Pragmatic competence in a second language has been defined as ‘the ability to communicate your intended message with all its nuances in any sociocultural context and to interpret the message of your interlocutor as it was intended’ (Fraser, 2010: 15). By reflecting on the L2 knowledge and skills that this definition entails, we can appreciate the challenges that learners face as they develop their L2 pragmatic abilities. Among other things, learners need to gain receptive and productive abilities to:

• • perform speech acts such as requesting, apologizing, and thanking;

• • grasp the non-literal meaning of words and phrases in the L2;

• • link grammar structures with their communicative functions;

• • express politeness and impoliteness;

• • engage in humorous exchanges;

• • manage their participation in conversations;

• • match language forms to different situations and interlocutors;

• • and employ language to present themselves in desired ways, for example, as funny, serious, respectful, or thoughtful people.

Given that the ways that speakers express their intended meanings through language varies from one culture to another, L2 learners cannot always successfully transfer their L1 pragmatic norms to the L2. For example, while using an imperative verb form to order a coffee in Peninsular Spanish is commonplace and appropriate, in American English the same form may sound rude or demanding. Learning the social meanings and functions that specific words and structures convey in the L2 can help learners to avoid miscommunication and to express the meanings that they intend.

L2 learners can certainly develop L2 pragmatic competence through immersion in an L2 speech community. However, research in the past three decades indicates that naturalistic learning may proceed fairly slowly and that providing learners with instruction in L2 pragmatics can be effective in accelerating learning and enhancing metapragmatic awareness. It is this last point that forms the point of departure for this volume: Cohen advocates for incorporating pragmatics instruction into the foreign language curriculum from the early to the more advanced stages of L2 proficiency.