Non-native EFL teachers’ email production and perceptions of e-(im)politeness
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Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis
Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis is Professor of English and Applied Linguistics at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, and the Coordinator of the MA TESOL program of the Department of Languages and Literature. She holds a doctorate in Cross-cultural Pragmatics from the School of English Studies of the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research areas are cross-cultural communication, interlanguage and intercultural pragmatics, sociopragmatics, pragmalinguistics and politeness. Her publications have appeared in the
Journal of Pragmatics ,Intercultural Pragmatics ,Journal of Politeness Research ,Multilingua and others. She is the co-editor (with Helen Woodfield) of the John Benjamins edited volume ‘Interlanguage Request Modification’ published in 2012. Her current research focuses on the pragmatic performance and development of Greek learners of English, email politeness and e-requests, and on the pragmatic abilities and development of young L2 learners.
,
Helen Woodfield
Helen Woodfield was formerly Senior Lecturer in TESOL/Applied Linguistics at the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education UK and Director of the MSc TESOL programme. Her publications include articles in
Journal of Pragmatics ,Multilingua ,Studies in Applied Linguistics , andEvaluation and Research in Education . She has also co-edited (with Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis)Interlanguage Request Modification and (with Kate Beeching)Researching Sociopragmatic Variability: perspectives from variational, interlanguage and contrastive pragmatics . Recent publications include ‘Learning how to interpret indirectness in an L2’ in K. P. Schneider & E. Ifantidou (eds.) 2020Developmental and Clinical Pragmatics . Her research interests focus on comparative and developmental aspects of interlanguage pragmatics and on the contribution of verbal report to research methodology in examining cognitive processes and metalinguistic knowledge in speech act production.Christine Savvidou is an Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia and has a doctorate in Teacher Education from the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research focuses on teacher education, professional development and, professional knowledge and identity in second language teaching. A member of several professional associations, she is an active researcher and has published her work in several international refereed journals
Intercultural Education ,Technology, Pedagogy and Education ,Journal of Teacher Development ,Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice . She is also a regular reviewer for several international journals.
Abstract
The present study investigates the nature of email requests to faculty produced by non-native speaker (NNS) teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the importance attached by these teachers to linguistic forms designed to achieve email politeness and status-congruence, and the extent to which perceptions and evaluations by the NNS teachers and native-speaker (NS) lecturers might differ with regard to these emails. The study found that the non-native speaker teachers (NNSTs) evidenced a developed sense of sociopragmatic knowledge in high imposition L2 requests for action, and employed politeness strategies that were indicative of a concern to maintain social and face relationships in virtual consultations. It is argued that despite their advanced English language proficiency, the teachers’ reliance on directness, excessive formality, and lengthy grounders could still put them out-of-status and render their emails as pragmatically inappropriate. The study further confirmed significant differences in how the two groups perceive appropriateness and politeness in direct and unmodified student email requests to faculty. Overall, while the NSs judged the emails primarily according to their content and, to a lesser extent, according to their form and framing devices, the NNSTs focused almost exclusively on form and framing devices (in/formality, in/directness, nature and extent of mitigation, opening/closing moves, forms of address).
About the authors
Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis is Professor of English and Applied Linguistics at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, and the Coordinator of the MA TESOL program of the Department of Languages and Literature. She holds a doctorate in Cross-cultural Pragmatics from the School of English Studies of the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research areas are cross-cultural communication, interlanguage and intercultural pragmatics, sociopragmatics, pragmalinguistics and politeness. Her publications have appeared in the Journal of Pragmatics, Intercultural Pragmatics, Journal of Politeness Research, Multilingua and others. She is the co-editor (with Helen Woodfield) of the John Benjamins edited volume ‘Interlanguage Request Modification’ published in 2012. Her current research focuses on the pragmatic performance and development of Greek learners of English, email politeness and e-requests, and on the pragmatic abilities and development of young L2 learners.
Helen Woodfield was formerly Senior Lecturer in TESOL/Applied Linguistics at the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education UK and Director of the MSc TESOL programme. Her publications include articles in Journal of Pragmatics, Multilingua, Studies in Applied Linguistics, and Evaluation and Research in Education. She has also co-edited (with Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis) Interlanguage Request Modification and (with Kate Beeching) Researching Sociopragmatic Variability: perspectives from variational, interlanguage and contrastive pragmatics. Recent publications include ‘Learning how to interpret indirectness in an L2’ in K. P. Schneider & E. Ifantidou (eds.) 2020 Developmental and Clinical Pragmatics. Her research interests focus on comparative and developmental aspects of interlanguage pragmatics and on the contribution of verbal report to research methodology in examining cognitive processes and metalinguistic knowledge in speech act production.
Christine Savvidou is an Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia and has a doctorate in Teacher Education from the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research focuses on teacher education, professional development and, professional knowledge and identity in second language teaching. A member of several professional associations, she is an active researcher and has published her work in several international refereed journals Intercultural Education, Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Journal of Teacher Development, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice. She is also a regular reviewer for several international journals.
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Appendix 1: The e-DCT Scenarios
Scenario 1
You are an 18-year old undergraduate student. You are writing your assignment and your deadline is close. However, you realise you will not be able to meet the deadline on time as you have been unwell for the past few days. The familiarity between you and the professor is very low as you have only communicated with each other via email and spoken to him/her only once. You decide to email your professor and ask for an extension. Please write your email below:
Please indicate any difficulties you had constructing this email:
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
Scenario 2
You are an 18-year old undergraduate student. You are writing your assignment and you need to get hold of a very useful article. The library cannot provide it to you on time and you know that your professor has the journal that includes the article in his/her office. The familiarity between you and the professor is very low as you have only communicated with each other via email and spoken to him/her only once. You decide to email the professor to ask her/him to send you a copy of the article. Please write your email below:
Please indicate any difficulties you had constructing this email:
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
Appendix 2: Perception questionnaire emails
EMAIL 1
Dear (Mary),
Please e-mail the syllabus of the course ENG 551 taught during the second semester because I
would like to familiarize myself with the content of its books.
My e-mail is .........
Thanking you in advance,
[student’s name]
EMAIL 2
From: ............@gmail.com
Sent: date
To: ...........@unic.ac.cy
Subject: questionnaire
ATTACHMENT
Please note what changes should be made.
EMAIL 3
hello..
My name is ..... and I missed today’s lecture because I’m sick..
I would like to know about assignment 2.
EMAIL 4
Mary.
I collected some “chunks” about professional identity from the chapters that I read. I’m
going to use them in my literature review that I will write tomorrow. Please take a look
and see whether what I collected are necessary and important but also whether my
references are ok …
Shall I include a quotation as it is … or shall I paraphrase?
Please answer me as soon as possible.
Thanx
C [student’s name]
EMAIL 5
Dr. Paul
When can I come to your office to speak to you about a problem that I have?
Thanks
EMAIL 6
Dr. Jones,
Please let me know if you received my assignment.
Thank you
Appendix 3: Perception questionnaire - The 10 email dimensions rated
1. This email is polite | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
2. This email is abrupt | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
Please explain your choice for questions 1 and 2 by making reference to specific linguistic features from the message ...................................................................... | ||||
3. This email acknowledges any possible imposition involved. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
4. I feel that this email gives me a lot of choice in complying with what is requested. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
5. I find this studenttactful. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
6. I find this student considerate. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
7. I find this studentrespectful. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
8. I find this studentimposing. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
9. I find this student authoritative. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
10. I find this student self-centred. | ||||
1 = not at all | 2 = not really | 3 = so-so | 4 = quite a lot | 5 = very much |
How else would characterise the message or the student? (Please add any additional comments you might have) .......................................................................... | ||||
© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Relational work in dispute: Negotiating norms, negotiating relationships
- Non-native EFL teachers’ email production and perceptions of e-(im)politeness
- Rejecting consumer complaints in customer encounters on Twitter - the case of English and Polish brand communication
- Disagreement among Arabic speakers in faceless computer-mediated communication
- Self-Denigration in 21st Century Chinese
- From silence to positive self-presentation: gradual emergence of negative face wants in Kǒngguīzú’s (恐归族) intergenerational conflicts with their family elders
- Book Review
- Chen, Xinren (ed.). 2017. Politeness phenomena across Chinese genres. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd, Hardback ISBN 978-1-78179-176-9; 291 pp. Price: Hb GBP £75.
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Relational work in dispute: Negotiating norms, negotiating relationships
- Non-native EFL teachers’ email production and perceptions of e-(im)politeness
- Rejecting consumer complaints in customer encounters on Twitter - the case of English and Polish brand communication
- Disagreement among Arabic speakers in faceless computer-mediated communication
- Self-Denigration in 21st Century Chinese
- From silence to positive self-presentation: gradual emergence of negative face wants in Kǒngguīzú’s (恐归族) intergenerational conflicts with their family elders
- Book Review
- Chen, Xinren (ed.). 2017. Politeness phenomena across Chinese genres. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd, Hardback ISBN 978-1-78179-176-9; 291 pp. Price: Hb GBP £75.
