EFL Teachers' Attitudes Towards Instructional Pragmatics: Validity and Reliability of the Teaching Pragmatics Scale (TPS)

Abstract

Teaching pragmatics is crucial in the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) since it is one of the primary indications of successfully and appropriately communicating in a target language. To our knowledge, there are not many studies on teaching pragmatics and no thoroughly designed measurement tools to investigate the perspectives of language teachers and/or instructors working in foreign language preparatory programs. To accomplish this, a new instrument, the Teaching Pragmatics Scale (TPS), was created and its reliability and validity were assessed. A survey of the relevant literature resulted in the development of 52 items considered fundamental for teaching pragmatics. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to assess the construct validity of the instrument. A Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.791 and a significant Bartlett's test of sphericity (p 0.001) indicated that the data set was moderately suitable for factor analysis. The complete instrument in its final form, which consists of 25 items and five factors, was developed using the ratings of 204 English teachers and language instructors from across the nation. The Teaching Pragmatics Scale (TPS) is a reliable and valid measurement tool for predicting language teachers' and instructors' attitudes towards instructional pragmatics. Given the instructors' limited knowledge of teaching pragmatics, it is hoped that they will become aware of the requirement of highlighting the significance of pragmatics in language instruction and assist students in obtaining higher levels of pragmatic awareness and competency.