Abstract
Although a number of interlanguage studies on apologies have been conducted, there has been no study of apologies among Thai EFL learners that differentiates between learners with high and low levels of exposure to the target language. This study, differentiating between learners with high and low levels of exposure to the target language, addresses two research questions: (i) What are the similarities and differences between perception of offense context of Thai EFL learners and native speakers of English? (ii) What are the similarities and differences between apology strategies used by Thai EFL learners and native speakers of English? Data for the analysis came from a questionnaire consisting of 12 scenarios eliciting different offense contexts. The participants were divided into four groups: native speakers of English (NEs), native speakers of Thai (NTs), Thai EFL learners with high exposure to the target language (TEHs) and Thai EFL learners with low exposure to the target language (TELs). The results revealed that due to the influence of cultural background, the learners’ perception of offense context was dissimilar to the NEs in certain respects. However, the investigation of apology strategies showed that compared to the TELs, the TEHs’ apology strategies tended to be less influenced by their cultural background and more similar to the NEs’. Providing support for levels of exposure to the target language, as individual differences vary in L2 pragmatic development, the study sheds light on pedagogical intervention that may enhance learners’ pragmatic competence.
Highlights
1.1 Introduce the ProblemHow Second/Foreign language (L2) learners acquire and use their L2 pragmatic knowledge has been one of the topics widely investigated in interlanguage studies
This study, differentiating between learners with high and low levels of exposure to the target language, addresses two research questions: (i) What are the similarities and differences between perception of offense context of Thai EFL learners and native speakers of English? (ii) What are the similarities and differences between apology strategies used by Thai EFL learners and native speakers of English? Data for the analysis came from a questionnaire consisting of 12 scenarios eliciting different offense contexts
This study revealed that native speakers of Thai (NTs) and native speakers of English (NEs) differed considerably in their perception of offense context and use of apology strategies
Summary
How Second/Foreign language (L2) learners acquire and use their L2 pragmatic knowledge has been one of the topics widely investigated in interlanguage studies. A number of interlanguage pragmatic studies examined L2 learners’ knowledge of linguistic forms and cultural norms to perform different speech functions. Studies investigating the influence of cultural background and how Thai learners of English as a foreign language (Thai EFL learners) differ from native speakers in ways through which an apology is carried out are limited in number. In view of the shortcomings, the present study, differentiating between Thai EFL learners with high and low exposure to the target language, compares the perception of offense contexts and apology strategies of the learners with those of native speakers of English and examines how cultural background influences the learners’ L2 pragmatic competence
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