The Effectiveness of a Proposed Computer – Mediated Communication (CMC) Program in Developing the Pragmatic Competence of EFL Secondary Stage Students

       In order to be successful in communication, it is essential for second and foreign language learners to know not just grammar and text construction but also pragmatic aspects of the target language (Bachman 1990). Nonnative speakers may acquire considerable grammatical or lexical knowledge of the target language but still fail to communicate effectively in certain situations due to their lack of pragmatic knowledge of the target language, in other words, when to use what appropriately. (Rintell, 1981; Blum-Kulka,1983; Asher & Simpson,1994 ; Cohen,1996).
 
     Any successful communicative event will require that foreign language speakers have developed some mastery of the syntax, morphology, phonology and lexis of the English language. Yet, speech acts that are grammatically and phonologically correct sometimes fail because the learner’s pragmatic competence—his or her ability to express or interpret communicative functions in particular communicative contexts—is undeveloped or faulty (Asher & Simpson, 1994). Pragmatic incompetence in the second or foreign language can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication and can even leave the native-speaker with the opinion that the second or foreign language speaker is impolite.