شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

This study aims at investigating the role of implicit and explicit instruction in enhancing students’ pragmatic competence. It is based on two objectives. First, it seeks at exploring first year Mouloud Mammeri Students’ use of complaints and refusals speech acts. Second, it aims at identifying the teachers’ perception about the importance of the pragmatic competence in the EFL context. In order to meet the aforementioned objectives, CelceMurcia’s (2007) pragmatic competence theoretical framework is adopted as a theoretical framework. In addition, Beebe (1990) and Murphy and Neu (1996) refusals and complaints strategies are used to analyze the obtained results. For collecting data, a quasi-experiment research is conducted. It involves a comparison between the control (CNR) as well as the experimental (EXP) groups performances in various classroom instructions (activities). To reinforce the experiment’s results and discover the potential of the pragmatic competence in the EFL context, an interview is conducted with four oral expression teachers in the department of English at Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi Ouzou (MMUTO). A Mixed Methods Research; combining quantitative and qualitative methods, is adopted. The quantitative data are analyzed using frequency calculation. As for the qualitative ones, they are analyzed using the qualitative content analysis (QCA). The experiment’s results reveal that the EXP group participants have witnessed a considerable increase in their appropriate use of complaint and refusal speech act strategies in addition to their pragmatic competence, mainly their respect of social context factors, cultural factors, and stylistic appropriateness. Furthermore, the results of the interview highlight the tremendous importance of the pragmatic competence in the EFL context. The findings also reveal that instruction in the classroom plays a great role in enhancing students’ pragmatic competence. (Author’s abstract)