Second language pragmatics are not easily acquired by second language learners for a variety of reasons including negative first language transfer, insufficient grammatical competence, and inadequate instruction. For adult learners living in the second language environment, adequate pragmatic knowledge is essential even for beginning level…

A high school teacher describes student experiences of meeting resistance when attempting to learn more about community issues or problems. These negative encounters, although causing some anxiety and distress, taught beneficial lessons that enabled students to grow and learn. (LP)