International Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) serve an essential role in enhancing the delivery of teaching and learning support at UK higher education institutions (Ban, 2023). With English as the medium of instruction at UK universities, international Chinese GTAs are simultaneously researchers, instructors, and advanced second language (L2) learners. The incorporation of pragmatic awareness-raising in teacher education has been proposed since the 1990s (Rose, 1997). Pragmatic competence pertains to the capacity to employ language in a social setting in an appropriate manner (Taguchi, 2009). Meta-pragmatic awareness is the identification of pragmatic phenomena by L2 learners (Timpe-Laughlin, 2017). Specifically, the oral English skills of international GTAs may not be sufficiently advanced in particular areas of discourse and pragmatics (Tyler, 1992; Chiang, 2011). In UK universities, GTAs, especially non-native English-speaking GTAs, are expected to integrate student participation and facilitate classroom interaction with an appropriate degree of politeness, (in)directness, and appropriateness. Indirectness is intrinsically linked to politeness in Brown and Levinson's (1987) theory of politeness. Therefore, investigating international Chinese GTAs' L2 pragmatic awareness of politeness and (in)directness is valuable and understudied.

This study employs a longitudinal mixed-method approach, incorporating online questionnaires, semester-long classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and stimulated recall interviews. Nine international Chinese GTAs from two UK universities were recruited for this study. Through the comparison of the pragmatic awareness and comprehension variations of their authentic language use throughout the semester, this study delineates their progression of pragmatic awareness regarding politeness, (in)directness, and the relevance of politeness and (in)directness in their teacher language.

Authors:
Xueting Ban, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Xueting Ban is currently a PhD candidate while also serving as an Associate Tutor (Dissertation Supervisor) in Language Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, The University of Edinburgh, UK.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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