How to present materials: principles and frameworks

The ways in which the different elements of pragmatic and cultural competence (and awareness) are presented in textbooks do not currently accentuate the skills required in addition to the knowledge elements. In several surveys of available materials (Usó-Juan, 2008; for example Weninger & Kiss, 2013), the majority of texts and teaching materials were found to not include any systematic treatment of cultural and pragmatic awareness. While some texts did make attempts to treat these topics, they did not present the

information in a systematic way. Some of the comments on improvements to these materials are summarised in Figure 3 as a list of features for good materials for teaching culture.

1. Use real speech examples

2. Give information on situational and contextual variation (including gender usage)

3. Explain cultural reasoning for norms

4. Connect pragmatic/interactional information to vocabulary—both words and phrases

5. Provide information to teachers on norms and pragmatics 6. Encourage students to develop analytic skills so they can become

ethnographic observers (and therefore have the skills to learn from and adapt to new situations).

7. Encourage students to make connections to their own experience and to actively reflect on their experience and learning

8. Empower students to engage in social interaction, in and out of classroom contexts

Figure 3 Key features of good materials for teaching culture (adapted from Cohen & Ishihara, 2012; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013; Pulverness & Tomlinson, 2013)

Proposed frameworks for learning pragmatics can provide a further understanding of frameworks required for the AusDICT. Here I will examine two Schmidt, (1993) and Martínez-Flor and Usó-Juan (2006). Schmidt (1993) proposed a two-phase approach to

learning pragmatics, which he terms noticing and understanding. In essence, one has to

notice that there are pragmatic features to speech, and notice that they are different to one’s own before one can start to understand how they work or how to employ them

appropriately. As such, these two concepts—noticing and understanding—are nearly

identical to the delineation between awareness and competence discussed in Chapter 2.

These two notions, regardless of terminology, can be transferred into the creation of teaching materials by designing tasks specifically to fit each of these concepts. For

example, noticing/awareness requires tasks, explanations or materials which highlight

the pragmatic feature being discussed; understanding/competence requires tasks which

emphasise discussion, practice, and reflection.

Another, more detailed framework which could also be used to structure learning materials is the 6R approach to learning pragmatics (Martínez-Flor & Usó-Juan, 2006).

The 6R approach details six different phases of learning which students should progress through in order to acquire pragmatics in language. They are: 1. Research; 2.

Reflection; 3. Receiving explicit instruction; 4. Reasons; 5. Rehearsing; 6. Revising. In this model the first stage is research by the students into a pragmatic feature being studied. This stage of learning has a direct connection to the sixth principle of good materials. This could be realised in classrooms as individual or group projects, or even as a whole class activity. Engaging students in research in such a way also has many effects on student learning beyond the acquisition of pragmatics, such as developing stronger motivations for learning (Mason, 2010). The 6R approach is aimed at second language learners, yet many of the ESL teachers in Australia (the target users for the AusDICT) are native English speakers, and all ESL teachers have a high level of English ability. As a result, the latter two R’s—rehearsing and revising—are not as relevant for these users of the AusDICT. However, they are necessary for teachers to understand for the purposes of supporting their students. In addition, when considering teacher needs, it is important to remember that the teachers will be using the AusDICT to address each of these stages in their students’ learning, and so the AusDICT should be able to map to these stages as well as the others.

It is clear from Mason, Martínez-Flor and Usó-Juan’s work that cultural awareness is more than just learning the vocabulary of different speech acts and common phrases that express them. There are many pragmatic functions to be learnt beyond the knowledge of their existence. True cultural competence comes from being given the opportunity to learn how to analyse and interpret situations based on observation and critical thinking. This means giving students activities and materials where they can be reflective—on their own practices and on the target practices—and then can apply that reflection to real speech and interactions by native speakers (Pulverness & Tomlinson, 2013). Deeper learning can be fostered by giving students opportunities to discuss and interact with the new knowledge, for example, through unscripted role plays or actual

interactions (Cohen & Ishihara, 2012).

The principles outlined in Figure 3 for creating effective materials for acquiring cultural competence comprise a multi-dimensional list which fits snugly within the frame of intercultural language teaching. However, it is apparent that any materials developer attempting to meet all of these criteria would struggle.

It is unlikely that any resource will address all of the principles. Rather, they represent a way of evaluating resources both individually and collectively to ensure that the resources provided for learners provide opportunities to develop each of the principles. (Liddicoat and Scarino, 2013, p. 101)

The aim of the AusDICT is not to attempt the improbable and address all of these principles. Rather, it will directly intervene in the process of creating materials at Principle 5 (Figure 3)—providing information to teachers on norms and pragmatics— which then feeds into Principles 2, 3 and 4 by providing the foundation for teachers to

present this nuance to their students. Furthermore, the cultural scripts approach (to be discussed in Chapter 5) contains a componential analysis of the pragmatic norms and interactions, which in translating this to the teaching materials supplementing the AusDICT, will support students in Principles 6 – 8. I adopted the 6R approach to acquiring pragmatics as it provides a strong framework onto which the example teaching materials can be mapped.