DISKURSMARKER IN DER INTERIMSPRACHE BEI DEUTSCHSTUDIERENDEN IN DER REPUBLIK NORDMAZEDONIEN / English Title: DISCOURSE MARKERS IN THE INTERLANGUAGE BY STUDENTS OF GERMAN IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

The study presented in this paper is part of a research project entitled “The role of explicit instructions in developing pragmatic competence in learning English and German as a foreign language,” currently being conducted at the “Goce Delchev” University in Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia. This study examines the use of pragmatic markers by Macedonian students of German. Speakers use them to achieve smooth speech flow and help their conversation partners appropriately decode the meaning of their utterances. The study describes the investigation of the discourse markers in the interlanguage of the Macedonian foreign language students. The interlanguage refers to the language used by students during the process of learning a foreign language. Investigating discourse markers in the interlanguage of the Macedonian foreign language students could contribute to improving our understanding of their use of discourse markers in the context of foreign language learning. This contribution attempts to analyze the use of pragmatic markers in the speech of the Macedonian learners of German and to present their frequency and function in the language. The analysis was conducted with 30 participants who are studying German at the Department of German Language and Literature at the “Goce Delchev” University in Shtip. The analysis of the data examines whether and how explicit instructions influence the use of pragmatic markers. The results of this study can help learners and teachers better understand the role of explicit instructions in learning and teaching the German language and develop more effective teaching methods.

Keywords

• pragmatics
• discourse markers
• interlanguage
• pragmatic function and frequency of use