Enhancing Pragmatic Competence in Kurdish EFL Learners: The Impact of a Learner-Centered Approach

Abstract

An essential part of second language acquisition is pragmatic competence, the ability to use language in a social context. It is often neglected from English as Foreign Language (EFL) curricula, most especially, in areas without plenty of experience of the language, including Kurdish-speaking communities. This study investigated how a learner-centered approach influenced the development of pragmatic competence of Kurdish EFL learners with regard to speech acts, politeness strategies, and conversations implicatures. A quasi-experimental design using 98 Kurdish EFL students from two universities in northern Iraq. The experimental group was subjected to a six-week treatment focused on pragmatic instruction. The ability of the learners to identify and produce speech acts like requests, rejections and apologies were assessed. There was meaningful improvement in the groups’ use of appropriate language and context sensitive scenario in the experimental group. Through Learner centered approach, Motivation, autonomy and confidence in real life scenario were significantly fostered. The findings from this research showed the essence of incorporating pragmatic instruction into EFL curricula, most especially scenarios that has to do with politeness, to facilitate intercultural communication skills and language proficiency.