Sociocultural Theory and L2 Instructional Pragmatics SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Series Editors: Professor David Singleton, University of Pannonia, Hungary and Fellow Emeritus, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland This series brings together titles dealing with a variety of aspects of language acquisition and processing in situations where a language or languages other than the native language is involved. Second language is thus interpreted in its broadest possible sense. The volumes included in the series all offer in their different ways, on the one hand, exposition and discussion of empirical findings and, on the other, some degree of theoretical reflection. In this latter connection, no particular theoretical stance is privileged in the series; nor is any relevant perspective – sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, neurolinguistic, etc. – deemed out of place. The intended readership of the series includes final-year undergraduates working on second language acquisition projects, postgraduate students involved in second language acquisition research, and researchers and teachers in general whose interests include a second language acquisition component. Full details of all the books in this series and of all our other publications can be found on http://www.multilingual-matters.com, or by writing to Multilingual Matters, St Nicholas House, 31–34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK. Sociocultural Theory and L2 Instructional Pragmatics Rémi A. van Compernolle MULTILINGUAL MATTERS Bristol • Buffalo • Toronto To Claire and Annalise Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Compernolle, Rémi A. van. Sociocultural Theory and L2 Instructional Pragmatics/Rémi A. van Compernolle. Second Language Acquisition: 74 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Second language acquisition. 2. Pragmatics. 3. Interlanguage (Language learning). 4. Language and culture—Study and teaching. 5. Speech acts (Linguistics). 6. Sociolinguistics. I. Title. P99.4.P72C58 2014 401'.45–dc23 2013036367 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-1-78309-139-3 (hbk) Multilingual Matters UK: St Nicholas House, 31–34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK. USA: UTP, 2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA. Canada: UTP, 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario M3H 5T8, Canada. Copyright © 2014 Rémi A. van Compernolle. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. The policy of Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products, made from wood grown in sustainable for- ests. 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Contents Acknowledgements vii Transcription Conventions ix 1 Introduction 1 Introducing Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Instructional Pragmatics 1 Sociocultural Theory as a Basis for Educational Praxis 9 Research Context and Data Sources 23 Overview of the Chapters 27 2 Appropriateness in Language Learning and Language Teaching 29 Introduction 29 Theoretical Foundations of Appropriateness 30 Pragmatics as Mediated Action: A Pedagogical Framework 42 Conclusion 62 3 Understanding Learners as People 64 Introduction 64 Education and the Development of Personalities 66 Internalization as Personalization 76 Emotion and Instructional Pragmatics 85 Conclusion 90 4 Developing Awareness of Pragmatic Knowledge Through Verbalized Reflections 93 Introduction 93 Language as a Psychological Tool 95 Monologic Verbalized Reflection 98 Dialogic Verbalized Reflection 109 Conclusion 117 v vi Sociocultural Theory and L2 Instructional Pragmatics 5 Developing Pragmatic Knowledge Through Appropriateness Judgment Tasks 120 Introduction 120 Dynamic Assessment and Pragmatic Knowledge 122 Dynamically Administered Appropriateness Judgment Tasks as Transformative, Developmental Activity 128 Pre-enrichment and Post-enrichment Appropriateness Judgment Tasks 144 Conclusion 150 6 Developing Performance Abilities Through Strategic Interaction Scenarios 153 Introduction 153 Dynamic Assessment and Pragmatic Performance 156 Human Mediation and the Emergence of Controlled Performance 162 Orientation, Execution and Control 171 Conclusion 181 7 The Future of Vygotskian Approaches to Instructional Pragmatics 184 Introduction 184 Implications for Research 188 Implications for the Classroom 196 Implications for Teacher Education 202 Final Comments 207 References 209 Acknowledgments I thank first and foremost the students with whom I have worked over the years, who have helped to shape my view of language, language learning and language teaching as I explored various approaches to integrating sociolinguis- tic and pragmatic features of discourse into classroom pedagogy. In particular, I extend my gratitude to the eight learners of French who participated in the study upon which this book is based, for without them the framework for instructional pragmatics illustrated here would not exist. I am also indebted to the late Mr Gil Watz, whose endowment for a dissertation fellowship in applied linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University provided financial support for the original study reported on in this book. I would also like to thank my many friends and colleagues for their substantive support and stimulating conversations, which have directly and indirectly shaped the present work in many ways. I am particularly grateful to the following people whose comments, questions and critiques about my work over the years have had a significant impact on the framework for instructional pragmatics pre- sented in this book: Lawrence Williams, Celeste Kinginger, Jim Lantolf, Joan Kelly Hall, Heather McCoy, Steve Thorne, Matthew Poehner, Kwanghyun Park and Kimberly Buescher. I would also like to acknowledge the Department of Modern Languages and the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University who provided material support for the completion of this book. Finally, many thanks are due to my editor, Laura Longworth, and to an anonymous reviewer whose comments, questions and critiques have helped to strengthen the book in many ways. vii Transcription Conventions The following conventions are used throughout this book for transcribing spoken interaction. They are intended to provide detail about the sequenc- ing, timing and delivery of the talk while at the same time making tran- scripts of interactions accessible to a wide audience. + short pause ++ long pause +++ very long pause (2.0) timed pause (2.0 seconds or more) . full stop marks falling intonation , slightly rising intonation ? raised intonation (not necessarily a question) ↑ markedly higher pitch relative to preceding talk ↓ markedly lower pitch relative to preceding talk (word) single parentheses indicate uncertain hearing (xxx) unable to transcribe ((comment)) d ouble parentheses contain transcriber’s comments or descriptions - abrupt cutoff with level pitch : i ndicates elongated delivery (each colon represents one extra beat) underline underlining indicates stress through pitch or amplitude = latched utterances [...] indicates that a section of the transcript has been omitted [ onset of overlapping speech ] end of overlapping speech CAPITALS capital letters indicate markedly loud speech ix 1 Introduction Introducing Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Instructional Pragmatics Aim and scope of the book The purpose of this book is to construct a framework for second language (L2)1 instructional pragmatics that is grounded in Vygotskian cultural- historical psychology, most often referred to in applied linguistics and L2 acquisition (SLA) research as sociocultural theory (SCT) of mind (see Lantolf & Thorne, 2006). Vygotskian SCT provides a powerful theoretical account of human development that recognizes the central importance of social relation- ships and culturally constructed artifacts in transforming biologically endowed psychological capacities into uniquely human forms of mental activ- ity. From the perspective of SCT, the sociocultural domain is not merely a set of factors that trigger innate developmental processes within the mind/brain of the individual. Instead, it is the primary source, and principal driver, of mental development. When extended to formal schooling, including L2 edu- cation, such an orientation to human psychology compels us to engage in educational praxis wherein instruction drives development rather than fol- lowing an assumed progression of innate developmental stages. As Vygotsky (1978: 89) forcefully argued, the only good instruction ‘is that which is ahead of development’. Although this book is about the teaching of L2 pragmatics, it is not intended to present a set of teaching techniques or tips from which one can pick and choose at will. Instead, it aims to illustrate a coherent, systematic pedagogical program based on the principles of SCT. This not only includes recommendations for materials design and teaching practices, but also – and more importantly – a reconceptualization of the object of instructional 1 2 Sociocultural Theory and L2 Instructional Pragmatics pragmatics. Teachers will certainly find the book useful, and the data excerpts analyzed throughout are intended to show how an SCT approach to instructional pragmatics works in practice. Teachers are also encouraged to think about ways of adapting the pedagogical framework to suit their own needs and to work within institutional constraints. However, the reader should bear in mind that the pedagogical recommendations assume a par- ticular perspective on the nature of language, pragmatics, mental develop- ment, and so on, that is derived from SCT. It is therefore necessary to understand the theoretical framework in order to appreciate the developmen- tal significance of the specific pedagogical practices illustrated in this book. The chapters – whose contents are described at the end of this introduction – are organized with the aim of leading the reader through the components of the theoretical framework, using empirical data to illustrate the aspects of the theory under discussion as they apply to L2 instructional pragmatics. The data used in this book were collected as part of a study of US univer- sity learners of French who participated in a pedagogical enrichment program that was designed to incorporate Vygotskian principles into L2 instructional pragmatics (more details are provided below). Although the data deal exclu- sively with French, the study serves to illustrate the principles and compo- nents of an SCT framework for instructional pragmatics. The framework can certainly be adapted for use in the teaching of any other language. Defi ning pragmatics The focus of pragmatics is on the way people accomplish actions through language. For example, a common area of inquiry examines the realization of speech acts such as invitations, apologies and requests. Inviting someone to a party, apologizing for being late, and requesting to borrow a book are all actions that can be – and are more often than not – accomplished at least in part through written or spoken language. Other actions accomplished through (or at least fundamentally shaped by) language include problem- solving, teaching, reflecting particular world views, creating and maintain- ing interpersonal relationships, performing social-relational roles and identities, and so on. How these actions are accomplished – that is, the lan- guage choices made by speakers – and their effects on other people are in turn subject to various communicative constraints and affordances. In this respect, Crystal (1997) offers a useful definition of pragmatics as a user- centered perspective on language-in-use. [Pragmatics is] the study of language from the perspective of users, espe- cially of the choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using