A Web-Based Tutorial for the Instruction of Spanish Pragmatics

In this paper, we present a Web-based tutorial (WBT), developed forinstruction on Spanish pragmatics. The WBT was designed to teachlearners of Spanish as a foreign language about the speech acts ofcomplaints and requests, and the content of the WBT is based on availableempirical evidence about these speech acts. We describe and illustrate, indetail, the format, structure, and various sections of the WBT, including:lessons, ancillary support, and assessment. In addition, some technicalconsiderations in the development of the WBT, such as the user interfacedesign, are also discussed. The paper concludes with suggestions forimplementing this open access WBT in various teaching contexts, as wellas a discussion of directions for future research. Given the paucity ofmaterials available for the instruction of Spanish pragmatics, either inprint or on the Web, the WBT fills an important gap and provides a modelfor the development of future online pragmatics-focused materials.