POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN STUDENTS' INTERACTION DURING ACADEMIC SPEAKING CLASS
Keywords:
politeness strategies, academic speaking, EFL students, Brown and Levinson, pragmaticsAbstract
Politeness is a crucial aspect of academic communication, yet its use among EFL students in Academic Speaking classes remains underexplored. This study investigates the types and functions of politeness strategies used by students in Academic Speaking class interactions. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected through video recordings of three class sessions and semi-structured interviews with three fifth-semester EFL students at a university in Pekalongan. The data were analyzed using Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory and Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis model. The findings revealed three out of four politeness strategies: positive politeness, negative politeness, and bald on record, while off record was not found. Positive politeness was the most dominant, used through expressions such as “Okay, great” and “Thank you for the insightful presentation” to build rapport. Negative politeness appeared in indirect requests such as “Can you please mention it?” to minimize imposition, while bald on record was used for direct, informative statements prioritizing clarity. These findings demonstrate that students possess pragmatic awareness in managing Face Threatening Acts (FTAs) during academic interactions. This study contributes to EFL pragmatics research and offers practical insights for educators in fostering students’ communicative competence in academic speaking contexts.
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