Studies on apologies have proliferated in pragmatics research, but little research has been conducted on apology responses (ARs). The present inquiry contributes to filling the gap in the literature, and it does so by examining such responses in two languages, Australian English (AE) and Bahasa Indonesia (BI). The study ultimately focuses on two variables, gender and culture. It probes behavioural differences in the genders in and between the two societies, and considers cultural differences in the expression of ARs. Using oral discourse completion tasks (DCTs), the researchers recorded and analyzed a total of 360 responses to three apology situations. The findings reveal that ARs in both languages were complex and elaborate, embodying various subsidiary speech acts and expressions. The ARs generally showed indirectness and mitigated face threats towards interlocutors. However, one striking result is that there was no marked gender difference in AR strategy either within or between languages, thus challenging a stereotype that females are more accepting and ‘polite’ than males (Brown, 1980; Holmes, 1995, 2008). Another surprising result was that, in a significant minority of cases, Indonesians were revealed to be more direct and face-threatening than their Australian counterparts, again confronting a stereotype of speech behaviour, in this case that Asians are more indirect and ambiguous than native English-speakers in Western cultures

This study examines sociocultural, pragmatic, and gender differences between native speakers of Australian English (AE) and Bahasa Indonesia (BI) in expressing the speech act of apology. Based on an oral discourse completion task (DCT) using data from 24 native speakers of both languages, the study focuses on the variations in the use of apology strategies in three situations of moderate severity. The findings show that the two groups use a variety of strategies in expressing apologies. The majority of BI speakers tend to use requests for forgiveness with relatively strong hearer-oriented strategies. AE apologies, on the other hand, seem to be dominated by the frequent use of expressions of regret, with speaker-oriented strategies. Another noticeable speech phenomenon lies in the differences in showing directness and politeness: BI speakers are likely to be more elaborate and less straightforward in their expressions than AE speakers. It is also evident that Indonesian apologetic acts tend to be somewhat formulaic and less varied compared with those in Australian expressions. Finally, the findings show quite pronounced gender differences both within and between the two languages in terms of the strategy use and expressions.

One of the most important and potential problems encountered in an official online letter management application is the late response of the recipients. This action research aims to improve the recipients’ response time, and determine the central core of shyness according to response time categories: less than 24 hours (green zone); between 24 hours to 48 hours (orange zone); and more than 48 hours (red zone) in managing formal online letter management system at Jambi University. Using the social representation theory of shyness as the basis of action (adopted from Moscovici (1984)), it is hypothesized that response time displaying will have an impact on response time improvement. Through a survey questionnaire distributed to 129 respondents, the results showed that there was a significant improvement in the participants’ response time respectively in cycles 1 and 2. The percentage for the green zone group increased from 22.44% to 52.49 % in the first cycle, and it ultimately raised to 62.38% at the end of second cycle. Such an increase might be due to the users’ efforts to avoid level of shyness which were classified into: (1) slow to respond and (2) personal or work unit late response time – both marked in red. It is recommended that the use of social shyness incorporated in improving response time in a formal online letter can be further implemented with other social and psychological parameters.