The use of politeness strategies in teacher–student interaction in the Omani EFL classroom

Abstract

PurposeThis paper examines how politeness strategies are used in Omani schools and professional development classrooms. It is a qualitative study following an interactional sociolinguistic analysis approach. The study adopts Brown and Levinson (1987) model to analyse the use of politeness and the notion of face in two different contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative study because it includes descriptive findings. It will follow an interactional sociolinguistic analysis approach and adopts Brown and Levinson (1987) model to analyse the use of politeness and the notion of face in two different contexts. It aims at studying student–teacher interaction in two different groups: Omani private school and Professional development Academy. Two classes will be attended in the school and two classes in the Academy. A mix of female and male teachers from both groups will be observed. The first age group is young learners of grades 7 and 9 and the age range of the second group is adult learners aged between 25 and 40 years old.FindingsThe results are as follows: young learners want to be perceived with their positive face while adult learners with negative face. More face saving acts (FSA) are performed by teachers than face threatening acts (FTAs). More FTAs are performed by young students than adult students. More FSAs are performed than FTAs by female teachers than their counterparts. All teachers agreed that when their face is put into threat, they will save it even if it meant putting the student's face in threat. These results imply that there is a big awareness of politeness and face in the modern day Omani classroom in different contexts and that teachers are actually using it and trying to help students to be aware of it.Originality/valueThe findings of this study will reverberate throughout the field of education and pedagogical techniques since before this study, there has not been sufficient investigation exploring politeness strategies or FSAs of adults in this age group in Oman. In fact, there have not been sufficient studies conducted in this area in Oman within all age groups. To this purpose, this paper will contribute to the existing literature in this field by examining how politeness strategies are used and factors that directly affect their use in the classroom in a new context, Oman. Moreover, the analysis that is presented in this study conveys valuable information for future research exploring this topic but within a broader age range and a bigger sample.

Exploring (Im)Politeness Strategies in Indirect Reports in Persian across Genders

“…In direct speech the perspective of the speaker is maintained, while in indirect speech, the perspective and deixis switch to the position of the reporter. That is why direct speech maintains the most important features of the original utterance, while indirect speech changes pronouns, tenses, deictic elements, intonation, and even referential words [27].…”

“…Latrech and Alazzawie [27] investigated the usage of civility methods in Omani schools and professional development classes. It was a qualitative research based on interactional sociolinguistic analysis.…”

Analisis Strategi Guru dalam Meningkatkan Partisipasi Menyampaikan Pendapat Peserta Didik Kelas VIII pada Mata Pelajaran IPS

“…Berani menyampaikan pendapat sudah seharusnya dilakukan oleh para peserta didik, dimana mereka mampu untuk menyampaikan segala hal bentuk pendapat yang terpendam di pikiran berkaitan dengan materi pelajaran yang sedang dibahas. Latrech and Alazzawie (2022) mengungkapkan bahwa kegiatan menyampaikan pendapat yang paling banyak dilakukan di kelas adalah dengan pertanyaan, koreksi kesalahan dan umpan balik. Kemampuan menyampaikan pendapat di dalam pembelajaran dapat membentuk peserta didik yang aktif dalam pelajaran, peserta didik yang diberikan kesempatan menyampaikan pendapat dapat melatih dalam hal memahami materi.…”