Flourishing Creativity & Literacy - Vol. 6 No. 4 - Investigating the Explicit Instruction of Apology Speech Act on Pragmatic Development of Iranian EFL Learners

Oct 15, 2026

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Learning a foreign language demands both grammatical knowledge and socio-pragmatic rules that govern real interaction. Pragmatic competence, as a difficult dimension of language ability, creates persistent challenges for L2 learners. This study examined how explicit teaching of the apology speech act affects Iranian EFL learners’ appropriate use of apology strategies. Seventy-three intermediate and advanced students participated in a pre-posttest design with experimental and control groups using a Discourse Completion Test. Results showed explicit instruction improved strategy use across situations, and L2 proficiency significantly influenced overall appropriateness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Pragmatic competence and speech acts

Speech acts in intercultural and language teaching contexts

Method and assessment (pre-posttest, DCT)

Variables: social status and social distance

Findings and discussion

Effects of explicit instruction

Influence of L2 proficiency

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 6 No. 4; August 2015 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Flourishing Creativity & Literacy Investigating the of Explicit Instruction of Apology Speech Acton Pragmatic Development of Iranian EFL Learners Shima Rajabi English Department, Ilam Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ilam, Iran E-mail: [Shima_rajabi@yahoo.com](Shima_rajabi@yahoo.com) Akbar Azizifar (Corresponding author) English Department, Ilam Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ilam, Iran [E-mail: Akb1354@yahoo.com](E-mail: Akb1354@yahoo.com) Habib Gowhary English Department, Ilam Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ilam, Iran [E-mail: h_gowhary@yahoo.com](E-mail: h_gowhary@yahoo.com) Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.4p.53 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.4p.53](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.4p.53) Received: 12/03/2015 Accepted: 24/05/2015 Abstract Learning a foreign language requires students to acquire both grammatical knowledge and socio-pragmatic rules of a language. Pragmatic competence as one of the most difficult aspects of language provides several challenges to L2 learners in the process of learning a foreign language. To overcome this problem, EFL teachers should find the most effective way of teaching pragmatic knowledge to their students. Accordingly, the present study investigated the effect of explicit teaching of apology speech act, as an aspect of pragmatic competence, on the Iranian EFL learners ’appropriate use of the mentioned speech act. In so doing, a total of 73 EFL students at intermediate and advanced levels participated in a pre-posttest design research with experimental and control group. Data were collected using a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) . The selection of apologetic situations in DCT was based on two variables of social status and social distance. The results revealed that explicit instruction was a facilitative tool that helped students use the proper apology strategies in different situations. Moreover, it was found that L2 proficiency had a significant influence on overall appropriateness of speech act production. Keywords: Explicit instruction; Apology speech act; Pragmatic competence; Iranian EFL learners 1. Introduction Communication is dynamic and context specific. It depends on the negotiation of meaning between two or more persons and one's understanding of the situation and also on prior experience of the same kind (Savignon, 1983) . The performance of a person is the interaction between competence (knowledge, ability for use), the competence of others, and the "cybernetic and emergent properties of events themselves" (Hymes, 1977, p. 283) . According to Bachman's (1990, p. 87) model, "language competence" is divided into two components: "organizational competence" and"pragmatic competence" . Organizational competence comprises knowledge of linguistic units and the rules of ordering them to form a text. These abilities are of two types: ‘grammatical competence’ and discourse ('textual competence') . Pragmatic competence is divided in to ' illocutionary competence’ and 'sociolinguistic competence'. 'Illocutionary competence' is ‘knowledge of communicative action and how to carry it out'. 'Sociolinguistic competence' consists of the ability to perform language functions in the ways that are appropriate to the context. Brock and Nagasaka (2005) also define pragmatic competence as a range of abilities in the use and interpretation of language in context; the ability to use language for different purposes such as greeting, requesting, informing, refusing, and so on. As it is evident, knowledge of vocabulary and grammar of language is not enough for the speakers to be able to produce native like language functions. This become even more crucial when one tries to learn and speak in another language. They should acquire pragmatic competence and also be aware of differences between two culture

FAQs

What does the study investigate about Iranian EFL learners?

The study investigates the effect of explicit teaching of the apology speech act on Iranian EFL learners’ appropriate use of apology strategies as part of pragmatic competence.

How was pragmatic performance measured in the study?

Data were collected using a Discourse Completion Test (DCT), with apology situations selected based on social status and social distance.

What were the main results regarding explicit instruction?

The results revealed that explicit instruction facilitated learners’ use of proper apology strategies across different situations.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Terk