Politeness in professional contexts: foreign-language teacher training
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Gerrard Mugford
Gerrard Mugford is a lecturer in pragmatics, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics at la Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico. His current research interests include (im)politeness, foreign-language interpersonal language use and critical pedagogy. He has published articles and book chapters on politeness, impoliteness,
anticortesía , phatic communion and lexical studies in Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain and Colombia. His recent book, published by Routledge, isAddressing Difficult Situations in Foreign-Language Learning: Confusion, Impoliteness, and Hostility .
Abstract
This paper examines the professional context of teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), whose first language is not English but who are required to help learners adhere to target-language (TL) politeness norms and practices. Many of these teachers have had little or no contact with TL countries/cultures and have limited professional training in this area. This paper highlights the specific context of 39 Mexican EFL teachers who reflected on their understandings and “teaching” of politeness. I argue that by employing existing resources and knowledge and with further training, bilingual teachers can be helped to take “possession” of politeness rather than having to unquestioningly teach appropriate, socially-accepted, socially-expected usage.
About the author
Gerrard Mugford is a lecturer in pragmatics, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics at la Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico. His current research interests include (im)politeness, foreign-language interpersonal language use and critical pedagogy. He has published articles and book chapters on politeness, impoliteness, anticortesía, phatic communion and lexical studies in Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain and Colombia. His recent book, published by Routledge, is Addressing Difficult Situations in Foreign-Language Learning: Confusion, Impoliteness, and Hostility.
Appendix: Specific questions
| 1. | What is politeness? | |
| 2. | Do you think that being polite is basically the same in Spanish as it is in English? | Yes/No |
| Can you explain your answer? | ||
| 3. | Are you polite in English in the same way as you are polite in Spanish? | Yes/No |
| Can you explain your answer? | ||
| 4. | Do you feel comfortable teaching/explaining politeness in the English-language classroom? | Yes/No |
| Can you explain your answer? | ||
| 5. | Do you have the necessary preparation, training and knowledge as a teacher to help students to be polite in English? | Yes/No |
| Can you explain your answer? | ||
| 6. | Do you know any teaching theory behind being polite? | Yes/No |
| If yes, can you give details? | ||
| 7. | Any additional comments/experiences reading this questionnaire. |
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Editorial: where we have been and where we are going
- Research Articles
- Euphemism in laxative TV commercials: at the crossroads between politeness and persuasion
- Teachers and supervisors negotiating face during critical account requests in post observation feedback
- Politeness as normative, evaluative and discriminatory: the case of verbal hygiene discourses on correct honorifics use in South Korea
- Duelling contexts: how action misalignment leads to impoliteness in a courtroom
- Sassy Sasha?: The intersectionality of (im)politeness and sociolinguistics
- Politeness in professional contexts: foreign-language teacher training
- Twitter and the Real Academia Española: perspectives on impoliteness
- I wanted to honour your journal, and you spat in my face: emotive (im)politeness and face in the English and Russian blind peer review
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Editorial: where we have been and where we are going
- Research Articles
- Euphemism in laxative TV commercials: at the crossroads between politeness and persuasion
- Teachers and supervisors negotiating face during critical account requests in post observation feedback
- Politeness as normative, evaluative and discriminatory: the case of verbal hygiene discourses on correct honorifics use in South Korea
- Duelling contexts: how action misalignment leads to impoliteness in a courtroom
- Sassy Sasha?: The intersectionality of (im)politeness and sociolinguistics
- Politeness in professional contexts: foreign-language teacher training
- Twitter and the Real Academia Española: perspectives on impoliteness
- I wanted to honour your journal, and you spat in my face: emotive (im)politeness and face in the English and Russian blind peer review
