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Discourse Options and the Development of Pragmatic Competence by Classroom Learners of German: The Case of Address Forms
Author(s) -
Belz Julie A.,
Kinginger Celeste
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1046/j.1467-9922.2003.00238.x
Subject(s) - german , pronoun , psychology , linguistics , ambiguity , competence (human resources) , norm (philosophy) , social psychology , philosophy , political science , law
This study examines the microgenetic development of second‐person pronoun use in a German‐American telecollaborative partnership. We discuss the sociopragmatic ambiguity of informal (T) and formal (V) pronouns of address (realised as du and Sie in German), and the precise issues that these pronouns present for American classroom learners of European languages. Tracing the history of particular learners’ pronoun use over time, the study demonstrates that (a) electronically enabled interaction with expert‐speaking German peers is a context in which learners experience both explicit assistance and opportunities to observe appropriate pronoun use, and (b) pragmatic awareness in this domain is reflected in learner performance that develops toward approximation of the expert norm for interaction among peers.