Longitudinal benefits of pre-departure pragmatics instruction for study abroad

Chinese as a second/foreign language

Authors

  • Jiayi Wang University of Central Lancashire
  • Nicola Halenko University of Central Lancashire

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.38216

Keywords:

pre-departure study abroad, longitudinal, Chinese as a second/foreign language, pragmatics instruction

Abstract

Whilst the study of second language pragmatic development in study abroad (SA) contexts has gained momentum in recent years, research on L2 Chinese pragmatics, in general, remains in its infancy and is therefore limited. Longitudinal studies on the effects of instruction before, during and after SA remain scant. Following a short pre-SA pragmatics intervention on formulaic expressions with a group of UK undergraduate learners of Chinese, qualitative data in three phases (before, during, and after a year abroad in China) were collected and analysed to shed light on the perceived benefits of the treatment. The findings show that in all three phases, learners highly valued the instruction provided, but they seemed to benefit from the sociopragmatic input the most, particularly in the pre-departure stage and after completion of the SA period. The findings will be discussed in relation to the learners' accounts of their SA experiences and the implications for pre-SA instruction.

Author Biographies

  • Jiayi Wang, University of Central Lancashire

    Jiayi Wang is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. Jiayi earned a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warwick. Her current research interests include pragmatics, corpus-assisted discourse analysis and language education. Prior to her PhD, she was an international project manager at the Chinese Ministry of Justice. She has published research articles on comparative law, intercultural pragmatics, and foreign- and second-language education. Her recent publications include Jiayi Wang & Charlotte Taylor, ‘The Conventionalisation of Mock Politeness in Chinese and British Online Forums', Journal of Pragmatics (2019).

  • Nicola Halenko, University of Central Lancashire

    Nicola Halenko is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at the University of Central Lancashire. She has been involved in English language teaching for over twenty years and has worked in Japan, China, and Europe as a teacher, teacher-trainer, and researcher. Her main research interests are connected to second-language pragmatics, intercultural communication, and teacher training, and she has publications in all of these areas. She currently has a monograph on Teaching Pragmatics currently in preparation.

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Published

2019-04-30

How to Cite

Wang, J., & Halenko, N. (2019). Longitudinal benefits of pre-departure pragmatics instruction for study abroad: Chinese as a second/foreign language. East Asian Pragmatics, 4(1), 87-111. https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.38216