Maria Pilar Safont Jordà is currently a researcher and teaching assistant at the Department of English Studies at the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló (Spain). She has carried out various studies on the development of pragmatic competence by third language learners of English. Her research interests include interlanguage pragmatics and third language acquisition.

Introduction PART 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1. Third language acquisition 2. Pragmatic competence and foreign language learning 3. The sociolinguistic context: language learning and use in the Valencian community PART II. THE STUDY 4. The Method 5. The Role of Pragmatic Instruction in Developing Foreign Language Learners' Pragmatic Competence 6. Proficiency-level Effects on Pragmatic Production 7. Task-effects on Pragmatic Production 8. The Role of Bilingualism in Meta-pragmatic Awareness 9. Pragmatic production and awareness of third language learners. Summarising the findings References

The book focuses on one aspect of foreign language acquisition that has not received much attention, that of the effect of bilingualism in the oral production of the English language learners. Two research areas have tackled this issue separately. On the one hand, third language acquisition researchers have analysed bilingualism effects in the acquisition of a third language. On the other hand, studies in interlanguage pragmatics have taken into account variables affecting the use of request acts by second language learners of English. The two research areas are connected in this volume, as it deals with bilingualism effects in the pragmatic production and awareness of third language learners of English.

The first part of the book includes a theoretical description of research conducted in the areas of third language acquisition and interlanguage pragmatics, and the second part presents a detailed description of the empirical study carried out in a multilingual speech community.