scholarly journals Saudi EFL Students’ Production of Conventional Expressions in Second Language Pragmatics

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-274
Author(s):  
Afnan Almegren
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
First Language ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
The Status ◽  
Efl Students

This study compared and explored the differences and similarities in the production of conventional expressions between native English speakers and non-native English speakers represented by the Saudi EFL learners. It also examined the pragma-linguistic differences in the production of conventional expressions. Forty-seven native English speakers and forty-seven non-native English speakers participated in this study. The questionnaire consisted of nineteen scenarios representing different speech acts. Students were requested to reply to these scenarios as if they were real-life situations. The findings established that almost half of the comparisons between Saudi EFL learners and native English speakers presented similarities in the production of conventional expressions. However, there were some pragma-linguistic differences between the native English speakers and some of the Saudi EFL learners, such as misunderstandings due to the misuse of expected expressions, verbosity, the use of expressions that formal speakers considered rude, and transferred from their first language. These findings provide an empirical vision to the status of Saudi EFL learners conventional expressions. Future research could investigate conventional EFL expressions locally and globally.

scholarly journals The Realization of Complaint Strategies among Iranian Female EFL Learners and Female Native English Speakers: A Politeness Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Atefeh Eshraghi ◽  
Mohsen Shahrokhi
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Completion Test

<p>Speech acts are interesting areas of research and there has been much research on speech acts. Complaint is a type of speech act and how to use it in interaction is important to EFL learners. The complaint strategies employed by Iranian female EFL learners and female English native speakers were compared in this study. Also, the effects of contextual variables (Social distance and Social power) on the choice of complaint strategies by Iranian female EFL learners and female native English speakers were studied in this research. Thirty Iranian female EFL learners and thirty female native English speakers participated in this study. The two instruments which were used in this study included Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and Discourse Completion Test (DCT). The (DCT), as an open-ended questionnaire was administrated to them to elicit complaint speech acts. Then, the collected data were analyzed according to a modified taxonomy of complaint strategies proposed by Trosoborg (1995). The results indicated that there was a significant difference between Iranian female EFL learners and female native English speakers in terms of using complaint strategies. Iranian female EFL learners used indirect complaint, while female native English speakers used the direct complaint more frequently; and contextual variables had a great influence on complaint strategy choice by participants of two groups.</p>

scholarly journals Impoliteness in the Realization of Complaint Speech Acts: A Comparative Study of Iranian EFL Learners and Native English Speakers

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atefeh Nikoobin ◽  
Mohsen Shahrokhi
Keyword(s):  
Social Distance ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Common Strategy ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

This study was conducted to investigate the impolite complaint strategies that are used by Iranian EFL learners and native speakers in relation to social distance. This study also aimed at determining if there were significant differences among the strategies used by each group and if there was a significant difference between Iranian native speakers of English. To this end, 40 Iranian EFL learners and 20 Americans who were native speakers of English participated in this study. To make sure about the homogeneity of Iranian participants the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was conducted. A questionnaire containing 12 different situations was designed by the researchers and was given to the participants to express their complaints for each situation. The results revealed that there were significant differences among the strategies used by each group; the most common strategy that was used by both groups of participants was positive impoliteness and the least common one was bald-on-record. Although the most and least common strategies used by both groups were the same, Iranians had a stronger tendency for using sarcasm in low social distance situations while natives had a stronger tendency for using bald-on-record in high social distance contexts. This study has implications for EFL curriculum designing in Iran and can make Iranian EFL instructors familiar with the importance of impoliteness as an indispensable part of language.

scholarly journals Persuasive Strategies of Saudi EFL Learners

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Persuasive Strategies

The aim of this study is to investigate the speech act of persuasion used by Saudis learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Moreover, we seek to explore the differences between genders in the use of these strategies. The participants are 50 males and 50 females at level 7 of their bachelor’s degree in English. Data are collected using the Discourse Completion Test (DCT) method, which contains six scenarios similar to real-life situations. Data are analysed quantitatively using the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project nine-point rating scale, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and Chi-square. The results of the DCT reveal that Saudi EFL learners use more direct strategies in English, namely hedge performatives and performatives. In addition, males are shown to be more inclined to use direct persuasive strategies compared to females. This research will benefit language learners, teachers, and researchers, as it highlights linguistic aspects of the speech act of persuasion that should be considered when learning and teaching a foreign language. The implications of this study inspire future research into different aspects of speech acts.

scholarly journals The Use of Twitter Amongst Female Saudi EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
Norah K. M. Alsharidi
Keyword(s):  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Survey Questionnaires ◽  
Shed Light

Twitter is a popular microblogging site amongst the Saudi population, which means that Saudi EFL learners are now increasingly connected with millions of native English speakers and other EFL/ESL students. This paper shed light on the use of Twitter by female Saudi EFL learners to determine their English learning practices and their perceptions beyond formal learning contexts. Specifically, the research determined the manner by which the participants’ social interactions over Twitter can help with second language (L2) development and the factors that drove them to choose this site to support their L2 learning. To this end, 25 Saudi adult females who were at different levels of study at a local health sciences university in Saudi Arabia were recruited. Underlain by a mixed methods approach, data collection was implemented through survey questionnaires administered to the EFL learners, amongst whom three participated in additional semi-structured interviews. The researcher has provided few recommendations for the future research where use of Twitter in education and its implications for the purpose of teaching.

scholarly journals PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING OF STRESS BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS LEARNING SPANISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Ramsés Ortín ◽  
Miquel Simonet
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Recall Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 English ◽  
Processing Stress

Abstract One feature of Spanish that presents some difficulties to second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is English concerns lexical stress. This study explores one aspect of the obstacle these learners face, weak phonological processing routines concerning stress inherited from their native language. Participants were L1 English L2 learners of Spanish. The experiment was a sequence-recall task with auditory stimuli minimally contrasting in stress (target) or segmental composition (baseline). The results suggest that learners are more likely to accurately recall sequences with stimuli contrasting in segmental composition than stress, suggesting reduced phonological processing of stress relative to a processing baseline. Furthermore, an increase in proficiency—assessed by means of grammatical and lexical tests—was found to be modestly associated with an increase in the accuracy of processing stress. We conclude that the processing routines of native English speakers lead to an acquisitional obstacle when learning Spanish as a L2.

English and Japanese interlanguage comprehension strategies: An analysis based on the competition model

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Word ◽  
Competition Model ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Native Japanese Speakers ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Japanese Word

ABSTRACTIn an experiment based on the competition model, 12 native Japanese speakers (J1 group) and 12 native English speakers studying Japanese (JFL group) were requested to report sentence subjects after listening to Japanese word strings which consisted of one verb and two nouns each. Similarly, 12 native English speakers (E1 group) and 12 native Japanese speakers studying English (EFL group) reported the sentence subjects of English word strings. In each word string, syntactic (word order) cues and lexical-semantic (animacy/inanimacy) cues converged or diverged as to the assignment of the sentence subjects. The results show that JFL-Ss (experimental subjects) closely approximated the response patterns of J1-Ss, while EFL-Ss showed evidence of transfer from their first language, Japanese. The results are consistent with the developmental precedence of a meaning-based comprehension strategy over a grammar-based one.

Mentoring University Preparatory Students Through World Englishes (WEs)-Integrated Courses

2018 ◽  
pp. 77-96
Author(s):  
Ahmet Cihat Kapçık ◽  
Ali Öztüfekçi ◽  
Aybüke Demet Ören ◽  
Ayten Kaplan ◽  
Çiğdem Yılmaz Uzunkaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
The World ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
The Status ◽  
Data Collection Procedure

The increasing number of non-native English speakers in the world has led to the use of varieties of English. Nowadays, the number of speakers of English in the expanding circle has exceeded the number of speakers in the outer and inner circles. This has given rise to the scrutiny of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). With this regard, the research on World Englishes (WEs) has increased over the last few decades. In light of these observations, the purpose of this chapter is to raise awareness of World Englishes (WEs) among preparatory students at private universities in Turkey. Specifically, the study is concerned with mentoring preparatory students through Wes-integrated courses. The participants of this study were 20 preparatory students at A2-level English proficiency. As data collection procedure, the mentor teacher of the existing program adapted EFL materials including videos, dialogues, and integrated four language skills. The data were collected through questionnaires and reflective essays. With regard to the results, the students had an idea about the concept of Wes, and they became aware of the varieties of English to some extent; specifically, they displayed consciousness about the status of English across the world and sympathy toward WEs.

Educational failure or success

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Students First ◽  
Use Of Assessment

Within the Australian education system, Aboriginal students’ use of non-standard English features is often viewed simplistically as evidence of non-attainment of literacy and oral-English milestones. One reason for this is the widespread use of assessment tools which fail to differentiate between native- English speakers and students who are learning English as a second language. In these assessments, non-standard English features are framed as ‘mistakes’ and low scores taken as evidence of ‘poor’ performance. This paper will contrast a mistake-oriented analysis with one that incorporates knowledge of the students’ first language. It will clearly show that when consideration is given to the first language, a more nuanced picture of English proficiency emerges: one that is attuned to the specific second language learning pathway and thus far better placed to inform both assessment and classroom instruction.i

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