Middle School English Teachers' Knowledge and Practice on Pragmatics in South Korea: An Exploratory Research Design

• In Event: Enhancing Learning, Professional Development, and Second Language Research: International Issues and Perspectives

Abstract

Pragmatics is the study of communicative action in its sociocultural context. This present study seeks to understand the study of pragmatics in the teaching of English among Korean middle school teachers. Despite the early teaching of English and the English education policy in Korea that addresses the importance of Communicative Language Teaching, it is uncertain whether the teaching of pragmatics is taking place in Korean classrooms given the deficits observed in Korean students studying abroad. The current study aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. Do middle school English teachers in Korea teach pragmatics in class?
2. What factors facilitate or inhibit teaching pragmatics?
3. What is the relationship between teachers’ knowledge on pragmatics and language classroom teaching?

Author

• Hie-Myung Joy Jo, Northern Arizona University