Measuring Second Language Pragmatic Competence

Rod Ellis is an applied linguist who has published widely on second language acquisition and task-based language learning. He is currently a Distinguished Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University, Australia and an elected fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is a past recipient of the Kenneth W. Mildenberger and Duke of Edinburgh prizes.Carsten Roever is Professor in Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His research interests include language testing, second language acquisition and pragmatics with a particular focus on learning and assessment of interactional competence in a second language.Natsuko Shintani is Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies, Kansai University, Japan. Her research interests encompass the roles of explicit instruction in language learning, second language writing and task-based language teaching.Yan Zhu is Associate Professor at the College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University, China. Her research focuses on curriculum innovation, task-based language teaching and teacher education.

• About the AuthorsAcknowledgementsPrefacePart 1: BackgroundChapter 1. Carsten Roever and Rod Ellis: Tests of L2 Pragmatics: What Do They Assess?  Part 2: The Development of the TestsChapter 2. Rod Ellis, Natsuko Shintani and Yan Zhu: Introducing the Project: The Test BatteryChapter 3. Rod Ellis, Yan Zhu and Natsuko Shintani: The Metapragmatic Knowledge Test: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Japanese LearnersChapter 4. Rod Ellis and Natsuko Shintani: Evaluating the Social Variables TestChapter 5. Rod Ellis, Yan Zhu, Natsuko Shintani and Carsten Roever: The Irony Test: A Study of Chinese Learners’ Ability to Comprehend IronyChapter 6. Rod Ellis, Yan Zhu, Natsuko Shintani: The Elicited Imitation Test: An Exploratory Study of L2 Learners’ Knowledge of HedgingChapter 7. Rod Ellis and Natsuko Shintani: The Monologic Role Play: A Genre-Based Approach to Measuring Pragmatic AbilityChapter 8. Rod Ellis, Yan Zhu and Natsuko Shintani: The Dialogic Role Play: A Discourse-Analytic Approach to Measuring Pragmatic AbilityChapter 9. Rod Ellis, Natsuko Shintani and Yan Zhu: Assessing Implicit and Explicit Pragmatic Competence: A Confirmatory Factor AnalysisPart 3: Mediating FactorsChapter 10. Carsten Roever, Natsuko Shintani, Yan Zhu and Rod Ellis: Proficiency as an Individual Difference VariableChapter 11. Natsuko Shintani and Rod Ellis: The Roles of Language Proficiency and Study Abroad in Japanese Students’ Receptive Pragmatic Competence  Chapter 12. Natsuko Shintani and Rod Ellis: The Effect of Digital Explicit-Deductive Instruction on the Development of Explicit and Implicit Pragmatic AbilitiesPart 4: ConclusionChapter 13. Rod Ellis: Retrospect and ProspectAppendicesReferencesIndex

Theoretically robust and eminently practical, this book describes the process of developing and validating an assessment battery covering three areas of pragmatics – speech acts, implicature and discourse. Adopting the theory of explicit and implicit knowledge, the book uniquely situates pragmatics assessment at the intersection of SLA and psycholinguistics. This is an invaluable resource for researchers and teachers seeking innovative yet thorough ways of assessing pragmatic competence.