Competencia pragmática en aprendices universitarios de EL2 : Los efectos de la instrucción pragmática y la proficiencia general en el desempeño escrito de peticiones y reclamos en el correo electrónico

Sammanfattning: The present thesis lies at the intersection of L2 pragmatics, Task-supported language teaching (TSLT), and the study of L2 email discourse. It explores L2 pragmatic development in the written production of Spanish university students in Sweden. This work investigates the influence of i) overall proficiency and ii) pragmatic instruction in learners’ L2 pragmatic system through the lens of instructional intervention research, applying a mixed method. Using a pre-test/ post-test/ delayed post-test design, this study examines the impact of explicit metapragmatic instruction within a TSLT framework, and overall proficiency, on learners’ ability to recognize and modify email requests and complaints. Forty-six first-year students of Spanish as a foreign language from three universities in Sweden, divided into an experimental and control group, participated in the study, contributing 276 L2 emails. Moreover, a baseline group of thirty L1 Spanish university students participated in the data collection process, with 198 L1 emails. The experimental group received 90 minutes of instruction on complaints and requests’ external modifiers, utilizing metapragmatic explanation on form and function, and supported by a communicative practice based on task complexity sequencing. The sequencing of these tasks considered pragmatic complexity, such as sociopragmatic variables. Target complaint and request modifiers were analyzed for frequency and pragmatic appropriateness. In addition, an analysis of learners’ pragmatic recognition ability was performed through a multiple choice test, while learners’ overall proficiency was measured employing a cloze test. Furthermore, an analysis of how target complaint and request modifiers are used and perceived in terms of facework and social effects was performed utilizing a Pragmatic Habit Questionnaire in L1 Spanish users and a Retrospective Questionnaire in L2 Spanish users. Regarding assessing the effectiveness of the treatment, the results revealed that learners significantly improved their use of complaints and request external modifiers in emails. Concerning overall proficiency, the study showed a stronger correlation with learners’ ability to recognize pragmalinguistic features than with written production. However, results also indicated that learners with higher proficiency levels performed better in using external modifiers in requests than complaints.  In addition, the study identified cultural-specific pragmatic norms and features of L1 pragmatic behavior reflected in learners’ L2 performance. In all, the present thesis contributes to a better understanding of L2 pragmatic development of first-year university students in Sweden in email discourse and unveils pedagogical insights for a fuller understanding of pragmatic instruction in Spanish L2.