how can pragmatics be useful in teaching English language as a foreign language

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There are so many ways pragmatics can be useful! First of all, consider how many speech acts we have to make everyday. Invitations, refusals, apologies, etc. Most of these have formulaic scripts (set answer-response turns in the conversation) and strategies that go along with each. Pragmatic scripts are also an important part of service encounters like buying clothes at a store, eating out at a restaurant, or getting a haircut. What one might say in each of these situations could differ depending on the language and/or cultural setting. If your students plan to travel abroad it could be very useful to teach them these practical skills. Another very interesting way to use pragmatics in teaching EFL would be to talk about how politeness differs by language or by region. In some cultures being direct might be considered polite and in other cultures being indirect might be considered polite. Etc. Etc. One could also talk about pragmatics and humor in teaching EFL.