Investigating pre-service EFL teachers' perceptions and conceptualizations of pragmatic competence and integration of pragmatics in EFL teaching process

A review of related literature revealed that less attention was given to the importance of pragmatic competence in EFL contexts. Therefore, the present study seeks to contribute to the existing literature on pragmatic competence by investigating Turkish pre-service EFL teachers' conceptualizations and perceptions of pragmatic competence. It also aims to explore their perceptions regarding integrating pragmatic knowledge into language teaching in order to develop students' pragmatic competence. The present study was designed as a convergent parallel design as one of the mixed method research designs. The quantitative data of the study were collected via a five points Likert scale, and qualitative data through an open-ended questionnaire to better understand pre-service EFL teachers' perceptions and conceptualizations on pragmatic competence, and their opinions and attitudes towards integrating pragmatic features in language teaching process. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS while the qualitative data were analyzed following Creswell's (2009) content-analysis framework. Major findings of the study revealed that pre-service EFL teachers had a low level of pragmatic competence. The findings further revealed that pre-service EFL teachers, however, exhibited a positive attitude towards integrating pragmatic knowledge in language teaching and learning as a crucial factor that ensures pragmatic competence development, therefore, appropriate language use. The results of the study suggested that pre-service EFL teachers' perceptions of pragmatic competence needed to be promoted. Moreover, English Language Teacher Education Programs can be encouraged to incorporate more courses related to the pre-service EFL teachers' development of pragmatic competence.