Relevance of Pragmatics and the Speech Acts Theory to English Teaching as a Foreign Language: Analysis of Greetings in Didactic Materials

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to verify how pragmatics and the speech acts theory are part of English books to foreign learners focusing on the attention given to greetings and favoring the development of communicative abilities in the target language. Even though being a recent study field, pragmatics and speech acts become essential components to social interaction, considering that they imply not only in knowing certain expressions, but also in the application and adequacy of these expressions in different communicative situations. Because of this issue, it also aims to promote the discussion among teachers and professionals of the area about the inclusion of pragmatics in the specified material, as a tool that supports and shows teachers which way to follow in their classes. This way, evidence already shows concern about the inclusion of pragmatic matters, although there still are some deficiencies in this area.