The role of learner subjectivity and Korean English language learners' pragmatic choices

• Authors: Zohreh R. Eslami , Heekyoung Kim , Katherine Landau Wright , Lynn Burlbaw
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The main goal of this study was to identify factors motivating pragmatic transfer in advanced learners of English. Based on a cross-cultural comparison of requesting behavior between Koreans and Americans, this study determined the impact of individual subjective motives on pragmatic language choice. Two different groups of subjects participated in this study: 30 Korean participants (KK) and 30 American college students (AE). Data were collected by using a Discourse Completion Task (DCT). Korean (KK) participants provided the data for Korean (KK) and English versions of DCT (KE). Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 13 Korean ESL learners who showed the most and least amount of pragmatic transfer. Findings showed evidence of pragmatic transfer in the request responses given by Korean ESL learners in their requestive strategies, level of directness, and perspectives of head acts. The interview data revealed that Korean students were conscious of differing rules for making requests. Learners' judgment of L2 pragmatic norms, perception of their own language, and their attitudes of the target language influence language use. Furthermore, findings showed that purpose of learning English, different types of motivation, and the length of intended residence contribute to the extent of pragmatic transfer.

Keywords

EN

Korean-English Pragmatic Transfer; Pragmatic Transfer Choice; Requests; Learner Subjectivity

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Journal: Lodz Papers in Pragmatics
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 117-145

Dates

published

2014-06-01

received

2014-02-24

revised

2014-04-15

accepted

2014-05-23

online

2014-06-01

Contributors

author

Zohreh R. Eslami

• Texas AM University, 4232 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4226 USA

author

Heekyoung Kim

• Texas AM University, 4232 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4226 USA

author

Katherine Landau Wright

• Texas AM University, 4232 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4226 USA

author

Lynn Burlbaw

• Texas AM University, 4232 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4226 USA

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/lpp-2014-0006