Interlanguage Pragmatics: A Compendium of Theory and Practice

Abstract

Interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), the application of pragmatics in second language acquisition (SLA), gained research momentum in the 1990s following the recognition of functional and pragmatic aspects of language as essential to the process of language acquisition in models of communicative competence. From a ‘pragmatics’ standpoint, language is object to manipulation by language users, hence their pivotal stance in the study of language; however, the relativity and indeterminateness inherent in the study of human beings has rendered attempts at putting forth a cure-all for ILP development ineffectual. Accordingly, the instruction and assessment of pragmatic knowledge is among the most contentious areas of investigation in SLA research. The present study provides a coherent review of pragmatics and ILP theory and research. More specifically, it sketches the theoretical underpinnings of ILP, discusses its stance in models of communicative competence, and provides a synopsis of instructional and assessment approaches featuring in mainstream ILP research.