Assessing pragmatic knowledge in the instructed setting is seen as a complex but necessary task, which requires the design of appropriate research methodologies to examine pragmatic performance. This study discusses the use of two different research methodologies, namely those of Discourse Completion Tests/Tasks (DCTs) and verbal reports. Research has shown that the use of DCTs in combination with verbal reports can increase the trustworthiness of the results (Félix-Brasdefer, 2010). Hence, taking into account the potential of verbal reports, the present study aims to investigate the cognitive processes undertaken by a group of English language learners as regards their pragmatic performance. Findings regarding the value of retrospective verbal reports are discussed together with practical recommendations for the use of DCTs and verbal reports to assess speech act performance in the instructed setting. [For the complete volume, "New Perspectives on Teaching and Working with Languages in the Digital Era," see ED565799.]