The investigation of politeness strategies : the application of the Michigan Corpus of academic spoken English in teacher – student interactions
1
1
Issued Date
2022
Copyright Date
2022
Resource Type
Language
eng
File Type
application/pdf
No. of Pages/File Size
xi, 115 leaves
Access Rights
open access
Rights
ผลงานนี้เป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของมหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล ขอสงวนไว้สำหรับเพื่อการศึกษาเท่านั้น ต้องอ้างอิงแหล่งที่มา ห้ามดัดแปลงเนื้อหา และห้ามนำไปใช้เพื่อการค้า
Rights Holder(s)
Mahidol University
Bibliographic Citation
Thesis (M.A. (Applied Linguistics))--Mahidol University, 2022)
Suggested Citation
Pang, Hongying, 1997- The investigation of politeness strategies : the application of the Michigan Corpus of academic spoken English in teacher – student interactions. Thesis (M.A. (Applied Linguistics))--Mahidol University, 2022). Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/113925
Title
The investigation of politeness strategies : the application of the Michigan Corpus of academic spoken English in teacher – student interactions
Author(s)
Advisor(s)
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to analyze the usage of politeness strategies in academic spoken English interaction. The spoken data from the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) were collected using a corpus-based approach. The questions of this research were: 1) what are the types of politeness strategies used by both teachers and students? 2) what are the differences in the use of politeness strategies by female and male teachers in academic spoken interaction? Brown and Levinson’s politeness strategies (1987) were applied to fourteen transcriptions of academic interactions between teachers and students. Qualitative analysis of the collected data was used to describe the usage of politeness strategies. Quantitative analysis of the collected data was used to calculate the frequency and percentage of the politeness strategies, aiming to find out the dominant politeness strategy used by teachers and students in English academic spoken interaction. The data revealed that in the classroom interactions, four kinds of politeness strategies – bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record – were used. In teacher-student classroom interactions, positive politeness strategies were the most frequently used, followed by negative politeness, bald on record, and off record. Clear instructions were given to students by using bald on record; a close relationship between teachers and students was maintained by using positive politeness; the direct expressions to students were softened by using negative politeness; and off record was used to give hints to get expected answers from students. Female teachers used a much higher proportion of positive politeness and negative politeness than male teachers. Compared with male teachers, females tended to repeat the important language points that students had said to confirm their performance, which helped develop their interactions. The more politeness strategies the female teachers used, the more successful the interaction in the classroom was. IMPLICATION OF THESIS: The results obtained from this research may apply to Chinese EFL teachers and students. This study suggested that Chinese teachers and students can learn the use of politeness strategies from native speakers. For example, maintain a harmonious connection between teachers and students by using positive politeness; minimize the imposition on the students by using negative politeness; avoid making explicit imposition on students by using off record; and give academic instructions to students by using bald on record. This research also revealed that teachers were more dominant in-class time, which indicates that teachers have great power or knowledge over students. Such a phenomenon is very common in China. Power asymmetry between teachers and students in the Chinese teaching context is influenced by Confucianism. To reduce the power of teachers’ knowledge or authority, more opportunities are supposed to be given to students to participate in classroom activities, such as extending the wait time
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Degree Level
Master's degree
Degree Department
Faculty of Liberal Arts
Degree Discipline
Applied Linguistics
Degree Grantor(s)
Mahidol University