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Speech Acts Bibliography:
Suggesting
Koike, D. A. (1996). Transfer of pragmatic competence
and suggestions in Spanish foreign language learning. In S. M. Gass
& J. Neu (Eds.), Speech acts across cultures: Challenges to communication
in a second language (pp. 257-281). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Begins with an overview of studies about strategy
transfer in foreign language learning. Koike assumes ("as does Gass,"
an editor of this volume) that syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and other
features of grammar interact simultaneously to influence the way a learner
interprets input. She stated that if there are cross-linguistic differences
in cue usage, then the learner must learn "not only the appropriate
cues of the target language but the strength of those cues." For example,
there are many forms that suggestions can take in Spanish and
English, and several of the forms are similar enough that transfer between
languages is appropriate. There are some forms of suggestion, however,
that are not conducive to direct transfer, because they must be expressed
negatively in Spanish. (E.g., "No has pensado en leer este libro?"
"Haven't you thought about reading this book?") The slight differences
in linguistic form may be perceived by English speakers as almost a
reproach, when the intent is merely to communicate a particular illocutionary
force. There are also differences in grammatical formulation of suggestions
in English as opposed to Spanish that can complicate the process of
comprehension. Koike discussed some of these situations based on ideas
expressed in two studies of speech acts in Spanish (Hobbs, 1990; Koike,
1994). Koike then discussed her current study which sought to examine
the comprehension and reactions of English-speaking students of Spanish
upon hearing negated suggestions. The participants were 114 students
comprised of the following proficiency levels: 46 first-year students
in intensive Spanish language classes at the beginning of the second
semester; 34 second-year students at the end of their third semester;
and 34 advanced students, most in their third or fourth year of university
Spanish courses. The subjects were given the context for each situation
and then were asked to watch a short section of a videotape of a native
speaker giving a suggestion, for a total of 7 acts. (The purpose of
using video- versus audiotape was to give holistic information, including
facial expressions, body movements, etc.) Immediately following observation
of the videotape, the informants were asked to fill out a questionnaire
with three questions, as if they were responding in English or Spanish
[depending on proficiency? -- this isn't clear] back to the native speaker
on the videotape. Next they were asked to identify the speech act expressed,
and then to reproduce it as it was expressed. Finally they were asked
to evaluate the speakers in terms of degrees of aggressive/passive,
rude/polite, non-communicative/communicative, strong/weak, and friendly/unfriendly,
using a Likert-scale.
The results showed that all of the respondents transferred their L1
speech act knowledge in differing degrees to understand the L2 acts,
with varying success. The more advanced speakers of Spanish had a much
easier time comprehending forms that differed from parallel English
forms, with the exception of one situation which all subjects responded
incorrectly. (In this example the speaker used interrogative rather
than declarative intonation which made the intent unclear.) Data showed
that there was a misunderstanding of the intent of the speech act in
about half of the cases for advanced students and about 60-75% of the
cases for the first- and second-year students. In all of the cases,
the respondents were able to say something in response to the speech
acts which would have perpetuated conversation and would most likely
have led to negotiation of meaning in the conversation. Overall, the
advanced students displayed much greater competence in responding to
the speech act of "suggestion." Koike noted that a pedagogical implication
of this study is that foreign language teachers should be aware of the
possibilities for miscommunication for students, even at the advanced
level, so that students should be taught not only forms of making suggestions,
but possible implications of different forms.
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