Refusal Semantic Formulas Used by Foreign Language Learners

Abstract

The notion of communicative competence has received much attention in the field of second language (L2) learning. Sociopragmatic competence plays a significant role in realizing speech acts for nonnative speakers. To elucidate the nature of pragmatic speech use by nonnative speakers, many L2 speech act studies have been conducted, including requests, apologies, complaints, and refusals. As refusals are often seen as face-threatening acts by both requesters and refusers, this study aimed to investigate the effect of social status on the refusal semantic formulas used by Korean EFL learners and native English speakers. Thirty Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, 30 native English speakers, and 30 native Korean speakers participated in the study. Data were collected via Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs). Results showed that the Korean EFL learner group tended to be more emotional and collectivistic, while the native English speaker group was more likely to be rational, individualistic, and direct. The implications of these findigs and their potential applications to help L2 learners develop sociopragmatic competence are discussed.