Motivation and Pragmatics: How Regulatory Focus and L2 Self Guides Affect Pragmatic Competence
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| Title: | Motivation and Pragmatics: How Regulatory Focus and L2 Self Guides Affect Pragmatic Competence |
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| Authors: | N/A |
| Committee Members: | Zhang, Yiran (author); Papi, Mostafa (professor directing dissertation); Hu, Shouping (university representative); Hiver, Philip V. (committee member); Myers, John P. (John Patrick) (committee member); Florida State University (degree granting institution); College of Education (degree granting college); School of Teacher Education (degree granting department) |
| Summary: | This dissertation intends to explore the effects of second language speakers’ L2 self- guides and regulatory focus on their pragmatic competence. Furthermore, how different motivational domains, standpoints, and orientations influence their L2 pragmatic awareness and production, pragmatic in different situations, and their grammatical awareness. A total of 121 Chinese international students who speak English as their second language at universities in the United States participated in the study. They completed a regulatory focus questionnaire examining their chronic motivational orientations; an L2 self-guides questionnaire capturing the L2 speakers’ perceptions of their future selves; an appropriateness rating task to examine participants’ pragmatic awareness; a discourse completion task to measure their pragmatic production; an error judgment task to see how the participants recognize and judge the severity of grammar and pragmatic errors; and a demographic questionnaire recording their background information and other factors such as proficiency, length of residence, and age. Multiple regression analyses which included proficiency and length of residence as control variables showed that second language speakers’ promotion level and ideal L2 self/own positively predicted their overall pragmatic competence when producing a second language. They also significantly predicted second language speakers’ pragmatic production in a situation that has a higher degree of imposition, with a larger social distance between the interlocutors, while the listener has a bigger power (IPD+). The prevention level, on the other hand, negatively predicted second language speakers’ pragmatic production and their pragmatic production when they share opinions. It also negatively predicted the production in IPD+ situations. Second language speakers’ ideal L2 self/own positively predicted the production in IPD+ situations and when they share opinions. Ought L2 self/own negatively predicted second language speakers’ pragmatic production as well as their production when making requests. When considering the speakers’ error judgments, the participants’ promotion levels positively predicted the pragmatic related measures, while the prevention levels positively predicted the grammar-related measures. L2 speakers’ self-guides failed to predict their pragmatic error judgments but predicted their grammatical error judgments where ideal L2 self/own and ought L2 self/ other positively predicted L2 speakers’ recognition of grammatical errors. These findings provided better insights in understanding individual differences in L2 pragmatics and showed that differences in chronic motivational orientations can lead to different patterns and characteristics in their second language development. Theoretical and instructional implications were discussed. |
| Database: | OpenDissertations |
| Abstract: | This dissertation intends to explore the effects of second language speakers’ L2 self- guides and regulatory focus on their pragmatic competence. Furthermore, how different motivational domains, standpoints, and orientations influence their L2 pragmatic awareness and production, pragmatic in different situations, and their grammatical awareness. A total of 121 Chinese international students who speak English as their second language at universities in the United States participated in the study. They completed a regulatory focus questionnaire examining their chronic motivational orientations; an L2 self-guides questionnaire capturing the L2 speakers’ perceptions of their future selves; an appropriateness rating task to examine participants’ pragmatic awareness; a discourse completion task to measure their pragmatic production; an error judgment task to see how the participants recognize and judge the severity of grammar and pragmatic errors; and a demographic questionnaire recording their background information and other factors such as proficiency, length of residence, and age. Multiple regression analyses which included proficiency and length of residence as control variables showed that second language speakers’ promotion level and ideal L2 self/own positively predicted their overall pragmatic competence when producing a second language. They also significantly predicted second language speakers’ pragmatic production in a situation that has a higher degree of imposition, with a larger social distance between the interlocutors, while the listener has a bigger power (IPD+). The prevention level, on the other hand, negatively predicted second language speakers’ pragmatic production and their pragmatic production when they share opinions. It also negatively predicted the production in IPD+ situations. Second language speakers’ ideal L2 self/own positively predicted the production in IPD+ situations and when they share opinions. Ought L2 self/own negatively predicted second language speakers’ pragmatic production as well as their production when making requests. When considering the speakers’ error judgments, the participants’ promotion levels positively predicted the pragmatic related measures, while the prevention levels positively predicted the grammar-related measures. L2 speakers’ self-guides failed to predict their pragmatic error judgments but predicted their grammatical error judgments where ideal L2 self/own and ought L2 self/ other positively predicted L2 speakers’ recognition of grammatical errors. These findings provided better insights in understanding individual differences in L2 pragmatics and showed that differences in chronic motivational orientations can lead to different patterns and characteristics in their second language development. Theoretical and instructional implications were discussed. |
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