In November and December 2023, Dr Valeria Sinkeviciute gave a series of masterclasses on pragmatic and interactional competence to students of 'The Green Academy' in Brisbane.
During the classes, the focus was on the meaning in conversation with a lot of practical tasks for students to work on in groups. The topics covered included conversational openings, getting acquainted, (im)politeness, requests, offers, refusals, disagreement and other crucial aspects of talk. Students from pre-intermediate to advanced level said that they greatly benefited from the classes that helped them understand why some things go awry in their interaction and what they can do to avoid misunderstandings.
Pragmatic and interactional competence is essential to any type of social interaction that people have. That is why, it is crucial to prioritise it in our teaching and learning practices.
