Learner Perceptions of Instruction in L2 Pragmatics

In Taiwan, pragmatic competence has often been a neglected area in English education. Learners may be linguistically competent, but do not know how to use L2 appropriately. Through the teaching of complaint behaviors, the author demonstrates how pragmatic components can be incorporated into a college-level language classroom. After the instruction, the self reports of the forty participants showed a positive attitude toward such instruction. They also reported that the teaching materials were suitable, but suggested that the instruction would have been more interesting if videos or films had been included. When it comes to learning difficulties, most learners reported that more instructional time was needed to turn knowledge about L2 complaints to actual productions. These findings can serve as offering advice to language teachers when they plan their lessons in L2 pragmatics.