Research studies have shown that pragmatic competence is teachable. The importance of teaching pragmatics has also been recognized, but still foreign language teachers are reluctant to teach pragmatics in their classrooms. This might be partly due to the lack of some valid methods for assessing pragmatic competence. This essay contends that while the Written Discourse Completion Test (WDCT) has some pitfalls, the WDCT effectively assesses learner's pragmatic competence.
Teaching and learning languages involve more than targeting grammatical and lexical knowledge. To achieve communicative competence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, EFL learners need to develop their intercultural competence. This article proposes one of influential aspects of target culture (i.e. stereotypes) that may be encountered by EFL learners in learning. Further, the author argues why learners need to be exposed with stereotyping features across cultures and how this can be incorporated into English Language Teaching (ELT) by providing an example of teaching activities that can be adapted in a language classroom. Briefly, it is expected that this article may provide EFL teachers with a better understanding of integrating intercultural elements of a target language in their teaching practice. In turn, this may be useful to facilitate EFL learners in developing their intercultural communicative competence particularly with regards to cultural stereotype features.
Teaching and learning languages involve more than targeting grammatical and lexical knowledge. To achieve communicative competence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, EFL learners need to develop their pragmatic competence which is better taught explicitly in the classroom. This essay argues that while the implicit instruction is reasonably applicable, the explicit pragmatic instruction is more effective to facilitate EFL learners in developing their pragmatic competence.
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