Pragmatic Challenges Faced by EFL Learners in Iraqi Preparatory Schools

الملخص

Pragmatic competence in EFL teaching and learning is essential element for successful   communication in different domains. It refers the ability to use language effectively in social interaction, beyond mastering grammar and lexicon. The expression also refers to the ability of understanding what words and sentences mean literally and recognize how their meanings are modified in different contexts. However, this side is neglected by teachers since they focus heavily on grammatical competence which creates obstacles for EFL learners in developing their competence appropriately. As such, the study shed lights on (1) identifying the pragmatic challenges faced by Iraqi EFL learners in preparatory schools due to teacher’s negligence of this aspect and (2) exploring the students' viability to use grammatical rules in particular to express themselves appropriately in certain contexts. The data is gathered from the students' test results of 216 5^th grade preparatory school to determine their difficulties and abilities in this area. The data is qualitatively gathered and analyzed basing on Bachman’s modal (1990) of communicative competence. The results show that the students failed in three questions, with varied rates of success for the easiest to the most difficult, or from the more familiar to the less familiar. The results also show that the difficulties in pragmatic competence fall into three key areas: classroom setting, teaching methods, and curriculum system.