Innovation in Language Learning

Spoken language differs from written language in several aspects. Competency in speaking depends upon pragmatic features, Grice’s Conversational maxims, complementary non-verbal cues etc. Ellipsis and reduced utterances are a common feature of conversation, which are generally neglected by language teachers. EFL learners remain ignorant about these features, which affects their conversational skills to a great extent. An understanding and interpretation of ellipsis and reduced utterances helps speakers as well as listeners to contribute substantially to conversation. The aim of this experimental study is to study the effect of creating awareness about the features in EFL Iraqi students. The experiment was conducted on 30 first year college students. A program was prepared for creating awareness about ellipsis and reduced utterances in conversation with the help of examples from plays. Results showed that students began to use reduced utterances consciously during conversation.

Key words: Reduced utterances, ellipsis, conversation, pragmatics, conversational maxims