The primary goal of this research was to help second language (L2) English learners expand their linguistic capacity for more nuanced forms of interaction in the second language and to empower them to become more effective communicators. In particular, this study investigated the developmental processes of L2 learners in the context of concept-based instruction (cf. Lantolf & Poehner, 2014) with a focus on sarcasm.

Appropriate understanding of sarcasm in a second and foreign language is highly challenging for L2 learners due to the gap between the intended meaning and the literal meaning of sarcastic utterances or expressions. From a linguistic standpoint, sarcasm is a figure of speech that employs a contradiction between these two kinds of meaning. The intended meaning of the sarcastic utterance requires listeners to go beyond the surface meaning and interpret it figuratively, whereas the literal meaning is derivable directly from the meaning of the words (as in, You’re such a genius).

Despite the ubiquity of sarcasm in everyday language use, teaching learners how to understand sarcasm is an under-researched area in second and foreign language education. The following quote by one of the participants, Cho, in Kim’s (2013) study provides a clear rationale for why a pedagogical approach to sarcasm would be valuable to language learners:

When someone uses sarcasm to me in Korean, I can at least show that I am offended by making an angry face or something…but in the English-speaking context, I simply become stupid. Even when someone is being sarcastic to me, I will not understand what is actually going on and they will think of me as a stupid person, which is obviously not true.…Just because of cultural differences and my limited ability to understand the language, I become a stupid person, and I hate that reality.

To my knowledge, the present investigation represents the first attempt to provide direct instruction on sarcasm in any L2 environment. It extends my earlier work on examining L2 learners’ pragmalinguistic ability to understand ironic communication (Kim, 2014). This earlier project identified several types of L1 cultural schemas (e.g., phonological knowledge, pragmalinguistic knowledge) that are involved in learners’ sarcasm comprehension processes. The study also uncovered multiple reasons why Korean L2 learners, in particular, often fail to notice certain instances of sarcasm and thus interpret speaker intent differently from native English speakers.

Based on the empirical data obtained from this initial study, I investigated the teachability of the concept of sarcasm in ESL. I provided concept-based instruction to support U.S. university learners of American English in developing a conceptual and functional understanding of native speaker use of sarcasm. This research was grounded in a Vygotskian perspective on developmental education and focused on the teaching of theoretical concepts as a way of mediating learners’ developing abilities.

To teach the concept of sarcasm, I first had to deconstruct the concept to make it more tangible so that I could systematically and coherently explain the nature of sarcasm to students. To this end, I analyzed 85 videos from scripted and nonscripted American TV shows that contained sarcasm. Then, I categorized reoccurring cultural-linguistic patterns and cues that signaled to interlocutors that sarcasm was being employed. Based on the sarcasm-related cues identified (e.g., facial expressions, vowel elongations), I created pedagogical materials that theoretically explained the concept of sarcasm through charts, figures, and images. Next, I provided written and video examples of sarcastic utterances in which speakers’ various communicative goals are evidenced. In my presentation, I will demonstrate how this approach can be used in the classroom.

Concept-based instruction can be designed to promote learners’ internalization of the concept of American English sarcasm as well as to assist them in using this conceptual knowledge to accurately detect and interpret sarcasm when deployed by native speakers of English. The instruction centers on four overarching topics: the definition of sarcasm and common visual, prosodic, and contextual cues for detecting sarcasm. Learners engage with the pedagogical materials through several different means: presentation of the material by the instructor, class discussion of the material, and discussion of video clip example(s) that represent and exemplify the concept introduced in the material. Learners are also encouraged to draw analogies between their L1 and L2 in terms of the meanings and utility of the cues for processing sarcasm introduced in the materials.

I will report on the concept-based instruction interaction, which lasted for 16 weeks. Through the analysis of individual interviews, in-class interaction, focus group discussions, interpretive-essay writings, student-produced materials, and performance on pre-, post-, and delayed posttests, the study documented

• the development of students’ knowledge about the concept of sarcasm in American English, and

• the development of students’ ability to detect and understand the underlying speaker intent and communicative goals of sarcastic utterances produced by native speakers of American English.
  

During the pre-, post-, and delayed posttests administered, I asked learners to identify sarcasm, select three sarcasm-related cues, and write the intended meaning of the potentially sarcastic utterance. The results showed learner gains in developing (1) knowledge of the concept and use of sarcasm and (2) the ability to comprehend different intentions and attitudes conveyed by sarcasm users. In my presentation, I will argue that the learners’ engagement in the concept-based instruction interaction, which includes collaboration with a tutor as well as access to pedagogically designed mediating artifacts (e.g., multimodal video materials, concept charts and diagrams) helped the learners to identify the appropriate cues for detecting sarcasm and comprehending speaker intent. Significantly, learners gained a sense of empowerment by finally understanding the subtle features of sarcasm they did not recognize before. The results highlight the efficacy of instruction in which learners interact with an expert tutor who offers psychological tools and semantic-pragmatic explanations to promote a functional understanding of sarcasm in English.

REFERENCES

Kim, J. (2013). Developing conceptual understanding of sarcasm in a second language through concept-based instruction (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Kim, J. (2014). How Korean EFL learners understand sarcasm in L2 English. Journal of Pragmatics, 60, 193–206.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2014). Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative. Vygotskian praxis and the theory/practice divide. New York, NY: Routledge.

Jiyun Kim is an applied linguist whose work centers on second and foreign language (L2) pedagogy and technology-mediated L2 learning. Her current work focuses on helping learners to develop L2 pragmatic conceptual knowledge based on the principles of cognitive linguistics and Vygotskian cultural-historical psychology. A native of Seoul, Korea, Kim completed her PhD at The Pennsylvania State University and now teaches at The Catholic University of Korea.