Dynamic Model: A Computer-aided Approach In Improving Chinese EFL Students' Pragmatic Competence

Due to the increasing opportunities of direct communication with native English speakers opened up to Chinese English learners, improving learners' pragmatic competence is receiving more and more attention from the field of English education; in the mean time, with the application of information technology in education, computer-assisted language learning is now gradually becoming the trend in foreign language teaching. The literature of past research in improving learners' pragmatic competence and computer-assisted language learning usually confine themselves to their own domain. Seldom did the researchers systematically explore the relationship between the two fields.This thesis presents a tentative computer-aided English teaching model to improve Chinese learners' pragmatic competence by linking these two fields. It serves as a combination of improving learners' pragmatic competence and computer-assisted language learning. To improve learners' pragmatic competence many methods have been put forward by language educators, among whom Byram attracts lot of attention due to his exploration in integrating cultural knowledge into English teaching. Based on Byram's model which attempts at improving learners' pragmatic competence by linking culture, language and communication together in traditional language teaching classroom, the initiative presented in this thesis realizes his model in the field of CALL by using a combination of technologies: Internet resources, multimedia software, and films.In the first place, this thesis analyzes pragmatic competence and pragmatic failure from a theoretical perspective. It goes on to investigate reasons for the comparatively low pragmatic competence on the part of Chinese English learners focusing on two major points: the contradiction in current English teaching and Chinese learners' lack of cultural knowledge. Current conducts of cultural teaching are then presented and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. It is concluded with what Byram and other language teachers prove with their teaching activities that the combination of language, culture, and communication contributes tothe promotion of learners' pragmatic competence.Then the author turns to the field of CALL. By tracing back the history and analyzing the advantages of CALL, the author hypothesizes that the realization of Byram's model in the field of CALL can improve learners' pragmatic competence. This teaching initiative is termed as Dynamic Model, following the name of the multimedia software DynEd adopted in the teaching process.Based on this multimedia software, an experiment is carried out mainly to investigate: 1) the effectiveness of Dynamic Model in improving learners' pragmatic awareness and pragmatic competence; 2) the relationship between language proficiency and pragmatic competence.Using a pretest-posttest control group design, the experiment provides experimental group with a semester of special training focused on improving learners' pragmatic competence. Responses from students are also collected and analyzed after each lesson. Data collected from pre-test and post-test indicates that given the same language learning software, the teaching pattern combining cultural comparison, language training and exposing the learners to more real life communication examples is more effective in improving learners' pragmatic competence.Responses from students of experimental group indicate a greater awareness in culture learning and increased confidence in language production.Comparison of results from students belonging to the bottom and top quarters of the proficiency range reveals that learners' language proficiency has some influence on their posttest results. Thus it is concluded that language pragmatic competence is positively correlated with language proficiency.