need
to provide them with communicative strategies that go beyond grammar,
vocabulary or pronunciation. It is pragmatics another essential component
of language that can help learners in the process of becoming competent
users of the L2. The objective of this book is to contribute to the body of
research that point towards the need of dealing with pragmatics in the L2
class. The book consists of four parts. The first part provides a theoreti-
cal background on pragmatics and also research carried out in the area of
learning and teaching L2 pragmatics. The second part provides a series of
activities that teachers can use in their language class with students at dif-
ferent ages and proficiency levels. Although this book is addressed to teach-
ers, we also think that researchers interested in instructed learning will find
some food for thought in these pages. The third part aims at guiding teach-
ers when deciding what to teach and how, as well as providing guidance
when incorporating pragmatics in the curriculum. The fourth part creates
an opportunity for teachers to carry out action-research studies in their
classrooms and so explore future needs in the field of teaching pragmatics.
We hope that you will find the series exciting and above all valuable to
your practice and research in language education!
Anne Burns and Jill Hadfield (Series Editors)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To our families and friends who are always there for support.
We would like to thank the editors of the Research and Resources in
Language Teaching series, Anne Burns and Jill Hadfield, for their insight-
ful feedback and suggestions that helped to improve this book.
Júlia Barón would like to thank Dr Alicia Martínez-Flor and Dr Ariadna
Sánchez-Hernández for their support throughout the process of writing
this book. She would like to express her deepest gratitude to Dr Maria Luz
Celaya for her constant guidance and care during all these years of friend-
ship and work, so many times intertwined. Maria Luz Celaya would like
to look backwards in her professional career and acknowledge the support
of Prof Pedro Guardia for introducing her to the field of Linguistics and
for his friendship throughout life; Prof M. Teresa Turell, her PhD supervi-
sor back in 1991, for making her feel passionate about Second Language
Acquisition (SLA) ever since. Her gratitude also goes to all her students
(undergraduates, MA, and PhD) who year after year have become interested
in Interlanguage Pragmatics and in SLA in general; among them Dr Júlia
Barón, her friend and colleague now, who has been an example of com-
mitment, enthusiasm, and good work, both academically and in life. Maria
Luz Celaya and Júlia Barón would also like to thank the GR AL research
group. Peter Watkins would like to thank the teachers and students from
whom he continues to learn – you are a constant source of motivation.


PART I

From research to
implications

Introduction
Second and foreign language teaching occurs worldwide and has many dif-
ferent goals and expectations. As teachers, we may find ourselves teaching
in different contexts and engaging in different types of courses, which will
be associated with our students’ needs. Sometimes, we find ourselves pre-
paring our students to pass an official examination; sometimes the course
we teach is compulsory in the school or university curriculum; at other
times, we may teach a language to students who need it for work purposes;
and it may also be the case that we teach languages to students who just
want to know the language for pleasure so that they can travel and commu-
nicate with others in the target language (TL). In relation to materials that
are used, however, even if many curricula nowadays are communication
oriented, it is still very common to find courses, and even textbooks, whose
main focus is on grammar. This is especially the case in courses whose main
objective is to help students to pass an official language exam. Yet, despite
the fact that, for the last few decades, many researchers have been claiming
the benefits of teaching pragmatics in foreign and second language contexts
(González-Lloret, 2019), this area of communication is seldom part of lan-
guage courses.
Regardless of the course objectives, as teachers we may believe that our
ultimate goal is to provide students with strategies to communicate with
both native (NSs) and non-native (NNSs) speakers of the students’ TL.
Mastering grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation will not guarantee that
communication is going to be successful. Being polite, using the appropriate

DOI: 10.4324/9781003180210-1
2 From research to implications

language depending on who your interlocutor is, adapting the language to

the situation you are in, or knowing about the culture of the language you
are interacting with are all important and necessary factors to communi-
cate with others in a second language (L2) (González-Lloret, 2021). These
features of language are referred to in language study as pragmatics. As
Bardovi-Harlig (2013, p. 68) points out, pragmatics is “the study of how-
to-say-what-to-whom-when”, so if our final objective is to help students to
communicate, dealing with pragmatics in the language class should prob-
ably be one of the main objectives in classroom syllabi.
This book looks at key theoretical perspectives on pragmatics and how
they can be enacted in practice. Part I of this book is divided into two
main sections. Section 1 (An introduction to pragmatics) presents a general
overview that will frame the theoretical background: from definitions and
history of pragmatics, to approaches to pragmatics, culture, social contexts,
and (im)politeness. Section 2 (Pragmatics in second language learning and
teaching) aims to help readers to understand the process of L2 pragmatics
learning as well as to provide an overview of approaches to the teaching of
pragmatics.

Section 1. An introduction to pragmatics

Defining pragmatics
Yule’s (1996, p. 3) definition of pragmatics gives a general working over-
view of the term. He points out that pragmatics is the “study of the speak-
er’s meaning”, as well as “contextual meaning”, that is, to know what a
speaker really means in a particular context. For example, if someone says
‘Some fresh air would be nice now’ after being closed in a room for a very
long time, what the speaker really means is ‘let’s get out of here’. Pragmatics
shows us “how more gets communicated than is said” which means that we
cannot rely only on the literal meaning of sentences, but we need to further
understand the implied meanings of utterances, as in the previous exam-
ple. Finally, according to Yule, pragmatics also expresses “relative distance”
which refers to the relationship between speakers when communicating.
The language we use with our friends or family members will not be the
same as when we communicate with people from work; we might choose
more informal language in the first situation, and more formal language in
the second one.
Therefore, as Yule suggests, when dealing with pragmatics, we are not
only focusing on what the speaker is literally saying; we need to go further
and try to infer what the speaker’s meaning really is. Not only that, but also
the context or situation in which something is said is an important aspect
 From research to implications 3

to consider, since it may affect the meaning of the utterance. Furthermore,

who we are interacting with will play a major role in what we say: talking to
a friend is not the same as talking to a boss.
Another working definition of pragmatics is the one by Crystal (1997,
p. 301) who defined it 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”. This definition
includes some key aspects that play an important role in pragmatics. The
first one is the word ‘choices’. According to this definition, pragmatics does
not only refer to what speakers say, but how they find themselves choosing
which linguistic strategy is more appropriate according to the situation in
which it is being said. That can sometimes be problematic: what if we do
not choose the appropriate one? What if we make a request which is too
direct in a context and culture in which a more indirect one would be
expected? Then, ‘interaction’ will probably fail from a pragmatic perspec-
tive. Thus, ‘interaction’ is another key term in pragmatics, since pragmatic
exchanges always take place in interaction and communication. Nowadays,
when we refer to interaction, we no longer mean only face-to-face com-
munication, but also online communication, text messaging, or texting in
social media. Finally, the word ‘effect’ in Crystal’s definition is another
important aspect that needs to be considered. If pragmatic exchanges take
place in interaction, this means that what we say is not only relevant from
an individual perspective, but also from the interlocutor’s reaction towards
what we say. As in the example provided earlier, if we say ‘it is hot in here’
and somebody opens a window or turns on an air conditioner or fan, it will
mean that the hint we have made has had the expected effect that we had
hoped for. If, on the contrary, nobody reacts, we may need to change the
way we request it, and perhaps become more direct, with something like
‘would you mind opening the window?’
As we can see in the definitions above, pragmatics plays an important
role in interaction, a role that is important in our first language (L1) as
well. The norms and behaviours of our L1 pragmatics are acquired from
childhood, since from very early stages we are told by our parents, caregiv-
ers, or teachers what is appropriate and what is not in different situations
in our daily life: for example, we can be told that we must say ‘thank you’
when somebody gives us a present, that we must apologise if we do some-
thing wrong, that elderly people must be treated with respect, and so on.
Of course, we are not born pragmatically appropriate; it is through contact
and interaction with pragmatically experienced speakers that we become
pragmatically competent in our L1. This takes time.
4 From research to implications

But what happens when we are learning an L2, when our interactions
with L2 pragmatically proficient learners are narrower, and the exposure
to the L2 culture and pragmatic norms is scarce? Even if we are attending
classes, are materials and course curriculum providing enough information
about the L2 pragmatics? These are some of the questions that we will deal
with in Section 2 of Part I. Before moving to L2 learning, though, we need
to know more about where the term pragmatics comes from, as an impor-
tant aspect of language.

A brief historical overview

Pragmatics is not a new field in linguistics. It can be traced back to Charles
Morris (1938) who first put forward the term to refer to how users of a
language interpret linguistic signs. However, it was not until the 1960s
and 1970s that pragmatics became of interest for many researchers and
philosophers. Pragmatics was born as a reaction to Noam Chomsky’s claim
(1957) that language should be understood as syntax-based. In opposition
to this, philosophers such as John Austin (1962) and John Searle (1969)
(Speech Act Theory) and Paul Grice (1989) (Cooperative Principle) argued
that language goes beyond grammar and syntax, and conceptualised lan-
guage as the means of communication between speakers. Following these
initial ideas, pragmatics is now understood as the study of language from
the users’ perspective while interacting with others in specific social and
cultural contexts. As we saw above, pragmatics also involves the linguistic
and non-linguistic features that speakers use, and their effects on the inter-
locutors (Crystal, 1997).
Pragmatics is a very broad field and has, thus, been investigated from dif-
ferent perspectives. On the one hand, approaches such as contrastive prag-
matics and cross-cultural pragmatics compare how speech acts are realised
in different languages and cultures. Speech acts refer to those utterances
that we make to request, accept, refuse, apologise, and compliment, among
many others. They are acts used in communication by all interactants of a
conversation. On the other hand, interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) focuses
on how learners of an L2 acquire and develop the pragmatics of that lan-
guage. Let us have a quick look at these approaches.
In the case of contrastive pragmatics, its main focus is on the more lin-
guistic side of pragmatics. The aim of such an approach is to compare how
speech acts are realised in different languages and to see how they may
differ from one language to another (Yule, 1996). In contrast, cross-cul-
tural pragmatics focuses on how culture-specific variables influence the way
speech acts are realised in different languages. Cross-cultural pragmatics
 From research to implications 5

emphasises the fact that, in order to be pragmatically appropriate in a lan-

guage, it is necessary to know the cultural values and norms, and how they
are portrayed in linguistic forms (Trosborg, 1995).
On the other hand, ILP focuses on the acquisition of the pragmatics
of the L2. According to Kasper and Blum-Kulka (1993), ILP should be
considered as a “hybrid” of interlanguage, or the learners’ language as they
acquire an L2 (see Section 2 for a more detailed definition) and pragmatics.
Since ILP aims at studying the acquisition of the pragmatics of the L2, the
focus of such studies is the non-native speaker or L2 learner. More specifi-
cally, ILP studies the learners’ knowledge, perception, comprehension, and
acquisition of the L2 pragmatics, on the one hand, and, on the other, the
use and production of L2 pragmatics, both in second and foreign language
contexts (Alcón, 2008).
In this book our main focus is the learner, as we will see in Section 2; we
will follow most of the premises from research carried out in ILP, since it is
what can provide us with more information on how to deal with pragmat-
ics in classroom contexts across levels and ages, also bearing in mind that
learners have different first languages. However, we believe that cross-cul-
tural perspectives are important to consider even in an ILP approach, espe-
cially in the current era, in which interconnectivity (online or face-to-face)
between people across the globe with a variety of cultural and linguistic
backgrounds has become the norm in communication. Therefore, before
moving to students’ learning contexts, we devote the following discussion
in this section to reflecting on aspects such as culture, society, and further
exploring what we mean by context and interaction.

Culture, society, and context

Pragmatics cannot be separated from culture. How to act pragmatically
appropriate in each language will be determined not only by how much we
know about the language but also by how much we know about its cul-
ture. By culture is meant how beliefs, behavioural values, assumptions, and
social norms are perceived and shared by a particular community (Hinkel,
2014; Spencer-Oatey, 2000). Let us think of an example, such as kiss-
ing. There are some cultures in which, when people meet, they kiss, even
if they meet for the first time or in a formal situation. This is the case,
for instance, in Spain. When friends or colleagues meet for lunch, they
tend to give one another a kiss on each cheek, which is an accepted and
expected behaviour in this culture. This act, however, might be seen as
inappropriate in cultures where that action is not done in those same con-
texts. For second language learners, such cross-cultural differences may
6 From research to implications

FIGURE 1.1 
Salutations in different cultures (image by Roberto Barón).

be very helpful for them to know, in order not to seem rude, inappropri-
ate, or impolite. What would happen if an L1 Spanish speaker goes to an
English-speaking country and is introduced to new people whose primary
language is English and starts kissing them? What would be the English
speaker’s reactions? How would the L1 Spanish speaker react to the L1
English speaker’s reaction? We could expect to find these people involved
in a weird and uncomfortable situation.​
Knowing about these differences can definitely help learners to find
themselves in more successful communicative situations. As teachers, we
can help learners to reflect on cultural differences between languages, pay-
ing attention to the L2s but also to the L1s. Another important aspect is
to know culture is not static, but dynamic and affected by social and envi-
ronmental factors. For example, going back to the example of kissing, the
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have made many people in Spain stop
kissing each other. Instead, people keep a social distance and just say ‘hi’,
or touch elbows. Therefore, it is important to bear in mind that even if we
explain the cultural differences between languages to our students, we need
to be prepared for changes in a particular society or even worldwide.
According to Ishihara with Cohen (2022), when dealing with culture it
is important to distinguish between three types of norms: 1) social norms,
which refer to what a group of people agree should or should not be said in
a given context; 2) cultural norms, which refer to the values and traditions
that influence how people behave and interpret other people’s actions and
behaviours; 3) pragmatic norms, which refer to the type of language that is
most preferred in the L2 community.
 From research to implications 7

(Im)politeness
Following a recent definition by Leech (2014, p. 3), (im)politeness can be
seen as “a form of communicative behaviour found generally in human
languages and among human cultures; indeed it has been claimed as a
universal phenomenon of human society”. However, since the study of
politeness has been extensively researched in different fields and from the
different perspectives of sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and discourse analy-
sis (see Locher & Larina, 2019), the concept of politeness is not so clear-
cut. Politeness theories were born in the 1960s–1970s, such as Brown and
Levinson (1987), who conceptualised (im)politeness from a Western per-
spective, even if they claimed that politeness was governed by some uni-
versal principles. Moreover, their analysis of (im)politeness mainly focused
on the speaker’s actions rather than on the hearer’s reactions, and context
was not considered. This approach means that the picture of (im)politeness
is incomplete, as it focuses on the individuals’ acts, rather than on other
factors that may be affecting the individuals’ use of (im)politeness. Recent
research on (im)politeness has indeed aimed at analysing it from a more
contextual perspective, seeing (im)politeness as jointly constructed by the
different participants in a conversation, and taking into account a variety
of factors that come into play when interaction takes place: for example,
the contextual situation, the L1 culture, and the identity of the speakers,
among others. However, this discursive approach has also been considered
problematic, since it does not allow researchers and teachers to generalise
behaviours, as they might be subjected to a subjective interpretation.
An important factor that was addressed in Brown and Levinson’s theory
was the notion of face, a concept created by Goffmann (1967), who consid-
ered face as how one represents him/herself in relation to others, and how
a specific behaviour is expected in such representation. This concept was
adapted by Brown and Levinson through the terms positive and negative
politeness: the former understood as one’s representation being approved
by others (i.e., using L2 pragmatics to sound pragmatically appropriate in
the L2, so as to be accepted by the target community), and the latter, as
the freedom to choose how to represent one’s own image in front of others
(i.e., keeping one’s identity and L1 pragmatics even if that is not pragmati-
cally acceptable in the target community). Hence, the concept of face has
been used in pragmatics to classify speech acts into those which threaten
face and those which do not. For instance, requests or refusals have often
been considered as face-threatening acts (FTAs) since, depending on the
strategies used to convey them, problems in communication may arise.
This is because in some languages and cultures, direct requests and certain
refusals are considered as impolite, when used in some contexts and with
8 From research to implications

specific interlocutors. Therefore, according to Brown and Levinson’s the-

ory, FTAs should always be avoided, if successful communication is desired.
Together with the concept of face, and following Brown and Levinson’s
idea of politeness as a universal phenomenon, three social variables affect
politeness behaviour all of which should be taken into account to convey
(im)politeness: 1) power (P), the social hierarchy between people; 2) social
distance (D), that is the degree of familiarity between the interlocutors; 3)
imposition (I), which stands for the gravity of the situation in a particular
culture.
An important aspect to bear in mind is that Brown and Levison’s
Politeness Theory was developed in the 1970s and 1980s, and the world
was not as connected as it is nowadays. Consequently, there are other issues
at play. First, we live in a globalised world, in which English has become
an international language (EIL), spoken among NSs and NNSs, where we
are no longer dealing with target politeness norms, but with new politeness
rules developed by interculturally competent speakers. Second, the dichot-
omy between oral and written communication is nowadays much more
complex than forty years ago. We find ourselves immersed in a wide variety
of interaction modes every day, both via face-to-face (FTF) and computer-
mediated communication (CMC). These changes have not only affected the
means of communication, but the language and the (im)politeness norms
that are used in these different interaction modes. However, even as the
world changes, terms such as (im)politeness are key for the teaching of prag-
matics. As mentioned earlier in relation to culture, we need to be aware that
these are dynamic elements. It is useful to bear these changes in mind if we
are to teach what is currently used in the L2 that our students are learning.

Identifying pragmatics in speech

Having reviewed some of the main theoretical concepts, how can we iden-
tify pragmatics in language? The easiest identifiable pragmatic moves are
speech acts (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969). These are declarations, requests,
suggestions, apologies, orders, refusals, acceptances, compliments, compli-
ment responses, and greetings, among many others. Apart from speech
acts, elements such as pragmatic markers (i.e., yeah, well, okay), and the use
of humour, irony, sarcasm, and implicature can also be identified in writ-
ten or oral performance. In this section, we aim to examine how pragmatic
exchanges take place in interaction, bearing in mind the concepts men-
tioned in the previous sections.
The following excerpt is taken from ‘Did you hear about the Morgans?’.
The film is about a separated couple (Paul and Meryl Morgan) who wit-
ness a murder. Since the murderer has seen them, they are forced to enter
 From research to implications 9

a witness protection programme with new identities and are sent to a small
town. In this town, they are under the supervision and protection of the
town’s sheriff and his wife (Clay and Emma), with whom they live for a few
days. The following excerpt comes from a scene in which Paul and Meryl
arrive at the sheriff’s house for the first time.

Excerpt transcript
Emma:… I’ll show you to your room.
Meryl: Ok.
Emma: Hope you will be comfortable here, we fixed up this, your bed-
room, not exactly the Ritz. We usually have one witness at a time.
Clay: The last time was Vitto the Butcher.
Paul: So, you actually do this all the time?
Clay: Yeah, about ten years ago the government asked if we would have
someone for a week, ever since then a couple of times a year they bring
somebody by. It’s kind of interesting, actually. Now they want me to retire.
So, you two are gonna be our last.
Meryl: Oh, well, it’s an honor, and it’s a lovely guest room, but Mr. Morgan,
ehm Mr. Foster and I are separating.
Paul: We are thinking of seeing a therapist.
Emma: So how do you want to handle the sleeping arrangements?
Meryl: Well, I can sleep on the couch.

Let us now analyse the excerpt following some of the important terms that
we mentioned earlier that are key to understanding pragmatic exchanges.
We will focus on a very indirect request made by Meryl. First, we need
to contextualise the scene and identify what is affecting the way Meryl
makes the request. Meryl does not want to sleep in the same bed with
Paul since they are separating. However, this is something that Clay and
Emma do not know. As mentioned before, the way we produce speech
acts such as requests are affected by three social variables: Power, Distance,
and Imposition. Regarding Power, the Morgans are at the house of the
sheriff, who is in a higher power position in relation to them, as the sheriff
represents authority in Western culture. For Distance, the scene represents
a moment in which they have just met for the first time. Thus, the relation-
ship between them is not close; they are still strangers to each other. Finally,
for Imposition, the seriousness of the situation is not that high (requesting
to sleep in separate rooms). However, taking into account that they do not
know each other, and the sheriff and his wife are in a high-power situation,
Meryl opts for a very indirect way of requesting, saying that they are sepa-
rating, which implies that they do not want to sleep in the same bed. Emma
10 From research to implications

understands the request, because of the situation and the polite rejection of
the arrangements, and asks for an alternative.
Of course, this is just one example of how an indirect request can be
made in this type of situation, but we need to take into account that dif-
ferent languages and cultures may handle this pragmatic exchange in a dif-
ferent way.

Summary
The aim of Section 1 was to provide some existing definitions for the term
pragmatics and to provide an overview of key concepts in the field. As we
have seen, pragmatics is an essential aspect in communication, not only
when learning an L2 but also in our L1. When interacting with others we
are constantly using speech acts (i.e., requests, apologies, complaints, and
so on), acts that are co-constructed by all the participants when commu-
nicating. Not knowing how speech acts (or other pragmatic moves such as
humour or sarcasm) are used in the L2 may lead to communicative break-
downs. Thus, pragmatic errors might sometimes be more serious than
grammar or vocabulary mistakes. The following section focuses on how
pragmatics is acquired in foreign and second language contexts and how it
can be taught in the classroom context.

Section 2. Pragmatics in second language learning and teaching

Acquiring L2 pragmatics
Learning an L2 is not an easy task. We have all probably been language
learners at some point in our lives. What was the most difficult thing for
you to learn? Was it grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation? These are the
components of language that we usually think of when we reflect on our
own language learning process. However, as was mentioned in Section 1,
pragmatics is another important aspect that we need to learn and under-
stand to overcome problems in communication. Sounding rude and impo-
lite happens even in our L1, so if we do not know about the pragmatics
and culture of the L2 that we are learning, we may be headed towards
communicative failure.
As we saw earlier, the field of research within pragmatics and second
language acquisition (SLA) that investigates how L2 learners use, pro-
duce, acquire, and develop the pragmatics of the TL is ILP. As Kasper and
Blum-Kulka (1993) claimed, ILP is a “hybrid” between interlanguage and
pragmatics. The term interlanguage (IL) was coined by Selinker (1972),
 From research to implications 11

who defined it as the learners’ own form of the language, with character-
istics coming from the L1, the L2, and from other languages known. The
process of acquiring an L2 is not linear, and it is not easy. IL could be
represented as a long road trip from Chicago (L1) to Los Angeles (TL).
During that trip, we go through different towns, cities, and villages (stages
of L2 development). On the road, we always learn new things from the
different places we visit. Sometimes, though, we will stay longer in some
towns; some other times, we will keep going. There will also be times
when we will accidentally take the wrong way (making mistakes), or keep
making the wrong choice several times, because we may have not learnt
the way well (developmental errors). But sooner or later, we will get to
LA. We may not stay in the city centre, but we might make it close. We
do not need to become Angelenos, since we may keep our own identity,
which is totally acceptable. Apart from such a long trip, to become a prag-
matically competent speaker will not be an easy task since we will need to
be both pragmalinguistically correct (knowing the linguistic strategies to
perform pragmatic moves) and sociopragmatically correct (knowing when
and with whom to use such linguistic strategies). As teachers, knowing
how we acquire languages, what aspects of language are learnt first or later,
and what mistakes or errors are due to the L1, might help us to adjust our
classes and class curriculum.

Research on requests: Types and mitigation strategies

Scholars became interested in learners’ acquisition of pragmatics in the
1980s and especially at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s. Most of
the studies carried out during those years focused on speech acts, since, as
mentioned earlier, using speech acts in an ‘inappropriate’ way may lead to
communication breakdowns. The aim of such studies was to examine how
learners of an L2 produced and developed speech acts over time. The most
widely studied speech act in both L1 and L2 acquisition has been requests,
classified as a directive in Searle’s Taxonomy of Speech Acts (1969) and
considered as a face-threatening act in Brown and Levison’s Politeness the-
ory (1987). When requesting, what the speaker aims at is to get the listener
to do something. In order to know how learners acquire requests, first it
is important to know what types of requests are commonly used by NSs
and how they are softened when necessary. Let us think of English, since
English requests have been widely studied to date. The most straightfor-
ward classification of requests is between direct and indirect. In a direct
request the literal meaning is easily understood (i.e., Shut up), whereas
with indirect requests we need to process the conveyed meaning and pay
12 From research to implications

attention to the context in which it is produced (i.e., It is a little bit loud

in here) (Ervin-Tripp, Strage, Lampert & Bell, 1987). We seem to process
both literal and conveyed meanings and take advantage of the context to
interpret such speech acts appropriately (Takahashi & Roitblat, 1994).
Regarding types of requests, a well-known project in the 1980s devel-
oped a categorisation that has been widely used in research. This was car-
ried out by The Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act Realisation Patterns
(CCSARP), which examined the differences among languages in the use
of requests and apologies. As can be seen in Table 1.1, their classification
of requests goes from those which are more direct (at the top) to those
that are more indirect (at the bottom). In an English-speaking context, the
more direct a request is, the more face-threatening it may sound. This is the
reason why more indirect requests are preferred to get the interlocutor to
do something.
Apart from using indirect requests, we can also use other strategies to
mitigate them: internal and external modification. These are linguistic ele-
ments that appear either inside the request (i.e., Could you possibly open the
window?) or outside the request (i.e., Could you open the window, please?).
The former is called internal modification and the latter is called external
modification. As with request types, researchers have developed categories
for both internal and external modification. Table 1.2 shows one of the
classifications provided by Alcón-Soler and Safont (2005).

Research on requests: General findings

What studies in ILP have found regarding request types is that learners tend
to use more direct requests in early stages of acquisition and more indi-
rect requests in higher stages (i.e., Achiba, 2003; Barón, 2015; Ellis, 1992;
Félix-Brasdefer, 2007). These findings seem to follow a similar pattern to

TABLE 1.1 
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1989, p. 202)

Type Example

Mood derivable Leave me alone

Explicit performative I am asking you to dress up the mess
Hedge performative I would like to ask you to give …
Locution derivable Madam, you’ll have to move your car
Scope stating I wish you’d stop bothering me
Suggestory formulas So, why don’t you clean …
Reference to preparatory conditions Could you clean up the kitchen, please?
Strong hints You’ve left the kitchen in a right mess
Mild hints I am a nun
 From research to implications 13

TABLE 1.2 
Internal and external modification by Alcón-Soler and Safont (2005, p. 17)

Type Sub-type Example

Internal Openers Do you think you could open the window?

modification Would you mind opening the window?
Softeners Understatement Could you open the window for a
moment?
Downtoner Could you possibly open the
window?
Hedge Could you kind of open the window?
Intensifiers You really must open the window.
I’m sure you wouldn’t mind opening the window.
Filters Hesitators I er, erm, er – I wonder if you could
open the window.
Cajolers You know, you see, I mean.
Appealers OK?, Right?, Yeah.
Attention-getters Excuse me …; Hello …; Look …;
Tom, …; Mr. Edwards, …; Father
…
External Preparators May I ask you a favour? Could you open the
modifications window?
Grounders It seems it is quite hot here. Could you open the
window?
Disarmers I hate bothering you but could you open the
window?
Expanders Would you mind opening the window? … Once
again, could you open the window?
Promise of reward Could you open the window? If you open it, I
promise to bring you to the cinema.
Please Would you mind opening the window, please?

L1 acquisition (Carrell, 1981). As for request modification, internal modi-

fication seems to be acquired before external modification (Schauer, 2006,
2007). In some cases, it has been found that modification is overused by
means of one strategy like the use of please (Ellis, 1992).

Research on requests: Two examples

Two studies in ILP research that have been the most cited so far are those
by Ellis (1992) and Achiba (2003). These two studies followed the par-
ticipants’ L2 acquisition over a long period of time. Based on these two
studies, Kasper and Rose (2003) created five stages of development of L2
pragmatic acquisition that have been used in many studies within the field
(i.e., Barón, 2015; Félix-Brasdefer, 2007).
In the case of Ellis (1992), he followed the development of two English-
as-a-second-language (ESL) beginners in London, aged 10 and 11, in a
14 From research to implications

classroom setting during 15–21 months. As has already been mentioned,

the results supported the movement from a direct to an indirect use of
requests. However, the two learners failed to develop most of the differ-
ent request types as well as the linguistic means to perform them. Ellis
argued that the sociopragmatic instruction that learners had received in
class (explaining how and when to use the different strategies taught) was
not realistic, and this may have been an explanation for their failure in
sociopragmatic competence.
The study by Achiba (2003) presented a longitudinal case study of
her daughter Yao, a 7-year-old Japanese girl, who spent 17 months in
Australia. In the course of the 17 months, Yao went through four devel-
opmental phases. In the first phase (first 12 weeks in Australia), she mainly
used formulaic utterances, such as routines and patterns. In the second
phase (from week 13 to week 31), there was still a use of formulaic lan-
guage, that is, patterns were used, but every time they were more elabo-
rate. Indirect strategies started to arise, probably thanks to the acquisition
of new linguistic forms which enabled her to use such strategies. She also
started to present grammatical and sociocultural awareness of the tar-
get language and community, which enabled her to start developing her
pragmatic ability. From week 32 to 61, the third phase, requests started
to be more and more elaborate due to the increase of her L2 competence.
Modals started to be used for more polite requests, since she made use of
politeness with addressees of higher ranks. In the last phase, week 62 to
week 75, more complex structures appeared as well as new strategies and
mitigation.
As mentioned above, five stages of development were created by
Kasper and Rose (2003) based on these two studies. Table 1.3 shows the
developmental stages suggested by Kasper and Rose. Knowing the stages
of development that learners go through can help us to design input and
activities adapted to what they know and what is going to be acquired
afterwards.
As both the studies reviewed and the stages of development presented
above show, learners of second languages will also go through a series of
stages of development. Some will go faster than others and many factors
will have different types of influence on the way, but they will ultimately
arrive at their destination.

Some reflections on research

How can the categories and studies mentioned in this section help us in
our L2 lessons? The class curriculum is tight and we usually follow a text-
book or specific materials that are designed for the courses we are teaching.
 From research to implications 15

TABLE 1.3 
Stages of development of requests by Kasper and Rose (2003, p. 140)

Stage Characteristics Examples

1: Pre-basic Highly context-dependent, no “Me no blue”, “Sir”

syntax, no relational goals
2: Formulaic Reliance on unanalysed “Let’s play the game”, “Let’s eat
formulas and imperatives breakfast”, “Don’t look”
3: Unpacking Formulas incorporated into “Can you pass the pencil
productive language use, please?”, “Can you do
shift to conventional another one for me?”
indirectness
4: Pragmatic Addition of new forms to “Could I have another chocolate
expansion pragmalinguistic repertoire, because my children – I have
increased use of mitigation, five children”, “Can I see it
more complex syntax so I can copy it?”
5: Fine-tuning Fine-tuning of requestive force “You could put some blue tack
to participants, goals, and down there”, “Is there any
context more white?”

Pragmatics is sometimes included: long lists of expressions on how to

request, how to agree and disagree, how to give opinions, among many
other speech acts and pragmatic moves. However, they are not commonly
contextualised and we are not told why some expressions are there, and
others are not. Knowing that there are already existing categorisations of
speech acts, which are based on what is commonly used in the language
that we are teaching, can help us to provide our students with a wider
variety of expressions, apart from what we find in the class materials that
we have access to. Besides, knowing that there exist stages of development,
that even NSs use some strategies at the beginning of language learning,
and others later on, can also help us to give our students what they need
at the right time. The problem is that sometimes such categorisations are
not easy to find. Hence, we provide below some of the categorisations that
can be found in the literature that can be helpful when developing materi-
als. We chose speech acts which are commonly present in textbooks. The
linguistic strategies presented in Table 1.4 go from informal (at the top)
to formal (at the bottom). However, some of them can be used in both
registers. Nevertheless, as will be pointed out in the following discussion,
providing isolated pragmatic moves will not be enough for learners to use
them appropriately. As teachers, we will need to tell our students to take
into account at least three relevant factors, namely, the context in which
such strategies are used, the interlocutor (distance and degree of familiar-
ity), and the cultural norms of the TL community. Reflections on how we
perform such moves in our L1 can also benefit learners.
 16

TABLE 1.4 Pragmatics categories

Agreeing/Disagreeing Apologising Giving opinion Greetings Showing interest Suggestions Thanking

Well, no, but the I am sorry I think Morning It is a good idea! I suggest that you Thanks a bunch
Well, I do Sorry for I reckon Afternoon What a great/ I would suggest that you That’s so kind of
I suppose Sorry that Personally, I Evening wonderful idea! I advise you to you
I hadn’t even thought of I/We owe you an think Hi That is really I would advise you to I owe you one
I actually think apology Personally, I Hi there interesting! I recommend that you Anytime!
I wasn’t keen on the idea I do apologise reckon Hiya Wow, that sounds I would recommend that No worries
I mean Please accept my/our In my opinion Nice to see you amazing you No problem
Not at all apologies In my view How do you That is really Why don't you I really appreciate
From research to implications

Yeah, you have a point there I/We regret any It seems to me do? wonderful! It would be helpful if you it
I see your point inconvenience this (that) Long time no Uh-huh If you want to…, I’ll suggest Much obliged
I would go along with that may cause All things see That’s interesting + noun My pleasure
I couldn’t agree more I/We apologise for any considered Pleased to meet Oh, I see I suggest to + V I am truly
I agree with you up to a inconvenience this If you ask me you Right Try + Ving grateful
point may cause To tell you the Nice to meet Really? Have you tried I can’t thank you
I absolutely agree with you I beg your pardon truth you No way! Have you thought of enough
You took the words right out I/We apologise to our To be honest Good morning You’re joking! How about
of my mouth customers for the To be frank Good Where do you stand? What about
I agree with you, but/and long wait To my mind afternoon What about you? You could
As far as I’m Good evening What do you think? If I were you, I would
concerned All right? What you need (to do) is
It would be a good idea to
It is better to
It would be better to
Let’s
Shall we
We should
 From research to implications 17

Teaching L2 pragmatics
A research overview
Even if pragmatics is not commonly included in many course curricula,
research in the field has shown that teaching pragmatics is positive for
L2 learners. In order to test whether pragmatic instruction is beneficial,
researchers usually compare groups who receive pragmatic instruction ver-
sus groups who do not get any training in pragmatics. In order to test learn-
ing, students do a pre and a post-test; in the case of instructed learners, they
do so before and after receiving instruction. When groups are compared,
those students who get instruction tend to outperform those who do not
(i.e., Alcón-Soler & Martínez-Flor, 2008; Economidou-Kogetsidis, 2015).
Thus, imagine that we want to know whether teaching indirect requests
such as hints (i.e., It is so hot in here – implied meaning: open the window)
helps learners to become aware of this strategy and to be able to use them
in their oral production. We could use a role-play, for example, before we
start the pragmatic instruction to check whether they are already able to use
them or not, and we would do the same after instruction (see Figure 1.2 for
a summary of the research design).
How would we know that learners are doing better in the post-test? If
instruction had an effect, we would see that students incorporate the strate-
gies addressed during instruction in an appropriate way. However, this type
of design has sometimes received some criticisms, since learners are some-
times exposed to those expressions outside the classroom (e.g., through TV
series, books, conversations with other speakers of the TL). This is why it is
always very important to know what learners do outside the class. To find
out, researchers use background questionnaires or interviews to enquire
about their out-of-school exposure.

Pre-test Post-test
Instructed group
Imagine that you Imagine that you
are in a very hot are in a very hot
and stuffy office and stuffy office
and you’d like to and you’d like to
ask your colleague ask your colleague
to open the to open the
Non-instructed group
window. window.

FIGURE 1.2 
Research design 1.
18 From research to implications

As mentioned above, studies following this design have shown that

teaching pragmatics is better than not teaching it. After several studies con-
firming these results, researchers in the field started to explore approaches
to teaching pragmatics. For several years, the studies which were carried
out mainly focused on whether to teach pragmatics in an explicit or an
implicit way. The methodological difference between explicit and implicit
instruction is that when teaching pragmatics explicitly the students know
from the very beginning what they are going to learn, they are provided
with explanations and rules, and they are given the particular expressions
used to express the pragmatic move taught. However, when using implicit
methods, the students are first presented with input where the pragmatic
features appear, or they are asked to carry out a series of activities in which
they might be ‘forced’ to use a specific pragmatic move. In order to test
the benefits of these approaches, the research design that studies follow is
similar to the one in Figure 1.3. However, in this case the two approaches
are compared. Some studies even have a ‘control group’, that is, a group not
following any pragmatic instruction whatsoever.
When comparing these two approaches, most studies have shown the ben-
efits of explicit over implicit instruction, but there are still some disagreements
about this issue (as shown in a meta-analysis by Plonsky & Zhuang, 2019).
Some researchers argue that when it comes to pragmatics, providing students
with explanations about why a specific expression is better than another in
a particular context helps learners to make more effective choices when they
interact outside the class in the TL. This is the reason why recent studies
explore such methods in combination with metapragmatic explanations.

Two examples
To better understand how these studies have been carried out, here we
have two examples of research which have investigated the effects of explicit

Explicit group
Pre-test Post-test
Imagine that you Imagine that you
are in a very hot are in a very hot
and stuffy office Implicit group and stuffy office
and you’d like to and you’d like to
ask your colleague ask your colleague
to open the to open the
window. Control group window.

FIGURE 1.3 
Research design 2.
 From research to implications 19

and implicit methods. A very well-known study is Martínez-Flor (2004),

whose aim was to explore the development of the use of suggestions in
Spanish undergraduates learning English. Her study followed the design
shown in Figure 1.3, and the results of her study showed that both explicit
and implicit instruction had positive effects on the learning of pragmatics.
Both instructed groups increased their use and comprehension of sugges-
tions, whereas in the control group (which did not receive any pragmatic
instruction) such use decreased.
Another example is the research by Khazdouzian, Celaya, and Barón
(2020). In their study, the aim was to explore whether implicit prag-
matic learning took place when watching a TV series at home. A group
of undergraduate students were divided into two groups: one group
watched the TV series with L2 subtitles and the other group without. A
pre and a post-test were used, before and after watching the TV series.
In this particular study, some positive effects were traced after viewing
the series; however, learning could only be traced with some strategies
and not others, which meant that some suggestion strategies might not
have been noticed by the learners when only watching the series on their
own.

Approaches to teaching L2 pragmatics

The explicit/implicit dichotomy and coexistence of the two perspectives
has been investigated for many years in ILP research. Based on this, and
on other theories in SLA, other teaching approaches have been explored.
Table 1.5 summarises some of the most common approaches that have
been explored in instructed pragmatics and which have also shown positive
effects on pragmatic learning.

TABLE 1.5 
A pproaches to teaching pragmatics

Approach Definition

Inductive Letting students notice the pragmatic form and norm on their
own before they are explained the rule.
Deductive Students are provided with the pragmatic form and norm
before they can start practising on their own.
Task-Based Students are exposed to input where pragmatics is present.
Language Then, they are asked to carry out a task (meaningful and
Teaching with a real-life goal) in which they might need to use the
(TBLT) pragmatic forms that appeared in the input. Finally, after
doing the task, teachers give them feedback and pragmatic
explanations are provided.
(Continued)
20 From research to implications

TABLE 1.5 (Continued)

Approach Definition
Task-Supported As opposed to TBLT, students are given metapragmatic
Language explanations and the pragmatic forms before they carry out
Teaching the task (meaningful and with a real-goal life). After the
(TSLT) task is done, students are also given feedback based on the
explanations presented at the beginning. (Based on explicit
learning.)
Usage-Based Students learn pragmatic aspects by being exposed to them at
the same time that they use them with other interlocutors.
In a classroom environment, the main source of learning is
the teacher.
Concept-Based Students learn through concepts. According to this approach,
if students know about the ‘scientific’ aspects of pragmatics,
they will be able to reflect on them not only on the L2
pragmatics system, but also on the L1 pragmatics. This
process seems to help them to understand why certain forms
are used in different contexts.
Conversation Students are provided with real sequences of interaction in
Analysis which pragmatic moves appear. The idea is to help them to
(CA) notice that pragmatics is built cooperatively between the
people who participate in interaction, and that one pragmatic
move leads to another in such interaction. So, to make a
request a speaker might need a series of turns to mitigate it
and then make the actual request. Then, the interlocutor will
either accept or refuse the request depending on a variety of
factors (e.g. context, imposition, relationship between the
interlocutors), and that might also take a series of turns.

Summary
The first part of Section 2 focused on the acquisition of L2 pragmatics. To
explain this, we mainly focused on requests, a speech act which has been
extensively researched, in order to exemplify how the acquisition process
works. Our goal was to emphasise that it is important to know what learners
do and what problems they encounter due to the language acquisition pro-
cess itself. If, as teachers, we are aware of this, we might be able to under-
stand what our learners need at each stage of language development. The
second part of Section 2 focused on teaching pragmatics in L2 classrooms,
by providing an overview of the most commonly researched approaches in
ILP. Deciding which approach to follow will also depend on our students’
needs, our teaching style, and the approach the school or university fol-
lows, among many other factors. However, as teachers, we believe that it is
important to know that there is a variety of approaches that we can use in
our classes and the choice will depend on the type of learners we have (their
age, level of proficiency, first language/s, etc.) and the aim of the course.
PART II

From implications to
application

Introduction
The following pages contain over 35 activities that have been specifically
designed to address 5 different perspectives that have been thought rel-
evant when teaching pragmatics in the second/foreign language classroom
nowadays. As was seen in Part I of the book, when teaching pragmatics in
classroom contexts, we should take into account theoretical aspects of prag-
matics (e.g. (im)politeness), we need to consider what pragmatic moves we
want our students to learn, we need to be aware of our students’ learning
process and developmental stages, as well as the teaching approach that we
may want to follow. Moreover, when teaching pragmatics, it is important to
bear in mind issues such as learners’ first languages and cultures, their age,
and their levels of proficiency. Thus, the activities in this book have been
designed in such a way that teachers will find it easy to adapt them to their
own classrooms. As can be seen in what follows, these perspectives are:

• Section A Raising pragmatic awareness: The main aim of these activities

is to help students to notice pragmatic and cultural differences between
languages and to become aware of pragmatic exchanges and moves in
the L2 that they are learning.
• Section B Using rich pragmatic input: Teachers can use either the input
provided in these materials, or they can exploit texts they themselves

DOI: 10.4324/9781003180210-2
22 From implications to application

choose using similar activities to those outlined here. The intention

is that these materials will help students identify implicature (implied
meanings), pragmatic violations, and pragmatic appropriateness, and
this noticing will act as a stepping stone towards their own production.
• Section C Eliciting pragmatic output and enhancing interaction: Having
seen how to raise students’ awareness of pragmatics and found ways of
exposing our students to pragmatic input, this section’s objective is to
make students to produce pragmatic performance, both written and oral.
• Section D Pragmatics and social media: Since interaction is not only
face-to-face in the current connected and technological era, this section
also provides students with opportunities to use pragmatics in social
media, a very common practice in our daily-life interactions.
• Section E Pragmatics in the world: In relation to Section D, this section
aims at helping students navigate through the globalised world we live
in. The activities in this section present contexts in which English will
be used as an international language, in which the interactants involved
might have different languages and cultural backgrounds.

The activities present a unified format to help the reader to find their defin-
ing features easily. Thus, they are all preceded by the explanation of the
following descriptors:
Aim, Level, Time (duration of the activity), Preparation, Focus, and
Procedure. These are explained in a very detailed way. When necessary,
activities also include another descriptor, namely Teacher’s notes, which
aim at explaining relevant concepts.
In some cases, a variation of an activity is presented, often addressing the
needs of younger learners. Some activities are accompanied by photocopi-
able material, where it is required. This material is clearly marked.
Table 2.1 places the activities in terms of Aim, Level of proficiency, and
Age.
TABLE 2.1 
Summary of activities
Section Task name Aim Proficiency Age

A. Raising Activity A1a: Kind of vague Awareness of the use of vague language B1 upwards Adults
pragmatic Activity A1b: Kind of vague Awareness of the use of vague language B1 upwards Teenagers
awareness Activity A2: Eliciting a dialogue Natural spoken language A2 upwards All ages
Activity A3a: What’s the reply? Raising awareness of implicit meaning A2 upwards Young adults and adults
Activity A3b: What’s the reply? Raising awareness of implicit meaning A2 upwards Young learners
Activity A4: What’s the next Indirectness in conversation A2 upwards All ages
line? Appropriate language choices B1 upwards Adults
Activity A5a: Who is the owner? Appropriate language choices B1 upwards Young learners
Activity A5a: Who is the owner? Reading and writing B1 upwards Adults
Activity A6: Who is the owner?
(continued)
B. Using rich Activity B1: Watch a movie Raising awareness of how to show interest and B1 upwards Adults
pragmatic scene politeness B1 upwards Adults
input Activity B2: Who wrote that? The role of context in influencing language choices B1 upwards Adults
Activity B3: Car stickers The implied meaning of messages found on car stickers B1 upwards Adults
Activity B4: Notes found on The implied meaning of short handwritten messages B1 upwards Adults
cars The implied meaning of short handwritten messages A1 upwards Young adults and adults
Activity B5: Notes found on the The implied meaning of short voice messages B1 upwards Young adults and adults
fridge Listening, the use of body language, and speaking A1 Young learners
Activity B6: You have voicemail Learners become more aware of the use of polite B2 upwards Young adults and adults
Activity B7: Keep the routines
conversation going Learners identify pragmatic features in a scene from a
Activity B8: Please and Thank movie or a sitcom
you
Activity B9: Identifying
pragmatic features
(Continued)
From implications to application 23
TABLE 2.1 (Continued)
24

Section Task name Aim Proficiency Age

C. Eliciting Activity C1: Changing the Changing the subject of a conversation B1 upwards Young adults and adults
pragmatic subject Learners become aware of language choices based on B2 upwards Teenagers and young adults
output and Activity C2: Where is it from? context B2 upwards Teenagers and young adults
enhancing Activity C3: Write it Learners make language choices based on context A2 upwards Young learners and
interaction Activity C4: Say it like… Learners develop an understanding of how to use B1 upwards teenagers
Activity C5: Say it to… intonation and stress to convey meaning B1 upwards Teenagers, young adults,
Activity C6: Role-play Learners develop an understanding of how the same A2 upwards and adults
Activity C7: What is the next message can be conveyed in different ways B1 upwards Young adults and adults
line? Learners take part in a role-play Teenagers and young adults
Activity C8: Who needs Learners become aware of indirect meaning Young adults and adults
technology? Learners perform a communicative task
From implications to application

D. Pragmatics Activity D1: #hashtags Learners practise understanding different functions of A2 upwards Teenagers, young adults,
and social Activity D2: Writing in capital hashtags A1 upwards and adults
media letters Learners practise interpreting capitalised texts A2 upwards Teenagers, young adults,
Activity D3: Vaguebooking Learners practise identifying missing information A2 upwards and adults
Activity D4: Using emojis Learners practise interpreting emojis B1 upwards Young adults and adults
Activity D5: Three messages Learners develop awareness of tone in social media Teenagers, young adults,
messages and adults
Young adults and adults
E. Pragmatics in Activity E1: Communication in Learners develop awareness of intercultural B1 upwards Teenagers, young adults,
the world the UK communication B1 upwards and adults
Activity E2: The sound of Learners become aware of the importance of silence B1 upwards Teenagers, young adults,
silence Learners develop their awareness of cultural B1 upwards and adults
Activity E3a: What’s gone miscommunication A2 upwards Young adults and adults
wrong? Learners develop their awareness of cultural B1 upwards Younger learners and
Activity E3b: What’s gone miscommunication teenagers
wrong? Learners develop their awareness of cultural Younger learners, teenagers,
Activity E4: Back translation differences in the use of please and thank you and young adults
Activity E5: How are we Learners develop their understanding of cultural Teenagers, young adults,
different? differences in communication and adults
Section A. Raising pragmatic awareness
Activity A1a: Kind of vague
Aim: Learners become more aware of the use of vague language.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Make copies of the worksheet for all the learners.
Focus: Vague language

Procedure

1. Introduce the topic. This could be done by writing two sentences on

the board and asking learners to compare them. For example:
You were very rude to him tonight. You were kind of rude to her tonight.
2. Point out that the second example has a softening effect and is less
direct.
3. Follow the procedure on the worksheet.
• Step 1: give out the worksheet and have learners work in pairs to fill
in the blanks.
• Step 2: ask the learners to answer the questions (a–j) individually,
before comparing with a partner and confirming in open class.
• Step 3: focus on the translation exercise as a whole class.
• Step 4: encourage learners to read and listen to authentic examples
of English and try to notice examples of vague language.

Teacher’s notes
Vague language often contributes to the naturalness of conversation and
its informality. It prevents the speaker from sounding overly assertive or
authoritative. As such, it is a way of being polite and non-threatening.
Step 1
It is anticipated that the learners will choose all the answers from the left
column. If they choose one from the right, lead a discussion on how that
changes the meaning and/or tone of the conversation.
Step 2
a) It means similar to but not quite exactly the same. Greenish means not
exactly green.
b) It is added to adjectives.
c) In conversation
d) It softens the stance of the speaker, making them sound less direct.
e) Sort of is a very close synonym to kind of and so sort could replace kind.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
f) Small things
g) Yes
h) In conversation
i) Other things connected to a wedding that need to be done (e.g. order-
ing flowers, organising food, booking a band, etc.)
j) True

Step 3
The purpose of Step 3 is to encourage learners to consider how their own
languages use vague markers. If you share a language with your learners,
you could discuss their actual translations. If not, you can usefully discuss
whether the learners could find direct equivalents for the items used and
whether the meaning in English was relatively easy or difficult for them to
express in their own language.
Step 4
The purpose of Step 4 is to encourage learners to seek out authentic exam-
ples of English and notice how vague language is used. If you have time,
you could play a short clip in the lesson and ask learners to note down
examples.
Option
If you have time, you could ask the learners to work in pairs to write a short
dialogue using one or two of the examples they have studied.

Being vague
1. You are person B. You have set up a new business. You meet your friend,
person A, at a social event. Your friend asks about your business. You
are anxious not to appear arrogant or talk in a lot of detail as this is a
social event.

Choose which option (below) best completes the dialogue for numbers 1–5.
Tip: Think about the naturalness and tone of what you say.

1 newish 1 not new

2 kind of well, actually 2 excellently
3 I’m doing a few bits and pieces 3 I am working on five jobs
4 taking them for lunch and stuff 4 taking them for lunch, dinner, or
5 things grow a bit more coffee
5 I secure even more work

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 A: How are things with you? How’s the new business?
B: Well, ____1____ – we’ve been going over a year now.
A: That long? Where does the time go? How’s it going?
B: Yeah, not bad. I think it’s started ____2____. ____3____ for
­different people, you know.
A: Sounds good.
B: Yeah, in a way it’s better than having one big client ‘cause then
you really are totally dependent on them.
A: Yeah, really.
B: Although I have to spend time making the contacts, ____4____
and that’s a pain.
A: I can imagine.
B: Particularly as I have to pay! Anyway, yeah, I’m hoping ____5____
towards the end of the year, but so far so good.

2. Read the examples and answer the questions.

newish  goodish   youngish   greenish
a) What does -ish mean here?
b) What type of word is it added to?
c) Are you more likely to hear -ish in conversation or see it in written
language?

It’s started kind of well.It was kind of stupid. I’m kind of happy

about it.
d) What is the effect of using kind of in these examples?
e) Can you think of a word that could replace kind in all these
examples?

I’m doing a few bits and pieces.

If you are hungry there are a few bits and pieces in the fridge.
I’ve nearly finished – just a few bits and pieces to finish off.
f) Does bits and pieces suggest small things or big things?
g) Can you replace a few with other quantifiers, such as lots of ?

I take them for lunch and stuff. They plan to get engaged and stuff.
We need to do the invitations and stuff.
h) Are you more likely to hear and stuff in conversation or see it in
written language?
i) If you were planning a wedding and said We need to do the invita-
tions and stuff, what other things might you be thinking of?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 I am hoping things grow a bit. I’ve got a few things to do today.
What things are you working on?
j) You can use things in this way to avoid listing unimportant details.
True or false?

3. Does your own language have similar expressions? How would you
translate the highlighted words and phrases into your own language?
Why is the water greenish?
I’m kind of happy about it.
I’ve nearly finished – just a few bits and pieces to finish off.
We need to do the invitations and stuff.
I’ve got a few things to do today.

4. Next steps
Listen to natural English as much as you can. For example, you could
stream videos from YouTube or a similar service. Can you hear any
examples of vague language like these ones?

Activity A1b: Kind of vague

Aim: Learners become more aware of the use of vague language.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Make copies of the worksheet for all the learners.
Focus: Vague language
Procedure: This follows the same pattern as Activity A1a but is written to
appeal to younger learners and teenagers.
Introducing the topic: This could be done by writing two sentences on
the board and asking learners to compare them. For example:

You were very rude to him tonight. You were kind of rude to her tonight.
Point out that the second example has a softening effect and is less direct.
Follow the procedure on the worksheet.

• Step 1: give out the worksheet and have learners work in pairs to fill in
the blanks.
• Step 2: ask the learners to answer the questions (a–k) individually, before
comparing with a partner and confirming in open class.
• Step 3: focus on the translation exercise as a whole class.
• Step 4: encourage learners to read and listen to authentic examples of
English and try to notice examples of vague language.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
Teacher’s notes
See activity A1a. The numbering in step 2 changes slightly because of the
additional question (d). The answer for (d) is almost any adjective – biggish,
smallish, cuteish, reddish, etc.

Being vague
1. You are person B. You started at a new school last year. You meet your
parents’ friend, person A, at a family gathering. Person A asks about
your school. You are anxious not to appear arrogant or talk in a lot of
detail as you do not know the person well.

Choose which phrases you would use to complete the dialogue below.
Tip: Think about the naturalness and tone of what you say.

1 it’s newish, I guess 1 it’s not new

2 kind of well, actually 2 excellently
3 some things 3 maths, biology, physics, Spanish and history
4 I do a few bits and 4 I do two drawings a week, mainly of friends
pieces 5 homework, preparation, studying, and other
5 homework and stuff activities

A: How are things with you? How’s the new school?

B: Well, ____1____ but I’ve actually been going there for over a year
now.
A: That long? Where does the time go? How’s it going?
B: Yeah, not bad. I think it’s started ____2____. I got some good
grades for ____3____.
A: That’s great. Are you still doing your drawing?
B: ____4____, just small things, you know. Not much now though.
A: Well, you need time to study as well, I guess.
B: Yeah, there’s a lot of ____5____.
A: I can imagine. But it sounds like it’s going really well.

2. Read the examples and answer the questions.

newish  goodish  youngish  greenish
a) What does -ish mean here?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
30 From implications to application

b) What type of word is it added to?

c) Are you more likely to hear -ish in conversation or see it in written
language?
d) Think of three more words you could add -ish to.

It’s started kind of well. It was kind of stupid. I’m kind of happy
about it.

e) What is the effect of using kind of in these examples?

f) Can you think of a word that could replace kind in all these
examples?

I’m doing a few bits and pieces.

If you are hungry there are a few bits and pieces in the fridge.
I’ve nearly finished – just a few bits and pieces to finish off.
g) Does bits and pieces suggest small things or big things?
h) Can you replace a few with other quantifiers, such as lots of ?

I have homework and stuff. They plan to go to university and stuff.

We need to do the invitations and stuff.
i) Are you more likely to hear and stuff in conversation or see it in
written language?
j) If someone says They plan to go to university and stuff, what other
things might they be thinking of/planning?

I got good grades in some things. I’ve got a few things to do today.
What things are you working on?
k) You can use things in this way to avoid listing unimportant details.
True or false?

3. Does your own language have similar expressions? How would you
translate the highlighted words and phrases into your own language?
Why is the water greenish?
I’m kind of happy about it.
I’ve nearly finished – just a few bits and pieces to finish off.
We need to do the invitations and stuff.
I’ve got a few things to do today.

4. Next steps
Listen to natural English as much as you can. For example, you could
stream videos from YouTube or a similar service. Can you hear any
examples of vague language like these ones?
 From implications to application 31

Activity A2: Eliciting a dialogue

Aim: Learners develop awareness of features of natural spoken language.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 10 minutes
Preparation: Select a dialogue from your course book. Think of ways it
could be expanded or made more natural.
Focus: Natural spoken language

Procedure

1. Select a dialogue from the course book that does not seem very natu-
ral to you. These are often recorded and so you can use the transcript
provided.
2. Focus the learners on the dialogue, either before the course book activ-
ity or afterwards.
3. Build an alternative version of the dialogue on the board. See the
example below. Elicit any particular features you want to focus on. You
could ask questions such as How can we make this more polite? How
could we make this sound more friendly? How can we make the speaker
sound more interested in what the other person says?
4. When you have completed the dialogue, ask the learners to copy down
the new version of the text.

Teacher’s notes
You do not necessarily have to rewrite the whole dialogue. There may be a
single line in the course book version that you think could be improved. In
that case, focus learners just on that line.
This activity is a good way of getting learners to review what they have
previously studied, if you select a dialogue from an earlier lesson.
32 From implications to application

Example

Course book version New version

A: Excuse me. Do you speak A: Excuse me. Do you speak English?

English? B: Yes, a little. Can I help you?
B: Yes, I do. A: Is there a bicycle hire centre near here?
A: Is there a bicycle hire B: Yes, there is actually. It’s not very far from
centre near here? here. Turn left at the end of this road and
B: Yes, there is. Turn left at you will see it.
the end of this road. A: Thank you.
A: Thank you. B: Where are you from?
B: Where are you from? A: Chile – Santiago.
A: Chile – Santiago. B: I’ve never been there. I’d love to go one day.
B: Welcome to Poland! What Anyway, welcome to Poland! What are you
are you doing in Gdansk? doing in Gdansk?
A: I am here on business. But A: I am here on business. But I have a free day
I have a free day today. today.
B: Enjoy your stay. B: Well, there’s lots to see. Enjoy your stay. I
hope you enjoy your bike ride.
A: Thanks.

Activity A3a: What’s the reply?

Aim: Learners develop an awareness of implied meaning.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Raising awareness of implicit meaning

Procedure

1. Display or distribute the sentences below. Tell the learners that they
have to match the responses on the right with each statement or ques-
tion on the left.
2. Ensure that learners understand that there may be more than one pos-
sible answer.
3. Tell the learners that they should decide on what the response might
mean in the context they imagine it being said. They can imagine
details of who is speaking to who.
4. Put the learners into pairs or small groups to imagine a context, do the
matching exercise, and discuss potential meanings.
5. The learners report back their answers and their explanations of
meaning.
 From implications to application 33

Match the statements on the left with the replies on the right. You may be
able to find more than one appropriate response.

1 Do you want to go for a walk? It’s Sunday morning. A

2 Can you turn the music down – I’m It’s over 500 kilometres there B
trying to work. and back.
3 We need a plumber. Have you seen the weather? C
4 When am I going to find out if I got I’m practising – I’ve got a gig D
the promotion? tomorrow.
5 Do you want to drive, or shall we Carmen’s on holiday. E
take the train?

Suggested answers are below. The most likely answer is given first. There
may be variations in meaning to the examples given. For example, 1-C may
mean I do not want to go for a walk because the weather is bad or it may be
checking that the speaker in 1 realises that the weather is bad.

Key
1 C (I do not want to go for a walk because the weather is bad.)
A (I am doing what I usually do on a Sunday morning and I do not
want to go for a walk.)
D (I’m busy practising and therefore cannot go for a walk.)
2 D (What I am doing is important and so I have to make this noise.)
A (Why are you working on Sunday morning?)
3 A (Plumbers may not work on Sunday morning – so we may not be
able to call a plumber.)
C (The weather is bad and a plumber will not want to come out.)
E (Carmen is our usual plumber and she is on holiday, so we cannot
call her.)
4 E (Carmen will decide and she is on holiday, therefore you will not
hear quickly.)
A (It is Sunday morning and no one is working, so you will not hear
until after the weekend at the earliest.)
5 B (It is too far to drive – we will take the train.)
A (Perhaps the trains will not run on Sunday morning.)
C (The weather is too bad to drive – we will take the train.)
34 From implications to application

Activity A3b: What’s the reply?

Aim: Learners develop an awareness of implied meaning.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Raising awareness of implicit meaning

Procedure
This is a variation on Activity A3a, with examples more appropriate for
younger learners.
Follow the procedure in A3a, using the example sentences below.
If you prefer, the learners could mingle in the classroom, each having
one sentence and having to find an appropriate partner.

1 Do you want to play football? It’s Sunday morning. A

2 Can you turn the music down – I’m The train is broken. B
trying to work.
3 We need to take Suki to the vet. It’s raining. C
4 When are we going to plan our I’ve got to do my dance D
holiday? practice.
5 Do you want to play with your train Mum is at work. E
set, or your animals?

Key
1 C (I do not want to play football because the weather is bad.)
A (I am doing what I usually do on a Sunday morning and I do not
want to play football.)
D (I’m busy practising and therefore cannot go for a walk.)
E (Mum is at work and she is the person who usually plays with me.)
2 D (What I am doing is important and so I have to make this noise.)
A (Why are you working on Sunday morning?)
3 A (A vet may not be working on a Sunday morning – so we may not be
able to take our pet to the vet.)
D (I am busy doing something else and cannot take the pet to the vet.)
E (Mum would usually be responsible for this and she is at work, so
somebody else will have to act.)
4 E (We cannot do this until we are all together.)
D (I am busy doing something else and so cannot do this.)
5 B (I have no choice because the train is broken.)
 From implications to application 35

Activity A4: What’s the next line?

Aim: Learners become aware of meaning in context and indirectness in
conversation.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Indirectness in conversation

Procedure

1. Write 1. How long will you be in the shower? on the board. Ask the learn-
ers to imagine who is speaking to whom, and any other details they
think are important. Ask the learners what the meaning of the line
would be in the context that they imagine.
It is likely that the meaning is something like: Hurry up – I need to use
the bathroom.
2. Write the following sentences on the board. Ask the learners to read
the sentences and explain any new words to them that they do not
understand. Explain that all the lines are said by school children to
their parents/caregivers.
2. I’ll be late home – I have dance class until 8.30 tonight.
3. Nadia and Anisa are going to the cinema tonight.
4. These shoes are too small – they hurt my feet.
5. I saw a great backpack at the mall today but I didn’t have enough
money.
3. Tell the class that you will give them the meanings of the sentences.
They must tell you which meaning goes with which of the five sen-
tences on the board. Read the following lines:
I really need the toilet. (1)
I’d like a new pair of shoes. (4)
I’d like a new backpack. Can you help me buy it? (5)
I want to go with them. (3)
Can you give me a lift home? (2)
4. Tell the class that you will read the responses to the lines (in bold
below), which were said by the parents/caregivers in response. The
learners must tell you which sentence (1–5) each response matches. In
each case spend some time eliciting the meaning of the line given.
I’ve only just got in here. (1) – and so I am likely to be some time.
I expect they have done all their homework. (3) – you have not done
all your homework and so cannot go to the cinema.
36 From implications to application

I get paid on Friday – can you manage until then? (4) – I will buy
you new shoes when I have some money.
You already have a backpack. (5) – I am not buying you another
backpack.
I’ll pick you up, if you like. Is Ahmed going as well? (2) – agreeing
to give a lift home and offering to also give a lift to Ahmed (presumably
a friend).
5. Ask the learners to copy the sentences from the board and also write
the response that you gave after each one. After a few minutes, write
the responses on the board so that the learners can check what they
have written. Highlight how the questions use indirectness.
6. In pairs the learners write short dialogues of no more than three or
four lines for the scenarios below.
• suggest that it would be nice to order takeaway food
• ask for a new piece of sports equipment
Highlight the potential to use indirect language.
7. Ask some of the pairs to perform one of their dialogues.

Activity A5a: Who is the owner?

Aim: Learners appreciate that the relationship between people, and the
mode of communication, impact on language choices.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Make copies of a sequence of messages taken from a messag-
ing app (see example).
Focus: Appropriate language choices; reading

Procedure

1. Explain that the learners work in a police department. They have been
given a mobile phone and need to work out information about the
owner, the person they were messaging, and their relationship. They do
this by studying the text. The owner’s contributions are in darker grey.
2. Explain any unknown vocabulary in the text.
3. Learners read the messages and make notes.
4. Learners share their ideas in pairs or small groups.
5. Learners report back their ideas to the teacher.
6. Learners suggest features of the text that are common in instant mes-
saging (see key below). If necessary, the teacher can direct learners to
these features and ask them to comment on them.
 From implications to application 37

Hey – it’s been a while.

How are things with
you? I’m watching
Casablanca – thought
of you

Because I’m like

Humphrey Bogart?

No coz I remember
that night we watched it
at your place

I thought you hated it

because it was black and
white Do I have to say
­congratulations?

The pizza was good

I guess I should – I wasn’t
expecting it to last six
I liked the movie too btw months?
– gotta love a classic
movie
Not sure I was!

Anyway – how are you.

How are things with But yeah – all good
Alex?

I’m about to go for my

Yeah, great obviously. run
6-month anniversary
tomorrow?
Me too

You run now??? When

did that start?

Well, I don’t run as much

as you, but I figured I
could get a bit fitter
38 From implications to application

Option
Search for a short clip of the film Casablanca to play at the start of the
lesson and ask learners if they think they would like the rest of the film.
See Activity 5b for a variation aimed at younger learners.
The subject matter of the lesson continues in Activity A6.

Key
• The two people used to be closer than now (‘it’s been a while’).
• They had a very close relationship (e.g. joking about the breakup of a
current relationship – ‘I wasn’t expecting it to last six months’).
• They were perhaps in a romantic relationship (watching a romantic film
together).
• They both like films.
• The owner of the phone does regular exercise and has done for some
time.
• The other person has started exercising more recently.
• The owner of the phone has been in a new relationship for six months.
• The other person may be jealous of this (‘do I have to say congratula-
tions?’ sounds reluctant).

Text features

• use of emojis
• use of ellipsis
• use of abbreviations (btw)
• lack of standard punctuation (e.g. no full stops at the end of turns and
multiple question marks)
• not always written in grammatically complete sentences (‘me too’)
• assumptions of shared knowledge (‘that night’)

Activity A5b: Who is the owner?

Note: This is the same activity as A5a but the content has been adjusted for
younger learners.
Aim: Learners appreciate that the relationship between people, and the
mode of communication, impact on language choices.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Make copies of a sequence of messages taken from a messag-
ing app (see example).
Focus: Appropriate language choices; reading
 From implications to application 39

Procedure

1. Explain that a mysterious mobile phone has been found in the class-
room and no one knows who it belongs to. They need to work out
information about the owner, the person they were messaging, and
their relationship. They do this by studying the text. The owner’s con-
tributions are in darker grey.
2. Explain any unknown vocabulary in the text.
3. Learners read the messages and make notes.
4. Learners share their ideas in pairs or small groups.
5. Learners report back their ideas to the teacher.
6. Learners suggest features of the text that are common in instant mes-
saging (see key). If necessary, the teacher can direct learners to these
features and ask them to comment on them.

Hey – What are you Not much to tell. Usual

doing? place???

Watching the football

Any good? Who’s Are you getting the bus?

playing?

Probably, but my sister

A bit dull actually 0–0 might give us a lift –
she passed her test
yesterday
Do you wanna meet
up???
Good for her – and good
for you if you can get lifts
Sure I wanna hear about now!
last night!!!

I’ll ask her and get back

Where shall we go?? to you

Break of a few minutes

All good she says yes Can you wait outside so

and she can borrow we don’t have to find a
mum’s car parking space?

pick you up in about

Thank you!
30 minutes?
40 From implications to application

Key
• One of the two people likes football. The owner of the phone perhaps
does not like football, as they do not know who is playing.
• They are close and have shared knowledge (e.g. that something signifi-
cant happened last night, and an understanding of ‘the usual place’).
• They both like fast food.
• Neither of the people drive – they rely on a lift or public transport, so
they are probably young.
• The owner of the phone has a sister (probably older) who does drive but
does not own her own car (she borrows her mum’s).
• One person (not the owner of the phone) lives in a busy area where it is
difficult to park.

Text features

• use of emojis
• use of ellipsis (‘watching the football’)
• lack of standard punctuation (e.g. no full stops at the end of turns and
multiple question marks)
• not always written in grammatically complete sentences (‘a bit dull actu-
ally’, ‘not much to tell’)
• assumptions of shared knowledge (significance of ‘last night’)

Activity A6: Who is the owner? (continued)

Aim: Learners practise informal writing.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 20 minutes
Preparation: Make copies of the sequence of messages taken from a mes-
saging app (see below).
Focus: Reading and writing

Procedure

1. Briefly review what the learners know about the features of informal
writing when using a messaging app.
2. Remind learners of the situation outlined in Activity 5a. They work
in a police department and have been given a mobile phone and need
to work out information about the owner, the person they were mes-
saging, and their relationship. They do this by studying the text. The
contributions of the phone’s owner are in darker grey. Explain that the
 From implications to application 41

police now know some things about the owner of the phone and also
have more messages to study.
2. Explain that the police investigators now believe that three turns in the
conversation were not written by the same people as the rest of the con-
versation. This is because they are written in a more formal and careful
style than the others. The learners work in small groups to identify the
three turns.
3. Check that the learners select the correct three turns.
4. Learners work in small groups to change the style of these turns so that
they match the rest of the message.

So tell me – how was

the run?

Sorry to hear that – what’s

I enjoyed it very much but
happened?
I did not go too far. This is
a new form of exercise for
me and it seems sensible
Oh just the usual, I think –
to take things carefully.
getting old!

Well, I think it’s great

What are you up to
you’re doing it. What
tonight? Anything
else is new?
exciting?

Not much – just doing the

I am preparing dinner and
usual stuff
then I have a little work to
do later tonight. I have an
important presentation on
How are your mum and
Monday.
dad these days?

Shame, I thought you

Unfortunately, the
might be free. Anyway,
health of both of my
hope the presentation
parents has declined a
goes well
little over the last three
months.
Do you wanna meet?
I assumed you were
planning anniversary
celebrations
Option
Learners write another section of the conversation for homework.

Key
The three turns that are in a different style are in bold. More informal vari-
ations are given, but of course, there could be many alternative answers.

• I enjoyed it very much but I did not go too far. This is a new form
of exercise for me and it seems sensible to take things carefully.
It was good but I am new to this, so I didn’t go far!
• Unfortunately, the health of both of my parents has declined a little
over the last three months.
Not great – they seem to have gotten worse over the last few months
• I am preparing dinner and then I have a little work to do later
tonight. I have an important presentation on Monday.
I’m just cooking dinner, bit of work after that – I’ve got a big pres-
entation on Monday

Section B. Using rich pragmatic input

Activity B1: Watch a movie scene
Aim: Learners observe communication in a movie scene.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Select an appropriate scene from a movie. For example, go
to a video sharing website and search for ‘best movie meetings’ or ‘best
movie board meetings’. Prepare a copy of the worksheet for each learner
(see below) or create your own variation.
Focus: Raising awareness of how to show interest and politeness

Procedure

1. Explain to the learners that they are going to watch a scene from a
movie. Explain to them the context in which the meeting you have
selected happens.
2. Explain any vocabulary that you think your learners may need to know.
3. Set a broad gist listening question and play the scene through once.
4. Check that the learners have broadly understood the scene.
5. Check that the learners understand the observation sheet.
6. Play the video again this time pausing at appropriate points so that the
leaners can make relevant notes on the observation sheet.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
7. After watching, ask the learners to compare their ideas.
8. Invite the learners to report back their ideas.
9. Optionally, give a link to the learners to another movie clip that they
can study at home using the same observation prompts.

Observation Worksheet
Make notes as you watch so that you can answer the questions afterwards.

1. Could you understand the conversation easily? Make a note of any-

thing you did not understand.

2. Did the people in the scene show interest in what others said?

3. Did the people involve each other in the conversation and encourage
each other to speak?

4. Were any of the characters you observed too direct, not direct enough,
or was their directness about right?

5. Did any of the characters change the topic of the conversation at any
point? If so, how did they do this?

6. Did you notice any particular uses of body language which, for exam-
ple, conveyed surprise, happiness, or disappointment?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
7. Did you notice anything that contrasts with your own culture? For
example, the way in which people addressed each other, and the for-
mality of the language used.

8. Do you have any questions for your teacher?

Activity B2: Who wrote that?

Aim: Learners become aware of language choices based on context.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: Select an appropriate text, or texts. These could come from
your course book. The text could be one that the learners have read
before and should one that they can understand without undue effort.
Focus: The role of context in influencing language choices

Procedure

1. Introduce the reading text in the usual way and after the learners have
read it, check general comprehension.
2. Set the learners the questions below. Be prepared to adapt these ques-
tions to suit your class and/or the text you choose. Allow learners to
work in pairs or small groups to answer them.
3. Encourage the learners to report back their ideas in open class and
provide feedback.

QUESTIONS
1) What is the topic of the text? Does the writer cover one topic or more
than one?
2) Does the writer have specialist knowledge of the topic(s)? What makes
you think this?
3) Is the text written for a general audience or a specialist audience? What
makes you think this?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 From implications to application 45

4) Who did the writer expect to read the text?

5) Does the writer know the intended reader personally? What makes you
think this? If so, what is their relationship? What makes you think this?

Variation
The same basic activity could be used with listening texts of various sorts,
including interviews.

Activity B3: Car stickers

Aim: Learners develop an understanding of the implied meaning of car
stickers.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None
Focus: The implied meaning of messages found on car stickers

Procedure

1. Ask the learners if they ever see stickers on the backs of cars and other
vehicles. If so, ask them to share any that they can remember. The stick-
ers may be in the L1. These can be translated, if necessary. (Note: some
car stickers may not be appropriate for all classes so skip this stage if
that is the case.)
2. Explain that the following slogans are commonly found on stickers in
the UK:
1. Baby on Board
2. New driver
3. No tools are kept in this vehicle overnight
4. Police follow this vehicle
5. If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you.
6. I have good brakes.
Do you have good insurance?
3. In small groups, the learners discuss what the implied meanings of the
messages are and anything else they can determine, such as the type of
vehicle that the sticker may be seen on, or who the owner of the vehicle
may be.
4. The learners report back their ideas. In open class we discuss whether
similar stickers exist in other countries/cultures.
46 From implications to application

Suggested key
1. A very common sticker, sometimes with variations, such as ‘Little
Princess/Prince on board’. The implied meaning is that the driver
behind should drive cautiously. The owner of the vehicle must have a
young child.
2. This is often displayed after someone has just passed their driving test.
The implied message would seem to be that the following driver should
remain patient and understanding of any errors that the driver makes,
such as stalling the car at a traffic light. It may also imply that the driver
behind should not get too close.
3. This is a common sticker on the vans used by tradespeople. The implied
message would seem to be that it is not worth breaking into the van
because there is nothing inside worth stealing.
4. This is a common sticker/sign on security vans that transport money.
The implied message is that any attempt to hijack the van and steal the
money would be very high risk.
5. This is a common sticker on large lorries. The message acts as a warn-
ing that the driver of the lorry may not be able to see a car which is very
close to the back of the lorry.
6. This sticker can be found on private vehicles. The change in font size
draws attention to the fact that anyone who can read the second part is
probably driving too close to the vehicle in front. It acts as a warning
that any accident will be the fault of the driver behind.

Activity B4: Notes found on cars

Aim: Learners develop an understanding of the implied meaning of short
written notes.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: Write out the notes below on pieces of paper. Depending on
the size of the class, you may need to write them out more than once.
Feel free to add capitalisation or make any other adjustments you think
appropriate for your class.
Focus: The implied meaning of short handwritten messages

Procedure
1. Ask the learners if they have ever left a note on someone else’s car. If so,
why did they do it?
2. Explain that the learners are going to see short notes that were found
on people’s cars. They should work out why the note was written and
 From implications to application 47

what action the writer would like the recipient to take. They could also
speculate as to how the message made the receiver feel.
3. Put the learners into small groups and give each group one note to
discuss. After a couple of minutes, ask each group to pass their note to
another group. Repeat this until all the groups have seen all the notes.
4. In open class, take one note at a time and ask learners to report back
what they believe prompted the writer to act.

Traditionally we park between the lines. Not on the lines.

Dear HN67 WMX
This is 07412 020663. The scratch you now have on the passenger door
was my fault. Sorry.
Your car alarm has gone off three nights in a row. It is just a Ford Fiesta. It
will still be safe if you leave the key in it.
Thanks for parking your car over my driveway. I really appreciated having
to look for another space and then walking back in the rain to my house.
Every day you park here. Every day kids use the crossing that is two metres
ahead of you. There are parking restrictions for a reason.

Suggested key
Traditionally we park between the lines. Not on the lines.
This is a criticism of the receiver’s parking. The implication is that they
should take more care and/or be less selfish in the way in which they park.
Dear HN67 WMX
This is 07412 020663. The scratch you now have on the passenger door was
my fault. Sorry.
This is an apology. The anticipated action is that the owner of the car
will call the number provided so that the writer of the message can pay the
repair bill.
Your car alarm has gone off three nights in a row. It is just a Ford Fiesta. It
will still be safe if you leave the key in it.
The implication is that this is annoying (perhaps interrupting sleep) and
that the alarm should be fixed, or not used.
Thanks for parking your car over my driveway. I really appreciated having to
look for another space and then walking back in the rain to my house.
There is irony in this statement and it functions as a complaint. The antic-
ipated action is that the receiver of the message will not repeat the action.
Every day you park here. Every day kids use the crossing that is two metres
ahead of you. There are parking restrictions for a reason.
48 From implications to application

This is a criticism and the implication is that the actions of the receiver
are dangerous and should not be repeated.

Activity B5: Notes found on the fridge

Aim: Learners develop an understanding of the implied meaning of short
written notes.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: Write out the notes below on pieces of paper. Depending on
the size of the class, you may need to write them out more than once.
Feel free to add capitalization or make any other adjustments you think
appropriate for your class.
Focus: The implied meaning of short handwritten messages

Procedure

1. Ask the learners if they ever leave notes for the people they share a
house with. If so, what sort of information do they include.
2. Explain that the learners are going to see short notes that were left on
fridges for others to read. They should work out why the note was writ-
ten and what action the writer would like the recipient to take. They
could also speculate as the relationship of the people.
3. Put the learners into small groups and give each group one note to
discuss. After a couple of minutes, ask each group to pass their note to
another group. Repeat this until all the groups have seen all the notes.
4. In open class, take one note at a time and ask learners to report back
what they believe prompted the writer to act.

We have no bread.
I’m not sure who is cooking tonight. I won’t be back until about 8.30 x
Hope you had a good evening. The kitchen light was left on all night again.
The pipe under the sink is leaking. I’ve put a bucket there. It fills up every
hour or so. Have a good day.
The cat food is in the fridge. Have a good day.

Suggested key:
We have no bread.
The implication is probably that the receiver of the message should buy
some bread.
I’m not sure who is cooking tonight. I won’t be back until about 8.30 x
 From implications to application 49

The implication is probably that the receiver of the message should cook
dinner. It seems that the two people are in a relationship (cooking/eating
together and a kiss at the end of the message).
Hope you had a good evening. The kitchen light was left on all night again.
This seems to be a mild criticism/reprimand. Perhaps a parent is address-
ing a child.
The pipe under the sink is leaking. I’ve put a bucket there. It fills up every hour
or so. Have a good day.
The implication is that the receiver of the message should empty the
bucket every hour and perhaps call a plumber.
The cat food is in the fridge. Have a good day.
The implication is that the receiver of the message should feed the cat.

Activity B6: You have voicemail

Aim: Learners develop an understanding of the implied meaning of short,
spoken messages.
Level: A1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: If possible, record the example lines below so that you can
play them in class. Alternatively, they can be written on the board. Feel
free to make any other adjustments you think appropriate for your class.
Focus: The implied meaning of short voice messages

Procedure

1. Ask the learners if they leave voice messages for friends. If so, what sort
of topics do they include?
2. Explain that the learners are going to hear short messages that were left on
a phone. Reassure them that they do not have to understand every word.
They need to understand the main point of each message and the action
required. They could also speculate on the relationship of the people.
3. Play each recording in turn, replaying it as necessary. In pairs, learn-
ers tell each other what they understood and what action the receiver
should take.
4. In open class, take one message at a time and ask learners to report
back their ideas.

Example messages
1. Hey, hope you are ok. Don’t forget we have an exam tomorrow. See
you then.
50 From implications to application

2. Hey – hope you get this – I just remembered it is Eze’s birthday

tomorrow.
3. Hello. I’m calling you because I don’t have Wilf’s number. Can you get
back to me?
4. Hello. I’m running out of battery, and I don’t have my charger.
5. About the weekend – the new Avengers movie will be out.

Suggested key
1. Two friends (in the same class) – it may be a reminder to revise for the
exam.
2. Two friends, talking about a third friend – perhaps a reminder to buy a
present, or at least to say ‘happy birthday’ to Eze.
3. Two friends – a request for the receiver of the call to supply the caller
with the number of Wilf.
4. Two friends – a request to borrow a phone charger, or perhaps an expla-
nation of why they will not be in touch.
5. Two friends – a suggestion of what they could do together at the
weekend.

Activity B7: Keep the conversation going

Aim: Learners practise active listening.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Select an appropriate video, or section of a video, of a celeb-
rity being interviewed. Try to pick a celebrity the class will be interested
in. It will not be necessary for the learners to understand the interview
in detail. Prepare a gist task to use when the learners listen.
Focus: Listening; the use of body language; speaking

Procedure

1. Introduce the celebrity and ask what the class knows about them.
2. Explain that the class will listen to an interview. If you judge that learn-
ers will find the interview difficult to understand, outline the basic
content at this stage. Set the gist task.
3. Play the video and then check that the learners have understood the
gist.
4. Tell the learners that they will watch again. This time they should
focus on the host (and/or other guests on the show). Learners should
make notes on the questions asked, body language (including smiling,
 From implications to application 51

nodding etc), laughter, use of repetition, use of checks, and any other
features that seem important.
5. Play the video, and after, allow learners to compare notes and ideas.
6. Learners report back their ideas. Ask learners why the features they
noted are important.
7. Learners work in groups of three and take turns to tell each other an
anecdote/story on the same topic as the interview. If necessary, allow
some preparation time for learners to prepare their stories. Encourage
the two listeners to listen actively, using some of the strategies they
noticed in the video.
8. Select a learner or two to tell their story to the whole class. Give feed-
back on the listening strategies you noticed at stage 7.

Option
At stage 7, have one active listener only. The third person acts as an observer
and after the story gives feedback on the strategies used.

Activity B8: Please and thank you

Aim: Learners become aware of the use of polite routines.
Level: A1
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Play the episode Please and Thank You from Peppa Pig
(Season 6, Episode 46). See teachers’ notes for the video analysis.
Focus: Polite routines

Procedure

1. Tell students that you are going to play an episode from Peppa Pig.
Ask them first if they are familiar with the cartoons and who the main
characters are. Pictures ofthe main characters can be shown in class to
elicit their names.
2. Play the video as many times as they need it. Twice or three times might
be enough for the activity. Point out that they will watch the first two
minutes and then, at the end of the class, they will watch the whole
episode.
Two options are provided now which will be chosen depending on the
students’ skills.
Option 1: If students do not read or write in the L2
3. After watching the video twice or three times, stop the video when the
characters say please and thank you, and ask them orally:
52 From implications to application

What does Peppa say?

What does George say?
Is Mummy Pig happy? Is Grandma Pig happy?
In the last question, we would expect children to notice that they are
happy, when asked why, let them use their L1 and say because they say please
and thank you, and they show they are polite and that they have manners.
To further explain this, you can use the metapragmatic explanations that
‘Grandma Pig’ provides in the video.
4. To make students practise, tell them things so that they can use the two
pragmatic routines:
Would you like some water?
Would you like some chocolate?
Would you like some cookies?
Would you like some juice?

Students should answer these questions by saying: Yes, please. Thank you.
No, thank you.
Option 2: If students read the L2
3. The procedure would partially be the same. Put students in groups of
3–4. After watching the video twice or three times, stop the video when
the characters say please and thank you, and ask them to choose what the
characters say by using flashcards (with please, thank you, Would you like
some...?, and also distractors can be added):

What does Peppa say?

What does George say?

The following question should be done orally, as in Option 1.

Is Mummy Pig happy? Is Grandma Pig happy?
4. To make students practise, tell them things so that they can use the two
pragmatic routines. If they have a higher proficiency level, this can be done
in pairs and be role-played:
Would you like some water?
Would you like some chocolate?
Would you like some cookies?
Would you like some juice?
Students should answer these questions by saying: Yes, please. Thank you.
No, thank you.
 From implications to application 53

Teacher’s notes
The pragmatic routines that are salient in the video are Please and Thank
you which are commonly used implicitly and explicitly by teachers from
very early stages. Such routines are produced when teachers ask students to
do something or ask them to use them when they interact with the teach-
ers, with other classmates, and with people in general. With very young
children, terms such as politeness or manners are commonly found to
refer to these types of pragmatic routines. At these early stages of language
learning, such strategies help learners socialise in their small community;
‘the classroom’. Since different cultures use these terms in different ways,
it might also be important to make learners reflect on such uses in their
L1s as well.
Video excerpts, such as cartoons, TV series, or films usually provide
rich pragmatic interaction that can help exemplify the pragmatic aspects
we want to deal with in class. To select the pragmatic excerpts, two tables
are provided that can help us analyse the input we want to use, before we
provide it to the students, and before developing any activities derived
from the input. The tables provide the input analysis for the Peppa Pig
episode.​
Table 2.3 provides the expressions that the mother, the grand-
mother, and the children produce in the episode. As seen in the proce-
dure, these are expressions and metapragmatic explanations that can be
identified by the students after playing the video with guidance from
the teacher.

TABLE 2.2 
Contextualising the video

Context Social status Social Pragmatic Degree of

distance move importance

Family Parents, Family Talking Low (it is a

breakfast grandparents, about family meeting
and manners: with no face-
grandchildren please and threatening
thank you actions)
54 From implications to application

TABLE 2.3 Analysing pragmatics

Pragmatic move Linguistic devices used Non-linguistic Pragmatic problems

Request “May I have some Intonation No pragmatic

Acceptance juice, please?” plays an problems
Thanking “Of course, you may, important A misuse of please
Offering a drink Peppa.” role in the may lead to
Accepting “Thank you.” video. insistence and to
Overuse of please “Would you like communication
Metapragmatic some juice, breakdowns,
explanation George?” this is why
on the use of “Please, thank you.” Peppa provides
please “Please, please, a metapragmatic
Metapragmatic please.” explanation on its
explanation “No, George. You use.
on the use of only say please
thank you when you ask for
something.”
“And you say
thank you when
somebody does
something for
you”

Activity B9: Identifying pragmatic features

Aim: Learners identify pragmatic features in a scene from a movie or a
sitcom.
Level: B2 upwards
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Select an appropriate scene and have the link ready for the
class to watch.
Focus: Suggestions; requests

Procedure

1. Display grid 1 for the learners so that they know what is expected from
them.
2. The learners watch the following excerpt (see grid 1):
Friends 1-1:14 www​.youtube​.com​/watch​?v​=ywtxjkaPm10
Then ask the class which pragmatic chunks/features/phrases they
have been able to identify in the excerpt. It may be useful to stop the
 From implications to application 55

recording after the first example you wish to highlight and direct the
class to that chunk, completing the grid for that example. This will
serve as a model for the rest of the activity.
3. Fill in grid 1 with the learners’ answers. Ideally, they should come
with similar answers to those in columns 5 and 6 in grid 2. Column 5,
Target of analysis: “You might as well let me go; What if I clean your
bathroom for a month?”; “All I want is my freedom”; “I’ll take all of
your photos and put them into photo albums”; “Why won’t you hear
me, Sophie?”; “Would you please just …?”. Column 6, Pragmatic fea-
tures: Suggestions, requests.
4. If needed, students can watch the clip a second time to complete any
missing information.
5. Teacher and students work on the pragmatic features identified during
the rest of the session. For instance, the teacher can analyse structures
2 (What if …?) and 4 (I will take all …) for suggestions in the clip to
make students aware of the relationship between grammar and prag-
matics. Such explanation should also take into account both the image
and the sound in the clip so that students can also notice the role of
intonation and gestures.

Teacher’s notes
The first time the grid is used with a group of students or also if used with
students at low levels of proficiency, you can use grid 2, which contains the
answers, so that they can tick those features they have been able to identify.
Using the caption option on the video can also be very useful in such cases.
Option
This activity can also be used as homework with the students choosing the
excerpts they can look for or that they are already familiar with.
GRID 1. Fill in the missing information in columns 5 (target of analysis)
and 6 (pragmatic features).

Title Clip Plot in the scene Characters Target of Pragmatic

Analysis features

Friends 1–1​:14​w ww​ Chandler smacks Chandler

.youtube​ his head on and
.com​/ the filing Rachel
watch​ cabinet
?v​=ywt​
xjkaPm10
56 From implications to application

GRID 2. Target of analysis and pragmatic features.

Title Clip Plot in the scene Characters Target of Pragmatic

Analysis features

Friends 1–1​:14​w ww​ Chandler smacks Chandler See 1 to Suggestions

.youtube​.com​ his head on and 6 below Requests
/watch​?v​=ywt​ the filing Rachel
xjkaPm10 cabinet
Target of analysis:
1: “You might as well let me go.”
2: “What if I clean your bathroom for a month?”
3: “All I want is my freedom.”
4: “I’ll take all of your photos and put them into photo albums.”
5: “Why won’t you hear me, Sophie?”
6: “Would you please just …?”

Section C. Eliciting pragmatic output and enhancing interaction

Activity C1: Changing the subject
Aim: Learners practise using phrases to change the subject.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Make copies of the short dialogues (see below) for all the
learners.
Focus: Changing the subject of a conversation

Procedure
1. Introduce the topic. You could refer to expressions in the learners’ first
language that are used to change the subject. Or you could display one
of the dialogues on the board and focus on it.
2. The learners read the short extracts from conversations. Help learners
with any problematic vocabulary (e.g. shattered = very tired).
3. The learners underline the phrases used when the speaker changes the
subject of the conversation.
4. Check that the learners have underlined the correct phrases (see key).
5. Give the learners information about the phrases by asking questions
such as:
• Which phrase is used to return to a previous topic of conversation?
(Or to return to what we were talking about before.)
• What verb form is used after that reminds me? (Past simple in this
case, but past progressive could also be used.)
 • Can you join the phrases, and use more than one? (Yes, by the way,
before I forget.)
• What purpose does the use of oh have? (It creates a break between
one topic and the next, similar to a pause.)
6. The learners work with a partner. They write two short dialogues,
using at least one expression in each.
7. When the learners have written the dialogues, ask them to choose one
and practise it so that they can perform it without reading.
8. Nominate some pairs to perform their dialogues for the class.
9. Lead some feedback, including praise and any necessary correction.

Option 1
Ask the learners to read the dialogues again and pick out one or two other
expressions that they would like to remember (e.g. what a nightmare).
Option 2
Learners choose one of the expressions and translate it into their L1s. If
there is more than one L1 in the class, they check whether all the languages
have an equivalent for the expression.

Dialogue 1

A: What was the movie like?

B: Well, after all the hype, I was a bit disappointed to be honest. It
was ok, but nothing like as good as I expected.
A: That’s disappointing. Oh, by the way, before I forget, can you let me
have some ideas of what I can get Sophie for her birthday? Ten already!
B: Yeah, where do the years go? She’s always reading, so a book maybe?

Dialogue 2
A: What was the football like?
B: Fantastic! What a game, and great atmosphere. It was a long jour-
ney, though – I’m shattered!
A: I’m glad it was good. That reminds me, I wanted to ask you how
you got the time off work. I thought we couldn’t use leave until the
summer.

Dialogue 3
A: How was your weekend?
B: Yeah fine – the usual. We didn’t do much but I did go for a run on
Sunday. Oh, while I remember, Alex wants me to invite you over
next week. Are you free?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
Dialogue 4
A: How are things going with Alex?
B: Yeah, good – early days and all that. But good.
A: That’s great – just great to see you happy. I thought you might
never date again after last time!
B: I know, what a nightmare that was. Oh, changing the subject for a sec-
ond – I forgot to tell you – I have applied for the Head of School job.
A: Really? That’s great. Good luck with it.

Dialogue 5
A: Did you have a nice time at the dinner?
B: Well, you know, it could have been worse. I didn’t stay very late.
Just to go back to what we were talking about before, if you need
any help with anything, just let me know.

Key
Dialogue 1: (Oh,) by the way and before I forget
Dialogue 2: That reminds me, I wanted to
Dialogue 3: (Oh,) while I remember
Dialogue 4: (Oh,) changing the subject for a second and I forgot to tell you
Dialogue 5: Just to go back to what we were talking about before

Activity C2: Where is it from?

Aim: Learners become aware of language choices based on context.
Level: B2 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Make a copy of the jumbled texts for each student.
Focus: The role of audience in influencing language choices

Procedure

1. Elicit some background information about the topic of the texts from
the learners. For the example below, you could ask them what they
know about the solar system.
2. Explain that they will have two texts about the same topic. One text
comes from a children’s encyclopaedia and one from a secondary level
science book (aimed at 15-year-olds).

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
3. The learners should work in pairs to reconstruct the two texts, decid-
ing which sentence parts belong with which text and also putting the
parts into the correct order.
4. When they have finished, they can compare their versions with those of
other learners and explain what led them to the decisions they made.

1. Venus is, on average, 108 million kilometres from the sun and has
a circumference of 38025 kilometres, making it approximately the
same size as Earth.
2. Venus is the planet second closest to the sun, only Mercury is
closer.
3. Venus is about the same size as Earth but is very different in every
other way.
4. The atmosphere consists of predominantly carbon dioxide and
small amounts of nitrogen.
5. It is surrounded by heavy clouds that trap heat, making the tem-
perature very hot indeed.
6. The planet is surrounded by a deep, dense layer of cloud mean-
ing that the heat from the sun is trapped causing an exaggerated
greenhouse effect.
7. The average temperature is about 462 degrees Celsius – a tempera-
ture hot enough to melt lead!
8. This, along with the proximity to the sun, explains the extreme
462°C heat.
A children’s encyclopaedia A secondary level science
book
Venus Venus

Key
A children’s encyclopaedia – Venus
Venus is the planet second closest to the sun, only Mercury is closer. Venus
is about the same size as Earth but is very different in every other way. It
is surrounded by heavy clouds that trap heat, making the temperature very

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
60 From implications to application

hot indeed. The average temperature is about 462 degrees Celsius – a tem-
perature hot enough to melt lead!

A secondary science book – Venus

Venus is, on average, 108 million kilometres from the sun and has a cir-
cumference of 38025 kilometres, making it approximately the same size as
Earth. The atmosphere consists of predominantly carbon dioxide and small
amounts of nitrogen. The planet is surrounded by a deep, dense layer of
cloud meaning that the heat from the sun is trapped causing an exaggerated
greenhouse effect. This, along with the proximity to the sun, explains the
extreme 462°C heat.

Activity C3: Write it

Aim: Learners make language choices based on context.
Level: B2 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Make a copy of a fact sheet for each group (see example
below).
Focus: The role of audience in influencing language choices

Procedure

1. Remind learners of the ways in which the audience impacts on choices

of grammar and vocabulary when writing (see Activity C2).
2. Select two distinct types of publication. For example, a children’s ency-
clopaedia, a secondary school textbook, or a blog post.
3. Elicit some of the stylistic differences between publications. For exam-
ple, you could discuss the use of images, the style of writing, and the
type of information included. More formal academic writing is likely to
be characterised by longer, and more complex, sentences. Key informa-
tion is more likely to be conveyed using nouns (Submission is due… vs.​
subm​it by…). Blog posts will vary in style but often have quite a chatty
informal tone to them.
4. Divide the learners into small groups and allocate a publication type to
each group.
5. Give each group a copy of the fact sheet and tell them that they must
write a text for the allotted publication, paying attention to the style
they use and the information they include.
6. Display the texts. Invite other learners to read them and decide on
which publication type they would be most suited to.
 From implications to application 61

Example fact sheet

Neptune
• most distant planet from the sun
• 30 times further from the sun than Earth is
• known as the ‘Ice Giant’
• average temperature –373 °F
• it’s very, very cold!
• not visible to the naked eye – first observed in 1846
• a year on Neptune lasts 165 Earth years
• very strong storms with winds speeds of up to 600 meters per second
• has 14 moons
• has six rings (but they are very hard to see)
• atmosphere: hydrogen and helium, with some methane

Option
The activity could be done individually as a homework activity.

Activity C4: Say it like…

Aim: Learners develop an understanding of how to use intonation and
stress to convey meaning.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Using intonation and stress to convey emotion

Procedure

1. In open class focus the learners on a sentence such as: Where are you
going? Ask learners how it might sound if the speaker is angry with the
person they are speaking to. Then ask the learners how it would sound
if the speaker doesn’t want the person to leave.
2. Continue with other emotions that a speaker may feel, asking learn-
ers to say the words Where are you going? as if they were scared, tired,
bored and so on.
3. On the board write a sentence such as What have you been doing? and
Say it like you are….
… bored
… angry
… shy
62 From implications to application

… happy
… sad
…excited
… tired
4. The learners work in pairs, taking turns to say the sentence, and their
partner must guess the emotion they are conveying.
5. Give feedback in open class. Close by having individual learners say the
sentence and the rest of the class guessing the emotion.

Activity C5: Say it to…

Aim: Learners develop an understanding of how the same message can be
conveyed in different ways.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Changing how messages are conveyed, according to the context
Procedure
1. In open class focus the learners on a situation such as: You are in an art
gallery and there is a sign that says ‘No eating or drinking’. The person
you are with takes out an apple from their bag. Tell them that they are
not allowed to eat it. Ask the learners how they would tell the person.
Elicit that it would probably depend on the person.
2. Highlight some useful words and phrases for the learners, such as those
in the box below. Explain them as necessary, particularly focusing on
levels of directness.

Excuse me but I don’t think…

You are not supposed to…
Ah, I think it might be better if…
Hey, what are you doing?
Can’t you read? (indicates sign)

3. On the board write: Say it to…

… your sister/brother
… your best friend
… your parent
… your teacher
… someone you do not know well
… someone you like
 From implications to application 63

4. The learners work in pairs. They take turns to say the sentence, and
their partner must guess the person they are addressing.
5. Give feedback in open class. Close by having individual learners give
the message and the rest of the class commenting on who it would be
appropriate to address in that manner.

Variation
For adult learners the situation could be adjusted. For example: You spill
coffee on the person you are with. Apologise.
And the list of people could also be adjusted. For example:
Say it to…
… your boyfriend/girlfriend
… the parent of your boyfriend/girlfriend
… your best friend
… your boss
… a child you do not know
… a child you know well
… an adult you do not know
… an adult you know well

Activity C6: Role-play

Aim: Learners take part in a role-play.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40–60 minutes, depending on the scope of the role-play minutes
Preparation: Prepare the roles required for the role-play (see the example
below). Prepare a copy of the worksheet for each learner or create your
own variation.
Focus: Raising awareness of how to show interest and politeness

Procedure

1. Set up the role-play by explaining the situation and eliciting ideas on

how and why companies exploit social media. You could show some
examples of a well-known company, perhaps looking at their Tweets
and so on.
2. Divide the class into two groups – the blue group and the red group.
Explain that the blue group will be participants and the red will be
observers. Stress that the observers should try to be positive and
encouraging wherever possible.
64 From implications to application

3. Divide both groups into subgroups of three, allocating each person a

role. The learners should only read their own card. Answer any ques-
tions that the learners have about their roles.
4. Explain that the observers should focus on the student playing the
same role as they themselves have been allocated. So, an observer with
role card 2, observes the participant with role card 2.
5. Give the learners some time to prepare their roles, thinking of what
they wish to say. This could be done with students who have the same
role card working together.
6. Ask the learners in the blue group to perform their role-plays in groups
of 3. Ensure that the observers can see and hear the groups that they
are monitoring.
7. At the end of the role-play, ask the observers for comments on the out-
come of the role-play and also any good examples of language use that
they wish to report back. Be prepared to add in feedback of your own on
good examples of language use and also offer some corrective feedback.
8. Have the learners in the red group perform the same role-play, with the
blue group becoming the observers.
9. Repeat stage 7, above.

Tip: You could adjust the topic of the role-play to take into account the
experiences and interests of your own learners.

Example role cards

Role 1 You are the boss of a small company that sells health food prod-
ucts and employs around 25 people. A relatively new employee (role 2)
has suggested that the company could increase sales by making more use
of social media in advertising. You like the idea, but are also already very
busy. You have set up the meeting with an external expert so that they can
provide some further ideas. You need to find out about the costs involved
and how quickly It could be set up.
Role 2 You have recently graduated from university where you studied
business. This is your first job. You like the company and you think your
boss is a nice person. You are not convinced that the company really needs
external expertise because you could set up and manage social media
accounts for the company. You want to put forward your ideas but do not
want to make your boss feel uncomfortable, or suggest that they are out
of touch or old-fashioned.
Role 3 You work for a consultancy company and have helped several com-
panies develop social media activities to market their products. You have
been asked to attend this meeting by the boss of a small health food prod-
uct company. It seems that they have almost no social media presence at
all, and you think they should invest quite heavily in this in order to grow
the business. You know that the boss will want to know the costs of what
you offer. For a fee of £1500 per month you could set up the accounts
and post relevant content on behalf of the company.

Observation Worksheet
You will watch a role-play. There will be a meeting between a boss, a jun-
ior employee, and an external expert on how social media can be used for
marketing.
1. Could you understand the conversation easily? Make a note of any-
thing you did not understand.

2. Did the person you observed show interest in what others said?

3. Did the person you observed involve other people in the conversation
and encourage them to speak?

4. Was the person you observed too direct, not direct enough, or was
their directness about right?

5. Were there any examples where you would have said something differ-
ently? How would you have said it? How would you say it in your own
language?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
6. Did the person you observed change the topic of the conversation at
any point? If so, how did they do this?

7. Did you notice anything that contrasts with your own culture? For
example, the way in which people addressed each other, and the for-
mality of the language used.

8. Do you have any questions for the participants?

9. Do you have any questions for your teacher?

Activity C7: What is the next line?

Aim: Learners become aware of indirect meaning.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 35 minutes
Preparation: Display the worksheet or make a copy for each learner.
Focus: The learners build a short conversational exchange

Procedure
Follow the instructions on the worksheet

What is the next line?

Section 1
Look at the following contexts (1–5) and match them with a line of dia-
logue (A–E). Write the most appropriate letter in the light grey box.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
1 It is 1:00 in the afternoon. Two colleagues have just
come out of a meeting and are chatting to each other.
2 Two people are planning to drive to the airport.
3 It is 4:00 in the afternoon. Earlier in the day Marjorie
said she might go for a run after school.
4 An adult is talking to a friend’s child.
5 Two friends are streaming a movie.

A Are you going for your run?

B Do you want to get a coffee?
C How do you like your new school?
D What do you think of it?
E What time do you want to leave? About 3:00?

Section 2
Can you guess the response to each of the lines?
Now look at the lines below (F–J). Match them to A–E above. Write the
correct letter in the dark grey box.

F I miss my friends a bit.

G I have another meeting at 2:00.
H I like doing it in the morning more.
I The special effects are good.
J There will be a lot of traffic.

How close are they to what you predicted?

Section 3
Look back at the lines F–J. Given the context and what was said before,
what exactly do you think each line means? Can you think of more than
one meaning?
Choose two of the dialogues. Work with a partner and try to write
another line or two for each one.

Teacher’s notes
In Section 1 you may like to talk about one context with the whole group,
eliciting what might be said, before instructing the learners to do the
matching activity.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
Key
Sections 1 and 2

1 It is 1:00 in the afternoon. Two colleagues have just B G

come out of a meeting and are chatting to each other.
2 Two people are planning to drive to the airport. E J
3 It is 4:00 in the afternoon. Earlier in the day Marjorie A H
said she might go for a run after school.
4 An adult is talking to a friend’s child. C F
5 Two friends are streaming a movie. D I

Section 3
F I miss my friends a bit. – so I am not enjoying school, at least that
part of it
G I have another meeting at 2:00 – so we will need to be quick, or perhaps
decline the invitation
H I like doing it in the morning more. – so probably Marjorie is not going
to run now (4:00 in the afternoon)
I The special effects are good. – but the rest of the film is not
J There will be a lot of traffic. – so we should probably leave earlier

Activity C8: Who needs technology?

Aim: Learners perform a communicative task.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 45–60 minutes, depending on the scope of the role-play minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Raising awareness of how to show interest and interrupt politely

Procedure

1. Ask the class questions about their use of mobile phones. These can be
adapted to suit the age and level of your class, but some examples are
below.
• Do you wake up and immediately look at your phone?
• Have you ever missed an important event (such as a goal at a football
game) because you were looking at your phone?
• Do you look at your phone when you are in a restaurant with your
partner?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 From implications to application 69

• Do you look at your phone when you are in a restaurant and your
partner goes to the bathroom?
• Who do you communicate with most using your phone?
2. Give the learners a task to do in small groups, such as Discuss how tech-
nology has affected our social life and family relations.
3. Give the learners a few minutes to prepare silently, thinking about what
they want to say. Circulate and offer support as necessary.
4. The learners do the task in small groups. Monitor the groups as they
work together, paying attention to how they show interest in what each
other say or how they may disagree with each other.
5. The learners report back their discussions.
6. Provide the learners with input on how they could perform the task
more effectively. You could include phrases such as:

Showing interest Interrupting politely

mhm, uh-huh May I interrupt?

You’re right May I jump in here?
Right Sorry to interrupt, but…
Yes, right Could I just say something here?
Yeah, that’s true Before you go on…
Good point I just wanted to say…
Really! Really!?

7. Reformulate the groups so that the learners are working with differ-
ent people. The learners repeat the task. Again, monitor the learners’
production.
8. The learners briefly report back their discussions.
9. Offer feedback on good uses of language and areas for learners to work
on.

Section D. Pragmatics and social media

Activity D1: #hashtags
Aim: Learners practise understanding different functions of hashtags.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Select some Tweets that have hashtags with varying functions
or copy the ones below.
Focus: Online communication
Procedure
1. Ask learners about their social media preferences and have a brief
discussion.
2. Elicit from learners why people add hashtags to Tweets. They are likely
to say that they are used to categorise and group topics.
3. The learners read the Tweets you have chosen, paying attention to the
hashtags. Explain any vocabulary that is new to the learners.
4. The learners categorise the hashtags into groups. For the Tweets below
these could be:
• which ones reinforce the message of the Tweet?
• which ones introduce another topic which clarifies the intention of
the Tweet?
• which ones tell you about the emotion of the writer?
5. Invite the learners to report back their discussions. Highlight that some
hashtags reinforce the original message (example 1). Some hashtags
add the emotion of the writer (example 2) and some add a context
that allows us to have a deeper understanding of the Tweet (example
3, where ‘big polluters’ suggests that the glorification of cars may be
inappropriate).
6. Ask learners to look out for the functions of hashtags as they come across
them outside the classroom, in either English or their own language.

1. After 6 years teaching at the same school, I start a new job today.
Any advice? #dayone

2. Monday 8.45: dentist’s waiting room #fear

3. Why do we still have motoring programs on tv? #bigpolluters

4. Very pleased to have received funding for new research on reading

from ​@readbetter​.org #research #reading

5. 87,192 are in attendance for today’s women’s euro final – the biggest
crowd for any euro final ever #sportforall #equality

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
6. My little sister graduates today #soproud

7. Driving test: done, tick, pass #purejoy

8. All teachers should be shouted at in front of a room full of their

peers, just as a reminder of how it feels #powerrelations

9. 6 weeks old and learning to write already

#cutekittens

Suggested key
Learners may make other suggestions that can be accepted if a good case
is made.
1. reinforcement
2. emotion of writer

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
3. introduces another topic which clarifies the intention of the Tweet
through adding context
4. reinforcement
5. introduces another topic which clarifies the intention of the Tweet
through adding context
6. emotion of writer
7. emotion of writer
8. introduces another topic which clarifies the intention of the Tweet
through adding context
9. reinforcement (in this case, the image)

Activity D2: Writing in capital letters

Aim: Learners practise interpreting capitalised texts.
Level: A1 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: Copy the worksheet below.
Focus: Online communication

Procedure

1. Explain that when words are capitalised in a sentence it is reasonable to

understand that the writer is emphasising them. Where several words
are capitalised, it may suggest ‘shouting’. Give some examples and ask
the learners to discuss in small groups how the capitalization affects the
meaning.
2. Distribute the worksheet and follow the instructions.

Key
A3 B1 C2 D4

Writing in capital letters

1. How does the use of capital letters change the meaning of the sentence
below? Discuss with your partners.

1. You have to FINISH your maths and Spanish homework before

you go out.
2. You have to finish YOUR maths and Spanish homework before you
go out.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 From implications to application 73

3. You have to finish your maths AND Spanish homework before you
go out.
4. You have to finish your maths and Spanish homework BEFORE
you go out.

2. Here are four short WhatsApp messages from children to their par-
ents. Choose the best response from the examples in 1, above, for each
situation.

A C

I’m just going out – I’ve

I’m just going out – I’ve helped Indira with her
finished my maths homework. See you
homework. See you later later

Dad typing… Dad typing…

B D
I’m just going out – I’ve I’m just going out – I’ll
started my maths and finish my homework
Spanish homework. after I get back. See
See you later you later

Mum typing… Mum typing…

3. Write a new sentence, similar to the example in 1, above, and use capi-
tal letters in different parts. How does the meaning change each time?
4. Give the different versions of your sentence to a partner. Can your part-
ner explain the differences in meaning?

Activity D3: Vaguebooking

Aim: Learners practise identifying missing information.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 20 minutes
Preparation: Find some examples of vague posts on social media or use the
examples below.
Focus: Online communication
74 From implications to application

Procedure

1. Ask the learners why they think people make posts on social media.
Answers may include:
• to share information with friends and family
• to promote products, ideas, or beliefs
• to create connections to people with shared interests
• to ask for advice or to give advice
• to seek attention
2. Explain that vaguebooking (Child and Starcher, 2016) is a term used
to describe a Facebook phenomenon whereby users post a deliberately
vague piece of information, designed to prompt the reader to respond
with questions and even concern.
3. Tell the learners that they see the following posts made by someone
that they do not know, or have little connection to. Learners read
the posts and work in small groups to decide on whether they would
respond, and if so, how.
Example posts:
I just want to say – proudest day of my life!
Can’t keep pretending anymore
If today were a colour, it would be brown
Why can’t people just be honest with me? Ever.
Today is going to be different. I am going to be different.
4. The learners report back their discussions.
5. Ask the learners if they have seen posts similar to these and how they
make them feel. According to Scott (2022), vaguebooking is generally
considered to be an attention-seeking behaviour and is often seen as
“manipulative and deceptive” (p.78). However, this is not always the
case, and it may be that some messages may be deliberately vague when
intended for friends as a kind of code. For example, in a politically
hostile environment messages may be sent that are designed to avoid
censorship and/or negative repercussions.

Child, J. T., & Starcher, S. C. (2016). Fuzzy Facebook privacy boundaries:

Exploring mediated lurking, vague-booking and Facebook privacy man-
agement. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 483–490. doi:https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.035
Scott, K. (2022). Pragmatics online. London: Routledge.
 From implications to application 75

Activity D4: Using emojis

Aim: Learners practise interpreting emojis.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 20 minutes
Preparation: Prepare example messages for stages 3 and 5, or use the
examples below.

Procedure

1. Ask the learners which emojis they use the most in their text messaging.
2. Explain that using emojis can help people understand the meaning of
a text by conveying the writer’s emotion/attitude (e.g. I am laughing
about this).
3. Show the emojis you wish to use (see examples below) and agree on the
meanings they convey.
4. Provide some extracts of conversations to learners and explain that
they must choose an appropriate emoji for each message. See examples,
where question marks indicate where emojis are to be placed. Explain
that there may be more than one possible answer. Learners can work
individually before comparing with a partner and reporting back to
class. Where there is more than one possibility, discuss how it changes
the communication.
5. Ask learners to either invent some new messages, or write out examples
from their own conversations, but with the emojis removed.
6. Provide some more example messages and ask the learners to work in
pairs to react to them (i.e., reply with only an emoji).
6. Learners work in pairs to discuss how they would encode the reaction
in words. When they are ready, they report back.

Example emojis
1 2 3 4 5 6😟 7 8 9🤞
Example messages for stage 3

A C

How’s it going with Dav? I forgot what the word

was in Spanish and
couldn’t communicate
He’s perfect anything

? Well, you communicated

you were from England
B
?
How’s it going with Elle?

D
Not heard from her for
nearly a week The teacher has moved
our exam to tomorrow –
no time to revise at all
?

I’m sure you will be ok

though. Just do your
best

Stage 3 suggested key

Learners may make arguments for other answers, which should be accepted
if they are justified.

A emoji 5   B emoji 6 or 7   C emoji 1   D emoji 4, 7, or 9

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
Example messages for stage 5

My train gets in at 8:00.

Can you pick me up?

? C

B If you don’t go to the

doctor about your back
Oh, and I’ve got I’ll come to your house
my chemistry exam and drag you to the
tomorrow chiropractor myself
even if it hurts

?
?

Have you seen this

video of the pandas
playing on the slide?
www​.youtube​.com​/
watch ?v=sGF6bOi1NfA

Stage 5 suggested key

Learners may make arguments for other answers, which should be accepted
if they are justified.
A emoji 8 B emoji 9 C emoji 1 D emoji 5

Activity D5: Three messages

Aim: Learners develop awareness of tone in social media messages.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Copy the worksheet below for each member of the class.
Focus: Social media messages
Procedure: Follow the worksheet below.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
Three messages
1. Read the three messages below.
a) Which one is a form of advertising?
b) Which one seems to be asking for help and support?
c) Which one is intended to be humorous?

1 This is my third day here and I am missing home so much. This is

not what I expected, or was told to expect.
  Ê

2 Today we welcome our partners from the Oil and Gas Corporation
of Nakitar to our HQ. Our relationship goes from strength to
strength and our customers will enjoy the benefits.
  Ê

3 Friends, this has troubled me for years. Please help. If Buzz doesn’t
know he’s a toy, why does he freeze when Andy comes in the room?
  Ê

2. Here are some replies to the messages. Match each reply with a message.
a) Stay strong – it’ll get better
b) I’m sure they will appreciate that as their homes flood from global
warming
c) Look after yourself
d) How has a message from the 19th century been posted here? That
is amazing. A true historical artefact
e) One of the great movies of my childhood – don’t say anything you
may regret!
f) I guess that he is having doubts about his identity and isn’t ready
to commit?
g) Scandalous. There was plenty of wind, sun, and sea the last time I
looked
h) Feel free to DM me at any time if you need to talk
i) Andy is bigger than him and could be dangerous. This is classic
self-preservation. Problem solved. You can go back to worrying
about your PhD now
3. Answer the prompts a–d.
a) Look at the replies to message 1. Which one is the most support-
ive? Why?
b) Find two replies that sound angry.

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 c) Find a reply that uses irony.
d) Find one reply that sounds threatening but is actually playful.
4. Choose one of the messages and write a reply.

Key:
Section 1 1b 2a 3c
Section 2 1ach 2bdg 3efi
Section 3
a) message h (it is more personalised and offers direct personal con-
tact and time, and is therefore supportive, assuming that the peo-
ple know each other)
b) b and g
c) b (though a case could be made for g)
d) e (Don’t say something that you may regret would be a threat in
many contexts but in this case, given the topic, it seems playful)

Section E. Pragmatics in the world

Activity E1: Communication in the UK
Aim: Learners develop awareness of intercultural communication.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 60 minutes
Preparation: Copy the worksheet below for each member of the class.
Focus: The differences between cultures when communicating
Procedure: Follow the worksheet below or follow the variation to give
more of a listening focus.

Variation
You do not need to copy the worksheet, but you do need to make a record-
ing of the text.
Introduce the class by asking: Do you have experience of talking to peo-
ple from the UK? If so, did you find it easy to communicate with them?
After the introduction, tell the class that they will listen to a recording,
and they should make notes as they listen. Play the recording twice if neces-
sary. Weaker learners could be given the text to follow as additional support.
Allow learners to compare their notes and report back to the class.
Then follow stages 3, 4 and 5 from the worksheet.

Communication in the UK
1. Do you have experience talking to people from the UK? If so, did you
find it easy to communicate with them? If not, do you think it would
be easy or difficult? Why?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
2. Read the blog post below about how people in the UK communicate.
Put a ✓ next to the things you already knew. Put a ! next to things you
didn’t know.
Compare your responses with a partner.
3. Does the information in the blog post seem true to you? Can you think
of any examples from your personal experience that support it or con-
tradict it?
4. Think of your own culture. Make notes about:
• the directness of communication
• the use of sarcasm and irony
• the use of gesture and body language
Does behaviour vary according to the situation? For example, is it dif-
ferent when talking to a teacher, or to a friend?
5. Discuss your ideas with other members of your class.

Travelling to Britain – Key things to remember

I just got back from my trip to the UK and so I thought I would share
some thoughts. So here’s my guide to travelling to the UK and talking to
the British people you meet there. Hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to
subscribe to make sure you see my next post.
First – it is so hard to generalise about British culture because there are
many different influences. It really is a fantastically cosmopolitan place, par-
ticularly in the big cities, like London. You meet people from all over the
world who have settled in the UK or are travelling through just like I was.
But when you are in the UK there are some things to look out for.
British people speak relatively indirectly compared to some other
European cultures. An English person who skipped breakfast and is very
hungry may answer the question ‘Do you want to stop for some lunch?’
with ‘Yeah, I could eat now if you would like to’ rather than ‘Yes, I’m very
hungry’. Or, if they want to raise the subject, they may ask their companion
‘Are you hungry? Would you like some lunch?’ when what they really mean
is ‘I need food now!’. I guess it is a politeness thing – not quite saying what
they want to but kind of hinting at it!
And of course, there is the famous use of sarcasm which can be hard to
understand. I was with my British friend and we missed our train – there
wasn’t another one for two hours! His response? ‘That’s great. Brilliant’.
No, it’s not great – not brilliant! It’s bad. I guess that’s what he meant but
it can be hard to tell what they mean sometimes.
One other thing to remember – people in the UK don’t always show a
lot of emotion. They may hide their true feelings quite often. When I am
excited I start throwing my arms around and speaking quite loudly. Why?

Copyright material from Júlia Barón, María Luz Celaya and Peter Watkins,
Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 2024, Routledge
 From implications to application 81

Because I am excited! British people, in my experience, don’t do that as

much. It’s hard to tell what they are feeling sometimes and so you kind of
have to guess a bit.
But I did love my time in the UK and I think it is still a great place to
visit if you can. And the people do become easier to understand as you
spend time with them!
Thanks for reading. And look out for the next post. The subscribe but-
ton is just on the right – hit it now.

Activity E2: The sound of silence

Aim: Learners become aware of the importance of silence.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 60 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: The different interpretations of silence in communication across
cultures

Procedure

1. Ask the learners if they like silence in different situations. For example,
when they are:
• studying
• trying to sleep
• with a close friend
2. Draw the table on the board and ask learners to copy it.
True Not sure False

Explain that you will dictate five sentences to the learners. They must
write each sentence in the appropriate column, depending on what they
think.
1. In some cultures, long periods of silence in a conversation – up to
a minute – is acceptable.
2. In some cultures, it is usual to pause for a few seconds before
answering a question.
3. In some cultures, any pause before answering a question will sug-
gest ignorance.
82 From implications to application

4. In some cultures, silence in a conversation may indicate

disagreement.
5. In some cultures, it is polite to remain silent until the most senior
person has spoken.
3. Ask learners to compare their ideas in small groups before reporting
back to the class.
4. Briefly discuss each of the sentences in turn in open class.
All the sentences are true. Sentences 1 and 2 are true of many Asian
cultures. Sentences 3 and 4 are true of many European and North
American cultures. Sentence 5 is true of some Asian cultures.
5. Ask the learners to think about their own language and culture and
how silence is used in communication. The learners discuss this and
encourage them to include any specific examples that they feel com-
fortable sharing.
6. Ask learners to write a short text on the use of silence. (This could be
done as a homework task.)

Activity E3a: What’s gone wrong?

Aim: Learners develop their awareness of cultural miscommunication.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Four communication prompts – see examples below.
Focus: Cultural miscommunication

Procedure
Tip: The activity can be used for almost any level, simply by carrying the
length and complexity of the texts given to the learners at stage 3.

1. Ask the learners the different ways in which communication can go

wrong when people communicate in a language that is not their own
and/or they come from different cultures. Establish that cultural mis-
understandings can cause communication problems, just as linguistic
problems can.
2. Divide the class into four groups. Give each group a prompt; A, B, C,
or D. The prompts below are examples and can be changed for similar
prompts that are more relevant to your learners.
3. Ask one person to read the prompt to the rest of the group. They
can read it as many times as necessary. The learners work in groups to
speculate on the causes of the communication problems.
 From implications to application 83

4. Check that every member of each group understands the scenario and
the potential causes of the problems before reconfiguring the groups so
that a member of group A works with a member of group B. A member
of group C should work with a member of group D.
5. The learners work in these pairs, describing the scenario and reporting
the likely causes of any communication problems or frustrations.
6. If time allows, reconfigure the pairs of learners so that a person who is
now familiar with A and B, works with someone who is familiar with
C and D. Again, they explain the situations and the likely causes of any
problems.
7. The learners report back their discussions in open class.

Communication prompts

A Quyen works in the Southeast Asian office of a company based in the US.
She has just taken part in a meeting with two colleagues based in New
York. She tells her line manager that while the meeting was useful in some
ways, she found it very frustrating. She had ideas to contribute but felt that
she was not given the chance to speak as much as she would have liked.
B Marta is from New York. Along with another colleague based in the US,
she has just taken part in an online meeting with colleagues from the
Southeast Asian office of the company she works for. She later tells her line
manager that although the meeting went quite well, she felt that she and
her US colleague had to do all the talking and that no one else was keen
to contribute. She says that she was disappointed that her Southeast Asian
colleagues did not contribute more to the meeting.
C Abdel is from Oman and he has recently hosted a sales executive, Marco,
from a company based in Switzerland. Abdel feels that the meetings went
reasonably well. However, he sensed that Marco sometimes grew frustrated
and wanted to discuss details of contracts that would be better left to later
when they knew each other better.
D Marco is from Switzerland. He is a sales executive and he has just been on a
trip to several countries in the Middle East. When he returns, he reports to
his manager that, while the visit was pleasurable and he met a lot of useful
contacts, there were no firm orders and he found the meetings difficult.
They often started later than scheduled and his hosts rarely wanted to
discuss details of specific contracts.

Teacher’s notes
The scenarios on the example cards are paired.
Quyen probably has an expectation that it is polite to pause before speak-
ing, allowing silence. This indicates that respect is being given because
84 From implications to application

there is reflection on what to say. Marta and her US colleague, on the other
hand, may see silence as awkward and embarrassing and therefore feel a
need to fill any pause in the conversation very quickly – hence not giving
Quyen and her colleagues opportunities to speak.
Marco comes from a culture where punctuality is a sign of respect, and he
would expect meetings to start on time. In the Middle East, however, there
is a more fluid view of time, and lateness in commencing is not intended as
any lack of respect. In some cultures, there is quite a transactional view of
meetings where something must be accomplished and there is an outcome.
However, in other cultures it is necessary to invest a lot of time in develop-
ing relationships before doing business.

Activity E3b: What’s gone wrong?

Aim: Learners develop their awareness of cultural miscommunication.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: Four communication prompts – see examples below.
Focus: Cultural miscommunication

Procedure
Follow the same procedure as E3a. The activity is essentially the same
but is designed for younger learners and teenagers, rather than adults. The
communication prompts are slightly different but include the same basic
content.

Communication prompts

A Kyoko is from Japan and goes to an international school in the UK. She
is working on a science project with two other students who are both
from the US. The teacher has a tutorial with Kyoko and asks her if she
is enjoying the project. Kyoko says that she is enjoying the project in
some ways but that she also finds it frustrating because she has ideas to
contribute but feels that she rarely gets the chance to speak. She feels that
the group is dominated by the other two students.
B Laura is from the US and goes to an international school in the UK. She
is working on a science project with two other students, another person
from the US and a girl from Japan. The teacher has a tutorial with Laura
and asks her if she is enjoying the project. Laura says that she is enjoying
the project in some ways but that she also finds it frustrating. She likes
Kyoko but feels that she and her friend from the US do most of the work.
She is disappointed that Kyoko does not contribute more.
 From implications to application 85

C Abdullah is from Oman and he has started studying at an international

university. He has to work with another student, Stefan, who is from
Switzerland, to give a presentation to the rest of the class. They meet
regularly to plan the content of what they will say. Abdullah feels
that the meetings are going reasonably well. However, he senses that
Stefan sometimes grows frustrated and wants to discuss details of the
presentation that would be better left to later when they knew each other
better.
D Stefan is from Switzerland and he has started studying at an international
university. He has to work with another student, Abdullah, who is from
Oman, to give a presentation to the rest of the class. They meet regularly
to plan the content of what they will say. Stefan feels that the meetings are
going reasonably well. However, he gets frustrated because Abdullah is
sometimes late for their appointments and does not always want to discuss
the content. Instead, he makes a lot of small talk.

Teacher’s notes
The scenarios on the example cards are paired.
Kyoko probably has an expectation that it is polite to pause before speak-
ing, allowing silence. This indicates that respect is being given because
there is reflection on what to say. Laura and her US friend, on the other
hand, may see silence as awkward and embarrassing and therefore feel a
need to fill any pause in the conversation very quickly – hence not giving
Kyoko opportunities to speak and contribute.
Stefan comes from a culture where punctuality is a sign of respect and
he would expect people to arrive on time for appointments. In the Middle
East, however, there is a more fluid view of time and lateness in commenc-
ing is not intended as any lack of respect. In some cultures, there is quite a
transactional view of meetings where something must be accomplished and
there is an outcome. However, in other cultures it is necessary to invest a lot
of time in developing relationships as this will help achieve better outcomes
in the long term.

Activity E4: Back translation

Aim: Learners develop their awareness of cultural differences in the use of
please and thank you.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
86 From implications to application

Preparation: None.
Focus: Politeness in conversation

Procedure
1. Give the learners the following scenarios and ask them if they would typ-
ically use please and/or thank you in their own languages and cultures:
You order a soft drink in a café – do you put please after your order?
Someone gives you change when you buy something from a shop – do
you say thank you as they give you the money?
You are at a friend’s house and they offer you a choice of chocolate
cake or orange cake – do you say please with your preference?
2. Explain that in some cultures it can sound rude not to include please
with almost any request, and thank you once that request has been
responded to.
3. Give the learners the following short dialogues. Ask them to translate
them into their own language, saying what would actually be said in
their language (i.e., not a literal translation). It is important that the
learners understand this point.
If you are short of time, you could assign a dialogue to each learner.
If you prefer, the learners could work in pairs to do the translation,
assuming the learner profile allows this.
You can select the texts that are appropriate for your learners. For
example, texts A and C may be easier for younger learners to relate to.

A: At school (a teacher is walking around the class, watching the

pupils complete a maths exercise)
Teacher: How are you doing, Kim? Do you understand how to do this?
Kim: Yeah, kind of, I think.
Teacher: Can I see? [Kim gives the notebook.] Yeah, that’s good! Just
look at number four again, but you are doing great.

B: At a train station
Passenger: Excuse me, could you help me? Is it possible to use this ticket
before 9:00?
Station employee: Let me see. No, sorry – that can’t be used until after
10:00.
Passenger: Oh really? OK, thanks anyway.

C: In a café
Customer: Could I get a Coke and a cookie, please?
Member of staff: Yes, of course. That will be £3.90, please.
Customer: Thanks [gives money].
Member of staff: And here’s your change. [Gives change]
Customer: Thank you very much.
 From implications to application 87

4. The learners should now translate their translation back into English.
This time the translation should be quite literal. If you prefer, the
learners could swap, and translate another learner’s translation.
5. When the learners have finished, compare the original English ver-
sion (i.e., the texts above) with the new versions. Lead a discussion on
what has changed. It is likely that there will be fewer examples of please
and thank you. It may also be that the modal verb could (used in each
request above) has been replaced with something more direct.

Activity E5: How are we different?

Aim: Learners develop their understanding of cultural differences in
communication.
Level: B1 upwards
Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: None.
Focus: Raising intercultural awareness

Procedure

1. Introduce the lesson by asking what the learners would say in the fol-
lowing situation:
Someone you have only met a few times asks if you can give them a
lift to the airport.
Are you surprised by the request? What would you say?
Establish that the degree of directness of both the request and the
response may vary according to the size of the imposition, the rela-
tionship of the people, and cultural expectation, as well as individual
personalities.
2. Display (or dictate) the prompts below. Give learners a few minutes to
think of their responses.
3. The learners discuss their responses in small groups before reporting
back in open class.

Potential prompts

1. You are invited to a friend’s house for dinner. Do you take a gift? If so,
what would be appropriate?
2. You are visiting business partners in another country. Do you take
gifts? If so, what would be appropriate?
3. When you greet friends in your culture, do you kiss, hug, shake hands,
or not touch at all?
88 From implications to application

4. When you meet someone for the first time in your culture, do you kiss,
hug, shake hands, or not touch at all?
5. In conversation in your culture, how do people show interest in what
someone else is saying?
6. Do people interrupt each other much in conversation in your culture?
7. Do you have different forms in your language to distinguish formality?
(e​.g​. tu​/​vous in French or tu/usted in Spanish)
8. You have guests in your house. It is late and you are getting tired. How
would you try to bring the evening to a close?
9. You are at a friend’s house for a birthday party. You begin to feel unwell
and want to go home. What would you say?
10. Your friend has just bought new shoes and asks you if you like them?
You do not. What would you say?
11. You are having guitar lessons in your own country. You are disappointed
by the lessons and think that they could improve. Would you say any-
thing to the teacher? If so, how would you start the conversation?
12. You decide to study at a private language school in the UK. You are
disappointed by the lessons and think that they could improve. Would
you say anything to the teacher? Or to another member of staff? If so,
how would you start the conversation?
PART III

From application to
implementation

Introduction
The aim of this part is three-fold: 1) it aims at helping teachers to choose
what pragmatic aspects to teach and how, by taking into account some gen-
eral considerations about both the course and the students; 2) it includes a
series of possible tests, which can be used in the classroom context to assess
students’ pragmatic competence, since they have been used in ILP research
to elicit pragmatic knowledge and production; 3) it provides a series of tips
and steps to be taken before we start to include pragmatics in the classroom
and the curriculum.

Choosing what and how to teach

Having seen the theoretical underpinnings in Part I of the book and many
possible activities that we can use with our students in Part II, here we will
first present some tips that can be followed when selecting activities, mate-
rials, and the pragmatic aspects that we want to deal with in class.
First of all, we recommend a series of general considerations about the
course we are teaching and about our students:

1. Why are we teaching pragmatics? Because my students need it to pass

an official exam, to travel, to interact with friends, to work, to play
games online, …

DOI: 10.4324/9781003180210-3
90 From application to implementation

2. What pragmatic aspect/move do we want to teach? Humour, speech

acts, sarcasm, implicature, indirectness, …
3. What is the age and proficiency of our students?
4. What are the cultural backgrounds/L1s of our students?

Secondly, having considered these general issues about students, we should

think about the pragmatic aspects we want to deal with in class:
1. Social status of the interlocutors: Boss vs. employee, teacher vs. stu-
dent, doctor vs. patient, co-workers, …
2. Social and psychological distance between interlocutors: Friends, fam-
ily members, meeting for the first time, knowing each other but not
close, …
3. Importance of the issue: Asking for a pen, asking for a million dollars,
…
4. Setting: In the office, at school, in a bar, at home, …
Let us now take an activity that appears in Part II and see how the ques-
tions above can help us to decide on what we need for our lesson. The con-
text presented below is based on an experience shared with us by the head
of a language school. When talking about the need to deal with pragmatic
aspects in class, she said (Jo, personal communication, 2021):

We have noticed that although students are competent in the major skill
areas, they still look blank in some basic social situations. Plus they can
over-use simple, ‘tired’ structures to express agreement/give opinions
etc. like ‘I think….’ The pragmatic exercises raise their awareness and
give them models which are far more natural than many textbook
phrases. We have also received feedback from Cambridge examiners to
stop teaching our students stock answers like ‘we don’t see eye to
eye’. If 10 students say the same expressions it sounds very unnatural.
Teaching pragmatics helps them to learn this functional language in a
more natural individual way.

Imagine, then, that we are teachers from this school and that what we
would like to do is help our students to use natural speech when interacting
with others, so that they do not sound artificial when they do oral exams or
when they speak English outside the school.
 From application to implementation 91

SITUATION 1
I am teaching high school students (age 14–15) who are taking extra-
curricular English lessons at a language school. They are all living in the
same neighbourhood but they go to different schools, so they only know
each other from the language school. At the beginning of the course, they
took a level placement test, and their proficiency level is a B2. They are tak-
ing this course to pass an official exam, the First Certificate Exam. For
this course, we use a textbook which follows the usual format covering areas
such as reading, listening, grammar, vocabulary, and speaking. The activities
that we do, resemble the ones that they will find in the exam.

Considering this situation, and together with the quote from the head of the
language school, would pragmatics fit in this course? Let us use the questions
that we presented at the beginning of this section with some minor changes:

General considerations
1. Why teach pragmatics in this course? Because my students need to pass
the First Certificate English exam. In the speaking section of the exam,
the students seem to overuse the expressions learnt during the course
(i.e., ways of agreeing and disagreeing, giving opinions, etc.) and they use
them in an unnatural way. What they usually do is use very polite expres-
sions even when they are role-playing informal situations and vice-versa.
2. What pragmatic aspect/move do we want to teach? To raise the stu-
dents’ awareness of the importance of using natural and spontaneous
language, formal vs. informal language.
3. What is the age and proficiency of our students? 14-year-old stu-
dents with a B2 proficiency level.
4. What is the cultural background/L1 of our students? Catalan/
Spanish L1.

Pragmatic considerations
1. Social status of the interlocutors: Teacher vs. student, parent vs. son/
daughter, people on the street.
2. Social and psychological distance between interlocutors: Know each
other but not close, family members, friends, don’t know each other.
3. Importance of the issue: Talking about common things, asking for
information, low degree of importance in general.
4. Setting: At school, at home, on the street.
92 From application to implementation

Having answered these questions may help us to decide on the type of

activity we need. In this particular case, we could use activity A2 from
Part II.

ACTIVITY A2: ELICITING A DIALOGUE

Aim: Learners develop awareness of features of natural spoken language.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 10 minutes
Preparation: Select a dialogue from your course book. Think of ways it could
be expanded or made more natural.
Focus: Natural spoken language

COMMENTS: This activity would perfectly fit to raise students’ awareness

of natural language use and would also allow teachers to use the textbook
required by the course. In terms of age and proficiency, teachers only need
to adapt it to the students’ age and proficiency, something that would be
easy since the main source would be the course book. It also requires a short
period of time, so it could be easily included in any class.

Working with these questions can also help when searching for input, if
we do not follow any textbook or if we want to use extra input from video
excerpts from YouTube, TV series or films, as in activity B8. Thus, we can
ask the same questions to decide which excerpt to follow. Let us imagine
the following possible situation:

SITUATION 2
I am teaching primary school students (age 6) who take English lessons
at school twice a week as an FL. They are all living in the same neighbour-
hood and no proficiency test is passed at the beginning of the course, so
in the same group there are usually different proficiency levels. However,
all levels are very low, so they can be considered beginners. At school, all
grades use a textbook, but the teachers are also allowed to develop any
other materials to revise and complete the contents.

As in the previous example, the question is whether pragmatics would fit in

a course for young learners. Let us go through the same questions again:
 From application to implementation 93

General considerations
1. Why teach pragmatics in this course? Pragmatics is not a key issue
in the textbook we use. There are some sections in the book where
explanations about how to be polite in the L2 are given. Thus, provid-
ing them with some basic expressions and explanations on how to be
polite in the L2 will be beneficial at these ages since we also do it in
their L1.
2. What pragmatic aspect/move do we want to teach? Simple prag-
matic routines that they know in the L1 and that can easily be used in
the L2, such as ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
3. What is the age and proficiency of our students? 6-year-old chil-
dren, beginners.
4. What is the cultural background/L1 of our students? Catalan/
Spanish L1.

Pragmatic considerations
1. Social status of the interlocutors: Parents/grandparents with son and
daughter.
2. Social and psychological distance between interlocutors: Family
members.
3. Importance of the issue: Talking about manners.
4. Setting: At home.

As in the previous example, answering these questions can also help us to

decide which video excerpt we can use as pragmatic input. Here we could
use Activity B8.

ACTIVITY B8: PLEASE AND THANK YOU

Aim: Learners become more aware of the use of polite routines.
Level: A1
Time: 30 minutes
Preparation: Play the episode ‘Please and Thank You’ from Peppa Pig (Season
6, Episode 46). See teachers’ notes for the video analysis.
Focus: Polite routines

The guidelines and tips in this section may be helpful for teachers when
deciding what activities to use (from this book or any other resources)
94 From application to implementation

and also for selecting the input that we want to expose our students to.
Regarding input, in this particular example we have used audio-visual
input, but the tips presented here can be used with any other type of
input.
Therefore, as the examples given show, once we ask ourselves about the
general considerations of the course and about our students, it is then that
we will be able to know what pragmatics we need to teach. We must then
focus on the pragmatic move we want to teach, and analyse it in detail
for ourselves so that we can provide our students with the best opportuni-
ties for raising their pragmatic awareness, and then to ‘use’ the appropriate
pragmatic form in each situation. We can use Tables 3.1 and 3.2 to help us
to visualise all the aspects we need to consider before we teach.

TABLE 3.1 General considerations

Pragmatic move I want Age of my students Proficiency level L1

to teach

TABLE 3.2 Pragmatic considerations

Social status Distance between the Importance of the Setting and context in
I want to speakers I want to issue which the situation is
focus on focus on taking place
 From application to implementation 95

Assessing pragmatics: How and why

Having used activities such as those from Part II, or any other activi-
ties that we have adapted from the textbooks we use in class, we may
need to assess pragmatics at the end of the lesson. But how do we know
that students learn the pragmatic aspects we are presenting in class? As
claimed by Purpura (2016), although little attention in the field has been
devoted to the assessment of pragmatic knowledge, several key stud-
ies have made it possible to include pragmatic assessment as part of L2
assessment nowadays. In this section we provide a series of tests that
have been used in research to assess pragmatic learning and that can
be used in classroom contexts as well. We will provide the definition
together with examples and tips on how to use them with some of the
activities from Part II.

Assessing students’ pragmatic awareness and perceptions

Multiple Choice Discourse Completion Test (MCDCT)

This is the classic multiple choice that we may use to test other skills such as
reading or listening. As with other areas, this type of receptive activity can
give us information on pragmatic awareness and knowledge (i.e., to check if
students can identify the most appropriate option in a given context). This
can be done once instruction has been provided or after being exposed to
input.
Imagine that we have devoted a series of lessons to the use of indi-
rectness in conversation. In fact, there are several activities in Part II on
indirectness and implied meaning (e.g., A3a, A3b, A4, A6, B2, B3, B4,
B5, B6, C7). Let us take Activity A4 as an example. How could we assess
learning through an MCDCT? Let us first remember the aims of the
activity.

ACTIVITY A4: WHAT’S THE NEXT LINE?

Aim: Learners become aware of meaning in context and indirectness in
conversation.
Level: A2 upwards
Time: 25 minutes
Preparation: None
Focus: Indirectness in conversation
96 From application to implementation

If we devote several sessions to indirectness, we may want to know: 1)

whether students are able to perceive indirectness, that is, that they do not
only understand the literal meaning of an utterance but that they can also
interpret the implied meaning of the sentence; 2) whether they can choose
the most appropriate utterance in a particular situation. In Activity A4,
the students had to match a series of sentences which were quite indirect
with the real meaning of the utterances. The aim was to raise the stu-
dents’ awareness of the fact that when people say things we need to ‘listen’
and ‘see’ beyond the actual words and identify what they actually mean.
Therefore, to test awareness of indirectness we could use an MCDCT. We
would just need to give students a situation and ask them to choose the
most appropriate option, in this case, the most indirect utterance. Let us
consider the following example:

EXAMPLE OF AN MCDCT
Choose the most indirect utterance.
Imagine that next weekend your friends are throwing a party in one of your
best friend’s house. Your friend lives a little bit far from where you live, so
your parents should take you there by car. You know that your parents work
a lot during the week and they like staying at home and relaxing on Saturday
evenings. But you really want to go to the party. How would you ask them?

a. Mum, can you take me to Lisa’s party on Saturday evening?

b. It’s Lisa’s birthday on Saturday evening and she is throwing a party, eve-
rybody is going to be there.
c. I want to go to Lisa’s party on Saturday, can I go?
d. I was wondering if I could go to Lisa’s party on Saturday?

Learners’ appropriateness assessments

Sometimes our goal will be to check how learners perceive pragmatics:

are the excerpts from transcripts, texts, videos, or their own productions
appropriate enough in the context they are used? These types of tasks
will give us information about whether instruction has had an effect
or what their own perceptions are before we teach pragmatics. These
activities can also lead to group reflections about appropriateness in
their L1 and L2, and about cultural and pragmatic differences between
languages.
 From application to implementation 97

Let us continue with testing the awareness of indirectness and implied

meaning by focusing now on those activities whose main aim was hand-
written messages and voice messages (activities B2–B6). Imagine that after
a series of lessons we ask our students to write handwritten messages in
different situations (e.g. the person who parks next to you at work parks
too close and you cannot usually get in the car). We could ask our students
to write the messages, then we would collect them and mix them, and we
would finally give them back to our students (making sure that no one
would get his or hers). Finally, they would rate their classmates' messages.
An important issue we should take into account is what we want them to
rate: 1) the appropriateness of the message in the given context and, 2)
whether the implied meaning can be understood thanks to the context.
Of course, the objective of the test would depend on the teacher’s/course
objectives. In order to use this type of test, we recommend using a 5 or
6 point scale from least appropriate/polite/indirect to most appropriate/
polite/indirect, with a description of the items. Here is a possible example
for rating appropriateness for activities B2–B6:

EXAMPLE OF STUDENTS RATING PRAGMATICS

From 1–6, say how appropriate the following short written mes-
sages are. Remember to take into account the situation and
the interlocutor, and the possible effect of your message on the
interlocutor.
The person who parks next to you at work parks his/her car too close to
yours and you cannot usually get in the car when you leave. You never coin-
cide, so you decide to leave a short message on the car.
If you keep parking your car so close, I can’t promise your car won’t be
damaged.

1 2 3 4 5
Inappropriate Somehow It could be more Quite appropriate Appropriate
message inappropriate appropriate message

After doing a test like this, students could comment on their own ratings
and on each other’s messages, which would probably help to consolidate
the pragmatic awareness raised through the lessons and through this type
of assessment.
98 From application to implementation

Assessing students’ pragmatic performance

Role-plays

Role-plays are a common activity in classroom contexts to make students prac-

tise speaking skills. They are appropriate from very early stages of language
learning (and also at young ages) to advanced levels (at different ages as well).
They can be used for students to practise or to assess their oral production,
and thus, they are a good tool to elicit pragmatic performance. In these tasks,
students are assigned a specific role in a particular situation, and then simu-
late interaction. In ILP research, they have received some criticism, since it
is considered that learners do not really say what they would actually say in
that particular situation, but rather they produce what they know that they
are expected to say. Thus, their production is not really considered as natural.
Others state that even though such claims are true, role-plays are one of the
closest types of interaction that we can use to assess pragmatic learning, and
students are used to them as common practice in classroom contexts. What we
should bear in mind is that we need to present students with situations that
are similar to what they would experience outside the class, and that are suita-
ble for their age, which will make the task become more meaningful for them.
In fact, in most of the activities from Part II, we could use a role-play
to assess pragmatic production, even with those that focus on perception.
After exposing our students to input or raising their pragmatic awareness,
we may want to check after some lessons if they are able to use what they
have learnt by interacting with others. To practise ‘written pragmatics’,
we suggest another type of task, a Written Discourse Completion Test
(WDCT), which we will see in the following section.
Activities in Sections C, D and E (Part II) mainly focus on production
(some of them on written or online production, but others on oral produc-
tion, such as C1, C6, C8, and most of the activities from Section E). For
example, Activity C1, which aims at showing learners how to change topics
in a conversation, uses dialogues as the main tool. In this case, after allow-
ing learners to develop dialogues or use existing dialogues to work on the
pragmatic aspects taught, a good way of testing learning could be through
a role-play. Let’s see a possible example:

EXAMPLE OF A ROLE-PLAY
In pairs, do the following role-play.
Imagine that you (student A) and your best friend (student B) have gone to
the theatre to see a new version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. When you
get out of the theatre you start talking about what you thought about the play.
 From application to implementation 99

As we can see in the previous example, this is an open role-play; in other

words, students are not assigned specific roles since the aim would be to
simulate a real conversation between two friends. The more natural lan-
guage you want to elicit, the more freedom we can give our students to
produce. They could choose the role; in this particular case, they are equal,
so they could pretend to be themselves. In order to overcome problems
such as not having seen an actual play, time could be given to students to
prepare the role-play (not as a dialogue!). They could check online reviews
from recent plays, or watch a YouTube video in which Romeo and Juliet is
performed, or they could just invent. However, we can also make role-plays
more guided (see, for instance, Activity C6 which is based on a role-play
task).

Written and Oral Discourse Completion Tests (W/ODCTs)

As opposed to role-plays which elicit interaction between students, W/

ODCTs are individual activities that trigger what the students will say
in a particular situation. These types of activities are commonly used to
elicit specific speech acts: as with role-plays, students are provided with a
scenario and are asked what they would say in that context. This task can
be either written or oral. They usually consist of only one answer per situ-
ation, but, in some cases, there can be multi-turn DCTs; that is, students
are provided with a situation, they respond to it, they get a recorded or
written possible response to theirs, and then they need to respond again.
As with role-plays, DCTs have also been criticised for not being able to
elicit what students would really say in the situation given, but what they
think they would say. Another negative aspect that has been mentioned
in the literature is that there is no interaction, and thus, the language
produced might even be less natural than with role-plays. However, they
have been considered a good tool to get massive amounts of productions
from students.
Let us use Activity C8, which aimed to raise students’ awareness on
showing interest and interrupting politely. In the activity students had to
discuss in groups (and then report on their group discussions) about how
technology has affected their social life and family relations. In the group
discussions, showing interest and interrupting would be some of the speech
acts we would expect our students to use. Thus, imagining that we have
devoted a series of lessons to these speech acts, how could we assess the
students’ progress through a DCT?
100 From application to implementation

EXAMPLE OF A DCT
Imagine that you are having a meeting at work in which you are discussing
where to celebrate the office Christmas dinner. Everybody is talking at the
same time: some want to have dinner in the city centre, some others would
like to go to a town near the city (30–45 minutes away), and some others
suggest not having a Christmas dinner party. You would like to say what you
think, so you interrupt the discussion by saying…
YOU SAY:_​​_____​_____​_____​_____​_____​_____​_____​_____​_____​_____​_

As you can see, in the example we have just provided, we give students quite
a detailed context with the aim of making them identify with that situation
and giving them enough context to be able to provide a response with what
they think they would say. We believe that the more contextualised the
situation is, the more detailed their response will be. However, some stud-
ies that have used DCTs provide less information on the situation. This will
then depend on why you decide to use a DCT and on what to test.

Assessing students’ oral and written production

Pragmatics grids

Having seen some of the possible ways to elicit pragmatic production from
our students, how can we assess what they produce? A very frequent way to
do so in teaching is by using grids. They allow us to provide quite objec-
tive assessments (if descriptors of each item are clear) and test quite quickly
as well. We provide an example taken from a study by Gilabert and Barón
(2018), which could be used and adapted to assess pragmatic performance
in most of the activities provided in Part II. In the study just mentioned, the
researchers and teachers asked undergraduate students to write an email in
which certain pragmatic elements had to be taken into account (such as the
appropriateness in terms of opening and closing the email and requesting).
Once they carried out this task, a series of expert teachers were asked to rate
the pragmatic appropriateness of the students’ emails. As you can see in
Table 3.3, the grid has seven items that go from ‘pragmatically inappropriate’
to ‘pragmatically appropriate’. Each item considers how the email is opened
and closed, the degree of formality, the structure of the email, and the type
of speech act and mitigation. In this particular study, raters did not agree
at some points, and scored the students’ productions quite differently. An
important aspect we learnt from this study was how necessary it is to train
TABLE 3.3 
Pragmatics grid from Gilabert and Barón (2018)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Pragmatically -The opening and -The opening and -There is some use of -The use of opening -The use of opening -The use of opening
inappropriate. closing markers are closing markers opening and closing and closing markers and closing markers and closing
not used. are not adequate markers although is correct and is correct and markers is correct
- The addressee is not for the context. they do not fully adequate but could adequate. for the context.
acknowledged. -The addressee meet the expected be improved. -The addressee is -The addressee
-The degree of is poorly standards. -The addressee is acknowledged is fully
formality is acknowledged -The addressee acknowledged and and the speech acknowledged
very low and and thus the is partially the speech act meets act meets the and is addressed
inadequate. formality of the acknowledged the expectations expectations of according to his/
- Pragmatic speech act is but the speech of formality to an formality. her position.
expressions (such awkward. act still does not acceptable extent. -The structure follows -The structure of the
as requests and -The structure does meet the required -The structure follows the expected email follows the
apologies) are not meet the expectations. the expected formality with expected level of
awkward and appropriate level -The structure follows formality but there sporadic minor formality.
inappropriate. of formality. the standards of are some minor mistakes. - Pragmatic
- Mitigation is - Pragmatic formality in a good mistakes. - Pragmatic expressions are
not used in expressions (such way but still there - Pragmatic expressions expressions are fully pragmatically
the pragmatic as requests or are some formal are appropriately appropriately and linguistically
expressions apologies) are mistakes. used with used with appropriate.
produced (such used but they - Pragmatic expressions minor linguistic sporadic linguistic - Mitigation is always
as in requests or are linguistically (such as requests inadequacies. inadequacies. used in pragmatic
apologies). wrong. or apologies) are - Some mitigation is - Mitigation is expressions.
- Pragmatic used, but some used in pragmatic commonly used
expressions are inadequacies can still expressions. in pragmatic
rarely mitigated. be identified. expressions.
- Pragmatic expressions
are not often
From application to implementation

mitigated.
101
102 From application to implementation

teachers on pragmatics before they test it. Different cultural backgrounds of

the teachers may affect the way they rate pragmatics in their students’ pro-
ductions. Thus, in further studies this grid was adapted to other speech acts
and to oral data. The descriptors were left in the same format and length,
but the teachers who were testing received prior training. This helped to get
more objective results when assessing the students’ performances.​

Implementing pragmatics into the classroom and curriculum

One of the main claims that we are making in this book, which has been
extensively pointed out in other books and papers in the field of ILP, is that
pragmatics is not a key issue in language classes yet. We could claim that it is
not even an issue. We are not arguing that we have to deliver whole courses
built around pragmatics. What we are saying is that pragmatics is present in
communication and it is related to all areas of language; for example, if we
use a direct request, we may use very simple syntactic structures (i.e., Open
the window), and if we use more indirect requests we may use more com-
plex syntactic forms (i.e., Would you mind opening the window?); thus, it is
related to grammar and syntax. Intonation plays a key role as well, if when
requesting something like May I come in? the response is a Yes, of course in
a very serious tone that will be received by the speaker as not really being
welcome to enter a room.
Therefore, what we are suggesting is that all components of language are
important when we are teaching an L2. However, we believe that pragmat-
ics should gain more presence in the course curricula, and not be neglected,
as has sometimes been the case.
The question is, though, how can we incorporate pragmatics in our
classes and in the curriculum? This is especially important when we do not
have much time in our lessons to deal with pragmatics. This is usually the
case with very tight curricula that aim at helping students to reach a certain
proficiency level (this is very common in language schools), or in primary
or secondary education, in which curricula are commonly based on what
the Education Departments of each country have established as obligatory
contents.
In TBLT research, a Needs Analysis (NA) (Gilabert & Malicka, 2021)
is recommended as a first step before designing tasks and applying a TBLT
approach in the curriculum. An NA will provide us not only with infor-
mation about our students’ needs in terms of content and language, but
will also provide us with information about what is expected in the course
curriculum that we are following (or given by the institution where we are
teaching). We believe that NA should not only be used for TBLT, but for
any course we want to design or change. Even small changes that we may
 From application to implementation 103

want to incorporate will benefit from an NA. In this case, we suggest car-
rying it out to incorporate pragmatics in the course curricula. Thus, what
steps should we follow to carry out an NA when it comes to including
pragmatics in our lessons?

1) Identify the pragmatic and linguistic aspects that may be needed in the
course (from textbooks, the general course guidelines, objectives of the
course, our students’ purpose for learning the L2).
• If we are using a textbook, we can go through it, and find all the
pragmatic moves that appear there. We will not find them under
the term pragmatics but we may find terms such as function lan-
guage, useful language, or language in use. We tend to find lists
of expressions to perform pragmatic moves (e.g. ways of agreeing
and disagreeing) which appear in isolation, and no explanations of
when, how, and with whom to use them. These types of lists are
what we should be teaching in terms of pragmatics. Sometimes we
skip those sections because of the tightness of the curriculum and
the few hours that we have to teach the course. However, if we want
to incorporate pragmatics into the curriculum, we will need to take
them into account, and especially to work on the metapragmatic
explanations which, as was said in Part I, Section 2, is what seems to
be more beneficial for students.
• If we are teachers who are free to teach whatever we want (as is the
case of some freelance teachers), and we can use any materials and
sources that we find good and useful for our students, then we will
need to identify the kind of pragmatics our students need (i.e., are
our students working at an international company and talk to peo-
ple from different nationalities and L1 backgrounds, and so do they
need to use English as an International Language?).
2) Get to know the type of pragmatics and language our students need
• In this particular case, we should not only focus on the language and
pragmatics that our students need to fulfil for the course require-
ments, but also to know what they need outside of the classroom.
There might be students who will only need the language to pass
the exam, students who are planning to go abroad for a long period
of time because of work or studies, students who will need the lan-
guage for their jobs, or students who will need it to travel, among
many other possibilities. We need to ask them. They are key inform-
ants about what they need.
3) Get to know our students’ skills
• This has been especially important if we want to use some sort of
technology-based activities or tasks. As González-Lloret (2015)
104 From application to implementation

claimed, if we want to use technology we need to know if our stu-

dents are familiar with the tools that we want to use. For example,
if we want to simulate interaction (i.e., role-playing an online job
interview) through online platforms, we need to make sure that our
students know how to use them. Thus, it is important to ensure that
using digital skills is not an obstacle for learning, but one more way
of simulating real-life interactions between people and a motivating
task for our students.

Therefore, knowing what the course curriculum requires, what learners

need, and what they know can help us in the process of incorporating
pragmatics in the class and in the curriculum. Even if we cannot make
big changes, we can always try to use activities and tasks that are already
included in the syllabus and with them 1) raise students’ pragmatic aware-
ness, and 2) assess their pragmatic knowledge and/or production.
The tools that we presented in ‘Assessing pragmatics: how and why’ are
those that have been frequently used in ILP research and that are used in
other areas of language learning and teaching. Therefore, many times we
will be able to use the same test to assess more components of language:
pragmatics and grammar, vocabulary and pragmatics, fluency, accuracy,
and so on.
However, as has just been mentioned, any other tasks or activities that
we set in class can be assessed later on, and they might be tasks which elicit
more natural language. One of the main criticisms of the tools that have
been used so far to assess pragmatics, as mentioned earlier, has been the fact
that activities such as DCTs or role-plays do not elicit what learners would
really say in the particular scenario they are given. According to this claim,
spontaneous interactions would provide more natural information about
the students’ pragmatic knowledge. However, this is not always practical
and doable in classroom contexts, especially in foreign language acquisition
contexts.
Nonetheless, throughout the course we may ask students to carry out a
series of tasks and activities that we can also assess. Especially nowadays,
with the use of technology, we can assess many of the tasks that they do in
class from a pragmatic point of view. Here is a list of possible activities that
can be assessed from many perspectives – and that in many cases we prob-
ably already use:

• Oral presentations (on a specific topic – for example, courses of English

for specific purposes, where students need to make a presentation about
a specific content topic).
 From application to implementation 105

• Use of social media:

• Some courses use Facebook pages or Wikis where students can com-
ment on each other’s posts or react to them.
• Use of WhatsApp groups, if the teacher is included there for teaching
purposes.
• Recording podcasts or YouTube videos.
• Academic essays: Formality is expected in an academic essay as opposed
to an informal one (i.e., writing an email to a friend).
• Playing board games.
• Any other activities you use in your classes. Can you continue this list?

Summary
In Part III, we have seen what aspects we need to consider when selecting
activities from this book (or from any other resources). A series of questions
on general considerations about the course and the pragmatic moves that
we may need to address in class may be helpful for teachers. Such questions
are not thought to be used with the students but for the teachers them-
selves to use when selecting activities and/or input. We have also addressed
ways of assessing pragmatics, in both perception and production. In the
section on assessment, we have also presented a grid which can be adapted
to any pragmatic move. All the tests that are presented in that section have
been tested in research; this is why pros and cons of each test have also been
provided. Finally, we have dealt with the important issue of how to inte-
grate pragmatics in the classroom and in the curriculum. Our suggestion
is to use an NA to objectively know what the course requires and what our
students need. An NA can be done by analysing the materials and curricu-
lum that we already have and follow in class, and also through interviews or
questionnaires, if we want to enquire about our students’ needs.

Further reading
1. González-Lloret, M. (2015). A practical guide to integrating technology into
Task-based Language Teaching. Georgetown University Press.
2. Roever, C. (2021). Teaching and testing second language pragmatics and
interaction: A practical guide. Routledge.
PART IV

From implementation to
research

Introduction
In the first part of this book, we provided an overview of research in prag-
matics: what pragmatics is, a historical overview, and key issues in prag-
matics, such as Speech Act Theory and Politeness Theory. All of this was
presented to explain the basics of pragmatics and the theoretical aspects
required before teaching pragmatics in our classes. The second section
of the first part of the book was devoted to showing what research had
proved regarding the effects of teaching pragmatics. Generally speaking,
we saw that positive effects have been revealed through different meth-
ods. Moreover, we also provided different approaches that might be of
interest to use in our lessons, and have also been found to be beneficial
when learning pragmatics. In Part II we presented a series of activities
that can be used in class, taking into account the theoretical aspects
included in Part I. Then, the objectives of Part III were to share tips and
strategies which would help in the selection of activities with a pragmatic
focus for our students, as well as to provide some guidance on how to
implement pragmatics in the classroom and in the curriculum. The goal
of the last Part of this book is to promote action research studies in dif-
ferent contexts with second language teachers who have implemented, or
are willing to implement some of the activities presented in Part II, or
include pragmatics in the classroom curricula. This way, already existing
materials and activities may be adapted to new pragmatic ‘environments’
and this will help us to overcome new cultural, societal, and pragmatic
challenges.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003180210-4
 From implementation to research 107

From research to practice, and from practice

to research: Building a cycle
Linking theory and practice
Throughout this book, we have defended the idea that we need to deal
with pragmatics in class. This is why one of the main aims of the book is to
provide teachers with activities that focus on pragmatics. The activities pre-
sented can be adapted to different proficiency levels, ages, and contexts. As
claimed in Part I, textbooks do not usually have as many pragmatic activities
as other areas in language such as grammar or vocabulary; thus, the access
to resources is quite limited if we want to teach pragmatics. However, this
reality goes against research findings in the field of ILP, which has extensively
shown the benefits of dealing with pragmatics in class. In Part I (‘Pragmatics
in second language learning and teaching’), we saw that different approaches,
such as explicit or implicit methods, have proven to be beneficial for learning
L2 pragmatics. We cannot claim that one approach is better than another,
so finding what might be most effective for our students should be at the
core of teacher training. All of us have experienced that what works with one
group might not work with another, even if they have the same level of pro-
ficiency or are the same age. Our students’ individual differences, their own
personal experiences with languages (both L1 and L2), their beliefs, and even
group dynamics in our classrooms can influence the approach that we choose
either positively or negatively. Moreover, it will not be only one approach
that works; we may combine approaches and get even better results. Thus,
considering all the research carried out to date, what do we know regarding
the teaching of pragmatics? We suggest four relevant ideas below:

1) Dealing with pragmatics in class is beneficial for learners; it will even-

tually help them to sound pragmatically appropriate outside the class
when they are in real-life encounters.
2) We can deal with pragmatics in class at all ages and levels of proficiency
(see Roever, 2021); we will just need to adapt the input and materials
to our students’ needs and the goals of the course that we are teaching.
3) Students seem to benefit from metapragmatic explanations. That is,
explaining to students why we use certain expressions in given con-
texts and with different interlocutors. We can provide this information
implicitly, explicitly, or in a combined way according to the approach
that we are following with a given group of students. No matter when
we provide it, the important thing is that we give them this information
so that they understand why we are teaching pragmatic issues.
4) Several approaches to teaching pragmatics have proved to enhance
pragmatic learning: inductive, deductive, TBLT, TSLT, usage-based,
108 From implementation to research

concept-based, and CA. However, we need to find out what works best
for our students.

Bearing this in mind, what we suggest is that you carry out action research
(Burns, Edwards & Ellis, 2022). Action research (AR) is research carried
out by practitioners on issues of interest or curiosity in their own teaching.
It is ‘insider’ research in contrast to research done by researchers who are not
part of the social situation. Burns (2010, p. 2) explains that action research:

involves taking a self-reflective, critical, and systematic approach to

exploring your own teaching context…In AR, a teacher becomes an
“investigator” or “explorer” of his or her personal teaching context,
while at the same time being one of the participants in it.

Through action research, teachers can be involved in “trying out the pro-
ject ideas in practice as a means of improvement and as a means of increas-
ing knowledge about the curriculum, teaching, and learning” (Kemmis
& McTaggart, 1982, pp. 5). In the case of pragmatics, through action
research you can test an approach, a series of lessons on particular speech
acts, a series of activities, or anything else you need to try out. Below, we
explain some steps that can be followed to carry out research in classrooms,
following the procedures of research design we saw in Part I (Section 2).

Designing a study
Let us imagine that we want to examine the effectiveness of a particu-
lar approach (i.e., a deductive approach – starting our lesson with explicit
explanations about the pragmatic move we are teaching). What should we
do? Once you know what pragmatic aspect you want to teach and you have
your pedagogical intervention designed (i.e., a series of lesson plans on
requesting), you can follow the steps below:

1) Design a task which can act as a test (see section below and Part III
on Assessing pragmatics) such as role-plays, Multiple Choice Discourse
Completion Tests (MCDCTs), or Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs)
that can elicit what learners know about the pragmatic move you will
be teaching. Do not tell them what you are testing them on; this way
they will be more natural and will say what they actually know.
2) Pre-test the students with the test you have designed in step one.
3) Try out your teaching approach or the pragmatic move you want to teach
– it is good to do classroom observations or take notes of what takes place
in class. For example, if you are trying a new approach, write down how
 From implementation to research 109

it works; if you are teaching a new pragmatic move, write down those
things that are difficult for students to understand or to perform.
4) Post-test your students with the same test you used to pre-test them.
5) Analyse the data from the pre and the post-tests to see if they did better
in the post-test, and also have a look at your classroom observations, as
they might help you to interpret the results

Collecting the data

As already mentioned in Step 1 above, to collect data you will need to
design a task, or use an already existing one, to pre-test and post-test your
students. As we saw in Part III, there are different tools that we can use to
elicit what our students know, which research has commonly used to test
pragmatic learning. Below, we can see some examples taken from a series
of ILP studies.

A) Testing awareness

Multiple Choice Discourse Completion Test (MCDCT)

This type of activity has been commonly used in research to test pragmatic
awareness, and it has proven to be a tool that can give a general over-
view to find out if learners notice the pragmatic moves that we are dealing
with in class. Below, we provide an example taken from a study by Barón,
Martínez-Flor, and Celaya (2022). In their study, students were shown a
series of video excerpts from a TV series (one group was provided with
English subtitles and another group was not). To check if the learners had
noticed different request strategies performed in different contexts, they
used an MCDCT. The test included situations with similar scenarios to the
ones from the video excerpts. The findings showed that those who had the
L2 subtitles did better in the post-test than those without.

EXAMPLE OF AN MCDCT
Choose the most appropriate answer.
If you wanted to interview somebody on the street for a study that you have
to carry out for class, which of the options below would you choose?

a. Can I ask you a question?

b. Do you mind if I ask you a question?
c. Is it ok if I ask you a question?
110 From implementation to research

B) Rating pragmatic awareness

As with MCDCTs, this type of test has been used in research, and has also
proved to elicit how learners perceive pragmatic moves. For example, Botey
(2022) examined how compliment responses were perceived by 16–17 year-
old learners who had not received any prior instruction on such speech acts
before doing the test. The students were presented with a series of clips
from a TV series, and they had to rate from 1 to 6 on how polite the com-
pliment responses were (inappropriate response, awkward response, inad-
equate in some ways, correct response but could be improved, adequate
response, perfect response).

C) Testing production

Role-plays
As we pointed out in Part III, role-plays have extensively been used in both
teaching and research. Below is an example of two of the role-plays that
were used in the study by Barón, Celaya, and Levkina (2020). These role-
plays were used before and after instruction on agreeing and disagreeing,
together with other speech acts, throughout a semester. Since the students
were young teenagers, the topics were adapted to their own everyday reali-
ties. As we said above, adapting the activities and tests that we use to assess
pragmatic production to their ages is very important if we want them to
interact in a more natural way.

Example of role-plays

Student A Student B
Role-play 1
Imagine that you and your classmates are Imagine that you and your classmates are
preparing for the end-of-school trip. You preparing for the end-of-school trip. You
are considering different options. You are considering different options. You
absolutely love museums and cities full of absolutely love adventure trips (mountains,
culture. Try to convince your partner. surfing, rafting, etc.). Try to convince your
partner.
Role-play 2
You and your friend are planning to go to You and your friend are planning to go to
the cinema next Friday. You love horror the cinema next Friday. You love romantic
films. Give your opinion and justify it. films. Give your opinion and justify it.
Mention some positive aspects of your Mention some positive aspects of your
favourite type of film. The goal is to get favourite type of film. The goal is to get
to an agreement, so you could go to the to an agreement, so you could go to the
cinema together next week. cinema together next week.
 From implementation to research 111

Written and Oral Discourse Completion Tests (W/ODCTs)

As explained in Part III, in W/ODCTs we provide students with a situation
and they are asked to provide what they would say in that given context.
The example below comes from the study by Khazdouzian, Celaya, and
Barón (2020), in which their undergraduate students had to watch a TV
series on their own at home and were asked to carry out a WDCT with
20 situations in which requests and suggestions were elicited. The situa-
tions were based on similar scenarios included in the TV series.

EXAMPLE OF A WDCT
Situation: You want water, and you want your son or daughter to bring it to
you. You say….
Situation: Your friend is looking for a nice dress for Christmas. You know a
good place she could go to that is having a sale. You say….

Analysing the data

Having collected the data, we need to analyse it to check the effects of our
pedagogical intervention. We can analyse the data in different ways: 1) if
we used tests, such as an MCDCT, to raise the students’ awareness, or rate
pragmatic perception, we would get numerical data, and it will be easy to
check changes between the pre and post-test; 2) if we used tests that elicited
production (oral or written), we could either analyse the pragmatic expres-
sions that they used, and do some speech act analysis (using already existing
categorisations, taken from research or developed by us), or we can also
carry out a holistic analysis of the task, in which case we will use pragmatic
grids, such as the one by Gilabert and Barón (2018) (see Part III).
Let us exemplify the procedure of data analysis with a study that we car-
ried out in a school where we have established collaboration. Teachers and
researchers together try a given approach and develop materials which we
test in class. Once we have the results and have identified possible aspects
that need to be improved, we modify them. As the last step, the school
incorporates the materials, lesson plans, or approaches in their curriculum.
Therefore, in the study that follows (by Barón & Celaya, 2022) the aim
was to check the effects of audio-visual material (with and without L2 sub-
titles). The students were asked to carry out a role-play, then they watched
a video excerpt in which some pragmatic moves were quite salient, and
after watching the video, they had to perform the same role-play again.
112 From implementation to research

While watching, they were able to take notes of any expressions that they
found interesting and were allowed to use them later in the post-watching
role-play. We did a total of six sessions with different video excerpts, but we
mainly wanted to see if, by watching the video, they were able to identify
the pragmatic moves that appeared in the excerpts. In one of the video ses-
sions, they were asked to role-play the following situation: ‘Imagine that
the end-of-course celebration is getting closer. There will be a party and
a dance, and you will be going with a boy/girl. Ask a friend of yours who
is a good dancer if he/she can teach you some dancing lessons/a friend
of yours asks you to teach him/her some dancing lessons. You accept or
reject.’
In this situation we were expecting them to use a request, since in the
video excerpt (from The Big Bang Theory, Season 3, Episode 10) a request
is used. In the video excerpt, Penny goes to see Sheldon to ask him to teach
her “a little physics”. As we can see, the situation we gave the students was
very similar to the one from the video. Before analysing what the students
did in the two role-plays, here is the transcript from the video excerpt where
the request appears:
Penny knocks at the door and enters while her neighbour Sheldon (a Ph.D.
in Physics) is playing games with his friend, Raj.

Penny: Hey Sheldon, can I talk to you for a second?

Sheldon: It’s not about shoes, is it? I don’t think I could go through that
again.
Penny: It’s not about shoes.
Sheldon: Then, speak.
Penny: Actually, can we do it in private?
Sheldon: (to his friend) Alright, go away. I know it’s rude but she asked for
privacy.
Penny: Thanks, Raj. Ok, so here’s the thing. I was wondering if you
could teach me a little physics.
Sheldon: A little physics?

As we can see in the video excerpt, Penny is the one who requests, but she
first prepares the interlocutor, Sheldon, for the request (I was wondering if
you could teach me a little physics) by mitigating it through a ‘preparator’:
Can I talk to you for a second? Sheldon is not pragmatically appropriate
when enquiring about the topic or when asking his friend to leave, but this
is one of the main features of the character in the TV series. Below we have
a short non-edited excerpt from a role-play that one of the student groups
produced before and after watching the excerpt.
 From implementation to research 113

Pre-watching role-play
St1: hello can you teach us a dance?
St2: ehm no.
St1: why?
St2: because I don’t know how to dance.
St1: yes you know, and the dance is in three weeks and we don’t know
how to dance and my boy is very beautiful.
St2: no she he isn’t excuse me I have to go.

As can be seen above, the request made by Student 1 contains a mitigation

strategy (hello) which is an attention getter, according to the modification
categories proposed by Alcón (2008) presented in Part I, followed by a
quite direct request with the use of the modal verb ‘can’.

Post-watching role-play
St1: hello can we talk to you for a second?
St2: ehm sure what do you want?
St1: we were wondering if you could teach us a little bit a dance.
St2: ehm but I don’t know how to dance.
St1: but the dance it’s in three weeks and we don’t know how to dance
because we have to dance with a boy.

In the role-play carried out after watching the video, we can see that the
students have been able to identify the requests used by Penny, although
they were not asked to focus on the requests. They were allowed to take
notes of any expressions that seemed interesting to them, but they were
not told before doing the task which speech acts they were going to find
in the video excerpts. Thus, this role-play includes both the preparator and
the request used in the video, albeit with some grammar problems on the
part of the student. Therefore, we can see that the audio-visual material
had an effect on the students' performance. This was not the case, however,
with all the videos that we used in the study; thus, those videos that did not
have any effect because the pragmatic moves were difficult to notice were
finally excluded or changed before they were included in the curriculum.

Topics to be investigated
Even if research on ILP has focused on instructed contexts for the last two
decades, there are still many areas that remain under-researched and that
need to be considered in future studies and in action research carried out
114 From implementation to research

by teachers. We provide some of these areas below as suggestions that could

be followed up:

1. Little is known about the effects of instruction in early L2 acquisi-

tion, namely primary education. Most of the studies carried out so far
have focused on teenagers and adults, but very few on early ages (some
exceptions are Myrset & Savić, 2021; Schauer, 2019). What we espe-
cially need are pedagogical proposals and materials suitable for primary
students.
2. Most of the research focuses on speech act realisation, but, as we have
mentioned several times in this book, pragmatics is built through inter-
action. Thus, we need more research on materials that can help learners
to become pragmatically appropriate speakers in interaction, similar to
what they do in real-life interactions.
3. The reality of the globalised world we live in is that we do not only
interact with NSs but also with people who speak English as a non-
native language, and with a variety of L1 backgrounds. How can we,
then, help our students to become intercultural competent speakers?
Again, more pedagogical proposals are needed to fill in this gap (see
McConachy, 2017).
4. In relation to point 3, the language that we use in such a context is
usually English as an International Language; then, which pragmatic
norms should we use? British English? American English? Other varie-
ties of English? This is still an area that needs to be further explored in
order to develop adequate materials that reflect interactional patterns in
the current era.
5. Besides textbooks, we need to explore other resources and materials
including technology, since other sources can be combined with what
we use in class to enhance learning pragmatics. We have suggested the
use of audio-visual material, but what about story books or graphic
novels as well (see Schauer, 2022)?

Concluding remarks
The main aim of this book was to contribute to the body of research that
points towards the need to teach pragmatics in the L2 class. As has been
claimed throughout the book, the benefits of teaching pragmatics in L2
learning have been extensively shown in many studies to date. In addi-
tion, several approaches have been found to enhance pragmatic learning.
However, what is still missing is a wider variety of resources and materials
to be used at different proficiency levels, different ages, and contexts. This
 From implementation to research 115

is why we have provided a series of activities that also aim to fill such a lack
of resources.
Moreover, as we have presented in Part IV, what we also need to do
as teachers is to investigate what is best for our students so that they can
become pragmatically competent speakers in the L2. This seems especially
relevant considering that language is a dynamic system that changes over
time and that might be influenced by cultural and societal changes. A
recent example of how contextual factors influence language and the way
we communicate is technology. Technological advances have changed at a
very rapid rate in the last decades, and we can all expect more technological
developments in the next few years. For instance, nowadays we are able to
play online games with people from all over the world and use English as an
International Language to communicate with each other, something that
was not common twenty years ago.
This new communicative environment might sometimes be challenging
when deciding what pragmatics should be used in such contexts: should we
use our L1 pragmatics, or English pragmatics (but in that case, what variety
of English?)? Instant messaging has been very common for years now, and
interpreting pragmatics in such types of texts is not an easy task. New acro-
nyms, abbreviations, and emojis might be changing interactional pragmatic
norms: a silence in a face-to-face interaction might not mean the same as
in a WhatsApp conversation. Therefore, these new pragmatic norms also
need to be included in the L2 class. Thus, as teachers and researchers we
need to be prepared for what may come next regarding new communicative
needs, since pragmatics will always play an important role. All in all, to keep
the cycle going from research to teaching and from teaching to research,
we will need to be ready to investigate further methods and approaches to
teach pragmatics as new changes take place in the world.
GLOSSARY

Culture: In the study of pragmatics, we refer to culture as the social

norms and behaviours agreed by a particular community.
Developmental stages: The patterns of acquisition that learners follow
when acquiring an L2.
DCT: Discourse Completion Test
Direct vs. Indirect requests: With direct requests, the intention of the
act is expressed literally; however, with indirect requests we need to
interpret the meaning by taking into account the context in which it
is uttered.
Experimental vs. Control group: These are terms used in research
design. Experimental groups are those which are given a treatment,
and to see the effects of the treatment they are tested before and after.
On the other hand, control groups are also tested twice but they do not
receive any treatment.
Explicit vs. Implicit language teaching: In explicit teaching, learners
know from the beginning what they are going to learn, whereas in
implicit teaching, students are exposed to input so that they can notice
it on their own, but the rules or norms are not explained to them
until later in the lesson. Deductive and inductive methods are related
to these two terms.
Face-threatening act: A speech act that can lead to problems in com-
munication. For example, requests are considered face-threatening,
since depending on how they are used they might offend people, which
would lead to a communicative problem.
FTA: Stands for face-threatening act. They refer to those speech acts that
can lead to a problem when interacting with others. An example of an
FTA would be a complaint.


118 Glossary

ILP: Stands for Interlanguage Pragmatics. It is the field that studies how
learners acquire the pragmatics of the foreign or second language.
(Im)politeness: A type of communicative behaviour used in all cultures.
Some researchers agree that this behaviour is sometimes culture-spe-
cific and some other times, it is universal.
Interlanguage: The learners’ language, which has characteristics of both
the L1 and the L2, with errors and mistakes.
Internal vs. External modification: These are the linguistic strategies
that we use to mitigate requests. Internal modification appears within
the request (e.g. Can you possibly call your mother?), whereas exter-
nal modification appears outside the request (e.g. Can you call your
mother, please?).
MCDCT: Multiple Choice Discourse Completion Test
Metapragmatic explanations: These are explanations about the prag-
matic aspects that we are teaching. For example, when we tell our stu-
dents that we use more polite requests with strangers than with family
members.
Mitigation: Linguistic strategies that we use to soften face-threatening
speech acts.
NA: Stands for Needs Analysis, a term coined in this book from the TBLT
agenda. The aim of an NA is to get to know what pragmatics is required
in the syllabus and by the students before we can start implementing
it in class.
P/D/I: These terms refer to Power, Distance, and Imposition, developed
by Brown & Levinson’s Politeness Theory. These three terms are con-
sidered as social variables that affect the way we produce speech acts.
Pragmatic assessment: Testing what learners know about pragmatics.
Pragmatic awareness: Learners’ knowledge on pragmatic violations.
Pragmatics grids: Rubrics with descriptors on pragmatic moves. They
are usually presented in the forms of a numeric scale. These are com-
monly used by raters/teachers. They must accurately describe the task
we are assessing and the pragmatic moves that are tested.
Pragmatic perception: How learners perceive pragmatics (appropriate/
inappropriate, polite/rude).
Requests: A directive speech act that is used when somebody asks another
person to do something.
Speech Acts: The means of communication between people, according
to Austin and Searle. These are, for instance, requests, apologies, sug-
gestions, etc..
W/ODCT: Written or Oral Discourse Completion Tests (students are
given a situation and they write or respond orally what they think they
would say). They do not require interaction but individual production.
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INDEX

Note: Page numbers in italics indicate figures, bold indicate tables in the text, and
references following “n” refer to endnotes.

#hashtags 24, 69–72 computer mediated communication

(CMC) 8
Achiba, M. 13, 14 concept-based teaching 20, 108
action research 106, 108, 113 contrastive pragmatics 4
active listening 50–1 control group 18, 19
Alcón-Soler, E. 12, 13, 113 Conversation Analysis (CA) 20, 108
audience, role of 58–61 Cooperative Principle 4
Austin, J. 4 cross-cultural pragmatics 4
Bardovi-Harlig, K. 2 Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act
Barón, J. 12, 13, 19, 100, 101, 109, Realisation Patterns (CCSARP) 12
110, 111 Crystal, D. 3–4
Blum-Kulka, S. 5, 10, 12 culture 5–10, 22, 53, 114, 115;
Botey, A. 110 back translation 85–6; British
Brown, P. 7–11 80–1; communication 79–81;
Burns, A. 108 cross-cultural pragmatics 4–5;
differences 5–12, 21, 85–8, 96,
Celaya, M. L. 19, 109, 110, 111 102; European 80, 82; of language
Child, J. T. 74 2; miscommunication, awareness of
Chomsky, N. 4 82–5; norms 6, 15; North American
Cohen, A. D. 6 82; salutations in 6; silence 81–5,
communication 1,3, 4, 5, 7–8, 10, 11, 115; sociocultural awareness 14;
24, 36, 38, 42, 54, 68–9, 72–73, Western 7, 9
74, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 87, 90, 102,
117, 118; computer mediated 8; deductive teaching 19, 107, 108
cultural miscommunication 24, developmental stages 21; of requests 15
82–5; face-to-face 3, 5, 8, 22, 115; direct requests 7, 11–13, 102
intercultural 24, 79–80, 87, 114; Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs)
online 3, 69–70, 72–4 99–100, 104, 108


 Index 123

Ellis, R. 12, 13 language teaching: approaches to 2, 17,

emojis 24, 38, 40, 75–6, 115 19–20, 115; effects of 19, 106, 114;
English-as-a-second-language explicit vs. implicit 18, 19, 20, 53, 107
(ESL) 13 Leech, G. 7
English as international language Levinson, S. D. 7–11
(EIL) 8 Levkina, M. 110
European culture 80, 82 listening 23, 42, 45, 50, 51, 79, 91, 95;
experimental group 18, 19 active 50–1
explicit language teaching 17–20,
53, 107 Martínez-Flor, A. 12, 17, 20, 109
external modification 12, 13 metapragmatic explanations 18, 20,
52–3, 53, 103, 107
face-threatening acts (FTAs) 7–8, miscommunication, awareness of 82–5
11, 12 mitigation 100, 101; strategies 11–12,
FTAs see face-threatening acts 14, 15, 113
function language 103 modification: categories of 113;
external 12, 13; internal 12, 13;
Gilabert, R. 100, 101, 111 request 12
Goffman, E. 7 Morris, C. W. 4
González-Lloret, M. 103–4 Multiple Choice Discourse Completion
Grice, P. 4 Test (MCDCT) 95–6, 108–11
implicit language teaching 17–20, natural spoken language, of features
53, 107 31–2, 92
implied meaning 2, 17, 22, 32, 34, Needs Analysis (NA) 102, 103, 105
45–6, 49, 95–7; awareness of 32–4; North American culture 82
of handwritten messages 46–9;
of messages 45–6, 96–7; use of Olshtain, E. 12
95; of utterances 2–3, 96; of voice Oral Discourse Completion Tests
messages 49–50, 97 (ODCT); pragmatic performance
(im)politeness 1–2, 7–8, 14, 21, 25, 42, 99–100; testing production 111
51–3, 63, 68, 80–6, 91, 93, 97, 99,
110; positive and negative 7; power Politeness Theory 7–11, 106
and 8; theories 7–10 Power, Distance, and Imposition
indirectness 15, 35–6, 89; awareness of (P/D/I) 8–9
96–7; conventional 15; use of 95 pragmatic acquisition 5, 10–14, 20,
indirect requests 9–10, 11–14, 17, 102 104, 114
indirect utterance 96 pragmatic assessment 89, 95, 104–5;
inductive teaching 19, 107 appropriateness 96–7; awareness
informal writing, practising 40–2 95–7; grids 100–1; oral and
interaction 3–4, 5, 7–8, 20, 22, 53, 98, written production 100–1, 110;
99, 114–15; eliciting 99; enhancing performance 98–100
24, 56–69; modes 8; simulating 98, pragmatic awareness 21, 23, 25,
104, 114; social 3; spontaneous 104; 94, 95, 97, 98, 104, 109, 110;
see also communication appropriateness assessments 96;
interlanguage (IL); defined 10–11; grammatical and sociocultural 14;
hybrid of 5 implied meaning 2, 17, 22, 23,
interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) 4, 5, 32–4, 45, 46, 48, 49, 95, 96, 97; of
10, 12–13, 19, 89, 98, 102, 104, indirectness 35–6, 96–7; informal
107, 109, 113 writing, practising 40–2; language
internal modification 12, 13 choices 36–40; Multiple Choice
Ishihara, N. 6 Discourse Completion Test 95–6,
108–11; natural spoken language,
Kasper, G. 4, 10, 13, 14, 15 of features 31–2, 92; testing 95–6,
Khazdouzian, Y. 19, 111 109; vague language 25–30
124 Index

pragmatic exchange 3, 8–10, 21 pragmatic violations 22

pragmatic input 21–2, 23, 42, 93; pre-watching role-play 113
active listening 50; implied meaning Purpura, J. 95
45–50; language choices 23, 24, 36,
38, 44, 58, 60; politeness 2, 7, 8, 11, relative distance 2
14, 21, 53, 63, 80, 86, 106 Rose, K. R. 13, 14, 15
pragmatic instruction 13, 17, 18, 20 Safont-Jordà, M. P. 12
pragmatic knowledge 5, 38, 40, 89, 95, Scott, K. 74
101, 104, 108 Searle, J. R. 4, 8, 11
pragmatic move 8, 10–11, 15, 18, 21, second language 1, 2, 5, 10, 13,
53–4, 94, 103, 105, 108–13 17, 105, 106, 107; acquiring L2
pragmatic output 22, 24; changing pragmatics 10; English-as-a-second-
subject of conversation 56–8; language 13; reflections on research
communicative task, performing 14–15; second language acquisition
68–9; indirect meaning 66–8; (SLA) 10, 19
intonation and stress 61–2; language Selinker, L. 10–11
choices 58–61; messages, conveying social media: #hashtags 69–72; emojis
62–3; role-play 63–6 24, 38, 40, 75, 115; sociocultural
pragmatic perception 5, 98, 105, 111; awareness 14
assessing 95–7; Multiple Choice speech acts 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15,
Discourse Completion Test 95–6, 89, 99, 102, 108, 110, 113; concept
108–11 of face 7, 8; inappropriate 5, 6, 11,
pragmatic performance 22, 113; 70, 97, 100, 101, 110
assessing 98–100; role-plays Speech Act Theory 4, 106
98–9; Written and Oral Discourse Starcher, S. C. 74
Completion Tests 99; written or
oral 8 target language (TL) 1, 10–11, 14, 16,
pragmatic production 5, 22, 69, 17, 18
96, 104–5; assessing 100–1; data Task-Based Language Teaching
analysis 111–12; online 98; oral (TBLT) 19, 101–2, 107
17, 98, 100–1, 111; post-watching Task-Supported Language Teaching
role-play 113; pre-watching role-play (TSLT) 20, 107
113; role-plays 110; testing 110–14; Taxonomy of Speech Acts (1969) 11
written 98, 100–1, 111 Teaching (L2) pragmatics 17–20,
pragmatics: assessing 95–102; back 89–91; approaches to 20; effects of
translation 85–7; communication 18–20; explicit vs. implicit 17–18,
in UK 79–81; cultural differences 53, 107
6, 21, 85–8, 96, 102, 106;
cultural miscommunication 82–5; usage-based teaching 20, 107
culture and 5–6; defining 2–4; useful language 103
general considerations for 89–90; utterance 14; formulaic 14; implied
general issues about students and meanings of 2–3, 96; indirect 96
90; historical overview 4–5;
vague language 25–30
implementing 102–5; (im)politeness
and 7–8; rating 97; in second Western culture 7, 9
language 10–15; silence, importance Written Discourse Completion Tests
of 81–2; society 5–6; in speech (WDCT); pragmatic performance
8–10; see also specific entries 98, 111; testing production 110
pragmatics grids 54–5, 100–1, 101,
105, 111 Yule, G. 2–3