Pragmatics and
Speech Acts

An important area of the field of second/foreign language teaching and learning is pragmatics -- the appropriate use of language in conducting speech acts such as apologizing, requesting, complimenting, refusing, thanking. This website offers information about speech acts and how they can be learned and taught, and outlines a research project focused on this important topic

Background Information: Why Teach Speech Acts?

Learners of all languages tend to have difficulty understanding the intended meaning communicated by a speech act, or producing a speech act using appropriate language and manner in the language being learned. Research has found that classroom instruction on speech acts can help learners to improve their performance of speech acts and thus their interactions with native speakers.

Descriptions of Speech Acts

A collection of research-based descriptions of speech acts which includes practical information for language teachers, advanced learners, and developers of language learning materials.

Pragmatics Bibliography

This extensive annotated bibliography focuses primarily on the research literature involving pragmatics and is organized alphabetically by area of focus with a general division between studies about first-language pragmatics and those about second language pragmatics.

This revised version of the Pragmatics Bibliography was developed by Susan Salazar-Kleiner under the supervision of Andrew D. Cohen (2009-2011).

We invite you to send us abstracts of your research studies in pragmatic, as well as material to be considered for inclusion in the Description of Speech Acts section. We are especially interested in the pragmatics materials on languages other than English. Please contact Susan Salazar-Kleiner at salaz046@umn.edu

Research Project: Learner Strategy Training in the Development of Pragmatic Ability (2002-2006)

This innovative research study seeks to determine the impact of specialized speech act training materials on non-natives' ability to learn and use pragmatic information more successfully when speaking a foreign language. The project began with learners of Japanese using learning module about Japanese speech acts (see below). The study was replicated with learners of Spanish.

Strategies for Learning Speech Acts in Japanese

The speech act learning module for learners of Japanese features a series of introductory exercises and is followed by five units of exercises to learn about and practice several speech acts in Japanese.

Dancing with Words: Strategies for Learning Pragmatics in Spanish

A self-access website designed for learning Spanish pragmatics. It contains an introductory unit, resource unit, and eight learning modules addressing different speech acts. Each module is self-contained and includes video clips, interactive activities, and models for self-correction. Enjoy your journey!

CARLA Summer Institutes for Language Teachers

Each summer CARLA offers a wide array of professional development opportunities for K-16 language teachers.

CARLA Bibliography

The CARLA bibliography contains more information on publications and presentations by faculty and staff involved in this project.