Proceedings of the 8th International Academic Conference on Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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How Teachers Perceive Pragmatic Competence In The EFL Classroom
Mohammed Bouknify, Khadija Anasse
ABSTRACT:
Understanding pragmatics is very important when teaching foreign languages, and teachers should take into account pragmatic competence in the target language. As a result of their lack of pragmatic awareness or difficulty in applying pragmatic knowledge, language teachers generally place a high emphasis on grammar during their lessons. Until now, pragmatic research has primarily focused on learners’ pragmatic competence, with comparatively few studies considering teachers’ pragmatic competence, particularly in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In light of this, this research aims to examine the pragmatic awareness of EFL teachers in Morocco. This study involved 34 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from Moroccan public schools. Data for the study were collected using a questionnaire developed by Ivanova in 2018. Based on the data analysis, the majority of teachers are aware of the key challenges associated with teaching pragmatic competence. They provided examples of a wide range of speech acts and demonstrated their ability to identify them.The findings indicated that more than 88% of teachers possess a general knowledge of pragmatics.
keywords: Pragmatic competence – Moroccan EFL teachers – Pragmatics – teaching and learning