Mapping the interface between pragmatics and EFL teaching in Türkiye: A review study of current research trends and gaps

This systematic review study aims to depict the status-quo of research on pragmatics in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Türkiye in an effort to reveal trends and gaps in the literature. To this end, it examines relevant master's theses (M.A.) and doctoral dissertations (Ph.D.) conducted in Türkiye over the last 10 years, thoroughly investigating their scope, research design, participants, and data collection instruments through systematic content analysis. The findings revealed that 84 theses on pragmatics in the context of EFL teaching were conducted in Türkiye within the past decade. Results also demonstrated that the studies primarily focused on cross-cultural pragmatics and speech acts, showing a great interest in various communicative aspects of language and how language operates in various cultures. Considering methodology, most studies adopted a mixed-methods research design, displaying a preference for relying on both qualitative and quantitative data. A variety of data collection tools were found to be used in the studies, predominantly surveys and discourse completion tasks. Moreover, cross-cultural pragmatics and speech acts (i.e., apologies, refusals, and requests) were explored more than other topics of pragmatics (i.e., pragmatic failure, politeness, and implicatures). It can be concluded that the studies conducted over the past decade in Türkiye tend to be more conventional, while recent global research trends in pragmatics in the EFL context have deflected the focus into topics such as digital communication, intercultural communicative competence, and assessment of pragmatic competence. This study is believed to yield valuable insight for researchers in applied linguistics by identifying gaps in the relevant literature and offering recommendations for further research in deficient areas of study.