Study On Correlations Between English Pragmatic Competence And Learning Motivation

The aim of this thesis is to explore the correlation between pragmatic competence andEnglish learning motivation among college students. Pragmatic competence can be deifned aslearners’ ability to identify context, comprehend others’ intentions exactly and expressthemselves properly. The sensitivity to various context and appropriateness of expressionconstitute the two aspects of pragmatic competence. Generally, pragmatic competence falls intotwo categories: pragmalinguistic competence and sociopragmatic competence. At present, it is acommon phenomenon that the overall pragmatic competence of Chinese English learners isunsatisfactory.As a booming interdisciplinary branch of study, Interlanguage Pragmatics aims at studyingthe pragmatic phenomenon and characteristics of non-native speakers’ use of Interlanguage andthe relevant pragmatic development issues. Questions about pragmatic research can be dividedinto static study and dynamic study. Up to now, static study concerning pragmaticcomprehension, pragmatic failure and pragmatic transfer have been extensively discussed. Whilethe dynamic study concerning pragmatic competence development and related factors is stillunderdeveloped. Recently, Interlanguage Pragmatics researchers begin to pay attention to theimpact of Individual Differences variables on pragmatic competence development. In thepractice of College English teaching reform in China, the role of motivation as a crucial variableof Individual Differences in pragmatic competence development has become an attention-worthyresearch issue.Nowadays, researches on motivation usually lay emphasis on the correlation betweenmotivation and linguistic test outcomes, very few researches have been conducted on correlationbetween motivation and pragmatic competence development. Therefore, the author undertakes acase study on this topic by taking120grade one non-English majors (Class A) under EnglishGrading Teaching Pattern as subjects, attempting to make an exploration on this question.Through investigation we ifnd that the majority of subjects hold positive attitudes towardpragmatic study, the overall status of pragmatic competence is fairly good，and theirsociopragmatic competence level is slightly better than pragmalinguistic level. The motivationtypes are diversiifed and compound. The instrumental motivation is the dominant one, and theLearning Situation Motivation is the weakest one. Social responsibility motivation is a compound one with distinctive “China color”. All the four motivation types display positivecorrelations with pragmatic competence. The Cultural Motivation holds the strongest correlation,while the Instrumental Motivation the weakest correlation.Based on the research ifndings，the author puts forward some suggestions for collegeEnglish pragmatic teaching. It is advisable for the teachers to advocate and foster the culturalmotivation of students, and inspire students’ pragmatic learning enthusiasm. The teachers canadopt various lfexible measures to help students enhance pragmatic awareness, and improve theirpragmatic competence gradually.