| In recent years, researchers in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have become increasingly interested in the implications of sociolinguistic research for L2 learning. Among the many questions that arise are whether the development of sociolinguistic competence should be an instructional goal as early as the beginning level, and what types of learning opportunities are most beneficial for its development. Issues regarding learners' acquisition of L2 pragmatic competence have repeatedly been addressed in the field of Interlanguage Pragmatics (ILP), and today, a considerable body of classroom-based ILP research exists. However, there is still a lack of studies that specifically investigate the teachability of sociolinguistic competence, one aspect of pragmatic competence, in the beginning-level foreign language classroom.;This study examined the effects of a web-based pedagogical intervention adopting an explicit, awareness-raising approach on learners' development of sociopragmatic competence. The research focus was on the development of receptive skills and metapragmatic knowledge as demonstrated by the learners' ability to recognize and reflect on contextually appropriate language. The instructional target was forms of address in German, including address pronouns, greetings, and pronominal forms. The research design was based on a mixed-method design, and research data were elicited by means of discourse completion tasks and retrospective comment tasks. The participants were 56 learners of German, who at the time of the intervention were enrolled in several sections of a second-semester German course at a major university in the Northwest of the United States. The results showed a significant increase in the experimental group learners' ability to employ the metapragmatic information that they had received through instruction, and a clear approximation to the native speaker norm. The research findings indicate that L2 learners benefit from the integration of sociolinguistic variation into the beginning-level curriculum and suggest which instructional techniques are most effective. The study has important implications for the field of Second Language Teacher Education, particularly with regard to curriculum design and material development. It informs the discussion of the pedagogical norm and provides an example of how data obtained from L1 sociolinguistic research can constitute a relevant source for L2 teaching material development. |
