The need to incorporate pragmatics instruction in Ethiopia: A qualitative review

Abstract

The present study assessed relevant study findings of incorporating pragmatics instruction in Ethiopia – English as a foreign language (EFL) context – to enhance learners’ communicative competence. The study systematically reviewed three empirical studies conducted in Ethiopia and analysed the data qualitatively using logical reasoning and triangulation of evidence, interpreted the data, and presented the findings of the review using tables. The findings of the review reveal that the incorporation of pragmatics instruction in EFL plays a paramount role in improving target language (TL) learners’ overall communicative competence as it provides students with adequate metalanguage and metapragmatic conceptual descriptions of native speakers’ social rules and cultural norms to make socially and culturally appropriate and linguistically accurate communication instead of relying on teaching grammar and vocabulary. Therefore, this review study could have important educational implications for educators, researchers, curriculum developers, material writers and learners in EFL in familiarising themselves with the issue of pragmatics and enhancing TL learners’ communicative competence ability. Finally, further study is recommended on the benefits of incorporating pragmatics instruction in EFL to enhance learners’ communicative competence development.