IRAQI EFL UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PRAGMATIC AWARENESS IN L2 CRITICAL READING: AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY

Abstract

Pragmatic awareness is of great impact on L2 teaching and learning; however, it is generally neglected in most EFL studies in L2 critical reading. Addressing this concern, the study has attempted to investigate Iraqi EFL teachers' perception of the role of pragmatic awareness in L2 reading. Adopting an exploratory method based on a questionnaire, 40 Iraqi teachers from three Iraqi universities were selected to be respondents of the study. The results of the survey are statistically analysed and correlated in the light of their frequencies and percentages. The results indicated that Iraqi EFL teachers highlighted the role of pragmatic aspects and notion, though differently, in the process of teaching L2 reading. They more frequently nominated speech act strategies, politeness and implicature. It was also recommended that some changes in methods of teaching, activities and language materials should be done to enhance pragmatic awareness in L2 reading.