ELIA 3, 2002, pp.103-122
DEVELOPING PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE IN THE EFL
SETTING. THE CASE OF REQUESTS IN TOURISM TEXTS*
Es he Usó Juan
Pa icia Salaza Campillo
Uni e si a Jaume I
In his pape we p esen an analysis o how he speech ac o eques ing is
o e ed in se e al EFL (English as a Fo eign Language) ma e ials om he
discipline o ou ism. Ou objec i e is o examine which is he mos common
eques s uc u e p esen ed in he eco ded ma e ial in o de o see he
ange o eques s p esen ed o s uden s. The eques s a egies a e analysed
acco ding o he axonomy p oposed by T osbo g (1995), who di ided hem
in o ou main ca ego ies: indi ec eques s, con en ionally indi ec (hea e -
o ien ed condi ions), con en ionally indi ec (speake -o ien ed condi ions),
and di ec eques s. In a p e ious s udy (Salaza and Usó, in p ess) we
analysed he eques s a egies p esen ed in he w i en ma e ials and he
exe cises s uden s had o pe o m in o de o p ac ise his speech ac . We
ound ha he second ca ego y, con en ionally indi ec eques s (hea e -
o ien ed condi ions), is he mos common ca ego y used by all ex books
unde s udy. Resul s om he p esen s udy co obo a e he inding ha he
second ca ego y is he mos equen s a egy used in he apesc ip s s uden s
ha e o lis en o. The e seems o be a connec ion be ween he eques
s uc u es s uden s a e p esen ed wi h in he w i en ex s and he eco ded
* This s udy is pa o a esea ch p ojec unded by a g an om he Au onomous Go e nmen
o he Valencian Communi y (GV-00-147-09) and a g an om Caixa Cas elló-Bancaixa
(P1.1A 2000-14).
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
104 E.Usó y P. Salaza
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
ma e ials. We p opose se e al asks in o de o widen he scope o he
eques s augh o s uden s so as o inco po a e p agma ic aspec s.
Key wo ds: p agma ic compe ence, ou ism ex books, indi ec
eques s, con en ionally indi ec eques s, di ec eques s, eques ing
s a egies.
1. In oduc ion
S udies o de elopmen o FL (Fo eign Language) knowledge ha e ended o
ocus mo e on he acquisi ion o syn ac ic, phonological, mo phological and
seman ic o ms han on he de elopmen o p agma ic abili y (Cohen, 1996;
Kaspe and Schmid , 1996). E idence o his ac is ha FL lea ne s may
mas e he ocabula y and g amma o he a ge language wi hou gaining a
compa able con ol o e he p agma ic uses o he language. This amoun s o
saying ha FL lea ne s may know se e al o ms o hanking, complaining o
apologising wi hou being su e when i is app op ia e o use one o m o
ano he . As we ha e jus men ioned, s udies cen ed on speech ac abili y
ha e no deal wi h he de elopmen o his p ocess, as Kaspe and Schmid
(1996) ha e poin ed ou . Howe e , p agma ic abili y is pa o a lea ne ’s
communica i e compe ence, and i has ecei ed a en ion in he p oposed
models o communica i e compe ence (Canale, 1983; Bachman, 1990;
Celce-Mu cia, Dö nyei and Thu ell, 1995). In 1983 Canale p oposed a
model o communica i e compe ence which consis ed o ou componen s:
g amma ical compe ence ( he knowledge o he language code),
sociolinguis ic compe ence ( he app op ia e applica ion o ocabula y,
poli eness, e c.), discou se compe ence ( he abili y o combine language
s uc u es in o di e en ypes o cohesi e ex s), and s a egic compe ence
( he knowledge o communica i e s a egies o o e come communica i e
b eakdowns). This model has been highly in luen ial, and i has also been
used as a s a ing poin o many subsequen s udies on he opic.
Bachman (1990) di ided language knowledge in o wo main
ca ego ies, which in u n we e bo h subdi ided in o subca ego ies. The i s
ca ego y was “o ganisa ional knowledge”, which included g amma ical and
De eloping p agma ic compe ence …. 105
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
ex ual knowledge. The second ca ego y was “p agma ic knowledge”,
including lexical, unc ional and sociolinguis ic knowledge.
Some ime la e , Celce-Mu cia, Dö nyei and Thu ell (1995)
de eloped hei own model o communica i e compe ence, and hey added
he “ac ional compe ence” componen . The au ho s de ined ac ional
compe ence as “compe ence in con eying and unde s anding communica i e
in en ” (1995:17) and claimed ha ac ional compe ence was closely ela ed
o “in e language p agma ics”.
As we can see, wha hese models ha e in common is ha hey
ega d p agma ic compe ence as an essen ial componen o communica i e
compe ence. In his line, Cenoz and Valencia (1994) a gue ha he mas e ing
o phone ic, seman ic and syn ac ic le els is no enough o acqui e a second
language, bu knowing how o use he language in he app op ia e way is
also undamen al, as a lack o p agma ic compe ence can cause bo h
impo an communica i e p oblems and nega i e eac ions on he pa o he
hea e . These communica i e p oblems can be clea ly seen in Tou ism, an
a ea in which some speech ac s such as eques ing, asking o pe mission o
sugges ing a e highly used.
In he p esen pape , we a e going o ocus ou a en ion on he
ealisa ion o he speech ac o eques in eco ded ma e ials. Reques s seem
essen ial o us in ou ism exchanges, as hey appea e y equen ly and hey
cons i u e a speech ac ha has o be mas e ed by u u e wo ke s in he
ou ism indus y. In a p e ious pape (Salaza and Usó, in p ess), we se o
asce ain how his speech ac was p esen ed in he exe cises o se e al EFL
ou ism cou se books. Following T osbo g’s (1995) axonomy, we ound
ha he second ca ego y (con en ionally indi ec : hea e -o ien ed condi ions)
was he mos common ca ego y p esen ed, and ha p agma ic aspec s we e
no aken in o accoun in asks lea ne s had o pe o m. This pape is a
ollow-up s udy which aims o analyse whe he he eques s lea ne s lis en o
om he apesc ip s also all in o he second ca ego y. Mo eo e , we would
like o p opose se e al asks in o de o add ess he lack o p agma ic
awa eness obse ed in ou p e ious s udy.
106 E.Usó y P. Salaza
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
2. Me hod
To a ain he p e ious goal, we selec ed he i s en lis ening asks o i e
ex books o p o essionals wo king in he ou ism indus y and o s uden s
o ou ism a in e media e le el and abo e. The only c i e ion o selec ion is
ha hese a e he mos common cou ses used in Spanish uni e si ies ha
o e a deg ee in Tou ism. The EFL cou se books we e he ollowing: High
Season. English o he Ho el and Tou is Indus y (Ha ding and Hende son,
1994), English o In e na ional Tou ism (Jacob and S u , 1997), English in
Tou ism. Checkpoin 2 (Mioduszewska e al., 1997), Going In e na ional.
English o Tou ism (Ha ding, 1998), and Welcome! English o he T a el
and Tou ism Indus y (Jones, 1998).
A o al o 49 apesc ip s (as English in Tou ism. Checkpoin 2 had
jus 9 lis ening asks) we e analysed acco ding o T osbo g’s (1995: 205)
eques axonomy.
De eloping p agma ic compe ence …. 107
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
Reques s a egies
(p esen ed a le els o inc easing di ec ness)
Si ua ion Speake eques s o bo ow Hea e ’s ca
Ca . I Indi ec eques
S . 1 Hin s (mild) I ha e o be a he ai po in hal an hou .
(s ong) My ca has b oken down.
Ca . II Con en ionally indi ec
(hea e -o ien ed condi ions)
S . 2 Abili y Could you lend me you ca ?
Willingness Would you lend me you ca ?
Pe mission May I bo ow you ca ?
S . 3 Sugges o y o mulae How abou lending me you ca ?
Ca . III Con en ionally indi ec
(speake -based condi ions)
S . 4 Wishes I would like o bo ow you ca .
S . 5 Desi es/needs I wan /need o bo ow you ca .
Ca . IV Di ec eques s
S . 6 Obliga ion You mus /ha e o lend me you ca .
S . 7 Pe o ma i es
(hedged) I would like o ask you o lend me you ca .
(unhedged) I ask/ equi e you o lend me you ca .
S . 8 Impe a i es Lend me you ca .
Ellip ical ph ases You ca (please).

108 E.Usó y P. Salaza
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
In o de o di e en ia e eques s om o he exho a i e ac s, wo ac o s
we e aken in o accoun . These we e:
- The speake ’s in en ion and o he p agma ic aspec s such as con ex
(Thomas, 1995).
- The maxim o cong uence, which add esses he ela ionship be ween he
speake ’s s a us and he app op ia eness o ce ain ealisa ion s a egies o
speci ic con ex (Ba do i-Ha lig and Ha o d, 1990). This maxim o
cong uence claims ha pa icipan s will employ speech ac s cong uen wi h
hei s a us. Ba do i-Ha lig and Ha o d (1993: 281) p o ide he ollowing
de ini ion:
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).
The s a us-p ese ing s a egies he au ho s sugges a e as ollows:
a.- Appea cong uen . Use he o m o a cong uen speech ac whe e
possible.
b.- Ma k you con ibu ion linguis ically. Use mi iga o s.
c.- Timing. Do no begin wi h a noncong uen con ibu ion.
d.- F equency. A oid equen noncong uen u ns.
e.- Be b ie .
.- Use app op ia e con en .
3. Resul s
A o al numbe o 138 eques s we e ound in he 49 eco ded con e sa ions
analysed o he i e Tou ism cou sebooks obse ed. The esul s wi h espec
o eques s a egies we e classi ied as belonging o one o he eigh sub-
ca ego ies desc ibed in he me hod sec ion. Fo each cou sebook, he numbe
De eloping p agma ic compe ence …. 109
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
o s a egies ob ained o each subca ego y was compu ed and he sco es
we e compa ed ac oss books (See Table 1).
Table 1. Classi ica ion o eques s ound in he Tou ism cou sebooks analysed acco ding o
di ec ness le els.
Cou sebooks
S a egy
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
TOTAL
Ca . I Indi ec Reques
S . 1 Hin s
1
0
0
0
0
1
Ca . II Con en ionally indi ec
(hea e -o ien ed)
S . 2 Abili y/willingness
S . 3 Sugges o y o mulae
33
0
18
0
6
0
25
0
26
0
108
0
Ca . III Con en ionally indi ec
(speake -based)
S . 4 Wishes
S . 5 Desi es/needs
2
0
2
4
1
0
0
0
5
2
10
6
Ca . IV Di ec Reques s
S . 6 Obliga ion
S . 7 Pe o ma i es
S . 8 Impe a i es
0
4
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
4
9
TOTAL 44 25 7 29 33 138
(1) High Season; (2) English o In e na ional Tou ism; (3) Checkpoin ; (4) Going
In e na ional; (5) Welcome!
110 E.Usó y P. Salaza
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
The mos s iking esul is he o e use o Ca . II (a o al o 108 ou o 138
eques s we e depic ed) coupled wi h an unde use o Ca . I (jus 1 occu ence
ou o 138 eques s). These da a a e a s able p e e ence in all ex books
obse ed. Rega ding he es o ca ego ies, we also obse ed an unde use o
Ca . III (16 cases ou o 138) and Ca . IV (13 cases ou o 138). The
cou sebooks High Season and Going In e na ional ended o use mo e Ca .
IV eques s whe eas he es o he cou sebooks used mo e Ca . III eques s.
Figu e 1 is he g aphic ep esen a ion o he dis ibu ion o he ou majo
ca ego ies.
Figu e 1. G aphic ep esen a ion o he ou majo eques
In he ollowing, he esul s will be p esen ed in u he de ail o he
ou majo ca ego ies and hei sub-s a egies. Examples a e p o ided om
he co pus in o de o suppo salien poin s.
- Ca . I: Indi ec s a egies
Ca ego ies
Ca . IVCa . IIICa . IICa .I
To
al numbe o e
q
ues
s
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
De eloping p agma ic compe ence …. 111
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
Indi ec eques s, also called hin s, in which he speake ’s imposi i e in en
is no made explici , we e almos non-exis en , jus 1 occu ence ou o 138
we e ound. This inding is no su p ising due o he ac ha he analysed
cou sebooks, when p esen ing he speech ac o eques s, mainly aim a
eaching lea ne s a se o o mulaic exp essions (Ca . II eques s) ha hey
should use in o de o make poli e eques s o po en ial clien s. When gi en
he ask o making a eques , s uden s always lea e aside he es o he
ca ego ies because hey ha e ne e been gi en o he possibili ies.
- Ca . II: Con en ionally indi ec (Hea e -o ien ed condi ions)
In gene al, i appea s ha in all cou sebooks obse ed mos o he eques
co e age is gi en o his second ca ego y in which he eques e ques ions
he eques ee’s willingness/abili y o comply wi h his/he desi es. A o al o
108 eques s ou o 138 ell in his ca ego y. As o he sub-ca ego ies, all
cou sebooks used S . 2 abili y/willingness, whe eas S . 3 sugges o y
o mulae, was no used a all.
The p e e ence o his ca ego y is no di icul o explain. As
T osbo g (1995) sugges s, his ca ego y in ol es a mo e e ec i e way o
eques ing han any o he ca ego y, as he desi ed ac is explici ly s a ed and
in mos cases he hea e is men ioned as he in ended agen . Mo eo e , a
high deg ee o poli eness is exp essed. Fo hese easons, hese s a egies a e
e y app op ia e in he eques s si ua ions ha ou ism s uden s ha e o ace,
in which poli eness is an essen ial componen . Ins ances o he mos
common s uc u es employed a e he ollowing:
“Would you like a b ochu e?”
“Could you check h ough he de ails, please?”
“I would be g a e ul i you could jus con i m in w i ing”
When compu ing Ca . II eques ins ances, we came ac oss se e al
cases in which he maxim o cong uence was a use ul ool o di e en ia e
eques s om o he speech ac s. The mos s iking example was “(How) may
I help you?” (4 occu ences) and “(How) can I help you?” (20 occu ences).
118 E.Usó y P. Salaza
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
Al e na i ely, s uden s could see ideo aped igne es o which hey need o
supply con ex ually app op ia e eques s a gi en momen s (e.g., he ape is
s opped and he eache ies o elici om he s uden s he mos app op ia e
eques , a e hey compa e and con as hei op ion wi h he one used on he
igne e).
Task 4. P esen a lis o eques s aken om eal si ua ions and ask s uden s
hink abou he ollowing h ee a iables: 1) se ing, 2) ela ionship be ween
speake and hea e and 3) he speake ’s in en ion.
Reques 1: I old you ed wine!
Sample explana ion: The con ex could be in a luxu y es au an whe e a
bad- empe ed middle-aged man o de ed ed wine, bu he wai e b ough
whi e wine. He wan s o change he wine.
Reques 2: I wonde ed i I could ha e a day o because I ha e no been
eeling p e y well la ely and I need a check-up.
Sample explana ion: The con ex could be in a ho el whe e he cleane asked
he head house keepe o a day o in o de o see he doc o .
Reques 3: I wan he manusc ip eady omo ow.
Sample explana ion: The con ex could be in a a el agency whe e he
manage is asking o u gen documen s o he a el agen . He needs he
manusc ip o omo ow mee ing.
Reques 4: Could I ask you a ew ques ions?

De eloping p agma ic compe ence …. 119
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
Sample explana ion: The con ex could be a a busy ai po whe e a young
man is conduc ing a passenge su ey. He wan s o know why people a el
and mo e de ails abou hei jou ney.
Ob iously he abo e eques s could ha e mo e han one sui able con ex ,
because o ha we p opose g oup discussion abou how he abo e men ioned
ac o s could a ec how people o mula e eques s.
Task 5. Gi e s uden s he whole con ex o a si ua ion and ask hem o ac
ou a sho ole-play in on o he class. Video- o audio ape he ole play,
play i back and analyse he eques app op ia eness wi h e e ence o
linguis ic, discou se and p agma ic aspec s.
1. A emale cus ome in a well-known es au an asks a male wai e o b ing
he bill. The wai e will add up he bill in he p esence o he gues and will
make wo delibe a e mis akes.
2. A middle-aged businessman en ed a ca o ou days. On he second day,
he had an engine p oblem and had o ake he ca o he ga age. When he
b ings back he ca he asks he ca en al cle k o a e und.
3. A young male ou ope a o has o a end a mee ing omo ow mo ning a
eigh . He phones ecep ion asking o an ea ly mo ning call.
4. An old woman on a plane has an aw ul headache. The ligh a endan
no ices i and app oaches he o e ing help.
120 E.Usó y P. Salaza
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
6. Conclusion
As he esul s o ou analysis sugges ed, he majo i y o ex books limi hei
analysis o he ela ionship be ween a clien and an employee; s uden s a e
asked o sound poli e when asking clien s o do some hing, by using a se o
o mulaic exp essions such as: “Would you mind ...-ing?” “Could I ask you
o..., please?” This means ha he es o he s a egies a e no so equen in
he inpu s uden s ecei e. I was ou main goal o widen he scope o eques
s uc u es p esen ed o he s uden s by p o iding a a ie y o si ua ions
which a ied om s ange s o colleagues wi h a di e en social s a us o
in ima es as we obse ed, o example, in ask 1. In he es o he asks we
aimed mainly o de elop p agma ic awa eness by means o he ou pu
s uden s had o p oduce. Wi h he pe o mance o hese asks lea ne s may
ocus no only on meaning bu also on o m and con ex , he e o e inc easing
hei awa eness o p agma ic ea u es.
Wi h his pape we ha e ied o show how we can enhance he
awa eness and he use o eques s in eaching ma e ials ha al eady con ain
p agma ic in o ma ion. Mo eo e , he asks we ha e de eloped may help
assu e lea ne s ha hey a e using eques s in an app op ia e con ex ,
employing accep able seman ic o mulas, and exploi ing language o ms ha
a e sociolinguis ically app op ia e.
De eloping p agma ic compe ence …. 121
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 103-122
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