‘I just need more time’: A study of native and non-native students' requests to faculty for an extension

Abstract

This paper examines the status-unequal requests of 89 advanced mixed-L1 learners and 87 British English native speakers elicited by a written discourse completion task. Significant differences were observed in all three dimensions analysed: internal and external modification, and perspective. The data demonstrate learners' overuse of zero marking in internal modification and overuse of preparators in supportive moves. External modification patterns also differed qualitatively in learners' provision of detailed content and in native speakers' employment of interpersonal orientation moves. Native speakers used significantly more requests employing impersonal perspective and in association with a range of mitigating, elliptical and formulaic devices. In this paper, we explore these quantitative & qualitative differences in patterns of speech act behaviour and consider the implications for learner development.