Contemporary Approaches to Intercultural Pragmatics Research and its Application in Language Teaching – From Scientific Concepts to Practical Implementation Editors: Biljana Ivanovska, Brikena Xhaferi, Natka Jankova Alagjozovska, Gzim Xhaferri, Goce Delcev University, Stip, 2026.

In an era marked by globalization, intensified mobility, and multicultural educational environments, successful communication increasingly depends not only on grammatical accuracy but also on pragmatic and intercultural competence. Learners of foreign languages often possess solid grammatical knowledge, yet still encounter difficulties in real-life communication due to insufficient awareness of pragmatic norms, culturally conditioned communicative strategies, and implicit meanings embedded in discourse. These challenges are particularly evident in intercultural interactions, where misunderstandings may arise from differing expectations regarding politeness, indirectness, and the realization of speech acts.
Intercultural pragmatics, as a branch of applied linguistics, explores how language use is shaped by cultural, social, and contextual factors and how speakers from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds negotiate meaning in interaction. In the context of foreign language education, intercultural pragmatics plays a crucial role in developing learners’ ability to interpret and produce language appropriately in diverse communicative situations. However, pragmatic competence does not develop automatically through exposure to grammatical structures alone; rather, it requires systematic instruction, guided awareness, and engagement with authentic communicative contexts.
The project “Contemporary Approaches to Intercultural Pragmatics Research and Its Application in Language Teaching – From Scientific Concepts to Practical Implementation” addresses this need by combining theoretical insights from modern pragmatic research with empirical investigation and pedagogical application. By focusing on English and German as foreign languages and comparing learner language with that of native speakers, as well as with Macedonian and Albanian native speakers, the project aims to deepen our understanding of pragmatic competence development and to provide concrete, research-based solutions for improving foreign language teaching practices.