scholarly journals The Art of Saying “No” to University Students: A Pragmatic Analysis of the Speech Act of Refusal in Teacher-Student Role-Plays

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-75
Author(s):  
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs
Keyword(s):  
Speech Act ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Politeness Theory ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Student Role ◽  
Student Talk ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Refusal Strategies

The current study aimed to investigate how university teachers decline students’ requests. To this end, the realization strategies of the speech act of refusal by 60 faculty members at a private Saudi university were examined. Data were collected through role-plays and were coded by using an adapted version of Beebe, Takahashi and Uliss-Weltz’s (1990) model of refusal strategies and an adapted version of Trosborg’s (1995) model of internal modifiers. The results showed a clear preference for indirect strategies, a limited use of modifiers, particularly internal ones, and a minimal influence for gender and the teaching experience on the realization strategies. The results are interpreted in light of Brown and Levinson’s (1978, 1987) politeness theory, the use of English as a lingua franca, the specific context of teacher-student talk and the existing literature.

A pragmatic analysis of the speech act of criticizing in university teacher-student talk

Pragmatics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-520
Author(s):  
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs ◽  
Fatima Ambreen ◽  
Maria Zaheer ◽  
Yulia Gusarova
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Student Talk ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience

Abstract The current study examined the realization of the speech act of criticizing by university teachers in their talk with students. To this end, role-plays were conducted with 60 university teachers (30 males and 30 females) at a private Saudi university which is characterized by its multicultural academic staff, and, hence, where English is used as a lingua franca. Recordings were transcribed and analyzed using an adapted version of Nguyen’s (2005, 2013) model of criticism strategies. The results showed the teachers’ preference for indirect over direct criticism strategies and their minimal use of modifiers, particularly internal ones. It was also found that the influence of the teacher’s gender or years of teaching experience was small while the severity of the situation was a critical factor in the choice of appropriate strategies. The results were interpreted in relation to the existing literature and the theoretical model of politeness.

“What I advise you to do is…”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs ◽  
Mervat M. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Private University ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Academic Rank ◽  
Game Model ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience ◽  
Advising Preferences

Abstract The current study aims to examine the realization of the speech act of advising among Egyptian university teachers. To this end, 50 Egyptian university teachers at a private university completed eight role-plays in which they gave solicited advice to their fellow teachers. The role-plays were recorded and later transcribed. The data were coded for the advising strategies as well as the initiators and internal/external modifiers. The results showed the participants’ preference for the use of direct advising. The results also showed a minimal influence for the advisor’s gender and years of teaching experience on the participants’ advising preferences. A major influence, however, was observed for the variable of social dominance as represented in the advisee’s academic rank. The results are interpreted in terms of the Mixed Game Model and earlier studies on the speech act of advising.

Early career academics’ understanding of library language

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamima Yesmin ◽  
S.M. Zabed Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Early Career Faculty ◽  
Adequate Understanding

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the understanding of library terminologies by early career faculty members in a newly established rural university setting at the south coast of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach A campus-wide survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire consisted of demographic questions and 35 multiple-choice questions on library terminologies. The multiple-choice questions asked faculty members to select the correct answer from a set of five answers. Findings The findings indicate that early career university teachers lack adequate understanding of library terms; in fact, many of them either gave incorrect answers or was unsure about the term. It was found that faculty members had relatively better understandings of commonly used library terminologies, but they had real difficulties comprehending computer and technology-related terms. Significant differences were observed for some of the terms in case of their age, designation and teaching experience. Originality/value This current study is unique in two ways: first, this is the first time an effort has been made to empirically examine the understanding of library terminologies by early career faculty members; and second, this study was conducted at a university in Bangladesh where the first language is not English.

THEORY OF SPEECH ACTS AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES: PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE ILLOCUTIVE ACT “EXPRESSION OF REFUSALS”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-81
Author(s):  
Sayyora Azimova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Pragmatic Interpretation

This article is devoted to the pragmatic interpretation of the illocutionary action of the speech act “expression of refusals”. The article discusses different ways of reflecting cases of denial. This article was written not only for English language professionals, but also for use in aggressive conflicts and their pragmatic resolution, which naturally occur in the process of communication in all other languages

THEORY OF SPEECH ACTS AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES: PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE ILLOCUTIVE ACT “EXPRESSION OF REFUSALS”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-231
Author(s):  
Sayyora Azimova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Pragmatic Interpretation

This article is devoted to the pragmatic interpretation of the illocutionary action of the speech act“expression of refusals”. The article discusses different ways of reflecting cases of denial. This article was written not only for English language professionals, but also for use in aggressive conflicts and their pragmatic resolution, which naturally occur in the process of communication in all other languages

An Optative-Comparative Construction Expressing Emphatic Assertion in Classical Spanish

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-306
Author(s):  
Lorena Núñez Pinero
Keyword(s):  
Speech Act ◽  
Illocutionary Force ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Comparative Construction

This paper offers a pragmatic analysis of a rarely used construction in Classical Spanish: an emphatic comparison of equality with optative illocution A comparative sentence such as Así me ayude Dios como fue buena mi intención (’May God help me just as my intention was good‘) is used for emphasizing the assertion fue buena mi intención (’my intention was good‘) This construction is probably a Latinism It occurs in Latin, especially in Plautus and Terence, and is mostly attested in Spanish in humanistic comedy and in the Celestinesque tradition of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries The first member of the construction is interpreted at the pragmatic level as a reinforcer of the illocutionary force of the comparative construction as a whole, which expresses an indirect assertive speech act Speakers perform this type of act by satisfying its sincerity condition: they believe that the event of the second member is true, because if it were not, they would run a risk, i.e. the optative would entail a curse for themselves By contrast, when the event is true, the optative entails a good wish for themselves This paper also analyzes how the pragmatic properties of the construction are reflected in its semantic and morphosyntactic properties

Politeness theory and Shakespeare's four major tragedies

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Brown ◽  
Albert Gilman
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
King Lear ◽  
Politeness Theory ◽  
Inner Life ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
Colloquial Speech ◽  
Theory Of Literature

ABSTRACTPenelope Brown and Stephen Levinson (1987) have proposed that power (P), distance (D), and the ranked extremity (R) of a face-threatening act are the universal determinants of politeness levels in dyadic discourse. This claim is tested here for Shakespeare's use of Early Modern English in Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. The tragedies are used because: (1) dramatic texts provide the best information on colloquial speech of the period; (2) the psychological soliloquies in the tragedies provide the access to inner life that is necessary for a proper test of politeness theory; and (3) the tragedies represent the full range of society in a period of high relevance to politeness theory. The four plays are systematically searched for pairs of minimally contrasting dyads where the dimensions of contrast are power (P), distance (D), and intrinsic extremity (R). Whenever such a pair is found, there are two speeches to be scored for politeness and a prediction from theory as to which should be more polite. The results for P and for R are those predicted by theory, but the results for D are not. The two components of D, interactive closeness and affect, are not closely associated in the plays. Affect strongly influences politeness (increased liking increases politeness and decreased liking decreases politeness); interactive closeness has little or no effect on politeness. The uses of politeness for the delineation of character in the tragedies are illustrated. (Politeness theory, speech act theory, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, theory of literature, Shakespeare studies)

Professional Embodiment: Walking, Re-engagement of Desk Interactions, and Provision of Instruction during Classroom Rounds

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-184
Author(s):  
Teppo Jakonen
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ongoing Task ◽  
Student Progress ◽  
Independent Task ◽  
Student Talk ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Classroom Space ◽  
Whole Class

Abstract Unlike continuous whole-class (plenary) interaction, independent task work involves incipient teacher–student talk, as the teacher typically ‘makes rounds’ to engage in brief desk interactions with students. This article draws on multimodal conversation analysis to investigate how teacher movement during tasks offers resources for re-engaging in desk interactions and offering task-related guidance. The focus is on teachers’ walking trajectories and ways of positioning the body, and students’ orientation to them, in (i) (pre-)opening moments of a desk interaction, and (ii) during a subsequent instructional turn that guides students with the ongoing task. The analysis shows how the pedagogical actions of checking and assessing student progress as well as making oneself available to students become observable in ways of walking, and how students display bodily whether they need teacher help. Movement also offers resources for shifting from individualized to collective instruction during rounds. These findings suggest that ways of navigating the body in the classroom space can index pedagogical concerns, which the students can use to make sense of the teachers’ ongoing and projected engagements.

scholarly journals Soft Skills of American University Teachers: Self-Concept

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12397
Author(s):  
Pablo Fernández-Arias ◽  
Álvaro Antón-Sancho ◽  
Diego Vergara ◽  
Amelia Barrientos
Keyword(s):  
Soft Skills ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Educational Model ◽  
American University ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Hard Skills ◽  
Age Range

Today, soft skills (transversal competencies) are increasingly appreciated by employers as essential skills for professional success. Likewise, these competencies are necessary to be able to operate as individuals in today’s society. In view of this situation, in the future post-COVID-19 educational model it is necessary to design training programs that promote both hard skills (specific competencies) and soft skills. This fact brings to the table the need for university teachers to have an optimal level of soft skills so that their students can acquire them. Given this situation, this paper aims to analyze the degree of acquisition of this type of competencies in American university teachers from different regions: (i) North America; (ii) Central America, and (iii) Southern Cone. To achieve this objective, it has been necessary to develop a questionnaire on the self-concept of soft skills, based on several variables: (i) gender, (ii) age range, (iii) geographic area, (iv) area of knowledge, (v) years of teaching experience, and (vi) university tenure (public-private). The questionnaire developed was based on the soft skills included in the Bochum Inventory of Personality and Competences (BIP). Results, obtained by descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the means and deviations of the data collected from a sample of 473 participants, reflect that, in general, the American university teachers have a high self-concept about their degree of soft skills development. Although results show significant differences depending on each variable considered in this study, it can be suggested that the American university teachers are prepared to face a mixed university educational model, which promotes equally both hard skills and soft skills.

scholarly journals Cross-Sectional Study of Refusal Speech Act Used by Iraqi Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-173
Author(s):  
Hutheifa Y. Turki ◽  
Juma’a Q. Hussein ◽  
Ahmed A. Al-Kubaisy
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Refusal Strategies

This paper is conducted to investigate how Iraqi EFL learners refuse different speech acts across different proficiency levels. It aims to examine the most appropriate strategies used by 2nd year students of English as compared to those of 4th year when refusing their interlocutors' invitation, suggestion, and offer. WDCT questionnaire was used to collect data from 40 Iraqi undergraduate students of English: 20 2nd year and 20 4th year. Adopting Beebe et al.'s (1990) theory of refusal, data collected was analyzed quantitatively using statistical analysis. The findings revealed that the 2nd year students of English were more frequent in using direct refusals than their 4th year counterparts. This means the latter were more aware of using refusals politely than the former. On the other hand, the findings showed that 4th year students more frequent in their use of indirect refusal strategies that the 2nd year students. This indicates that the EFL learners of low proficiency level might not bridge the gap between the pragmalinguistic strategies and the grammatical form of the target language. This means that they were not pragmatically competent of the use of the appropriate pragmalinguistic strategies. This implies that the 2nd year students need to pay more attention to pragmatics and use their refusal strategies appropriately. Thus, the paper recommends conducting further research on the use of refusal speech act in Arabic and English.

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