A Study of Moroccan University EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Failure: The Case of Using Expressive Speech Acts

Abstract

This study aims at investigating Moroccan University EFL learners’ pragmatic failures while using expressive speech acts in their oral communication. It examines pragmatic failure committed by Moroccan university EFL students at the level of trying to communicate and express their feelings, state of pleasure, ideas, and psychological attitudes. It further discusses the main sources of the pragmatic failures and provides suggestions for college English teaching.  The data are collected and measured quantitatively by means of a multiple choice questionnaire and qualitatively by means of interviewing. That is, the study combines two research methods for more valid and credible data findings. The paper findings showed that the vast majority of subjects committed pragmatic failures across the five given situations and few were pragmatically successful. Therefore, our participants’ responses confirmed that university students are pragmatically incompetent and this would prevent them from expressing themselves successfully in spite of the fact that they may be grammatically competent. The results also showed that a considerable number of students are unable to identify expressions used in formal and informal situations.