The Impact of Planned Classroom Teaching on Developing the EFL Learners' Pragmatic Competence

Abstract

The present study intends to explore the pivotal role of classroom instruction in promoting pragmatic competence among Sudanese EFL college learners . More specifically, the study tries to investigate the effects of a proposed instructional program on developing pragmatic competence of a group of 60 male Sudanese university learners who are currently pursuing their bachelor degree at five different Sudanese universities . Four types of speech acts were selected by the researcher to be the focus of the program :apology , request , complaint and refusal. Two versions of validated tools of data collection : Discourse completion test (DCT) and Multiple-choices pragmatic comprehension Test (MCPCT) were conducted as pre-test prior to implementing the pedagogical treatment then the versions of the same two tests were used in order to find out how the instructional treatment was successful in equipping the subjects with pragmatic knowledge that needed to generate and realize the four targeted speech acts .The data obtained from both the pre-test and post-test were coded and analyzed by means of the SPSS software .The findings of the study revealed remarkable advancement in the subjects' performance in the four set of the target speech acts in the post-test. Both pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic knowledge of these four speech acts have increased after the instructional treatment .