In/directness in requests and refusals in EFL by multilinguals with L1 Hebrew or Arabic: A linguistic and textual perspective

Abstract

This study investigated the linguistic and textual features characterizing direct and indirect speech act productions of requests and refusals in English by two multilingual populations: Arabic native speakers for whom English is their L3 and Hebrew is their L2, and Hebrew native speakers for whom English is their L2. Data were collected using a Discourse Completion Task and a background questionnaire. The findings revealed no statistical differences between the groups in the production of either the direct or the indirect mode of request and refusal: both groups preferred the indirect mode for requests and the direct mode for refusals. However, there were differences in the use of linguistic/textual features between direct and indirect requests/refusals within each language group, and differences in the use of features between the language groups within the directness mode. These findings are discussed in terms of cultural influences as well as differences in English proficiency levels.