Interlanguage Pragmatics of the Apology: How Americans Acquire Sociolinguistic Competence in Russian

Learning a language goes beyond acquisition of a linguistic system and includes the knowledge of when and how to use linguistic forms appropriately in varying socio-cultural contexts. Over the past decade, the discussion of educational objectives of language teaching and learning has placed a particular emphasis on developing cross-cultural awareness. This book investigates the development of intercultural pragmatic competence by American adult learners of Russian in relation to both advancement in linguistic proficiency and study abroad experience, lending empirical support to the concept of language learning as acquisition of both a linguistic system and accompanying socio-cultural knowledge. Communicative norms of contemporary colloquial Russian are surveyed, including gender-related and generational variations. Recommendations for teaching and assessment are provided, as well as suggestions for study abroad planning. This book will be useful to second language professionals, researchers and teachers alike, particularly those interested in interlanguage and cross-cultural pragmatics, as well as those involved in formulating study abroad policies.