Date of Graduation
Spring 5-21-2026
Document Access
Project/Capstone - Global access
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
College/School
School of Education
Department/Program
International and Multicultural Education (IME)
First Advisor
Dr. Sedique Popal
Second Advisor
Dr. David Donahue
Abstract
In everyday communication, English speakers often use implied meaning in a multitude of situations and variety of ways. Research has shown that explicitly teaching meta-pragmatic concepts, such as implicature, can have a positive impact on students’ ability to not only understand implicature but can also help them think about English in a different way, providing insight into native speakers’ use of the language. Even with this evidence, implicature is rarely found in ESOL teaching materials, and when it is found, there is seldom any direct discussion on how to appropriately use implied meaning. The purpose of this project is to develop a curriculum for students with around 5-6 years of English speaking experience in a non-English speaking country, such as China, to go through different areas of implied meaning explicitly and enhance their ability to identify and interpret what isn’t said.
The main theoretical frameworks for this project were Paul Grice’s Cooperative Principle, and Dell Hymes’ Communicative Competence. Paul Grice coined the term,“implicature,” which occurs when any of his four maxims of communication are “flouted” and keeping implicature out of ESOL classrooms leaves a gap in a student’s communicative competence and their ability to understand everyday speech.
The project form is a student workbook that uses a Communicative Language Teaching approach with a focus on student interaction and real-life communication. The activities are intended to be learner-centered with attention to context. There are reading, listening, speaking, and writing activities for students to listen and respond to various implied meanings.
Recommended Citation
Tura, Brian, "A Journey into Implicature: Do you Know What I Mean?" (2026). Master's Projects and Capstones. 2002.
https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/2002
Canva Link for Curriculum
