Role of Corpus-based Pragmatic Explicit Instructions in Developing Inter language Competence

Abstract

This study aims to investigate manifestation of linguistic pragmatic as reflected in interlanguage with very specific reference to the social and cultural aspects of the language as when second or foreign language students get involved into communicative situations and whether or not aspects of interlanguage can be explicitly taught. The population of the study consists of 120 fourth-year students at Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University College of Sciences & Humanities English Department in KSA. The data were collected by using Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and then analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program according to their appropriateness to social distance, status and context of formality. The results showed that EFL learners at the said university are pragmatically incompetent. Accordingly, the subjects’ performance with reference to interlanguage mainly pragmalinguistics competence and the social distance, status and context of formality had proved to be incompatible with the required forms of conventional English speech as should be reflected by interlanguage. Speaking from percentage viewpoint, 90% of the respondents failed to express themselves along pragmatically acceptable levels. Their performance is also proved to relevantly direct as demonstrated by the varied statistically explored scenarios. Moreover, there is an obvious influence of Arabic language and learners’ performance is interspersed with Saudi culture. The study recommended that Saudi educators and experts should think of introducing the explicit teaching of interlanguage as there are quite a number of similar cases that have been cited in this study of Chinese, Japanese and Irish students. The study further recommended a large-scale research including at three universities in order to come with rational and brilliant insights in the field of interlanguage.