Developing Intercultural Perspectives on Language Use : Exploring Pragmatics ...

Developing Intercultural Perspectives on Language Use : Exploring Pragmatics and Culture in Foreign Language Learning, Paperback by Mcconachy, Troy, ISBN 1783099313, ISBN-13 9781783099313, Like New Used, Free shipping in the USThe author draws on work in the field of pragmatics, along with intercultural communication theory and social psychology, to offer a reconceptualization of the idea of pragmatic awareness and its relevance to the development of intercultural perspectives on language use in the language classroom. It emphasizes the learner’s awareness of their first language and how culturally based assumptions about language use influence the process of learning. He shows how to create opportunities for learning by guiding language learners to analyze and reflect on their own interactional experiences inside and outside the classroom, using a case study of four learners of English taught by the author in Japan, illustrating how making language use an object of analysis leads learners to interpret and evaluate its aspects in insightful ways, exploring different ways of understanding utterances and discourse while developing awareness of the influence of cultural assumptions. He discusses issues related to the conceptualization and treatment of the connection between spoken language and culture within communicative language teaching; how language learners engage with scripted interactions from textbooks and dialogues to analyze aspects of language use in terms of sociocultural context and justify their interpretations; the roles of classroom talk and reflection in interactional experiences outside the classroom; and how observation and reflection based on role-play activities provide opportunities for exploring meaning-making processes and options for constructing meanings and impressions in the second language. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR ()