The

Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language

August 2017 Volume 21, Number 2

Acquisition of Pragmatic Routines by Learners of L2 English:
Investigating Common Errors and Sources of Pragmatic Fossilization

Zia Tajeddin
Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran
<[email protected]>

Minoo Alemi
Islamic Azad University, West Tehran Branch, Iran
<[email protected]>

Roya Pashmforoosh
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, US
<[email protected]>

Abstract
Unlike linguistic fossilization, pragmatic fossilization has received scant attention in
fossilization research. To bridge this gap, the present study adopted a typical-error
method of fossilization research to identify the most frequent errors in pragmatic
routines committed by Persian-speaking learners of L2 English and explore the sources
of fossilization. In the first phase of the study, a pragmatic routines test was
administered to 230 male and female participants to determine the typical errors and
their persistence across different proficiency levels. In the second phase, retrospective
interviews were conducted to explore the sources of the errors in pragmatic routines
committed by 15 highly fossilized advanced learners. The findings revealed that the
frequent errors in pragmatic routines were mainly due to sociopragmatic failure. It was
found that first language transfer, lack of knowledge, and overgeneralizations were
among the most frequent sources of pragmatic fossilization. This can be due to the non-
authentic poor-input pedagogical setting in which EFL learners fail to acquire the
appropriate pragmatic routines. This study has implications for pragmatic instruction
and pragmatic fossilization studies.
Keywords: error, fossilization, pragmatic fossilization, pragmatic routines, L2 English

Introduction
Fossilization, first introduced by Selinker (1972), is now a key concept in the Second
Language Acquisition (SLA) research. Fossilization involves an interaction between the
three systems of native language, interlanguage, and target language and is the process

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through which learners fail to progress toward the target-like performance due to the
defective structures in their interlanguage utterances. One area where paucity of control
over pragmalinguistic knowledge is obvious is that of pragmatic routines. Researchers
follow a set of procedures to investigate fossilization along the learning process. Given
its local and selective nature, according to Han (2013), fossilization may occur at any
point in the course of language development. However, it seems that the effect of non-
native speakers proficiency levels on fossilizable L2 pragmatic routines has remained
underexplored.
To document the nature and sources of pragmatic fossilization, such as L1 transfer and
overgeneralization, previous studies have looked at the selection of participants,
collection of data (in both natural and artificial settings), and interpretation of data (e.g.,
Han, 2004, 2009; Han & Odlin, 2006; Long, 2003; Selinker, 1972). Despite extensive
research on fossilization, exploring pragmatic fossilization in general and the sources of
fossilized pragmatic features among advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
learners in particular still remains necessary. The EFL learning context of Iran is
particularly of interest to us as it is an input-poor context because learners are mainly
exposed to English in language institutes and have little chance for communication
outside the classroom to develop their pragmatic competence. To bridge this gap, the
present study aimed to investigate the Iranian EFL learners fossilization in L2 English
pragmatic routines and the sources of common errors of pragmatic routines among
advanced learners of English.

Literature review
Pragmatic routines
Pragmatic routines are the recurrent words or phrases employed for particular social
purposes, including thanking, apologizing, requesting, greeting, insulting,
complimenting, and offering (Davis, 2007). Coulmas (1981) describes pragmatic
routines as those conventionalized pre-patterned expressions whose occurrence is
highly context-dependent. Pragmatic routines are realized in specific social contexts
which are shared by members of a particular speech community. Bardovi-Harlig (2012)
maintains that some studies characterize pragmatic routines as a specific sequence of
words representing functionally bound expressions as, for example, in you know (House,
2009; Pilcher, 2009) and I mean and you see (Romero Trillo, 2002).
House (1996) describes the importance of pragmatic routines in L2 learning. She argues
that from a sociolinguistic viewpoint, it is important to learn routines at any learning
stage because they embody the societal knowledge that members of a given speech
community share Routine formulae are thus essential in the verbal handling of
everyday life (pp. 226-227). For Kesckes (2010), conversational routines, as a broad
category, include situational bound utterances (SBUs) in which context identifies the
formulas used therein. Additionally, routine formulas, as Hall (2009) pointed out, are
employed to perform speech acts (e.g., Get outta here), to serve as topic-opening, topic-
maintaining, or topic-closing moves (e.g., So whats up with you? What else? Well thats
enough of that!), to express social conventions in honorifics (e.g., Your Highness, I am
deeply honored), or to convey affective content (e.g., Thats what Im talking about).
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Pragmatic routines serve numerous functions in discourse ranging from semantic to
socio-pragmatic acts. According to Kesckes (2003), routine formulas which have
communicative functions represent particular sociocultural concepts. Thus, L2 learners
may not acquire them easily in view of the association between form-meaning-function
mappings.
Research on pragmatic routines
Focusing on recent empirical studies, Bardovi-Harlig (2012) had an overview of five
main themes of research on pragmatic routines. The themes include the use of
pragmatic routines, spread of pragmatic routines by multiple speakers, attitudes toward
routine formulas in pragmatics, pragmatic routine formulas and second language
acquisition, and formulas in pragmatics pedagogy. Pragmatic routines have been studied
in relation with speech acts (Bardovi-Harlig, 2009; Manes & Wolfson, 1981; Ohashi,
2010), politeness (Terkourafi, 2002, 2005), and impoliteness (Culpeper, 2010). Bardovi-
Harlig (2009) observed conversations in which routine formulas occurred in speech
acts. The oral discourse completion tasks were designed in a study conducted by
Bardovi-Harlig (2009) to elicit conversational routines used by native speakers and
learners of English. The results revealed that the learners underuse of pragmatic
routines may be the result of various sources, including lack of familiarity with some
expressions and overuse of familiar expressions.
One of the primary features of routines, as Coulmas (1981) points out, is their
sociocultural aspects, representing culturally-specific worldviews, such as May God
increase your bounty, or expressing and maintaining group identity. Davis (2007)
investigated the attitudes of Korean ESL learners in Australia and Korean EFL learners
in Seoul regarding the use of Australian-English pragmatic routines. The results showed
that the Korean EFL learners were reluctant to use Australian formulas such as Cheers
or Good on you when compared with their counterparts. This avoidance represents
resistance to Australian-English pragmatic norms. Previous studies (e.g., Kecskes, 2003;
Rehbein, 1987; Wray, 1999) also found that particular cultural aspects of pragmatic
routines make L2 learners reluctant to acquire L2 formulas. In such contexts, L2
learners may employ their own L1 pragmatic norms that differ from the target-like
utterances to maintain their cultural identity (Kecskes, 2003). Similarly, Farghal and
Haggan (2006) found a strong native language influence in compliment responses by
bilingual Kuwaiti learners of L2 English.
A number of studies have addressed the recognition and production of pragmatic
routines by L2 learners (e.g., Bardovi-Harlig, 2009; Barron, 2003; House, 1996; Roever,
2005). Bardovi-Harlig and Bastos (2011) explored the effect of three learner variables of
proficiency, length of residence, and intensity of interaction on the recognition and
production of authentic pragmatic routines. They found that the recognition of authentic
routines correlated with length of residence and that proficiency and intensity of
interaction significantly affected the production of L2 pragmatic formulas. The influence
of instruction on pragmatic routines has been examined in previous studies (e.g.,
Bardovi-Harlig & Vellenga, 2012; Boers & Lindstromberg, 2012; House, 1996),
indicating the effect of instructional materials and noticing activities on the acquisition
of pragmatic routines. The studies have generally shown more development in the

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acquisition of pragmatic routines by those L2 learners who studied abroad or received
an intensity of interaction (e.g., Bardovi-Harlig & Bastos, 2011; Barron, 2003). However,
the failure of L2 learners to master the pragmatic routines, as suggested by Han (2004),
despite continuous exposure to the TL [target language] input, adequate motivation to
improve, and sufficient opportunity for practice (p. 4) has remained unresolved in the
SLA research. Therefore, from a pedagogical perspective, it remains to re-evaluate
pragmatic routines with regard to interlanguage use and its potential for contributing to
interlanguage pragmatic development.
Pragmatic fossilization
Persistent errors in interlanguage pragmatics is an inherent characteristic of learners
interlanguage. The systematic inappropriate use of certain pragmatic formulas leads to
fossilization in language development (Romero Trillo, 2002; Selinker, 1972). During the
learning process, the pragmatic distance between two languages, as Kasper and Blum-
Kulka (1993) noted, may result in an information gap in the formulation of pragmatic
routines. What leads to fossilization is, in fact, the combination of unmarked L1
expression and ambiguous (i.e., non-robust) L2 input. Regarding a cline of acceptability
and appropriateness for pragmatic competence, as explained by Tsimpli and Sorace
(2006), the discourse features of the target language are more vulnerable to fossilization
than semantic features. That is to say, discourse features that involve language and
pragmatic properties require a higher level of processing, whereas semantic features
incorporate formal properties of the language alone.
Evidence for fossilization has been reported in a number of studies undertaken by Han
(2003, 2004) and Han and Odlin (2006). According to Han (2004), the empirical studies
done on fossilization adopted one of the methodological approaches of longitudinal
research, typical error, advanced learners errors, corrective feedback, and length of
residence. Traditionally, earlier studies on fossilization used learners naturally
produced data over an extended period of time (e.g., Han, 2010; Lardiere, 2006). In a
typical-error approach, the pervasive errors in the interlanguage of learners with the
same L1 background are analyzed to investigate fossilization. Kellermans (1989) study
of Dutch-speaking learners of English adopted a typical-error approach with regard to
the use of would in hypothetical conditional sentences. The fact is that even for advanced
learners, as evidenced in the studies conducted by Wekker, Kellerman, and Hermans
(1982) and Selinker and Lakshmanan (1992), the errors typically occurred despite
learners abundant exposure to L2 input. Early examples of corrective feedback include
the study by Vigil and Oller (1976), who refer to the nature of feedback as a source of
fossilization. In light of the model presented in Vigil and Oller (1976), Selinker and
Lamendella (1979) studied the role of extrinsic feedback in interlanguage fossilization.
Regarding the provision of corrective feedback on typical errors, Kellerman (1989)
found that the pedagogic intervention had little effect on learners use of linguistic
structures. Despite explicit instruction and years of immersion, studies on length of
residence (e.g., Thep-Ackrapong, 1990; Washburn, 1991) showed the pervasiveness of
fossilized interlanguage errors at different proficiency levels.
Birdsong (2004) maintains that fossilization has been understood in various ways,
among them, as a process, as a cognitive mechanism, and as a result of learning (p. 86).

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As evidenced by Selinker and Han (2001), various learner behaviors are associated with
fossilization, including backsliding, low proficiency, typical errors, and non-target like
performance. In fact, when acquisition stops, a semi-developed linguistic structure may
exhibit permanent resistance to native-like construction (Han & Odlin, 2006; Han &
Selinker, 2005; Long, 2003; Selinker, 2011). Following previous studies (e.g., Romero
Trillo, 2002; Takahashi, 1996; Trosborg, 1995), it seems that fossilization in the area of
pragmatics has not been sufficiently explored. For example, Romero Trillo (2002)
studied fossilization of discourse markers in native and non-native speakers of English
and found that proficient adult learners failed to use pragmatic elements appropriately
in communication. In another study conducted by Takahashi (1996), the learners
transferability perception of request strategies by Japanese learners of English was
investigated. The study revealed that EFL learners still failed to perceive the differences
in request strategies between the two languages. The errors the learners made were
systematic, leading Takahashi (1996) to conclude that they had been transferred from
the first language and became fossilized. Pragmatic transfer generally refers to the
influence of learners pragmatic knowledge of languages other than second language on
their comprehension and/or production of their L2. Earlier studies focused on multiple
forms of transfer and the conditions under which transfer takes place. Two types of
pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic transfer were among the types of pragmatic
transfer identified by researchers (e.g., Kasper, 1992). As far as pragmalinguistic
transfer is concerned, Kasper (1992) accounts for illocutionary force and politeness
value in L1, which might affect learners perception and/or production in L2.
Sociopragmatic transfer also includes external contextual factors such as participants
roles in a given sociolinguistic context. Different manifestations of pragmatic transfer
have been identified so far, including interference or negative transfer and facilitative or
positive transfer. In addition, as evidenced in earlier research, the influence of first
language on second language might bring about different results of overuse (i.e., abuse)
and underuse (i.e., avoidance) of functions and formulas. Most studies addressed the
negative manifestation of pragmatic transfer. For instance, Kasper and Blum-Kulka
(1993) have reported the frequency and use of Spanish routine formulas among Spanish
learners of English who were often judged impolite due to their infrequent use of
common formulas such as Sorry and Please during their stay in England. Takahashi
(1996) also stated that it is difficult to identify the sources of pragmatic failure, which
might be ascribed to L1 transfer, interlanguage overgeneralization, and/or transfer of
training (i.e., instructional effect). Therefore, transferability of pragmatic routines needs
to be studied further considering the different ways in which a language may influence
the use of routine formulas.
As suggested in earlier research by Selinker (1972) and Han (2004), fossilization occurs
in learners interlanguage performance because of five processes. The central processes
are (1) language transfer, (2) transfer of training, (3) strategies of second language
learning, (4) strategies of second language communication, and (5) overgeneralization
of target linguistic material. Evidently, more research is needed to explore the
possibility that other components of pragmatics can be the target of fossilization.
Evidence from pragmatic research (e.g., Nattinger & DeCarrico, 1992; Roever, 2005;
Weinert, 1995; Wray & Perkins, 2000) has shown that pragmatic routines which reflect

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the norms of speech communities are the target of learning for language learners. Since
pragmatic routines may vary in form, function, and frequency from one language to
another, they are likely to become fossilizable structures. In addition, advanced EFL
learners may have good knowledge of a range of pragmatic routines but still commit the
typical errors in these formulas. Therefore, it appears that pragmatic routines hold great
relevance for fossilization. Despite this need for research on pragmatic fossilization,
pragmatic fossilization in general and fossilization of pragmatic routines in particular
have not been explored among EFL learners in Iran.
Against this backdrop, the present study set out to investigate the common errors in
pragmatic routines among Iranian Persian-speaking learners of L2 English across
proficiency levels. Additionally, the present study aimed to explore the sources of
fossilization of pragmatic routines among advanced learners of L2 English. Sources of
fossilization are important since they are among the seven significant aspects of
fossilization specified by Selinker and Lamendella (1978): (1) the nature of fossilization,
(2) its source, (3) its objects, (4) the manner of fossilization, (5) the point at which it
begins, (6) its persistence, and (7) candidates for fossilization. To address the two
purposes of the study, the following questions were formulated:
1. What are the frequent errors in English pragmatic routines committed by pre-
intermediate, intermediate, and advanced Persian-speaking L2 learners of English?
2. What are the sources of fossilization of English pragmatic routines among advanced
Persian-speaking L2 learners of English?

Method
Participants
The participants were 230 male and female Persian-speaking learners of L2 English
enrolled in EFL classes in four English language institutes, all of which offered a six-level
communicative course, using the textbook series Top Notch. Participation in the study
was voluntary and consisted of 42 (18.3%) pre-intermediate, 99 (43.0%) intermediate,
and 89 (38.7%) advanced learners. Top Notch 2 was used at the pre-intermediate level
as the textbook. Top Notch 3 and Summit 1 were used at the intermediate-level. For the
advanced learners, Summit 2 functioned as the textbook. Table 1 depicts the relevant
characteristics of the learners.
Table 1. EFL learners profile summary

No. of Learners Percentage Cumulative
(%) Percentage (%)
Pre-intermediate 42 18.3 18.3
(Top Notch 2)
Intermediate 99 43.0 61.3
(Top Notch 3 and Summit 1)
Advanced 89 38.7 100
(Summit 2)
Total 230 100

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Instruments
Pragmatic routines test
The typical error as an established approach to fossilization research was used in the
current research. To this end, a validated teacher-made test of English pragmatic
routines with the Cronbach alpha reliability index of .86 was developed to determine the
typical errors committed by pre-intermediate, intermediate, and advanced EFL learners.
The test consisted of 38 multiple-choice items which measured the knowledge of
English pragmatic routines. The list of expressions was constructed from the
conversational formulas used in a variety of pragmatic studies such as Kecskes (2007)
and Roever (2005). Each item of the test consisted of a short conversation and three
choices, as illustrated in (1). The learners were asked to choose one correct response
out of the three choices. The two incorrect choices were either taken from word-by-
word translation from Persian to English or were pragmalinguistically and/or
sociopragmatically incorrect in the particular context of the conversation. Two experts
judgments evidenced the soundness of the right choice and the inappropriacy of the
wrong choices.
(1) A: What a fantastic coat! Was it expensive?
B:
a. It was not worthy of you.
b. It was nothing at all.
c. It cost an absolute fortune!
The test items included various correct choices ranging from more commonly used
pragmatic routines such as Thanks, Yes, of course, and Terrible to increasingly less
commonly used routines such as I forgot all about it, Im to blame, and Much obliged.
It was assumed that some of the items would be more difficult than others, not
necessarily because of the target routines but due to the relation between the right
answer and the distractors. For example, in some items both the target routines and the
distractors were correct routines when considered in isolation, but the distractors were
not the correct choices in that specific context. Besides the use of linguistically
appropriate but contextually inappropriate L2 pragmatic routines as distractors, some
other distractors were developed out of non-target L1-driven expressions for the
Persian-speaking learners of English, such as the following:
(1) Sharmandam
Im really ashamed
(2) Pak faramoosh kardam
I cleanly forgot
(3) Hamash harfe
Thats only words
(4) Ghabele shoma ro nadareh
It was not worthy of you
(5) Taarof nakonid
Arent you complimenting?

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(6) Lotf mikonid
Thats you favor
(7) Mehmane man bash
Be my guest
(8) Hamash taghsire mane
Its all my blame
These are some of the most common formulaic expressions used in Persian
conversations. For instance, It was not worthy of you is commonly used in Persian in
response to compliments. In terms of its function, as Sharifian (2008) noted, it is used to
scale down the compliment while raising the status of the complimenter.
Pragmatic judgment interviews
Out of the 89 advanced EFL learners, 15 who scored less than half in the pragmatic
routines test were characterized as fossilized learners and asked to participate in one-
on-one retrospective interviews. The interviews (i.e., the second phase of the study)
took place a week after the test. The purpose of the pragmatic judgment interview was
to gain further understanding of persistent errors that were committed by fossilized
advanced EFL participants in the study. To investigate the sources of the errors, only
questions that were incorrectly answered were included in the interviews. The
participants were asked to explain their reasons for selecting the (incorrect) choices and
not the other alternatives. They were also asked to state the degree of their familiarity
with the correct answer.
Data collection and analysis
To investigate their knowledge of L2 pragmatic routines, the participants were given 20
minutes for the test. The goal was to encourage learners to respond quickly, as
approximately 30 seconds was allotted for each item on a recognition test. To check
learners familiarity with the L2 pragmatic routines, one week later the second phase
was conducted to ask the fossilized advanced EFL learners who had received the lowest
scores on the test to reconsider the questions they answered incorrectly and explain
why they preferred one choice to the others.
The learners were interviewed individually in Persian for about 15 minutes each and
did not receive any interventions. The comments from the learners were focused on the
questions that they had answered incorrectly. All the interviews were audiotaped and
transcribed verbatim for further analysis.
The responses to the test of pragmatic routines were analyzed and the common errors
were identified. The number of errors that occurred across proficiency levels was
counted, and the descriptive statistics, including mean values and standard deviations,
were calculated. The advanced EFL learners interviews were recorded and categorized
by two teacher-raters to investigate the sources of fossilization. To probe the sources of
fossilization of English pragmatic routines, an inductive and data-driven method
proposed in grounded theory was used to analyze the qualitative data emerging from
the learners interview protocols. The errors were identified and the comments were

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coded. The elicited data were categorized and, based on Creswell (2012), the extracted
categories were checked against the data until saturation was achieved.

Results and discussion

Frequent errors in English pragmatic routines
The first research question was aimed to probe the frequent errors in English pragmatic
routines committed by pre-intermediate, intermediate, and advanced Persian-speaking
learners of English. To investigate the question, the results of the test of pragmatic
routines were analyzed and the common errors were identified. Table 2 shows the most
common errors for each proficiency level. It reports on the five most frequent errors
across proficiency levels, with the corresponding mean values ranging from
(0=incorrect answer) to (1=correct answer). As can be seen, the common errors for pre-
intermediate learners were Much appreciated (item 38, M = .14), Its all my blame
(item 29, M = .19), Let me see (item 7, M = .23), No trouble at all (item 35, M = .28), and
I mean (item 36, M = .28). For advanced learners, the most frequent errors included
Much appreciated (item 38, M = .15), Its all my blame (item 29, M = .35), What a pain
(item 31, M = .39), Let me see (item 7, M = .39), and Whats wrong? (item 14, M = .42).
A comparison of the common errors committed by pre-intermediate and intermediate
learners for the five most difficult items of the test shows that the frequent errors were
Much appreciated (instead of Much obliged), Its all my blame (instead of Im to
blame), and Let me see (instead of Id no idea), respectively. Similarly, the frequent
errors for intermediate and advanced EFL learners were found in item 38 (Much
appreciated) and item 29 (Its all my blame). As displayed in Table 2, What a pain
instead of Poor you (item 31, M=.39) was among the most frequent types of error
committed by the advanced EFL learners. It appears that the most frequent types of
errors across proficiency levels were mainly the result of sociopragmatic rather than
pragmalinguistic failure. As to the interplay of functional adequacy and situational
appropriateness, it was found that the learners selected the incorrect options regardless
of the context in which the pragmatic routine occurred (e.g., Whats going on here?
instead of Whats wrong? in a conversation between a police officer and a participant of
a traffic accident).

Table 3 presents the mean scores of the responses to all items for each level. The results
show that the mean scores, out of 38, ranged from a low of 19 for pre-intermediate to a
high of 20 for intermediate learners. As is shown, the highest mean score was for the
advanced learners with the value of 24.61.

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 Table 2. Descriptive statistics of the common errors in English pragmatic routines
Pre-intermediate Intermediate Advanced
Item No. M Frequency % Item No. M Frequency % Item No. M Frequency %
(n = 42) (n = 99) (n = 89)
Item 38 .14 36 85.7 Item 38 .19 80 80.8 Item 38 .15 75 84.3
(Much (Much (Much
appreciated) appreciated) appreciated)
Item 29 .19 34 81.0 Item 29 .20 79 79.8 Item 29 .35 57 64.0

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(Its all my (Its all my (Its all my blame)
blame) blame)
Item 7 .23 32 76.2 Item 7 .30 69 69.7 Item 31 .39 54 60.7
(Let me see) (Let me see) (What a pain)
Item 35 .28 30 71.4 Item 24 .32 67 67.7 Item 7 .39 53 59.6
(No (Thats nice) (Let me see)
trouble at
all)
Item 36 .33 28 66.7 Item 12 .33 66 66.7 Item 14 .42 51 57.3
(I mean) (I cleanly (Whats wrong?)
forgot)

Tajeddin, Alemi & Pashmforoosh

10

Table 3. Total Descriptive statistics of errors in English pragmatic routines

Proficiency N Min Max M SD
Pre-intermediate 42 10.00 31.00 18.59 5.16
Intermediate 99 12.00 34.00 20.83 5.23
Advanced 89 13.00 35.00 24.61 5.08

The above findings reveal the common errors that the participants made in the
recognition of pragmatic routines. It was found that the most common errors made by
the participants included, inter alia, non-target-like utterances in an expression of
apology (e.g., Im really ashamed instead of Im absolutely sorry), a statement of
responsibility (e.g., Its all my blame instead of Im to blame), and a promise of
forbearance (e.g., No trouble at all instead of These things happen). Based on the
findings, it can be argued that pragmatic routines are often challenging for L2 learners
since they do not lend themselves to context-free pre-patterned expressions (Kecskes,
2007, 2014; Wray & Namba, 2003). The findings indicate that the challenging
distractors for EFL learners are those expressions which are related to sociopragmatic
rather than pragmalinguistic features of pragmatic routines.
The sources of fossilization of English pragmatic routines
To answer the second research question, the error taxonomy was developed based on
the interview protocols. The aim was to show why the advanced EFL learners in the
study committed the persistent errors in pragmatic routines. The findings from Table 4
show that there were six sources for fossilization of pragmatic routines among the
participants.

Table 4. Sources of fossilization of English pragmatic routines

Categories Frequency Percentage
(N = 149) (%)
Non-target like use of L1-driven expressions 39 26.2%

Inadequate knowledge of and exposure to target 31 20.8%

expressions
Overgeneralization of target-like expressions 25 16.8%
Context-specific variables 23 15.4%
Grammatical errors 17 11.4%
Other performance variables 14 9.4%

As evident from Table 4, language transfer (f=39, percentage=26.2%), inadequate
knowledge (f=31, percentage=20.8%), and overgeneralization of target-like utterances
(f=25, percentage=16.8%) were among the most frequent sources of pragmatic
fossilization. What follows presents the extracted categories along with relevant
examples taken from the learners retrospective interviews. Based on the findings, the
sources of fossilization fall into six main categories. It should be noted that no changes

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were made to the excerpts taken from the learners answers. The learners were given
pseudonyms to guarantee their anonymity.
(1) Non-target like use of L1-driven expressions

This source of pragmatic fossilization, as most learners mentioned, refers to the

influence of first language (L1) pragmatic transfer on the EFL learners recognition of
target-like expressions. It was found that the pragmatic expressions such as It was not
worthy of you, as illustrated in Example (2), occurred as a result of L1 transfer.
(2) A: What a fantastic coat! Was it expensive?
B:
a. It was not worthy of you.
b. It was nothing at all.
c. It cost an absolute fortune!
One of the learners (L7), for example, commented that:
I chose It was not worthy of you because I think in all modesty it is better to say that a
thing is worthless even though its a high-priced item. I think this is a common practice. But
perhaps it sounds too Farsi.
Similarly, L12 stated that:
We normally use lotf darin [Thats your favor] and ghabeli nadareh [It was not worthy of
you] in Farsi. You know. We use them to socialize with others and to be more kind and
hospitable.
(2) Inadequate knowledge of and exposure to target expressions

This source of fossilization points to the learners lack of familiarity with target-like
communicative expressions. The comments from the advanced respondents revealed
their limited knowledge of the correct pragmatic routines in some cases. As in Example
(3), most of the learners did not choose the correct answer.
(3) A: . Its very kind of you to let me borrow your notes.
B: Glad to be of help.
a. Much obliged.
b. Much appreciated.
c. Much thanks.
For instance, L3 said that:
I am not generally familiar with the expression of Much obliged in a spoken conversation.
I selected Much appreciated from the other choices since Ive heard it the most.
(3) Overgeneralization of target-like utterances

Overgeneralization was another source of fossilization. It refers to the overextended use

of existing L2 knowledge to new target expressions and indicates the learners
ignorance of rule restrictions. This resulted in an infelicitous statement of responsibility,

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for instance, when the participants overgeneralized the use of the conventional formula
Its all my blame. As in Example (4), the learners cross-associated Its all may blame
with its Persian equivalent, Hamash taghsire mane.
(4) A: I forgot to fill up the tank before we left.
B: Oh! Do you mean to say weve run out of petrol?
A: Im afraid we have and .
a. I get a blame
b. Im to blame
c. Its all my blame
Echoing the same idea, L10, for instance, noted that:
I think the correct answer is Its all my blame. It reflects its alternative in English which is
Its all my fault.
(4) Context-specific variables

The learners lack of familiarity with the contextual factors, such as the degree of
formality and the length of utterance for situation-bound expressions, was also a source
of fossilization. As shown in Example (5), one of the conversations in the test of
pragmatic routines was between a police officer and a driver involved in a traffic
accident. Accordingly, the police officer needed to address the driver as depicted in the
following short dialog:
(5) A: ? How fast were you going?
B: Driver: I dont know. Maybe 40.
a. Whats up?
b. Whats going on here?
c. Whats wrong?
It appears that other alternatives that may occur in a conversation between two close
friends such as Whats up? and Whats wrong? were not appropriate in this context.
Likewise, L2 commented that:
I selected Whats wrong regardless of the given context and the participants involved in
this conversation.
(5) Grammatical errors

This source of fossilization in pragmatic routines occurred because of learners

inattention to the grammatically correct form of a pragmatic routine. As reflected in
Example (6), the participants answered this item incorrectly and selected Let a try
instead of Let me give it a try:
(6) A: Look. Heres a quiz on events of the twentieth century.
B: Oh, -. Im good at history.
A: All right. First question:

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a. Let a try
b. Let me give try
c. Let me give it a try
L8, highlighting the simplicity of speech routines, expressed his ideas in the following
words:
The lengthy expressions may not be that much useful in spoken language. I prefer to use
Let me a try in this short talk.
(6) Other performance variables

This prevailing source of fossilization refers to test takers performance variables,

including test anxiety and fatigue. Referring to this source of errors, one of the learners
(L9) stated that:
I was not prepared for a sudden exam.
Furthermore, L15 added that:
I was so stressful and I couldnt focus my attention on the questions.
The aim of this study was not to simply count instances of particular responses but
rather to explore the sources that appeared to underlie them. The findings of this study
indicate that some language learning strategies (e.g., transfer, overgeneralization, and
simplification) identified in L2 linguistic development also hold relevance for L2
pragmatics. This also appears to be in harmony with Selinkers (1972) contention,
suggesting that fossilization in learners interlanguage performance occurs as a result of
five processes. The central processes are: (1) language transfer, (2) transfer of training,
(3) strategies of second language learning, (4) strategies of second language
communication, and (5) overgeneralization of target linguistic material.
It was found that specific pragmatic features are likely candidates for fossilization,
namely those causing non-target like use of L1-driven expressions. A comparison of the
common errors (e.g., It wasnt worthy of you, Arent you complimenting, and Im really
ashamed) committed by pre-intermediate, intermediate, and advanced learners in
English pragmatic routines indicates that L1 transfer is closely tied with pragmatic
fossilization. In line with previous research (e.g., Han & Selinker, 1999; Selinker &
Lakshmanan, 1992; Yu, 2011), this suggests that L1 transfer is a privileged contributor
to fossilized structures. According to Han (2004), it can then be argued that language
transfer not only stabilizes but also fossilizes an interlanguage structure. It appears that
advanced EFL learners recurrent errors arose from L1 typological transfer. One reason
might be that this influence was not attended to in the language learning process.
Moreover, the qualitative analysis of the data indicates that advanced learners in the
study committed the pragmatic errors mainly because of the inadequacy of exposure to
target-like expressions (e.g., Much obliged and Good heavens!). Yet, under this source
of pragmatic fossilization, it was found that most advanced EFL learners reported their
lack of exposure to English pragmatic routines. This finding seems to be supported by
earlier studies (Drnyei, Durow, & Zahran, 2004; Bardovi-Harlig & Bastos, 2011) which
found that recognizing routines had a significant effect on the intensity of interaction.

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Similarly, Roever (2005) found that even short-term exposure to the host environment
resulted in a greater knowledge of routines.
Furthermore, the findings of the interviews indicate that overgeneralization of target-
like utterances is an evident source of fossilizable pragmatic routines. This source of
fossilization, consistent with the related literature (Bardovi-Harlig, 2009; Ellis, 2003;
Pawley & Syder, 1983; Selinker, 1972), was frequently mentioned by the participants in
the study. The learners maintained that they selected the pragmatic routine, for example
Its all my blame, incorrectly as it reflects its alternative formula in English which is Its
all my fault.
Meanwhile, this study showed that the context-specific source of fossilization reflects
the interface between pragmalinguistic knowledge (i.e., the linguistic knowledge of
expressions) and sociopragmatic (i.e., the knowledge of social contexts) whereby a
learner may know an expression but be unaware of the context in which the expression
can be used. This source of fossilization in L2 pragmatics substantiates the point made
by Edmonson and House (1991), who suggest that EFL learners cannot necessarily
handle conversational routines because they do not have ready access to and therefore
do not make use of, standardized routines for meeting the social imposition (p. 284).
As to the fifth source of pragmatic fossilization, errors in grammar, it was also found that
learners preferred simple to elaborated expressions. This finding is in line with a
number of previous studies (e.g., Bardovi-Harlig, 2009; Han, 2003). The errors in
grammar were the result of grammatical inaccuracies and simplification of target-like
utterances. As Farghal and Haggan (2006) found, grammatical inaccuracy and pragmatic
inappropriateness were the major sources of errors in compliment responses in the case
of bilingual Arab college students. In addition, it can be argued that when language
learners pay attention to communicative fluency at the expense of grammatical
accuracy, some inappropriate pragmatic routines are likely to be fossilized. Therefore,
the speech may become grammatically inappropriate due to simplification, resulting in
fossilized structures. Selinker (1993), for example, suggests that learners sometimes
simplify the target-like utterances which could lead to fossilized expressions. The
French immersion learners, for instance, may quite consciously use one form of the verb
as a general strategy.
The final source of fossilization hinges upon the effect of performance variables such as
learners fatigue and test-taking anxiety. Emphasizing the same fossilization source, Han
(2003), for example, suggests that the internal and external causal factors (i.e.,
environmental, cognitive, neurobiological, and socio-affective) may result in
fossilization. These sources of errors are also reflected in Selinkers (1972) assertion
that errors in learners interlanguage performance occur when their attention is focused
on a new and difficult subject or when they are in a state of anxiety or in a state of other
extreme excitement.

Conclusion
Pragmatic fossilization, as suggested by Han (2013), is an interlanguage unique
phenomenon in which acquisition fossilizes a semi-developed pragmatic formula. With

TESL-EJ 21.2, August 2017 Tajeddin, Alemi & Pashmforoosh 15

specific focus on the under-researched area of pragmatic fossilization, this study
provided evidence on EFL learners common errors in pragmatic routines across
proficiency levels and the sources of this fossilization among advanced learners. It
appears that sociopragmatic errors persist in learners L2 pragmatic routines across
proficiency levels. As to the recurrent pragmatic errors that language learners
committed, the results show that pragmatic fossilization is the result of various
manifestations of failure in L2 pragmatic acquisition. It can be concluded that, among
the six sources of fossilization, first language transfer, lack of knowledge, and
overgeneralization of native-like expressions are the most frequent ones among the
fossilized advanced EFL learners.
As to the pedagogical implications of the study, it can be concluded that the quantity and
diversity of pragmatic routines used in the context of teaching are the neglected aspects
of language teaching curriculum. This can be due to the low-input pedagogical setting in
which EFL learners fail to acquire the appropriate conversational routines. Thus, it can
be contended that an input-rich learning situation results in L2 pragmatic acquisition
and relatively less persistent errors. Pragmatic competence can then effectively be
acquired by providing adequate input, increasing opportunity for communication
practice, and enhancing explicit instruction in the use of pragmatic routines. A further
implication for ELT stakeholders, namely syllabus designers, materials developers,
teacher trainers, and teachers, is to contribute to the success of the teaching and
learning process of pragmatic formulas by emphasizing the importance of
sociopragmatic knowledge in L2 pragmatic acquisition.
However, this study is not without limitations which may decrease the generalisability
of the findings. The data were collected through the adoption of a typical-error
approach. To lend support to the findings of this study future longitudinal research
should be done with more representative groups of participants in diverse contexts.
Another limitation is the multiple-choice nature of the test that was used to determine
learners familiarity with pragmatic routines. Moreover, the exploration of production of
pragmatic routines by EFL learners has not been addressed in the current investigation.
As to the persistent errors across proficiency levels, the examination of the relation of
recognition and production in pragmatic routines is also a crucial step in the
development of L2 pragmatic competence which requires further research. The
recurrent errors in authentic conversational interactions that may cause
misunderstanding among EFL learners must be further investigated. Future longitudinal
research is also needed to shed light on the interplay between native language,
interlanguage, and target language. It is ultimately suggested that teachers perceptions
of sources of fossilization be explored in future research while attempting to minimize
the possible perceptual mismatches between teachers and learners.

About the Authors

Zia Tajeddin is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Allameh Tabatabai University, Iran,
where he teaches doctoral courses in Discourse Analysis, Interlanguage Pragmatics, and
Second Language Teacher Education. He is Chair of Iranian Interlanguage Pragmatics
SIG, is editor of Issues in Language Teaching, and sits on the editorial/review boards of

TESL-EJ 21.2, August 2017 Tajeddin, Alemi & Pashmforoosh 16

journals such as RELC Journal and TESL-EJ. His research interests center on
interlanguage pragmatic instruction and assessment, classroom discourse analysis,
teacher identity and cognition, and EIL/ELF. He has presented papers at international
conferences and published papers in many journals, including The Language Learning
Journal, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, RELC Journal, Australian
Journal of Teacher Education, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, TESL-EJ, and TESL
Canada Journal.
Minoo Alemi is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at Islamic Azad University,
West Tehran Branch, and a post-doctoral associate at Sharif University of Technology
(SUT), Iran. She is the founder of Robot-Assisted Language Learning (RALL) and the co-
founder of Social Robotics in Iran. She is on the editorial/review boards of many
journals, including British Journal of Educational Technology, BRAIN, LIBRI, and Scientia
Iranica. Her areas of interest include discourse analysis, interlanguage pragmatics,
materials development, and robot-assisted language education. She has presented
papers at many international conferences and published papers in journals such
as Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, The Asia-Pacific Education
Researcher, TESL Canada Journal, and International Journal of Social Robotics.
Roya Pashmforoosh is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Linguistics at Kharazmi University,
Iran, and a visiting researcher at Texas A&M University, US. Her areas of interest include
interlanguage pragmatics, English as an international language (EIL), and speaking
assessment. She has presented papers on pragmatics and EIL at international
conferences and published papers in journals such as Language Testing.

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