Chapter 8. Blogging

Pragmatic competence is crucial for effective communication in a second/foreign language (L2). While pragmatic competence has been shown to be learnable through formal instruction (e.g., Jeon & Kaya, 2006; Rose & Kasper, 2001), pragmatics is often neglected in L2 curricula or is given lower priority than other skill areas. Yet, pragmatic learning through crosscultural interaction capitalizing on various forms of technology has been investigated in recent studies as well as in this volume. This ethnographic case study is intended to contribute to the literature on technology-assisted pragmatic learning by examining the pragmatic development of one advanced learner of Japanese in the United States as she blogged with her peers and expert Japanese speakers in Japan. Using a sociocultural framework (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Vygotsky, 1978), we document the pragmatic awareness and production demonstrated by the focal learner to explore the potential effectiveness of pragmatics-focused instruction through blogging. Pedagogical suggestions are also offered on how to facilitate crosscultural interaction and enhance pragmatic development through telecollaboration via blogging.