none 10.1075/lllt.26.03fel John Benjamins Publishing Company John Benjamins Publishing Company 1757 67858996 1420435 1420417 202507030001000019 10.1075 2025-07-02T18:00:09Z 2014-03-23T18:39:34Z 96 1569-9471 10.1075/lllt https://benjamins.com/ catalog/lllt Alicia Martínez-Flor University Jaume I, Castelló https://ror.org/02ws1xc11 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8510-6872 Esther Usó-Juan University Jaume I, Castelló https://ror.org/02ws1xc11 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4030-8926 Theoretical, empirical and methodological issues Speech acts are an important and integral part of day-to-day life in all languages. In language acquisition, the need to teach speech acts in a target language has been demonstrated in studies conducted in the field of interlanguage pragmatics which indicate that the performance of speech acts may differ considerably from culture to culture, thus creating communication difficulties in cross-cultural encounters. Considering these concerns, the aim of this volume is two-fold: to deal with those theoretical approaches that inform the process of learning speech acts in particular contextual and cultural settings; and, secondly, to present a variety of methodological proposals, grounded on research-based ideas, for the teaching of the major speech acts in second/foreign language classrooms. This volume is a valuable theoretical and practical resource not only for researchers, teachers and students interested in speech act learning/teaching but also for textbook writers wishing to have an informed opinion on the pedagogical implications derived from research on speech act performance. 26 2 10 2010 2 22 2010 9789027219893 9789027219909 9789027288363 John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam 10.1075/lllt.26 http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027288363 https://www.jbe-platform.com/deliver/fulltext/9789027288363.pdf https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1075/lllt.26/html J. César Félix-Brasdefer Indiana University https://ror.org/01kg8sb98 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0191-486X DCTs, role plays, and verbal reports This chapter takes a speech-act perspective and examines the degree of validity and reliability of three data collection methods used in speech act research: discourse completion tasks, role plays, and verbal reports. Various formats of these instruments and the type of data they produce under experimental conditions are reviewed and illustrated with examples taken from learners and native speakers. In addition, ways for refining the instrument by focusing on the contextual information of the situation are discussed. This chapter shows how role-play data can be analysed sequentially and across multiple turns in controlled settings. It also highlights the significance of using verbal reports as a means of validating experimental data by gaining access to the learners’ cognitive and sociocultural perceptions during speech act performance. It concludes with practical recommendations for refining the instruments used in speech-act research. 2 10 2010 2 22 2010 41 56 10.1075/lllt.26.03fel https://benjamins.com/catalog/lllt.26.03fel https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1075/lllt.26.03fel/html