Indirect Speech Act Theory And English Teaching

Language is a communicative tool for human beings. The final goal of language teaching is to let the learners communicate effectively and appropriately through the use of language The process of language learning is the process of improving the pragmatic capabilities of applying the language. For a long time,college English teaching in China has overstressed the explanation of grammar rules and the language points in the text,neglected the cultivation of students' communicative and pragmatic capabilities. As a result,the scientific and rational syllabus can not be carried out effectively,the traditional "cramming" and "exam-oriented" teaching methods are still prevailing,students are lack of the cultural background information of the target language,pragmatic failure occur frequently in students' using of English language. This thesis is meant to explore and study the indirectness of language from the angle of Indirect Speech Act Theory which was put forward by Searle. The purpose is to find out the cause of the phenomenon of indirectness of language. By analyzing the problems in college English teaching,this thesis proves the necessity,urgency and practicability of applying indirect speech act theory to the teaching of foreign language and the cultivation of students' communicative as well as pragmatic capabilities. From many examples chosen from College English,readers can draw the conclusion that indirect speech act theory can make students have a better understanding of the text,especially the author's real intended meaning. Students can express themselves appropriately and politely.