A01 cohe4573 01 se fm. Qxd

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F U R T H E R I S S U E S I N L E A R N I N G , T E A C H I N G , A N D A S S E S S M E N T
Although experts generally approve the use of feature films in L2 prag-
matics instruction, we should bear in mind that natural pragmatic uses 
are not always reflected in these materials. For example, studies comparing
naturally occurring compliments with those in films and TV interviews 
have found both similarities and differences. While, for instance, the gram-
matical structures of compliments were similar in films and natural data,
compliments in the media tended to more noticeably employ “inflated”
adjectives (e.g., stunning or fabulous instead of beautiful or nice).
4
This seems
to suggest that teachers should use their best judgment in selecting material
to introduce to learners in terms of pragmatic representativeness and appro-
priateness. It would be best to ensure that learners’ input is reasonably
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Rose (1997b, 2001); Tatsuki and Nishizawa (2005).
Areas of 
pragmatics 
taught
Materials used
Brief description
Requests in
Spanish
c
La flor de mi secreto
(The Flower of My 
Secret), La ardilla roja
(The Red Squirrel) (films)
Analysis of a range of requests in Spanish in
relation to various social contexts
Terms of address 
in English
d
Tootsie (film)
Identification of terms of address; discussion
on the social and interactional meaning 
behind those terms
Self-introduction
routine in 
English
e
Seinfeld (sitcom)
Analysis of limits and boundaries of speech
routines; analysis of pragmatic violations and
reactions invoked
Requests in 
English
f
Seinfeld (sitcom)
Analysis of indirect requests (hints); follow-up
discussion on how requests can be made
differently across cultures
Requests in
English
g
Stargate (TV series)
Identification and analysis of direct and
indirect requests; dialogue-writing; analysis 
of excerpts and awareness-raising; discourse
completion tasks
Implicature in
English
h
Desperate Housewives
(TV series)
Identification of implied meanings through
facial expressions and the contexts
a
Rose (1999: 178–80).
b
Fujioka (2003: 13–14).
c
Mir (2001) (written in Spanish). This article offers a specific technique for teaching pragmatics with film in Spanish
and may be of particular interest to teachers of Spanish.
d
Fujioka (2004: 17–19). For teaching terms of address, see also Takenoya (2003) and Howard (2008).
e
Washburn (2001: 22– 4).
f
Rose (1997a: 9–10).
g
Alcón (2005: 422–3).
h
Armstrong (2008: 4 –7).

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I N C O R P O R A T I N G T E C H N O L O G Y I N T O I N S T R U C T I O N
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authentic; pragmatic behavior that is exaggerated or odd just to be enter-
taining is less likely to mirror authentic language use.
On the other hand, another strategy is to demonstrate pragmatic failure
through media-based materials such as in situational comedies. Even though
pragmatic violations may be exaggerated and do not necessarily reflect natu-
rally occurring conversation, obvious pragmatic blunders and the reactions
of studio audiences help learners to identify the limits of pragmatic norms
in the L2 and provide them an opportunity to analyze the consequences 
of pragmatic violations.
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In addition, teachers and learners can engage in
critical reflection on how media-based materials may differ from real life,
why that might be the case, and how potential disadvantages of media-
based input might be compensated for in the learning of pragmatics.
Audio/video materials and other forms of 
visual support
Technology can be applied with relative ease to pragmatics-focused instruc-
tion in order to enhance the input and metapragmatic information (i.e.,
information about pragmatics, see Chapter 6) provided to learners. Audio-
and video-recordings of sample dialogues, for example, are often used for the
purpose of input enhancement. Auditory and visual features in recordings
(as in audio and video podcasts and streaming videos) offer verbal and 
non-verbal information, which both affect the pragmatics of communica-
tion (e.g., intonation, pauses, hedges, gestures, facial expressions, and space).
Many of the currently available materials focusing on pragmatics include
either or both types of materials.
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Depending on the learners’ levels of
proficiency, supplementing these audio/video materials (along with other
media-based materials) with transcripts can be beneficial for learners.
Teachers and learners themselves can also audio- or video-record pragmatic
language use in order to provide models or facilitate evaluation of learners’
pragmatic language use and self-reflection (see Chapters 3, 7, and 15 for
examples of what to collect and how the collected data could be analyzed).
In addition, pragmatics instruction can also be enhanced through cer-
tain electronic functions that technology allows us to apply readily. Earlier
in this book, we discussed the importance of “noticing” language form 
and “understanding” the form–context relationship – the role that relevant
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Washburn (2001).
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For example, see the lesson plans presented in Teaching Pragmatics, 2003, and
Pragmatics from Research to Practice: Teaching Speech Acts, in press; and pragmatics-
focused curricular materials in Japanese and Spanish (Ishihara and Cohen 2004; Sykes
and Cohen 2006).

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