Measuring Interlanguage Pragmatic Knowledge of EFL Learners - Language Testing & Evaluation Book for English Teachers | ESL Classroom Assessment Resource

this is a relative late comer on the Peter Lang series, but nevertheless a fabulous title. there are a few reflections i wish to share below:1) to those doing pragmatics, dr. liu's contribution may really complements the area's knowledge that traditionally overlooks the teaching and learning aspect of pragmatic knowledge. hence the book enriches us about pragmatics, which can be approached, felt and appreciated as a kind of competence or knowledge. that's the utility value of the discipline, which is readily revealed in dr. liu's title itself.2) to those doing testing, i think the term of pragmatic competence has been wearing on their mouths since long. as i observe, while there are two type of people aorund me, those who are knowledgeable about testing and those who are knowledgeable about pragmatics. unfortunately we are lack of colleagues of the third type, those who are equally good at testing and pragmatics. and this distingushes dr. liu from them; he belongs to the third type of scholars; he is equally versatile in both fields of learning. and the interdisciplinary knowledge enables him to stand above us all, that makes him a scholar that speaks professionally in terms pragmatic, testing, both pragmatic and testing, and the combination of all. in other words, he is a scholar well versed in three fields, and this helps elevate him to an even higher level above us. i admire him, his personality as an ordinary human being, and his learning as a scholar.3) to those in the field of the newly branched off field of pragmatics, interlanguage pragmatics, shorted as ILP, the above combined talents is also a jealous thing or quality to have. but i am arguing on the side of ILP, which departs itself from the proper and other branches of the umbrella pragmatic term, the competence aspect is certainly a focal topic on our research agenda. for that matter, for years, ILP remains virtually at the edge of applying theories and concepts in our teaching and leanring, especially in that of L2 or EFL learners. but the core issue remains: how do we measure it, if we say that there is a thing called pragmatic competence? furhter more, how do we know that when we say that we are to measure the learner's proagmatic knowledge, how do we know that we are doing it, and doing it in the right (i mean scientifc) way? obvious enough, dr. liu's contribution has filled up that gap in literature and provided hands-on guide to us in this around 250-page book.4)finally to those who teach academic, especially thesis writing, we are perhaps armed up with more theories than practice. students who often come to us with doubts about concepts that are hard to apply into their writing practice. hence the question still largely remains: how do i know what are required in a thesis? how do i know that what i accomplish as a thesis looks like an accepted thesis among the academics? to put in even more plain words, how do i know as an author that what i write has met the standard practice in the field? show me the visible steps so that i may follow and adapt myself to. such are identified needs out there in the classroom, to which we as teachers and researchers must not to a blind eye to. meanwhile, it is my knowledge that hundreds of titles on thesis writing are turned out on a yearly basis. some of the authors are my friends, for good or bad. nevertheless, none of such titles impresses me as dr. liu's book here. to me, the book can be read and used in several ways, at least in ways that correspond with the outlined fields that the name of the book pertains to. but at this point, let me assure you that it can serve as a model in our thesis writing course. as far as i see it, the book not only spells out the fundamental and standard layout of a thesis, but also conveys the authur's meaning in plain and professional language. this is hard to do; as we know it, many researchers, including some big names, fail in presenting their research in standard and entertaining ways. research is hard to the extent that, among other things, we need to fumble hard in order to establish a topic, identify a research problem, and research questions around the problem, then design up the flow-chart like steps to find answers for the problem. that's what dr. liu's book contains and how he narrates; it teaches you to do research and illustrates to you how you can best pack up your own reseach fidnings in standard format that is observed in the academe. now here's what makes him special: he has a way to attract, from the beginning to the end. he is simply amazing.absolutely, this is a must read book for all, whether you are doing pragmatics or testing. hence i am recommending it to you without any reserve.shaozhong liu, professor, graduate program in linguistics and applied linguistics, Guangxi Normal University