البحث — المستودع الرقمي العراقي

المستخلص: Abstract Pragmatics is the study of language use in context and is crucial for effective communication. The pragmatic analysis includes verbal and nonverbal elements using different models. Understanding how verbal and nonverbal elements convey meaning enhances learners’ pragmatic competence. The current study aims to reveal speech act types and subtypes in the Iraqi EFL textbooks English for Iraq in the intermediate and preparatory stages, analyzing written dialogues, images, and audio to uncover verbal and non-verbal illocutionary force-indicating devices. The study also explores the ability of images to express pictorial acts independently of verbal elements and investigates the match between speech and image acts. It further examines the impact of audiovisual context on students’ pragmatic competence, comparing this impact between males and females, as well as students from the scientific and literary branches. The study uses mixed methods, starting the qualitative part by collecting data from the English for Iraq textbooks. An eclectic model for analysis is adopted, employing steps of content analysis to reveal speech act types and subtypes based on Krippendorff (2004). Three models are used to analyze speech acts in written dialogues: Searle (1979), Searle & Vanderveken (1985), and Searle (1969). For pictorial acts in images, four models are utilized: Schmitz (2007), Semiotics (Peirce, 1931), Pease & Pease (2004), and Knapp, Hall & Horgan (2013). Intonation analysis follows Roach (2009) using Praat (Version 2.2.01 - 2021). In the quantitative part, a questionnaire is conducted via Google Forms, including 41 MA and PhD students from the Department of English at the College of Art, the College of Education, and the College of Basic Education at the University of Mosul. A quasi-experimental design is employed with pre and post-tests involving 400 fifth preparatory students. It has been found that Iraqi EFL textbooks include different types and subtypes of speech acts, such as directives, expressives, assertives, and commissives, with no declarations. The findings show that various audiovisual elements such as gestures, facial expressions, signs, and prosodic features indicate the illocutionary forces of utterances. The findings also reveal the ability of images to express image acts without verbal utterances, and the match between speech and image acts depends on the explicitness of their elements in the context. Moreover, audio elements affect males' and females’ pragmatic competence equally, while visual elements impact females more than males. Finally, students of the scientific and literary branches are affected similarly. The study concludes that English for Iraq textbooks focus on pragmatic aspects of language teaching in Iraq, exposing students to various speech acts, types, and subtypes. Various audiovisual elements indicate the illocutionary force of utterances. Audiovisual elements impact students’ pragmatic competence, with statistical differences between males and females on the one hand and no statistical difference between students of the scientific and literary branches on the other hand.

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