Pragmatic Knowledge: A Study of Learners’ Perceptions

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate Iranian English majors’ perceptions of pragmatic knowledge in the EFL learning context. The participants of the study were 160first-year university students of English literature. A questionnaire was used to collect data on the participants’ views on pragmatic knowledge and its present status in the current curriculum. The results of the study revealed that the participants value the significance ofpragmatic competence, have a strong desire to acquire pragmatic knowledge in their classes via pragmatically-oriented tasks, believe in the role of teacher in providing knowledge onlanguage use in real life communication, and think that the current curriculum does not offerenough opportunities for developing pragmatic competence. The study concludes with some suggestions for adapting the current curriculum to fit the learners needs and to maximize the learning outcomes

Keywords:

Pragmatic competence , pragmatic knowledge , learners perceptions , Iranian university English majors