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9 4 T H E N U T S A N D B O L T S O F P R A G M A T I C S I N S T R U C T I O N
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1. Teaching and Learning pragmatics, where language and culture meet Norico Ishinara & Andrew D. Coren
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T H E N U T S A N D B O L T S O F P R A G M A T I C S I N S T R U C T I O N important message that you can communicate to your students. The examples include: ■ instances where pragmatic routines are either identical or dramatically different across cultures; ■ instances where pragmatic norms differ even within a culture; ■ a case where first language pragmatic norms are not known even to fluent speakers or forgotten by them; ■ a case where universal (or at least shared) politeness strategies may apply in a given social context; ■ an anecdote that underscores the danger of relying on cultural stereotypes; ■ a story that speaks to the value of cultural diversity; ■ switching back and forth between first- and second-language norms for pragmatics in a bi-/multicultural context; and ■ an illustration of how repair strategies were used in an instance of cross- cultural misunderstanding. 3 Write down the story. Try to describe the relevant details truthfully and concretely. 4 Exchange your sheet with someone else and provide that person with some written feedback. 5 Share your story with the whole class. Part II 1 Read the sample discussion questions provided for Example 1 in the Information. 2 Get into small groups of two to three participants. Read Examples 1–6 in the Information. Think of how these stories might be useful in the teaching of pragmatics, and what additional details might help to situate the story more effectively in context. What message would each story convey, and how would that be clearly communicated to learners? 3 Consider the discussion questions that would enhance learners’ pragmatic awareness. 4 Share your discussion questions with the whole group. 5 Work individually. Go back to your own story you wrote in Part I and rewrite it in language your students can understand. L E S S O N P L A N N I N G A N D T E A C H E R - L E D R E F L E C T I O N 1 9 5 9 Chen and Zhang (1995). See also Kawate-Mierzejewska (2005) for different prosodic features for acceptance and ritual acceptance in Japanese. 6 Add some discussion questions that could be used in your class after presenting your story. Direct your students’ attention to key features of your story by asking these questions. 7 Share your discussion questions with the whole group and exchange feedback. Discussion/wrap-up Teachers’ personal narratives can be powerful in attracting learners’ attention and making the instruction memorable. Such stories may resonate well in students’ minds due to the authenticity and the personal touch they bring. Teachers of L2 pragmatics can collect these stories to share with their learners. Information: Examples of cross-cultural experiences Example 1 I was a graduate student and an ESL teacher in the United States at the time of this story. One day, a Chinese friend and colleague teacher of mine invited my husband and me to dinner at her home by saying something like, “We’d like to invite you to our home sometime soon.” I answered excitedly, “That’ll be great!” as I would when talking normally in English. I was not particularly close to her but we did have so many commonalities in our professional and personal lives that getting together would appear to provide us a chance to get to know each other better. But she frowned slightly after my response. A similar exchange happened a second time on another social occasion, but this conversation never led to an actual invitation. Around that time, I happened to read an article on Chinese refusals which suggested that I should have probably refused her invitation two or three times before finally accepting it, according to a typical, rather formal Chinese approach (“ritual refusals” 9 ). Knowing my Asian origin, my friend probably expected me to respond in a Chinese or what she probably perceived as an East Asian manner. This never occurred to me when I was speaking to her, because we were speaking in English in the US and I was automatically using an American English norm of behavior. Yet, another chance came by! She mentioned her wish to invite us again when I finally said, “Oh no, don’t worry about it. We wouldn’t want to put you to so much trouble.” Surprisingly, we were soon invited to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. We expected to share the bill but according to the Chinese tradition they insisted |
