There is strong agreement in the literature that the first language (L1) supports second language (L2) vocabulary learning particularly at early stages of learning. The present study examines the influence of word type on the use of L1 language to support L2 vocabulary learning. To this end, 130 Arabic-speaking tertiary elementary female learners of English were taught 24 unfamiliar English words in 4 sessions over 4 weeks. The participants were divided into three groups; (1) a group where target words were taught with the use of translation equivalents, (2) a group taught with L2-only-definitions and (3) a control group who received no special treatment. Comparing the participants' performance in pre-, immediate post-and delayed post-tests showed that the two experimental groups outperformed the control group, reflecting the benefit of the treatment. The results also showed greater vocabulary gains in terms of long-term retrieval for L1 use, but did not show consistent patterns for the special benefit of L1 in terms of specific word types. The results are interpreted in light of the existing literature and relevant bilingual lexicon models. Pedagogical implications and suggested research directions are also proposed.

The current study investigates how university teachers decline students’ requests and examines the teachers’ refusal strategies from cross-cultural and interlanguage perspectives. To this end, 60 female university teachers at a private Saudi university participated in 10 role-plays which involved them in declining several students’ requests. The participants consisted of three groups; 20 native speakers of American English (NSE), 20 native speakers of Saudi Arabic (NSA) and 20 native speakers of Saudi Arabic who completed the role-plays in English as non-native speakers of the language (NNSE). The role-plays were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were coded using Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss-Weltz’s (1990) refusal model and Trosborg’s (1995) model of internal modifiers. The results revealed the teachers’ general preference for the use of indirect over direct refusal strategies and the American teachers’ stronger tendency to use indirect and mitigating internal modifiers than Arab teachers. The results also showed that the cross-cultural differences between the American and the Arab teachers were limited and that there was no effect for negative pragmatic transfer for the NNSE. The results are interpreted in terms of relevant theoretical models and the existing literature.

The current study adopts a dialogue-analytic approach to the examination of complaint behavior in Saudi Arabic as spoken in the Najd region, the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To this end, role-plays with 120 Saudi nationals who are Najdi-speakers were recorded and transcribed. Statistical comparisons revealed that Najdis used a variety of complaint strategies with requests for repair, expressing annoyance and providing modified blame being the most frequent. Najdis also produced a large number of initiators and internal and external modifiers, mainly to mitigate the negative force of complaints. Although a small influence was found for gender, the variables of age, social distance and social dominance showed a strong influence on the Najdis’ complaint behavior. The results are discussed in light of relevant theoretical models and the existing literature.