A Meta-Analytic Study of Instructed Second Language Pragmatics: A Case of the Speech Act of Request

Research on the effectiveness of request instruction in L۲ pragmatics has been extensive, yet inconclusive. The present meta-analysis aims not only to provide a quantitative and reliable measure of the effects of instruction for the speech act of request in Iran, but also to illustrate a description of the relationship between some variables that moderate its effectiveness (age, gender, proficiency level, treatment type, research design, and data collection procedure). To do so, a total of ۳۷ studies were retrieved and by establishing a set of different inclusion/exclusion criteria, ۱۷ primary studies were coded and analyzed. Results revealed that (۱) there is an overall large effect size on the effectiveness of the instruction of request (g = ۱.۴۸) in an Iranian context; (۲) some variables were found to be a moderator for this effectiveness like gender and treatment type; (۳) considering gender, the male group produced a larger effect size (g = ۳.۰۹) than the female one (g = ۱.۱۰); (۴) and regarding treatment types, the explicit group yielded a larger effect size (g = ۱.۵۳) than the implicit one (g = ۱.۲۰). A thorough interpretation of the results, as well as a discussion of practical, theoretical, and methodological implications of this study, is provided to tackle a number of conundrums surrounding the instruction of request and shed light on how to reorient future research.

Keywords:

Instruction , Request , Second Language Pragmatics , Meta-Analysis