Measuring Second Language Pragmatic Competence - (Second Language Acquisition) by Rod Ellis & Carsten Roever & Natsuko Shintani & Yan Zhu

About the Book

Extending earlier work on grammar, this book investigates the development of tests measuring second language learners' implicit and explicit pragmatic abilities in English. It reports detailed analyses of the use of the tests with two groups of learners and in studies investigating study abroad and the effects of instruction.

Book Synopsis

Extending earlier work on grammar, this book investigates the development of tests measuring second language learners' implicit and explicit pragmatic abilities in English. It reports detailed analyses of the use of the tests with two groups of learners and in studies investigating study abroad and the effects of instruction.

Review Quotes

...the book presents an innovative test battery for measuring L2 pragmatic competence, which incorporates the
implicit/explicit distinction of pragmatics processing, a psycholinguistic perspective often overlooked in pragmatic assessment. The novel test designs and scoring systems are applicable to L2 pragmatics research and teaching in general. Language teachers can find inspiration in the test design and scoring methods and apply them to diagnostic and instructional purposes for various aspects of L2 pragmatic competence. L2 pragmatic researchers can select and improve specific tests from the battery for their own research purposes. More importantly, the comprehensive discussion of knowledge versus processing in pragmatics assessment as well as the centrality of processing efficiency in pragmatics test design will inspire researchers to explore different options for measuring pragmatic competence.

Theoretically robust and eminently practical, this book describes the process of developing and validating an assessment battery covering three areas of pragmatics - speech acts, implicature and discourse. Adopting the theory of explicit and implicit knowledge, the book uniquely situates pragmatics assessment at the intersection of SLA and psycholinguistics. This is an invaluable resource for researchers and teachers seeking innovative yet thorough ways of assessing pragmatic competence.

In another tour de force, Rod Ellis and his stellar group of colleagues have pushed the boundaries of existing instructed second language acquisition knowledge, this time regarding the measurement of implicit and explicit second language (L2) pragmatic processing, with implications for the development of L2 pragmatic abilities in instructed contexts. Like Ellis and colleagues' previous work, this volume provides a rich research agenda that will keep pragmatics researchers busy for years to come.

About the Author

Rod Ellis is an applied linguist who has published widely on second language acquisition and task-based language learning. He is currently a Distinguished Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University, Australia and an elected fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is a past recipient of the Kenneth W. Mildenberger and Duke of Edinburgh prizes.

Carsten Roever is Professor in Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His research interests include language testing, second language acquisition and pragmatics with a particular focus on learning and assessment of interactional competence in a second language.

Natsuko Shintani is Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies, Kansai University, Japan. Her research interests encompass the roles of explicit instruction in language learning, second language writing and task-based language teaching.

Yan Zhu is Associate Professor at the College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University, China. Her research focuses on curriculum innovation, task-based language teaching and teacher education.