Grant Project Report: Developing Web-based Instructional Materials for Gift Offering and Acceptance in Chinese as a Second Language

Pragmatic competence has long been identified as an important component of learners’ second language (L2) communicative competence, but the curricula of language education often cannot afford extra time for explicit pragmatics instruction. Web-based self-access materials, therefore, are a practical and sustainable complement to classroom instruction. Our project aimed to develop an online module for the instruction of gift offering and acceptance (GOA) in Chinese, an important speech and cultural event in business communication. Ultimately, our goal was to develop web-based materials for all major speech events for business communication in Chinese, a website that can be a useful companion for business Chinese classes as well as a general resource for anyone interested in the cultural aspects of business communication with Chinese speakers.