ELIA 3, 2002, 123-138
PRACTICE OPPORTUNITIES AND PRAGMATIC CHANGE IN A
SECOND LANGUAGE CONTEXT: THE CASE OF REQUESTS∗
E a Alcón Sole
Vic o ia Codina Espu z
Uni e si a Jaume I
P agma ic compe ence is conside ed o be pa o a non-na i e speake s
(NNSs) communica i e compe ence and has been included in he models o
communica i e abili y (Canale and Swain, 1980; Bachman, 1990; Celce-
Mu cia e al., 1995. This pape examines lea ne s’ de elopmen o
p agma ic compe ence in a second language con ex . Fi een Spanish
s uden s who had spen a e m a he Uni e si y o Li e pool as Soc a es
s uden s and h ee na i e English Uni e si y lec u e s pa icipa ed in he
s udy. A o al o 30 sessions (10 upon a i al, 10 mid-s udy and 10 a he
end) we e aped and ansc ibed wi h he consen o pa icipan s. E idence
o he ealiza ion o he speech ac o eques ing is examined wi hin he
amewo k o s a us cong uence (Ba do i-Ha o d, 1990), aking in o
accoun equency and o m in na i e and non-na i e ad ising sessions.
Then, on he basis o he heo e ical condi ion o language lea ning (Pica,
1994, 1996), we analyze non-na i e speake s’ change owa ds na i e
speake ’s abili y o eques ing. Resul s o he s udy show ha , al hough
lea ne s mo ed owa ds using mo e eques s, hey ailed o de elop he ull
ange o eques s a egies and app op ia e linguis ic o ms. Resul s o he
s udy indica e ha na i e speake s' inpu and lea ne s’ oppo uni ies o
∗ This s udy is pa o a esea ch p ojec unded by g an s om Gene ali a Valenciana (GV-
00-147-09) and Fundació Caixa Cas elló-Bancaixa (P1.1A2000-14).
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
124 E. Alcón y V. Codina
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
ou pu a e no enough o p agma ic de elopmen , and a ocus on o m
(Dough y and Williams, 1998) ega ding app op ia e o ms o he speech ac
o eques ing is sugges ed.
Key wo ds: p agma ic compe ence, speech ac s, in e language p agma ics.
1. In oduc ion
Lea ne s’ p agma ic abili y is pa o hei communica i e compe ence and
he e o e has been he ocus o a en ion in he p oposed models o
communica i e compe ence (Canale and Swain, 1980; Bachman, 1990;
Celce-Mu cia and Dö nyei, 1995). Adop ing p agma ic compe ence as a goal
in language eaching may imply ha second language p agma ics needs o be
augh . Howe e , i could also be a gued ha p agma ic knowledge does no
equi e any pedagogical in e en ion, since p agma ic knowledge is
uni e sal and may be ans e ed om he lea ne s’ mo he ongue. I
p agma ic knowledge does no equi e any pedagogical in e en ion, being
exposed o he language and p o iding lea ne s wi h oppo uni ies o
language use would be some o he equi emen s o de eloping lea ne s'
p agma ic compe ence.
In second and o eign language lea ning con ex s mos o he
s uden s ha e oppo uni ies o language use in di e en ins i u ional
encoun e s whe e lea ne s a e p o ided wi h he heo e ical condi ions o
second language acquisi ion. These could be summa ized as: lea ne s’ need
o inpu , lea ne s' need o ou pu , and lea ne s' need o eedback (see Pica,
1994, 1996; Long, 1996; and Gass, 1998). Wi h ega d o lea ne s’ need o
comp ehensible inpu , al hough heo ies o second language acquisi ion may
di e wi h espec o how much is needed o how i needs o be o ganized o
acili a e lea ning, e e ybody would ag ee ha i is a necessa y componen
o language lea ning. Resea ch has also shown ha language lea ne s can be
pushed by hei in e locu o s’ eedback o p oduce mo e comp ehensible,
sociolinguis ically mo e app op ia e, and accu a e ou pu (Swain, 1995).
P ac ice opo uni ies and p agma ic… 125
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
In his pape we will ocus on he ad ising session as an ins i u ional
encoun e lea ne s a e amilia wi h (bo h in hei home ins i u ion and
ab oad lea ne s a end u o ials egula ly). Besides, as sugges ed by Ba do i-
Ha lig and Ha o d (1993,1996), he ad ising sessions allow us o s udy
cong uen speech ac s, which e lec he es ablished ole o pa icipan s. As
sugges ed by hese au ho s, wi hin he ins i u ional se ing o ad ising
sessions, na i e speake s (NSs) ollow he maxim o cong uence, which
p edic s ha pa icipan s will employ speech ac s cong uen wi h hei s a us.
On he con a y, i a noncong uen ac is pe o med pa icipan s may
mi iga e hei con ibu ions by employing a s a us p ese ing s a egy. These
au ho s (1993: 281) illus a e he maxim o cong uence as ollows:
Maxim o cong uence: Make you con ibu ion cong uen wi h you s a us.
Co olla y: I cong uence is no possible, mi iga e noncong uence by
employing a s a us p ese ing s a egy (SPS).
S a us-P ese ing S a egies:
Appea cong uen . Use he o m o a cong uen speech ac whe e possible.
Ma k you con ibu ion linguis ically. Use mi iga o s.
Timing. Do no begin wi h a noncong uen con ibu ion.
F equency. A oid equen noncong uen u ns.
Be b ie .
Acco ding o Ba do i-Ha lig and Ha o d (1993), speech ac s ha
a e cong uen wi h eache s a us include ad ising, sugges ing and
eques ing, while speech ac s ha a e cong uen wi h s uden s a us a e
eques ing ad ice, in o ma ion and pe mission. He e we ocus on eques s as
illocu iona y ac s whe eby a speake wan s he hea e o pe o m an ac o
he bene i o he speake , in con as o sugges ions in which he bene i is
o bo h speake and hea e . F om his pe spec i e, we conside he academic
ad ising session as a con ex o he de elopmen o non-na i e p agma ic
compe ence. E idence o he ealiza ion o he speech ac o eques ing is
126 E. Alcón y V. Codina
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
examined wi hin he amewo k o s a us cong uence (Ba do i-Ha lig and
Ha o d, 1990). Then, we discuss he heo e ical condi ions o de eloping
he abili y o pe o m he speech ac o eques ing and conside some
pedagogical implica ions.
2.Me hodology
Fi een Spanish s uden s, who had spen a e m a he Uni e si y o
Li e pool as Soc a es s uden s, and h ee na i e English uni e si y lec u e s
pa icipa ed in he s udy. A o al o 30 sessions we e aped and ansc ibed
wi h he consen o he pa icipan s a h ee di e en poin s in ime: 10 upon
a i al o he s uden s, 10 in mid-s udy, and 10 a he end o hei s udy
pe iod. All o he sessions had he aim o de e mine and supe ise he
s uden s’ academic pape s and las ed om 15 o 20 minu es. Reques s we e
coded aking in o accoun equency and o m. As a as equency, we
conside ed i hey we e ini ia ed (example i), esponses o ques ions
(example ii) o esponses o p omp s (example iii):
Example i:
T: Wha a e you going o alk abou ?
S: I hink... I will alk abou unc ional g amma and me hodology
Example ii:
T: Now, wha , wha do you wan o ake?
S: You mean, ano he opic?
Example iii:
T: The e a e a numbe o opics which migh be app op ia e
S: Is i possible o ake jus one opic?
In ela ion o o m, we classi ied eques s in o h ee le els o
inc easing di ec ness: indi ec (example i ), con en ionally indi ec
(example ) and di ec (example i). While indi ec eques s make use o an
P ac ice opo uni ies and p agma ic… 127
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
impe sonal exp ession, by con en ionally indi ec we mean he use o poli e
language, ha is, he use o modals e bs and condi ional ense, as well as an
op ional use o please. Finally, di ec eques s make use o impe a i e, u u e
ense and p esen ense:
Example i :
T: He e he e is one possibili y, w i ing
T: The e is one cou se which migh be app op ia e
Example :
T: Would you mind w i ing i again?
T: Could you pho ocopy i ?
Example i:
T: Will you choose he opic, hen?
T: Wha does you u o sugges ?
Al hough we ocussed on he o m and equency o eques s du ing
h ee di e en pe iods o ime -a i al sessions, mid-s udy, and a he end o
hei s udy pe iod-, he ad ising sessions we e ansc ibed and coded in hei
en i e y. Following Cohen’s (1960) p ocedu e a minimum ag eemen o 86%
was ound.
3. Resul s and Discussion
Table 1 shows he dis ibu ion o eques s ac oss ypes by eache s and
s uden s du ing he a i al sessions.

128 E. Alcón y V. Codina
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
Table 1: F equency o eques s by ype in a i al sessions
Teache s S uden s
Responses o ques ions 8% 70%
Responses o p omp s 20% 19%
Ini ia ed 72% 11%
The dis ibu ion o eques s in eache alk (72% o ini ia ed
eques s, 20% esponses o p omp s and only 8% o esponses o ques ions)
indica e ha eache s a e ac i e pa icipan s. The pe cen age o ini ia ed
eques s p o ide s uden s wi h oppo uni ies o be exposed o he speech ac
o eques ing, while he 20% o esponses o p omp s and 8% o esponses o
ques ions could be unde s ood as posi i e inpu on eques s p o ided by he
eache s. In con as o eache s, s uden s’ con e sa ional beha io illus a es
he powe ela ionship in he academic ad ising se ing. In ac , s uden s
a ely ini ia e eques s (11%) o espond o p omp s (19%). As i is
illus a ed in he Lö sche 's (1986) s udy o con e sa ion in ins uc ional
se ings, i is he eache who is in cha ge o discou se o ganiza ion and
managemen .
The analysis o he esul s in Table 1 also indica es ha he academic
ad ising sessions p o ide lea ne s wi h inpu and ou pu oppo uni ies, ha
is, wi h oppo uni ies o be exposed o and pe o m he speech ac o
eques ing. These oppo uni ies, as illus a ed in Tables 2 and 3, a e g ea e
in mid-s udy and a he end o hei s udy isi .
P ac ice opo uni ies and p agma ic… 129
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
Table 2: F equency o eques s by ype in mid-s udy sessions
Teache s S uden s
Responses o ques ions 13% 53%
Responses o p omp s 27% 23%
Ini ia ed 60% 36%
Table 3: F equency o eques s by ype a he end o he s udy pe iod
Teache s S uden s
Responses o ques ions 17% 34%
Responses o p omp s 35% 30%
Ini ia ed 48% 47%
Compa ing he equency o esponses o ques ions and ini ia ion o
eques s in a i al, mid-s udy and end o s udy-pe iod sessions (Tables 1, 2
and 3), we obse e ha , as ime p og esses, he pe cen age o eache
esponses o ques ions inc eases whe eas he pe cen age o ini ia ions
dec eases. The opposi e pa e n applies o he s uden s' pe o mance. These
esul s may sugges ha as s uden s become mo e amilia wi h he ad ising
sessions and he eache , he powe ela ionship diminishes; hus, p omp ing
he s uden s o a highe ini ia ion o eques s. Ou esul s show ha all he
non-na i e speake s (NNSs) inc eased hei abili y in eques ing ad ice,
in o ma ion and pe mission; in o he wo ds, s uden s seem o be in o med
abou he speech ac ealiza ion in e ms o con en .
We we e also in e es ed in analyzing i he ype o inpu and ou pu
oppo uni ies p o ided in he academic con ex could help lea ne s o
130 E. Alcón y V. Codina
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
de elop hei p agma ic compe ence, ha is o say, o lea n how o use
language in making eques s. Table 4, 5 and 6 illus a es he o m o eques s
in eache and s uden alk du ing he ad ising sessions.
Table 4: Fo m o eques s in eache and s uden alk in a i al sessions
Teache s S uden s
Di ec 36% 63%
Indi ec 37% 20%
Impe sonal 27% 17%
Table 5: Fo m o eques s in eache and s uden alk in mid-s udy sessions
Teache s S uden s
Di ec 20% 52%
Indi ec 46% 27%
Impe sonal 34% 21%
Table 6: Fo m o eques s in eache and s uden alk a he end o he s udy
pe iod
Teache s S uden s
Di ec 18% 41%
Indi ec 49% 30%
Impe sonal 33% 29%
P ac ice opo uni ies and p agma ic… 131
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
The analysis o he da a in Tables 4, 5 and 6 illus a es ha posi i e
inpu p o ided by eache s (use o impe sonal and indi ec o ms) is no
enough o help lea ne s o de elop hei p agma ic compe ence in he
academic se ing. Al hough eache s’ use o di ec o ms a e s a us-bound
and s uden s’ use o hese di ec o ms a e no , s uden s use di ec s a egies
(“Can you do ha o me? ) in a o o indi ec (“I I could a end...”) o
impe sonal s a egies (“The e is he possibili y o ...” “He e is a cou se...”).
Besides, in line wi h he s udy by Ba do i-Ha lig and Dö nyei (1998),
s uden s' pe cen age o di ec o ms and absence o p e- eques s illus a e
s uden s' lack o p agma ic compe ence. As illus a ed in Table 7, NSs
gene ally use a p e- eques be o e making he ac ual eques while s uden s
do no .
Table 7: Use o p e- eques s by NSs and NNSs
NS NNS
A i al sessions 70% 30%
Mid-s udy 86% 24%
End o he s udy pe iod 61% 36%
NSs a ely make a eques wi hou checking whe he he o he
in e locu o will be eady o accep he eques ; howe e , NSs’ use o p e-
eques s does no unc ion as posi i e e idence o lea ne s. In ou da a,
nei he ha e we obse ed any nega i e eedback on s uden s’ linguis ic
ealiza ions. I NNSs ecei e any co ec i e eedback, i ocuses on meaning
a he han o m, which in u n p o ide lea ne s wi h ew oppo uni ies o
modi y hei ou pu . Tha obse a ion, illus a ed in example iii, is agains
he esea ch conduc ed in he ield o second language acquisi ion which
138 E. Alcón y V. Codina
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 123-138
Pica, T. 1996. “The essen ial ole o nego ia ion in he communica i e
class oom”. Japan Associa ion o Language Teaching Jou nal, 18:
241-268.
Sa on , M. P. & Alcón, E. 2000. P agma ic compe ence and o eign language
ins uc ion. A s udy on he use o eques s a egies by English adul
lea ne s. Pape p esen ed a he 24 h In e na ional Con e ence o
AEDEAN. Ciudad Real.
Sook Lee, J & Be e ley, M. 2000. Discou se a ing asks: a eaching ool o
de eloping sociocul u al compe ence. English Language Teaching 54:
161-168.
Swain, M. 1995. “Th ee unc ions o ou pu in second language lea ning” in
G. Cook & B. Seidho e (eds.) P inciple and P ac ice in Applied
Linguis ics. Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess: 125-144.