Bridging the Gap between Linguistic and Pragmatic Assessment in Turkish Contexts

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to reach an understanding of the perceptions and self-evaluations of faculty members and students regarding pragmatic assessment in foreign language education. The participants were the academics and students in EFL departments at six state universities in Turkey. The data were collected through six open-ended questions in which the participants were asked to provide written answers. The main findings pointed at three themes for discussion: perceptions of pragmatic assessment and its contributions to foreign language education, the challenges as well as the scope and ways of pragmatic assessment. The participants generally appreciated the contributory nature of pragmatic assessment in their foreign language development. However, they also referred to some problems negatively influencing the process of pragmatic assessment and hindering pragmatic development. Based on these findings, some practical and pedagogical suggestions are provided.