“Quick-chatting”, “smart dogs”, and how to “say without saying”: Small talk and pragmatic learning in the community

A mixed-methods study of the impact of sociocultural adaptation on the development of pragmatic production

“…This finding provides support for Schumann's Acculturation theory (1986), which posits that acculturation, rather than being a direct cause of SLA, is one of the main predictors of acquisition of an L2. In particular, the present study results echo case studies that have reported the relationship between acculturation and acquisition of pragmatic routines (Dörnyei, Durrow & Zahran, 2004;Schmidt, 1983), as well as previous studies that have observed that different pragmatic features are related by specific aspects of acculturation in the SA setting (Bardovi-Harlig & Bastos, 2011;Félix-Brasdefer & Hasler-Baker, 2015;Iino, 1996;Shively, 2015;Siegal, 1995;Taguchi et al, 2013;Taguchi et al, 2016;Yates & Major, 2015).…”

“…In addition to the investigations mentioned above, other studies have addressed the effect of specific acculturation aspects on pragmatic competence. These include identity (Iino, 1996;Siegal, 1995), motivation (Eslami & Ahn, 2014), development of social networks (Kinginger & Farrell, 2004;Shively, 2015), integration strategy and participation in the TL community (Diao, 2011;Taguchi, 2011b;Shively, 2015;Yates & Major, 2015), and cultural congruity (Bardovi-Harlig et al, 2008), all of them exerting an influence on L2 pragmatic development.…”

Acculturation and acquisition of pragmatic routines in the study abroad context

“…A body of ILP research already exists on how to teach and learn pragmatics in the foreign language classroom (see Alcón & Martínez-Flor, 2008, for a review). Regarding the workplace setting, it allows for the acquisition of pragmatic aspects related to interaction with co-workers with different social status, and particularly to the small talk resulting from those interactions (Yates & Major, 2015). The online context, furthermore, affords a wide range of opportunities to acquire pragmatic competence through authentic input, real-time interaction and intercultural communication.…”

Exploring Underlying Elements of the Motivational Self System Among Learners in Two Instructional Contexts

“…From the perspective of the WLT participants, the reason for having lower occurrences of general attitudes in their data may be due to the fact these learners are often left to their own devices to learn about Canadian culture and values and as such, are exposed to the Canadian culture and norms implicitly. WLT learners often struggle to understand what is required of them and how to behave (Bartel, 2013;Yates & Major, 2015), and so this may be why their need to get better at English is more explicit than that of the ESL learners. Also, the difference may be explained by the workplace setting itself, where attitudes toward Canada and Canadians is not a priority for the workplace.…”

“…As Duval-Couetil and Mikulecky (2011, p. 219) explain:It appears that even minor improvements in English proficiency and communication can improve employee and organizational performance and data related to specific job performance tasks can be useful in targeting areas for education and training likely to yield significant returns for organizations.Therefore, providing the two groups of learners with the appropriate language support needed may boost motivation, which in turn may improve work-related task performance and increase the possibility of promotion at work. Thus, due to the role motivation plays in employment opportunities and success, and how learning English is important for integrating into the Canadian society, the settlement program may now have a starting point for implementing pedagogical intervention in and outside of the classroom and workplace(Yates & Major, 2015). This can be done by creating motivational materials, promoting positive attitudes and self-guides, devising motivational strategies in the classroom.…”