Evaluation of Language Production
Think about the following questions:
- Why are the following language functions -- giving suggestions, comparing advantages and disadvantages, and narrating in the past -- reserved for advanced learners?
- Does this mean that beginning learners could not do them at all?
- If you believe they could, what would you expect of their performance?
In response to the questions, consider the following:
- Suggesting requires more implicatures and ways to soften the force of what is said.
- Formulae are used but must be carefully chosen for context and according to the feedback received from the interlocutor. Also, these more complex speech acts often develop over several turns.
- Early learners can do these more advanced speech acts but will make more errors, use less softening and other pragmatic resources, and usually use more basic formulae (e.g., Do this please).
Therefore, the instructor should not expect that learners at lower levels cannot communicate these advanced acts, but they should expect less (more basic communication) by the less proficient speakers.
Grading Language Production
Recall the video of the learner who had to ask to borrow Ana's car and evaluate his production. He was a fourth-year Spanish student. Try to give him a score from 1 (as the highest grade) to 5 for each of the following components:
- Accuracy of linguistic realization (Grammar and Vocabulary)
- Appropriacy of speech act; form (an appropriate speech act selected for use, as per native speaker linguistic and sociocultural norms)
- Content (what was said; e.g., was an explanation added, was the answer elaborated, did the message fit the task)
Our participating language teachers revealed that they believed the learner earned about a 3 in accuracy and a 2 in appropriateness and content. Their grade was based on a general comparison of the student against what they would expect from other students of fourth-year language classes. However, the student was awarded a 3 in all categories based on the instructor's knowledge of how much improvement had been made since the beginning of the course.
One objective could be to have the learners assess their own recorded production, in order to:
- encourage self-monitoring of their own expression;
- gain an awareness of their performance in online production; and
- become aware of appropriateness of their communication.
Finally, reflect on the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century and whether or not they reflect pragmatics at all. Recall that the Standards include:
- Communication: real life
- Culture: understanding
- Connections: with other subject areas
- Comparisons: compare and contrast
- Communities: global society
Do pragmatics fit with any of these?