The effect of explicit teaching of apologies on Persian EFL learners’ performance: When e-communication helps

Abstract

The present study was conducted to examine the effect of explicit teaching of the speech act of apology on learning and recognition of Persian EFL learners with the help of e-communication through exchange of e-mails. The participants of the study consisted of 60 upper-intermediate EFL learners majoring in English Literature and Translation who were divided into two groups: a) the explicit teaching group and b) the implicit teaching group. Accordingly, instruction on various apology situations was provided and the experimental group was asked to have e-communication through e-mail exchanges with their instructor during the semester. The study consisted of a pretest and a posttest which was considered to be quasi-experimental. The independent variable was the explicit teaching of speech acts and the dependent variable was learning success of the participants. After the treatment, the participants were given a posttest. The Analysis of the results revealed that the learners in the explicit teaching group who participated in e-mail exchanges gained significantly in terms of pragmatic proficiency required for strategies of apology. And the use of explicit teaching of apology involving them in e-communication exchanges significantly enhanced the pragmatic awareness of Persian EFL learners.