This study investigated pragmatic transfer in American learners of Japanese responding to compliments. A closed role play was used to collect interlanguage data from the learners and normative data from Japanese and American native speakers. An Initial Sentence Analysis indicated mat the learners transferred nonuse of avoidance strategies but not of positive strategies. The American normative data suggested a dominant use of positive strategies, whereas a mixture of three strategies was found in the Japanese normative data. A Semantic Formula Analysis further revealed qualitative differences between the learners and the native speakers. Based on the findings, suggestions concerning the instruction of speech act performance are made for second and foreign (L2/FL) language instructors. The study instantiates a utility of pragmatic transfer research for improving instructional approach and course content.

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