The acquisition of French apologetic behavior in a study abroad context

Abstract

Research in interlanguage pragmatics and sociolinguistics has suggested that foreign language learners have difficulties in reaching higher levels of pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence without receiving specific instruction or without spending some time in the target speech community (Dewaele 2002; Warga 2004). The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of a period of immersion in the target language community on the pragmatic development of foreign language learners of French in the area of apologies. The study, thus, adds to the scarce body of literature on pragmatic development in general and on the pragmatics of French as an L2 in particular. The participants in this longitudinal study are seven Austrian learners of French who studied at the Université de Montréal in Quebec for a period of ten months. Base-line data elicited from native speakers (NSs) of Quebecois French and NSs of Austrian German are also analyzed. The methods of data collection include a four-item discourse completion task designed to elicit the speech act of apology and a questionnaire completed before and after the year abroad. The analysis reveals that while some aspects of apologetic behavior approximate the Quebecois French NS norm over time spent in the target language community (e.g., decrease of Justifications), other aspects remain unaffected by the exposure (e.g., frequency of IFIDs) or even shift away from the L2 norm (e.g., increase in the use of two upgraders). Overall, a coexistence of target-like and non-target-like developments was observed in the data. Moreover, many of the features investigated were found to develop in a non-linear—rather than linear—fashion. It is, therefore, suggested that future studies in the field take a more dynamic perspective in order to obtain a fuller understanding of the path of pragmatic development.