This paper reports findings from a think-aloud study that explored the effectiveness of Words at Work, a learning platform intended to aid adult English-language learners in becoming (more) aware of pragmatics in the context of the U.S. workplace. Twenty participants engaged with Words at Work in a computer laboratory. They were asked to (a) think aloud while solving pragmatics tasks (pretest), (b) engage with a Words at Work unit, and (c) complete a parallel form of the pretest pragmatics task, again thinking aloud while solving the tasks (posttest). The audio-recorded verbal reports were transcribed and coded inductively for pragmatic-related episodes (PREs), instances where participants mentioned relevant pragmalinguistic or sociopragmatic aspects. Frequency counts were tabulated for all PREs, and paired-sample t-tests were conducted to investigate differences between pre- and posttest results. Findings revealed statistically significant increases in PREs in the post-think-alouds. In addition to highlighting a change in cognitive state, we observed a key aspect of raising L2 learners’ pragmatic awareness: the need to provide learners with the vocabulary to talk about how they use language. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the construct of metapragmatic awareness and effectively designing environments to promote pragmatic awareness.

本文报告了一项思想探索研究的发现，该研究探讨了工作中的单词的有效性，该学习平台旨在帮助成年英语学习者在美国工作场所的语境中（更多）意识到语用。二十名参与者在计算机实验室中与Words at Work互动。他们被要求（a）在解决语用任务时大声思考（预先测试），（b）与工作中的单词互动单元；（c）完成平行形式的预测语用学任务，在解决任务时再次大声思考（后测）。音频记录的口头报告被转录和归纳为实用相关事件（PRE）的编码，在这种情况下，参与者提到了相关实用语言或社会实用方面。列出所有PRE的频率计数，以及成对样本t进行测试以调查测试前和测试后结果之间的差异。研究结果表明，在思考后的语气中，PRE的统计显着增加。除了强调认知状态的变化外，我们还观察到了提高第二语言学习者的务实意识的一个关键方面：需要为学习者提供词汇以谈论他们如何使用语言。就发现结果对元语用意识的建构和有效设计促进语用意识的环境的意义进行了讨论。