Non-native Student’s Communication is Affected Due to the Lack of Pragmatic Competence

Latha V. G. and Premalatha Rajan

English Language Teaching, 2012, vol. 5, issue 2, 50

Abstract: This paper aims at focusing how the lack of pragmatic competence affects student’s communication in L2 (Second language) at tertiary level. The city based Indian students learn English which is their second language from 3 years onwards whereas the rural based students learn English only from 6 years onwards. This exposure of the L2 shows the greatest disparity among technical students who opt for Engineering Studies here in the Medium of English. They join the Engineering courses with a hope of getting placement in good companies but some of them end up in jobs that are not worth their expectations. This leads to severe frustrations. The students at tertiary level lack in communication skills because they learn English but don’t acquire it. Most of the times, students aren't able to produce utterances to communicate their "specific intentions" in a second language neither read between the lines. It's because in the pedagogical practice of second language teachers don't focus on this ability. Competence, whether linguistic or pragmatic, is not teachable. Competence is a type of knowledge that learners possess, develop, acquire, use or lose. The      challenge for foreign or second language teaching is whether the teacher can arrange learning opportunities in such a way that it benefits the development of pragmatic competence in them. This paper focuses on how the lack of competence in pragmatics deprives the students of good placement for bright future and how this may be trounced.

Date: 2012
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