CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is an introduction to the thesis. It provides the background and context for the present study，which aims to examine the interlanguage pragmatic（ILP）competence of English as a foreign language（EFL）learners in China. The participants were English major students in four universities of the Guizhou Province，China. This chapter includes the background of the study，the rationale of the study，the scope of the study，the objectives and the research questions，the significance of the study and the terms used in the present study. In the end，the outline of the thesis is presented.