A Study On The Correlation Between Pragmatic Ability And Affective Factors

As the first English ability standard developed in China,China’s Standards of English language Ability(hereinafter referred to as the “Standards”)based on the real situation of English language learning,teaching,and testing,is instructive for various outlines or guidelines of English teaching and English assessment at various levels.Moreover,it covers all stages of learning.The “Standards” emphasizes the comprehensive application of multiple abilities,especially highlighting the importance of cultivating pragmatic ability.In the field of second language acquisition,many studies pay attention to the influencing factors of pragmatic ability,but most of them focus on learning environment,language proficiency,and so on.Few studies discussing on influence of affective factors on pragmatic ability have been conducted.Furthermore,the number of studies involving the effect of multiple affective factors on pragmatic ability is even smaller.Based on the descriptive framework for pragmatic ability in the “Standards”,this study analyzes the correlation between college students’ pragmatic ability and affective factors,as well as the differences between English majors and non-English majors on pragmatic ability and affective factors.The data in this study is collected through questionnaires and personal interview.Then,SPSS for descriptive statistical analysis,Pearson correlation analysis,and independent sample T-test are used to analyze data.The pragmatic questionnaire is designed based on the descriptive framework for pragmatic ability in the China’s Standards of English Language Ability.The first level is divided into pragmatic comprehension and pragmatic expression;The second level is divided into oral comprehension,oral expression,written comprehension,written expression.The question types of pragmatic questionnaire are divided into five types: Single choice,judgment,filling in the blank,completing dialogue,and writing.The affective questionnaire adopts the Likert Level 5 scale form,which is divided into four dimensions for investigation.These four dimensions are attitude,anxiety,and confidence.The research findings are as follows: 1)For college students,there is a significant and positive correlation between their motivation of social responsibility and pragmatic expression.For English majors,their pragmatic comprehension is significantly and negatively correlated with their motivation of going abroad.For non-English majors,their pragmatic ability and its subordinate dimensions are statistically and significantly correlated with multiple dimensions of motivation and anxiety.Furthermore,their pragmatic ability and its subordinate dimensions are also significantly and positively correlated with confidence.2)The differences between English majors and non-English majors are statistically significant in pragmatic comprehension,motivation of achievement,motivation of personal development,and general anxiety.This study attempts to interpret the research results by combining multiple and relevant theories.At the same time,the study uses student interview records as a supplement to add rationality to the discussion.In theoretical dimension,it helps to highlight the position of affective factors in the theoretical framework of pragmatic ability,attracting researchers’ attention to actively discuss the relationship between pragmatic ability and affective factors;In practical dimension,it is conductive for teachers to cultivate pragmatic ability in accordance of students’ aptitude.