Why is L2 pragmatics still a neglected area in EFL teaching? Uncovered stories from Vietnamese EFL teachers

Abstract

Despite receiving more attention and obtaining a well-established status in second language (L2) teaching research during the last three decades, L2 pragmatics remains an excluded topic in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching in many investigated contexts. Adopting a qualitative case study design, this paper examines what seven EFL teachers from different Vietnamese high schools perceive about L2 pragmatics and instructional pragmatics and reflect on their teacher preparation programs in these regards. The findings reveal that the participating teachers were not taught about L2 pragmatics and instructional pragmatics during their professional education, resulting in their little content and pedagogical knowledge of L2 pragmatics. This leads to their general exclusion of L2 pragmatics teaching in their classroom practices. The uncovered stories from these teachers provide essential implications for teacher education programs in Vietnam and its similar contexts. Importantly, they add more understanding to the relationship of teachers’ knowledge and their practices of L2 pragmatics teaching, a current understudied research area with specific reference to teacher cognition of L2 pragmatics.