Discourse and Pragmatics

This chapter focuses on the manner with which non-native speakers of Chinese language acquired discourse competence wherein even the native Chinese people might not all have developed such skill. This chapter addresses the issue of whether discourse competence can be teachable. To lessen the challenge faced by Chinese language teachers and students, this chapter introduces several discourse devices including their discourse functions. The chapter also discusses discourse models that aim to familiarize students with the several formulas of understanding and constructing clear and coherent discourse. The chapter also tackles two major discourse styles and pedagogical procedures, and concludes with suggested procedures which teachers may refer to in teaching different levels of discourse competence.