English language learners' pragmatic competence is related to their success incross-cultural communication. Cognitive approaches, mainly the Noticing Hypothesis and Analysis/Control Model, have provided some insights into the question of how to effectively develop second language(L2) learners' pragmatic competence. Empirical studies based on cognitive theoretical constructs suggest that pragmatic activitiesthat draw learners' attention and help them control attention to relevant and appropriate information and integrate those forms in real time of communication contribute to the development of interlanguage pragmatic competence.
This article reflects on the process of transcribing spoken interaction and makes a comparative analysis of two different varieties of spoken interaction(casual conver- sation and institutional talk). By doing so, it reveals how the different purposes of speech result in their distinctive characteristics, and shows how language is struc- tured to construct ideational meanings(Field) and interpersonal meanings(Tenor) that define each context.
