Pragmatic Use of Direct and Indirect Speech Acts of Students in Public Primary Schools in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the pragmatic responses and context interpretation of students in public primary schools in Plateau State, Nigeria, to direct and indirect speech acts. Methodology: Using qualitative data that were collected using Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) and classroom observation, the study analyses the responses and interpretations of the direct and indirect speech acts of the students. The study paid close attention to the context of the use of speech acts. The DCT were administered on 100 students in primary schools. Findings: The data revealed that majority of students within the Nigerian primary school system have problems interpreting indirect speech acts. The students also have problems in understanding the role of context in helping to shape their responses to the indirect speech acts. The findings also showed that majority of the students demonstrated a good understanding in interpreting direct speech acts and the context of its occurrence. Study implication: The findings of this study contribute to the general understanding of the significance of context in interpreting and producing indirect speech acts. The problems associated with the interpretation and production of correct speech acts bring to the fore the need to incorporate some aspects of pragmatics into the teaching curriculum of English language teaching at the primary levels. This strategy will help in raising the pragmatic awareness and pragmatic competence of the students at the primary school level.