A Study On The Correlation Between Senior High School Students’ L2 Motivational Self System And English Pragmatic Competence

As an international language,English promotes the communication among people all over the world and speeds up the pace of globalization.Since then,English learning has prioritized academic achievements but neglected English communication functions.English Curriculum Standards for Senior High School(2020 Edition)clearly pointed out that mastering pragmatic knowledge can improve students’ ability to use English flexibly.It was specified in Chinese English Level Scale that the level of pragmatic competence of senior high students need to achieve.As an important factor of English communication competence,pragmatic competence has been widely concerned by scholars.In addition,learning motivation,as an indispensable part of English learning studies,cannot be ignored.Therefore,it is significant to continue to study the second language motivation and English pragmatic competence and their correlation.This study answers the following three research questions: 1.What is the current situation of senior high school students’ L2 Motivational Self System? 2.What is the current situation of senior high school students’ English pragmatic competence? 3.Is L2 Motivational Self System correlated with English pragmatic competence of senior high school students? If it is,what correlations are presented between L2 Motivational Self System and English pragmatic competence? This study selected 318 first year high school students from a middle school in Hohhot as research objectives,and adopted such research tools,including second language motivational self system questionnaire,English pragmatic competence test and semi-structured interview,to explore the current situations of high school students’ second language motivational self system and English pragmatic competence.And its correlation is analyzed.The results of research show that: 1.The second language motivational self system of senior high school students is at a relatively high level.There is a hierarchy presented among dimensions from high to low: the ideal l2 self is at the highest level,the second language learning experience ranking the second place,and the ought-to l2 self being the lowest level.2.The English pragmatic competence of senior high school students is at a low level in general.Between both of dimensions,the level of students’ sociopragmatic competence is higher than that of pragmalinguistic competence.3.There is a medium positive correlation between second language motivational self system and English pragmatic competence,which has a stronger correlation with the students’ sociopragmatic competence than the pragmalinguistic competence.The correlation intensity from high to low is that the ideal second language self is the strongest one,the second language learning experience ranking the second place and the ought-to second language self in the last.Based on the above research results,this thesis suggested that students’ English pragmatic competence would be enhanced from the aspects of construction of second language motivational self system,explicit classroom guidance and cultural awareness cultivation.