Comprehension of conversational implicature in an Iranian EFL context: A validation study

Abstract

Pragmatic competence is one of the major components of second/foreign language learners’ communicative language ability. However, in comparison to other components of communicative language competence, learners’ pragmatic competence is far less researched. Of many aspects of pragmatic competence, a large body of research has been focused on developing instruments in interlanguage pragmatics informed by the speech act framework. However, the assessment of other aspects of pragmatic knowledge, namely, conversational implicature still lags behind. As an attempt to address the gap, this study aimed to develop and validate a test of conversational implicature. A hypothesized model of conversational implicature, based on Grice’s (1975) conversational logic paired with Goffman’s (1967) insights regarding face management, was proposed and tested. The validation process included collecting evidence supporting content and construct validity of the test. Empirical evidence for construct validity was gathered through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using structural equation modeling (SEM) and differential group study. The 34-multiple-choice-item test was administered to 385 EFL university students with different proï¬ciency levels. The result of CFA showed a good model-fit for the hypothesized model. Furthermore, students with different English proficiency differed significantly in their comprehension of implicatures. Finally, limitations and future research directions are discussed.