Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU), Saudi Arabia
2 University Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Malaysia
Abstract
The previous three decades have seen a growing body of research into interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), language proficiency, and their effects on pragmatic competence. One of the most important independent aspects in the field of ILP development is language ability. This study which involved 98 Saudi learners, was conducted to determine whether there was a relationship between language proficiency and pragmatic production and realization. This study depended basically on the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Pattern and politeness theory to analyze the gathered data using a Discourse Completion Task. Findings showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the Directness Level according to the variable of proficiency between the two groups. However, there were statistically significant differences in Conventionally Indirect in producing request acts. Regarding Non-Conventionally Indirect, only the high achiever group employed this strategy. Furthermore, results indicated that language proficiency had a significant influence on Saudi EFL learners’ production and comprehension of the request act.
Keywords
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