Pedagogical Pragmatics: Natural Semantic Metalanguage Applications to Language Learning and Teaching

This paper presents an overview of the advances in the application of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) methodology in the fields of second and foreign language learning and teaching, and of intercultural education. Our premise is that the NSM approach offers a valuable pedagogical contribution as a set of cross-translatable concepts that can be used in the classroom to explain both linguistic features as well as communicative and other social practices of a given language group. Pedagogical NSM is an emerging field where efforts are being made to test this approach in language education and to train teachers in applying this methodology in their daily practice. Here, we present the state of the art regarding pedagogical applications of NSM, including the construct of “cultural dictionaries” and the use of “Minimal Languages” for classroom explanations.