| This study investigated the relationship between comprehension and production aspects of pragmatic competence in English and the effect of L2 proficiency on both. Forty-six native speakers of English and 164 Japanese college students at different L2 English proficiency levels (determined by institutional TOEFL scores) completed a 38-item computerized listening task measuring ability to comprehend two types of implied meaning: indirect speech acts (e.g., asking to postpone a meeting by saying "Do you mind if we talk about it tomorrow?") and non-conventional implicatures (e.g., indicating a negative opinion of a movie by saying "I was glad when it was over"). Comprehension was analyzed for accuracy (scores on a multiple-choice measure) and speed (average time in seconds taken to answer items correctly). Native speakers comprehended both item types almost equally well and very quickly, but, for L2 learners, comprehension of indirect speech acts was significantly easier and less time consuming than comprehension of non-conventional implicatures. Furthermore, there was a significant L2 proficiency influence on accuracy, but not on comprehension speed, and no significant relationship between accuracy and comprehension speed. In addition to the listening task, a subset of native speakers (n = 20) and L2 learners (n = 59) at higher and lower proficiency levels were assessed for ability to produce speech acts (i.e., requests and refusals) in a spoken role play task having eight items in two situation categories, formal and informal. Participants' production was analyzed for appropriateness (rated on a six-point scale) and planning speed (average time in seconds taken to prepare for production). L2 learners produced informal speech acts significantly more easily and faster, but little difference was observed in native speaker production. L2 proficiency influenced appropriateness ratings, but not planning time, and there was no significant relationship between appropriateness scores and planning time. Finally, the relationship between comprehension and production aspects of L2 pragmatic competence was analyzed. Correlational analyses revealed a significant, but not strong, relationship between comprehension accuracy and production appropriateness (r = 0.39), and no significant relationship between pragmatic comprehension and production speed ( r = 0.25). Implications for L2 pragmatic instruction and assessment are discussed. |
