Enhancing efl learners communicative competence through the concept of conversational implicature

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES _ ENHANCING EFL LEARNERS’ COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL) Submitted by NGUYỄN ÁI HOÀNG CHÂU Supervisor: NGUYỄN HOÀNG TUẤN, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, December 2008 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: ENHANCING EFL LEARNERS’ COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE In terms of the statement of Requirements for Thesis in Master’s Programmes issued by the Higher Degree Committee Ho Chi Minh City, December 2008 Nguyen Ai Hoang Chau RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyen Ai Hoang Chau, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, June 2008 Nguyen Ai Hoang Chau ACKNOWLEGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Nguyen Hoang Tuan for his enthusiastic guidance, valuable comments and support in the preparation until the completion of this thesis Secondly, I would also like to thank all my lecturers at the Department of English Linguistics and Literature, Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities of this Master course Thirdly, I particularly appreciate my colleagues and first-year nonmajors in English at Bac Lieu University for their valuable support and cooperation in helping me to carry out the survey questionnaire Especially, I am very grateful to my first-year English non-majors who participated in my research Their valuable cooperation plays an important role in conducting this thesis Finally, my very heartfelt gratitude is sent to my family members for their moral support during the time I have done this study ABSTRACT Pragmatic competence, like linguistic competence, is an organic part of communicative competence However, teaching pragmatic competence is considered to be neglected in English Language Teaching in Vietnam This research is intended to investigate whether it may be effective to teach the pragmatic concept of conversational implicature to Vietnamese EFL university students A total of 90 university students participated in this research There were two kinds of tests given to them: a multiple choice test (MCT) and a sentence writing test (SWT) The subjects were divided into two groups: Experimental group: receiving instruction of conversational implicature through the combination of implicit and explicit teaching Control group: receiving no treatment The results of the pre-test, the post-test and the delayed post-test (the post-test given three months after the treatment) indicated that: The experimental group outperformed the control group, at least temporarily The subjects extracted some types of conversational implicature more easily than the others And they scored higher for some types than for the others There was a disparity between the interpretation and the production of conversational implicature by the subjects The pedagogical implications that teachers should keep in mind are: Teaching the concept of conversational implicature through the combination of implicit and explicit instruction to EFL learners in Vietnam is highly facilitative Particularly, Vietnamese EFL learners can recognize and apply conversational implicature in communication from the combination of implicit and explicit teaching Types of conversational implicature should be selected suitable for the proficiency level of the students in teaching pragmatic knowledge Differences between L1-based and L2-based pragmatic knowledge are very crucial in the EFL instruction of pragmatic knowledge The pedagogical recommendations for the teachers at Bac Lieu University are: The concept of conversational implicature should be taught in Bac Lieu University through the combination of implicit and explicit education This can be done through some pieces of language material in the textbook of Know-How with some alteration and implementation The teaching of conversational implicature at Bac Lieu University should be done frequently Other pragmatic concepts should be dealt with besides the concept of conversational implicature in the development of EFL students’ communicative competence in Bac Lieu University TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of original …………………………………………………………… i Retention and use of the thesis …………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………… iii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………iv Table of contents ………………………………………………………………… vi List of tables …………………………………………………………………… x List of charts ……………………………………………………………… xii Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………… xiv Chapter One: Introduction Background to the study …………………………………………………… Purpose of the study ………………………………………………………… Research questions …………………………………………………………… Hypotheses …… …………………………………………………………… Significance of the study ………………………………………………… Definitions of terms ………………………………………………………… Limitations …………………………………………………………………… Delimitations ……………………………………………………………………9 Data Analysis ………………………………………………………………… 10 The structure of the report …………………………………………………10 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature Conversational implicature………………………………………………… 11 1.1 Grice’s theory ……………………………………………………… 11 1.1.1 The cooperative principle ………………………………… 11 1.1.2 Conversational Implicature ………………………………… 15 1.1.3 Examples of Conversational Implicature ………………… 17 1.2 Kinds of Conversational Implicature………………………………… 21 1.3 Properties of Conversational Implicature.…………………………… 23 1.4 Conversational Implicature vs Conventional Implicature ………… 25 Previous Studies … ………………………………………………………… 27 2.1 Bouton’s studies …………………………………………………… 27 2.2 Kobuta’s study ……………………………………………………… 28 Chapter Three: Methodology Methodological issues …………………………………………………… 31 Study setting … …………………………………………………………… 32 Study design ………………………………………………………………… 33 3.1 Subjects ……………………………………………………………… 33 3.2 Instrumentation ……………………………………………………… 34 3.2.1 Tests ………………………………………………………… 34 3.2.1.1 Test A ……………………………………………… 34 3.2.1.2 Test B ……………………………………………… 35 3.2.2 Lessons ……………………………………………………… 36 3.2.2.1 Format ……………………………………………… 37 3.2.2.2 Timing ……………………………………………… 38 3.2.2.3 Handouts ………………………………………… 38 3.3 Procedures of data collection … …………………………………… 40 3.4 Data analysis ………………………………………………………… 43 Chapter Four: Results and Discussion Results …………….………………………………………………………… 44 1.1 Test A ………………………………………………………………… 44 1.2 Test B ………………………………………………………………… 55 Discussion …………………………………………………………………… 65 2.1 Test A ……………………………………………………………… 66 2.2 Test B ………………………………………………………………… 67 Chapter Five: Conclusions and recommendations Conclusions ………………………………………………………………… 69 Pedagogical recommendations ………………………………………… 71 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………… 78 Appendixes Appendix A: Tests ……………………… ……………………………… 81 Appendix B: Handouts ………………………….……………………… 84 Appendix C: Questionnaire for students ……………………………… 96 Appendix D: Questionnaire for teachers ……………………………… 102 B: Her car broke down a Sally will be at the meeting this afternoon b Sally’s car broke down c Sally won’t be at the meeting this afternoon d Sally won’t come to the meeting in her own car HAND OUT (Lesson 3-Activity 2) Write the appropriate utterance for each of the following situations A: Hey, coming to the wild party tonight? B: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… (B does not want to go to the party tonight because his parents are visiting him, but does not want to say it directly) A: Did Carmen like the party? B: ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………… (B knows that Carmen did not like the party because she left half an hour ago, but does not want to say that directly) A: Did you buy the car? B: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………… (B did not buy the car because it cost twice as much as he thought it would, but he does not want to say that directly) HAND OUT (Lesson 4-Activity 1) What you think the second speaker in each conversation really means Choose the best response for each conversation A: Do you like ice-scream? B: Is the pope catholic? a He does not like ice-scream b He likes ice-scream very much c The pope likes ice-scream d The pope does not like ice-scream A: Do you think you got an A on the test? B: Do chicken have lips? a He got an A on the test b He did not get an A on the test c He did not take the test d The test was on chicken A: Do you have a lot of friends? B: Is the sky blue? a He has few friends b He does not have many friends c He has many friends d He does not have any friends HAND OUT (Lesson 4-Activity 2) Write the appropriate utterance for each of the following situations A: Do you expect Sheila to be late for the party tonight? B: ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………… (B’s answer is ‘yes’ but B says it indirectly by asking A another yes-no question which needs no answers) A: Do you think Mike can pass the test? B: ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………… (B’s answer is ‘no’ but B says it indirectly by asking A another yes-no question which needs no answers) A: Do you like films? B: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………… (B’s answer is ‘yes’ but B says it indirectly by asking A another yes-no question which needs no answers) HAND OUT (Lesson 5-Activity 1) What you think the second speaker in each conversation really means Choose the best response for each conversation A: How come Mary’s all dressed up? B: We’re going to the D-E-N-T-I-S-T a He does not want Mary to know where they are going because Mary hates dentists b Mary asks him to take her to the dentist c Mary asks him to spell the word ‘dentist’ d Mary is dressed up to go to the dentist A: Let’s get Jimmy some toys B: OK, but not R-O-B-O-T-S a He is going to get some robots for Jimmy b Jimmy cannot spell the word ‘robots’ c Jimmy is asking for some robots d He is afraid that Jimmy may ask for some robots A: The kids are always watching T.V B: Let’s S-E-L-L it a He suggests selling the T.V set b He wants to sell the T.V set c He does not want the kids to watch T.V d He does not want the kids to know his suggestion HAND OUT 10 (Lesson 5-Activity 2) Write the appropriate utterance for each of the following situations A: Where are you going with the dog? B: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… (B is going to take the dog to the vet but avoids saying the word “vet” directly because his dog can understand that word and it hates veterinaries) A: Let’s get Maria a pet B: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………… (B does not want to buy a cat for Maria but avoids saying the word “cat” directly because he is afraid that Maria will ask for one) A: Where are you going with Peter? B: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………… (B is taking Peter to the kindergarten but avoids saying the word “kindergarten” directly because Peter hates going there) HAND OUT 11 (Lesson 6-Activity 1) What you think the second speaker in each conversation really means Choose the best response for each conversation A: Was the dessert any good? B: Cherry pie is cherry pie a The dessert was pretty boring b He had cherry pie for dessert c He did not have cherry pie for dessert d He did not have dessert A: Jane is too fond of idle gossip B: Women are women a Jane likes gossiping b Jane does not like gossiping c It is common that women like gossiping d That Jane likes gossiping surprises him A: I cannot stand these boys any more They’re always making noise! B: Boys will be boys a The boys are not making noise b He hates their making noise c He cannot stand them either d It is common that boys make noise HAND OUT 12 (Lesson 6-Activity 2) Write the appropriate utterance for each of the following situations A: Is the hamburger any good? B: ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………… (B does not think that the hamburger is very good but does not want to say it directly B uses a tautology to answer A’s question) A: A lot of people died in that war B: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………… (B believes that terrible things always happen in war and that is its nature but does not want to say it directly B uses a tautology) A: Maria quit her good job in New York to be with John in Kenya B: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………… (B is not surprised because he thinks that everything can happen in love but he does not say that directly He uses a tautology) APPENDIX C: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS By Nguyen Ai Hoang Chau HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities This questionnaire is intended to help understand Vietnamese university students’ English learning experience and their attitudes toward the teaching of English conversational implicature in Bac Lieu University Please answer this questionnaire to the best of your honesty Your answers will be completely confidential and anonymous, and used for research purposes only Thank you for your time and help Please answer either by ticking the appropriate box or by writing in the spaces provided The pragmatic notion of “conversational implicature” first introduced by Herbert Paul Grice is very important in conversations In daily conversations the speaker sometimes implies something beyond what he really says for some reason so the listener has to draw out what the speaker actually means A conversational implicature is an additional conveyed meaning drawn from any conversation (Yule, 1996: 35) For example: Bill: Did you get the milk and the eggs? Dave: I got the milk The conversational implicature drawn from this conversation is: I/Dave did not get the eggs How old are you? - 18-19 [ ] - 20-21 [ ] - 22-23 [ ] - 24-over [ ] How long have you studied English? - years [ ] - years [ ] - years [ ] - more than years [ ] Have you ever been taught the concept of English conversational implicature? - Yes [ ] please, proceed to item - No [ ] please, proceed to item If yes, where? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… when? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… What types? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… If no, have you ever encountered an example of English conversational implicature? -Yes [ ] please, proceed to item -No [ ] please, proceed to item Did you understand it? -Yes [ ] -No [ ] Do you think knowledge of English conversational implicature is important in developing communicative competence -Yes [ ] -No [ ] Do you think the concept of English conversational implicature should be taught to Vietnamese university students? - Yes [ ] -No [ ] Do you think that students can pick up the knowledge of English conversational implicature through communication without education? -Yes [ ] -No [ ] 10 What you think? - It is better to teach Vietnamese university students English conversational implicature [ ] - It is better to let Vietnamese students pick up English conversational implicature through communication without teaching [ ] - Both ways are the same [ ] BẢNG THĂM DÒ Ý KIẾN (Vietnamese version) (Dành cho sinh viên) Bảng thăm dò ý kiến nhằm tìm hiểu kinh nghiệm học tiếng Anh thái độ việc giảng dạy khái niệm “Hàm ngôn hội thoại” tiếng Anh sinh viên trường Đại học Bạc Liêu Xin bạn vui lòng cho biết ý kiến trung thực Chúng trân trọng giữ kín ý kiến bạn Chúng sử dụng ý kiến bạn vào mục đích nghiên cứu mà Chúng chân thành cảm ơn hoan nghênh việc tham gia tích cực bạn Xin vui lòng điền vào chổ trống hay đánh dấu vào ô mục bạn chọn Khái niệm “Hàm ngôn hội thoại” (conversational implicature) Herbert Paul Grice đưa quan trọng hội thoại Trong đàm thoại ngày lý mà người nói ám điều đằng sau lời nói người nghe phải rút ẩn ý hiểu người nói thực muốn nói Theo tác giả George Yule “Hàm ngôn hội thoại” ẩn ý (additional conveyed meaning) rút hội thoại (1996: 35) Ví dụ sau: Bill: Did you get the milk and the eggs? Dave: I got the milk Hàm ngôn hội thoại hội thoại là: I/Dave did not get the eggs Bạn tuoåi? - 18-19 [ ] - 20-21 [ ] - 22-23 [ ] - 24 trở lên [ ] Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? - năm [ ] - naêm [ ] - naêm [ ] - Trên năm [ ] Bạn có dạy khái niệm “Hàm ngôn hội thoại” tiếng Anh chưa? a Có [ ] xin trả lời tiếp câu b Chưa [ ] xin trả lời tiếp câu Nếu có, Ở đâu? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… Khi nào? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………… Những loại gì? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… Nếu không, có bạn gặp phải ví dụ “Hàm ngôn hội thoại” tiếng Anh chưa? -Có [ ] xin trả lời tiếp câu -Chưa [ ] xin trả lời tiếp câu Bạn có hiểu không? -Có [ ] -Không [ ] Bạn có nghó kiến thức Hàm ngôn hội thoại tiếng Anh giúp phát triển kỹ giao tiếp bạn không? -Có [ ] -Không [ ] Bạn có nghó sinh viên đại học cần dạy khái niệm Hàm ngôn hội thoại tiếng Anh không? - Có [ ] -Không [ ] Bạn có nghó sinh viên lónh hội kiến thức Hàm ngôn hội thoại tiếng Anh thông qua giao tiếp mà không cần giáo viên giảng dạy không? -Có [ ] -Không [ ] 10 Theo bạn thì: - Dạy khái niệm Hàm ngôn hội thoại cho sinh viên tốt [ ] - Tốt nên để sinh viên tự lónh hội kiến thức Hàm ngôn hội thoại thông qua giao tiếp mà không cần giảng dạy [ ] - Cách tốt [ ] APPENDIX D: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS By Nguyen Ai Hoang Chau HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities This questionnaire is intended to help understand Vietnamese university teachers’ English teaching experience and their attitudes toward the teaching of English conversational implicature in Bac Lieu University Please answer this questionnaire to the best of your honesty Your answers will be completely confidential and anonymous, and used for research purposes only Thank you for your time and help Please answer either by ticking the appropriate box or by writing in the spaces provided The pragmatic notion of “conversational implicature” first introduced by Herbert Paul Grice is very important in conversations In daily conversations the speaker sometimes implies something beyond what he really says for some reason so the listener has to draw out what the speaker actually means A conversational implicature is an additional conveyed meaning drawn from any conversation (Yule, 1996: 35) For example: Bill: Did you get the milk and the eggs? Dave: I got the milk The conversational implicature drawn from this conversation is: I/Dave did not get the eggs How old are you? - 20s [ ] - 30s [ ] - 40s [ ] - over 40 [ ] How long have you been teaching English? a Less than 10 years [ ] b More than 10 years [ ] c More than 15 years [ ] d More than 20 years [ ] Have you ever tried developing your students’ pragmatic competence? -Yes [ ] -No [ ] If yes, list some ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………… Have you ever taught the concept of English conversational implicature? a Yes [ ] please, proceed to item b No [ ] please, proceed to item If yes, What types? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… Do you think that helping to develop students’ pragmatic competence is as important as helping to develop their linguistic competence? -Yes [ ] -No [ ] Do you think knowledge of English conversational implicature is important in developing communicative competence -Yes [ ] -No [ ] Do you think the concept of English conversational implicature should be taught to Vietnamese university students? - Yes [ ] -No [ ] Do you think that students can pick up the knowledge of English conversational implicature through communication without education? -Yes [ ] -No [ ] 10 What you think? - It is better to teach Vietnamese university students English conversational implicature [ ] - It is better to let Vietnamese students pick up English conversational implicature through communication without teaching - Both ways are the same [ ] [ ] ... understanding of the concept of English conversational implicature and the education of this concept Firstly, the chapter covered the concept of co-operative principles, the concept of conversational implicature, ... OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: ENHANCING EFL LEARNERS? ?? COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE In terms of the. .. frequently Other pragmatic concepts should be dealt with besides the concept of conversational implicature in the development of EFL students’ communicative competence in Bac Lieu University TABLE OF