No abstract

Using role play and verbal-report data, this study investigates the sequential organization of politeness strategies of 24 learners of Spanish and whether the learners' ability to negotiate and mitigate a refusal was influenced by length of residence in the target community. Refusal sequences were examined throughout the interaction (head acts, pre-and postrefusals) and across conversational turns. Results showed more frequent attempts at negotiation and greater use of lexical and syntactic mitigation among learners who had spent more time in the target community and also revealed a preference for solidarity and indirectness, which approximated native Spanish speaker norms. It is suggested that the variables of proficiency and length of residence should be considered independently. Finally, learners' perceptions of social status are discussed.

This study investigated the preference for and use of politeness strategies (direct and indirect) by native speakers and advanced non-native speakers of Spanish when declining an invitation (role-play) in three levels of social status (equal and unequal [higher and lower]). Thirty subjects participated in the study (15 males and 15 females): 10 Latin American speakers of Spanish (SPNϪSPN), 10 Americans speaking Spanish (ENGϪSPN), and 10 Americans speaking English (ENGϪENG). The variables of gender, education, age, and Spanish dialect were controlled. Significant differences were observed between the SPNϪSPN and the ENGϪSPN groups in six strategies: Alternative, Set Condition, Hedging, Promise of Future Acceptance, Solidarity, and Positive Opinion. Results suggested that there is a high degree of interlanguage variation in the use of and preference for refusal strategies among the ENGϪSPN group. Regarding the preference for direct strategies, the ENGϪENG group was more direct than the SPNϪSPN group; the ENGϪSPN group exhibited an intermediate frequency of directness. It was noted that the preference for direct strategies was conditioned by the social status of the situation. Positive and negative transfer of these strategies was also attested. As for the transfer of L1 sociocultural knowledge, the subjects' performance and verbal reports showed that the lack of L2 sociocultural knowledge was a crucial factor affecting the advanced non-native speakers' interlanguage. Pedagogical implications for the L2 classroom are also suggested.

No abstract

This chapter takes a speech-act perspective and examines the degree of validity and reliability of three data collection methods used in speech act research: discourse completion tasks, role plays, and verbal reports. Various formats of these instruments and the type of data they produce under experimental conditions are reviewed and illustrated with examples taken from learners and native speakers. In addition, ways for refining the instrument by focusing on the contextual information of the situation are discussed. This chapter shows how role-play data can be analysed sequentially and across multiple turns in controlled settings. It also highlights the significance of using verbal reports as a means of validating experimental data by gaining access to the learners’ cognitive and sociocultural perceptions during speech act performance. It concludes with practical recommendations for refining the instruments used in speech-act research.