A Study of Chinese College Students' Cross-cultural Pragmatic Failure

摘要

Pragmatic failure is a frequently-discussed concept in linguistic research and English as foreign language teaching (EFLT). Learning a language means obtaining the ability of appropriately choosing linguistic forms for a specific context, or of correctly using the language in social interaction. Based on the notion of communicative competence and its significance role as the ultimate goal of EFL, this study investigates the pragmatic failure of 150 non-English majors in Jilin Agricultural University, and then makes a contrast analysis with the result got by He Ziran 30 years ago.