The application of pragmatics in English Teaching

陈莉 韩雪梅

摘要：As an important branch of linguistics， pragmatics is based on context， taking language meaning as the object to study how to understand and use language through context. In view of the problems in English Teaching in China， this paper mainly explains how to use pragmatics in English teaching analyzing the speech act theory and conversation principle

關键词： pragmatics， speech act theory， conversational principles， English Teaching

I.Speech act theory

Speech act theory is an important theory in pragmatics which was put forward by the British philosopher John Langshaw Austin in the late 1950s. It is a philosophical explanation of the nature of language communication. It’s evolved from the early "narrative conversation" and "action conversation" into a new one， that is， the speaker may perform three actions at the same time： "locutionary act" that is to point out things by words， which is to convey the literal meaning through syntax， vocabulary and phonology. "Illocutionary act" that is to act by words， which are aimed at expressing the speaker’s intentional act. "Perlocutionary act" that is the act performed through some words， or the act caused by some words， which is the consequence or change caused by the words.

II.Principles of conversation

The purpose of pragmatics research is to explain how to use language to make communication more successful， so the basic principle of conversation-cooperative principle attracted wide attention. When the purpose or direction of a conversation is accepted， you can reply as required. Specifically， there are four small principles of cooperative principle：

1.QUANTITY

①Make your contribution as informative as is required.

②Don’t make your contribution more informative than is required.

2. QUALITY

Try to make your contribution one that is true：

①Don’t say what you believe to be false.

②Don’t say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

3. RELATION

Be relevant.

4. MANNER

Be perspicuous.

①Avoid obscurity of expression.

②Avoid ambiguity.

③Be brief.

④Be orderly.

Language teaching is inseparable from the guidance of language theory. In order to be a qualified teacher， we must study pragmatics theory and carry it out in the whole teaching activities. Therefore， in English teaching， teachers should pay attention to the following points：

III.The accuracy and appropriateness of language

The accuracy of language expression refers to the accuracy of words used in pragmatics and the conformity of sentences with grammatical rules. As for the appropriateness of language expression， it includes two meanings： it not only refers to that the words spoken by the speaker conform to grammatical rules and have grammatical acceptability， but also refers to that the words spoken by the speaker are appropriate in a specific context. Because language is mainly used for communication， appropriateness is more significant than accuracy. The traditional teaching method overemphasizes the accuracy of language expression and requires that the language must conform to grammar， but the attention to appropriateness is not enough. As a result， although we have learned a lot of language knowledge and can speak fluent English， the communication effect is not ideal. The root of this may be that our teachers neglect the appropriateness of language in the classroom.

IV.Combine pragmatic knowledge in language teaching

To teach language knowledge in combination with English pragmatic knowledge is to deal with the relationship between language form and language meaning in English classroom teaching， so that students can learn the understanding and expression of language meaning while learning and mastering language form. In the actual English classroom teaching， the teaching of language form is mainly reflected in the teaching of language difficulties. Most teachers' teaching of language difficulties basically stays in the level of explanation of word meaning and analysis of sentence structure. However， there is little knowledge about how to use the words and sentences in the actual speech communication. This kind of knowledge is not enough and is not advisable to transfer linguistic forms without relevant pragmatic knowledge.

Pragmatics is closely related to English teaching. Therefore， in English teaching， teachers should pay attention to let students understand the cultural differences， use proper and accurate language in actual communication， and combine language ability with pragmatic ability to improve their comprehensive language ability.