Enhancing EFL Learners' Pragmatic Competence through the Pragmatic Analysis of Drama

Beghchich, Soumia; Belfarhi, Khadidja

مجلة البحوث و الدراسات الإنسانية
Volume 20, Numéro 1, Pages 352-369
2026-06-11

Enhancing Efl Learners' Pragmatic Competence Through The Pragmatic Analysis Of Drama

Authors : Beghchich Soumia . Belfarhi Khadidja .

Abstract

This article explores strategies for developing learners' pragmatic abilities through the analysis of dramatic texts. Research indicates that pragmatic analysis of literary works, particularly dramatic texts, can significantly enhance learners' pragmatic skills. To investigate this, the research employed an experimental design, beginning with a diagnostic test to assess the initial pragmatic competence of two learner groups. Subsequently, a pragmatic test was administered to both the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was provided with a pragmatic analysis of a passage from Shakespeare's Hamlet, followed by a pragmatic test on the extract. In contrast, the control group analyzed the same passage using a traditional literary analysis approach, which is familiar to them from their literature sessions. The same group completed the same pragmatic test. Each group comprised 20 learners enrolled in a literature course at Skikda University. The study utilized an independent samples T-test to assess performance differences between the two groups across six distinct pragmatic abilities. The results demonstrate that the experimental group, which employed the pragmatic model in text analysis, exhibited superior performance in all six measured abilities compared to the control group. These findings suggest that integrating pragmatic analysis into the study of dramatic texts is more effective than traditional literary analysis in enhancing EFL learners' pragmatic competence. Thus, this approach offers a valuable strategy for promoting pragmatic awareness and competence in EFL classroom.