A Pragmatic Study of Conversations in Movies and Textbooks

This study draws on a pragmatic approach to investigate the characteristics and potentials of movies as learning material. Its purpose is to search for the ultimate answer to the questions 'Why movies?' 'Why are movies so interesting?' To answer these questions this study considers two pragmatic concepts: context and speech acts. By comparing conversations in movies or sitcoms and ones in English textbooks, we conclude (1) the conversations in English textbooks from Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press mainly feature co-textual context, which makes them too simple and boring for learners. (2) Movies and sitcoms contain all three kinds of context; context-situational, background knowledge and co-textual context. (3) Conversations in the textbooks generally represent locutionary acts, which can make them too simple or tedious. (4) In contrast, movies and sitcoms contain all three types of speech acts―locutionary acts, illocutionary force, perlocutionary effects, which make them more interesting and authentic. Finally this study suggests that if textbooks add a variety of types of context and speech act they could be more interesting and authentic learning material.