It is the aim of this paper to analyze how politeness currently is – and how politeness potentially could be – taught in foreign language classrooms. The focus will be on how foreign language students are – or could be – instructed to perform speech acts that usually require forms of politeness. Teaching politeness will not be reduced to the introduction of cultural stereotypes and basic rules of behavior in language teaching, it will rather be understood as all forms of the pragmatic knowledge required to develop true intercultural communicative competence in the foreign language student.
It is argued that currently teaching pragmatics only plays a minor role in foreign language teaching, but that this knowledge is crucial to build up intercultural communicative competence as it is demanded by the CEFR and foreign language curricula. To prove this thesis, current textbooks for teaching English as a foreign language will be examined for teaching activities that include aspects of foreign language pragmatics or politeness. In a subsequent chapter, the didactics and methodology of instructional pragmatics will be discussed on the basis of literature from the field of pedagogy.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Intercultural Communicative Competence, Teaching Pragmatics and the Curriculum
2. Pragmatics in the Foreign Language Classroom – A Status Analysis
3. How can Politeness be Taught? – The Methodology of Instructional Pragmatics
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Topics
This research paper examines how politeness is currently integrated into foreign language teaching and explores potential pedagogical strategies to enhance this aspect. The central goal is to investigate whether current English textbooks effectively teach pragmatics and to discuss how learners can develop deeper intercultural communicative competence through explicit reflection on social language use.
- Analysis of the role of politeness within current foreign language curricula.
- Evaluation of instructional approaches in various English as a foreign language textbooks.
- Exploration of the relationship between communicative competence and intercultural competence.
- Discussion of methodological strategies such as verbalized reflections and interaction scenarios.
Excerpt from the Book
Pragmatics in the Foreign Language Classroom – A Status Analysis
It can be debated how and to what extent teaching pragmatics is part of current foreign language teaching and learning. In his book on instructional pragmatics, Rémi van Compernolle provides an interesting excerpt taken from a teaching French as a foreign language situation in the United States. Susan (a pseudonym) is asked to identify which second-person address form (familiar “tu” versus polite “vous”) she would use in a variety of social situations. In the given scenario, Susan is meeting a good (male) friend´s girlfriend, Sophie, for the first time (“+” indicating a pause, underlining indicating stress):
Tutor: What about the second one. +++ Jean´s girlfriend Sophie.
Susan: I would probably say “vous”. Just because I haven´t met her before, + and it goes back to the whole respect thing, I think, + and even though, + she´s my age, and + the girlfriend of my friend, + I still just + because I´m meeting her for the first time, + I feel like I would just default to “vous”,
Tutor: Okay.
Susan: …to be respectful, (van Compernolle 2014:7)
The given scenario is ambiguous for the student since, one the one hand, Sophie is her own age, a peer and the friend of a friend but, on the other hand, a person whom she has not met before. In selecting her response, Susan applies the “rules of thumb” for politeness and respectful behavior that have been discussed in class, choosing the polite “vous” form. One could guess that in this case the French language textbook and the language classes introduced “vous” as a form of “default” when meeting new people, thereby establishing the basic rule to always apply that form when talking to strangers. Although Susan seems to realize the potential importance of age and the relationship between Sophie and her male friend, which is also underlined by her uncertainty when deciding which form to choose (indicated by pauses and stress), she reverts to her default choice of respectful address, because she does not actually know what to do in the situation.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Intercultural Communicative Competence, Teaching Pragmatics and the Curriculum: This chapter contextualizes politeness within the broader framework of communicative and intercultural competence as defined by modern educational curricula and the CEFR.
2. Pragmatics in the Foreign Language Classroom – A Status Analysis: The chapter analyzes how current English textbooks address politeness, highlighting the common deficiency of providing superficial "rules of thumb" rather than fostering authentic pragmatic awareness.
3. How can Politeness be Taught? – The Methodology of Instructional Pragmatics: This section introduces specific pedagogical methods, such as verbalized reflections and interaction scenarios, designed to help students consciously navigate pragmatic challenges.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, arguing for a paradigm shift toward explicit, reflection-based instruction to overcome the limitations of current textbook approaches.
Keywords
Politeness, Pragmatics, Intercultural Communicative Competence, Foreign Language Teaching, CEFR, Instructional Pragmatics, Sociolinguistic Competence, Textbook Analysis, Verbalized Reflections, Appropriateness Judgement Tasks, Strategic Interaction Scenarios, Mediation, Social Distance, Awareness Raising, Language Acquisition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on analyzing the integration of politeness into foreign language teaching and explores better ways to instruct students on performing speech acts that require pragmatic knowledge.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The work covers intercultural communicative competence, the role of sociolinguistics in language classrooms, textbook methodology, and the gap between academic politeness theory and practical classroom application.
What is the core research question of the study?
The paper asks how politeness is currently taught in foreign language classrooms and seeks to determine if current textbooks provide sufficient training for developing true intercultural communicative competence.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses a qualitative analysis approach, examining four widely used English language textbooks and consulting pedagogical literature to evaluate current practices in teaching instructional pragmatics.
What does the main part of the work cover?
The main part includes a status analysis of existing teaching materials, a discussion of the CEFR standards, and an exploration of pedagogical strategies like "verbalized reflections" and "strategic interaction scenarios."
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include politeness, pragmatics, intercultural competence, instructional methodology, and sociolinguistic awareness.
How do current textbooks typically fail in teaching politeness?
According to the study, textbooks often reduce politeness to static "rules of thumb" or superficial phrase lists, failing to teach students how to adapt their language based on situational context and social distance.
Why is "mediation" considered an important skill?
Mediation requires the student to act as an intermediary, which necessitates a deep understanding of both linguistic and cultural nuances to accurately convey intentions between speakers of different languages.
What is the significance of the "verbalized reflection" method?
This method prompts students to externalize their thought processes, allowing them to consciously analyze and evaluate why they choose certain linguistic forms in specific social situations.
Why is the "village of languages" project mentioned?
It serves as an example of a practical, situated learning approach that aims to move beyond artificial classroom role-plays by placing students in simulated authentic communicative settings.
- Quote paper
- Marc Felsbrecher (Author), 2017, Politeness in the Foreign Language-Classroom, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/358321
