• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.6
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• pp.113-142
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• 2000

In order to obtain a better understanding of L2 learners, transitional knowledges, it is very important and necessary to have a better knowledge of interlanguage. According to Corder, the role of interlanguage in English education holds significance to (1) for language teachers, (2) for language learners themselves, and (3) for language textbook compilers. To me the significance of interlanguage in English education can be described in terms of not only language teachers, learners themselves, textbook writers and compilers but pure linguists, applied linguists, school authorities as well as parents. For language learners themselves a clear understanding of interlanguage results in students being receptive to language input, and the avoidance of mental block, and low levels of foreign language anxiety. Native speakers of English (NSE) reflect not only linguistic features but also psychological, socio-linguistic, and discourse features when engaged in communication activities. This means that L2 learners are introduced to these different features, especially pragmatic features which are different from their mother tongue or L1 when engaged in communication with NSE. Hence the importance of interlanguage pragmatics should be recognized. It is very important that teachers of English should have a better understanding of interlanguage and present L2 learners with their interlanguage features so they can avoid any misunderstandings such features may cause when conversing with NSS. It should also be noted that interlanguage can form the foundation of language acquisition theory and linguistic analysis.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.125-141
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• 2002

This paper examines the pragmatic features of the thanking and apologizing moves which appear in requestive email of Korean speakers of English as a foreign language and American English native speakers. It is important for second language learners to behave appropriately in a target language when communicating with other English speakers who have different cultural backgrounds. The result of this study revealed the differences in the use of thanking and apologizing moves in the requestive email between Koreans and Americans. Koreans used fewer moves of thanking and more moves of apologizing than Americans in three different situations. Koreans' underuse of thanking which is a routine and formulaic expression for Americans could be a marked phenomenon to a recipient of the email in English bringing about a minus effect.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.335-357
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• 2007

This study aims to investigate the pragmatic features of Korean EFL learners' interlanguage in the communicative act of complaining. Since a complaint, by its nature, is likely to cause offence, thereby threatening the social relationship between the speaker and the hearer, making a complaint in a polite manner is of crucial importance in maintaining harmonious social relationships. However, very little research has been carried out on the complaint speech act performances of Korean EFL learners. In particular, studies which attempt to examine the effect of social status on the choice of complaint speech act strategies are rare. The present study compared the complaint speech act performances of Korean EFL learners and those of native speakers of English with respect to social status. 24 Korean EFL learners and 28 native speakers of English participated and the data were collected via a Discourse Completion Test. The findings revealed that Korean EFL learners differed from native English speakers in the use of complaint strategies. These results indicate that Korean EFL learners lack certain important skills necessary to make complaints appropriately, suggesting the need for the foreign language learners to develop a more extensive pragmatic knowledge of complaint strategies.