Do current efl coursebooks work for the development of L2 pragmatic competence? The case of suggestions

Abstract

Many learners may not be aware of socially and culturally appropriate forms of the second language (L2). Therefore, students must be provided with language teaching materials that present authentic-like examples of speech act strategies to develop their pragmatic competence. The aim of this paper is to describe how the speech act of suggestion is presented in current EFL (English as a foreign language) coursebooks. In this regard, the cases of suggestions included in 8 pre-intermediate coursebooks were investigated based on the strategies of suggestions. The coursebooks were also compared according to whether they are good representatives of authentic-like materials for presenting suggestion to facilitate the development of L2 pragmatic competence.