Introduction

This paper is a qualitative study of pragmatics in content-based instruction, i.e. classrooms where the target language is used as the medium of instruction. In European contexts, the term content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has become widely used as an umbrella term for various forms of implementation (e.g. Dalton-Puffer & Nikula, 2006b; Marsh, 2002) and the acronym CLIL will also be used in this paper. While questions of teaching and learning pragmatics have frequently been considered in the context of foreign language classrooms (for overviews, see Kasper & Rose, 2002; Rose & Kasper, 2001), there is less research on pragmatics in content-based instruction (but see Dalton- Puffer, 2005; Nadasdi et al., 2005). Such research is needed, however, especially as decisions to implement foreign language mediated instruction are often motivated by arguments that can be directly related to pragmatics. For example, the learners are expected to acquire the target language in a more naturalistic way than in formal language teaching and to develop better communicative skills through using the language as part of their everyday practices.

Rather than focusing on pragmatics-related learning outcomes, this paper explores classroom discourse in CLIL settings, offering insights into how pragmatic concerns are taken into account at the local level of interaction and into the nature of CLIL classrooms as environments for pragmatic learning. This paper is part of a larger project, ‘Discoursepragmatic perspectives on classroom interaction’, funded by the Academy of Finland, in which data from both EFL and CLIL classrooms are investigated in order to gain a better understanding of local practices of language use in these settings.