Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners

Complaint is an under-researched speech act in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Making a complaint runs the risk of impairing the relationship between speaker and hearer as it requires the speaker to express displeasure and frustration to what is believed to be the responsibility of the hear...

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Main Authors:	Li, Rui, Raja Rozina Raja Suleiman
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/1/15435-49552-1-PB.pdf

id	ukm-11161
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-111612017-12-23T03:48:51Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/ Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners Li, Rui Raja Rozina Raja Suleiman, Complaint is an under-researched speech act in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Making a complaint runs the risk of impairing the relationship between speaker and hearer as it requires the speaker to express displeasure and frustration to what is believed to be the responsibility of the hearer. The speaker, therefore, has to use appropriate linguistic forms bearing in mind social conventions to make the hearer take some action of repair or to avoid interactional conflicts. For L2 learners, making complaints in a second/foreign language is more difficult as they may lack both sociocultural and L2 knowledge. This study investigated the ability of Chinese EFL learners to produce complaints and its relationship with their L2 proficiency. Thirty-two Chinese university students and five native speakers of American English completed a Free Discourse Completion Test (FDCT); English proficiency was measured by learners’ performance in TEM-4. Data elicited from the FDCT were analysed using a holistic rating scale for the overall appropriateness of complaints and a coding framework for complaint strategies and modifications. Results showed that learners were unable to produce appropriate complaints and L2 proficiency significantly influenced the overall appropriateness of complaints. Differences were also identified in strategies and external and internal modifications used by learners of different proficiency levels. The study suggested that the production of complaints by Chinese learners is greatly influenced by their native culture. In addition to improving L2 proficiency, lessons on cultural differences should be introduced for them to improve the ability to complain in English. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/1/15435-49552-1-PB.pdf Li, Rui and Raja Rozina Raja Suleiman, (2017) Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 23 (1). pp. 60-74. ISSN 0128-5157 http://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/904
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	Complaint is an under-researched speech act in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Making a complaint runs the risk of impairing the relationship between speaker and hearer as it requires the speaker to express displeasure and frustration to what is believed to be the responsibility of the hearer. The speaker, therefore, has to use appropriate linguistic forms bearing in mind social conventions to make the hearer take some action of repair or to avoid interactional conflicts. For L2 learners, making complaints in a second/foreign language is more difficult as they may lack both sociocultural and L2 knowledge. This study investigated the ability of Chinese EFL learners to produce complaints and its relationship with their L2 proficiency. Thirty-two Chinese university students and five native speakers of American English completed a Free Discourse Completion Test (FDCT); English proficiency was measured by learners’ performance in TEM-4. Data elicited from the FDCT were analysed using a holistic rating scale for the overall appropriateness of complaints and a coding framework for complaint strategies and modifications. Results showed that learners were unable to produce appropriate complaints and L2 proficiency significantly influenced the overall appropriateness of complaints. Differences were also identified in strategies and external and internal modifications used by learners of different proficiency levels. The study suggested that the production of complaints by Chinese learners is greatly influenced by their native culture. In addition to improving L2 proficiency, lessons on cultural differences should be introduced for them to improve the ability to complain in English.
format	Article
author	Li, Rui Raja Rozina Raja Suleiman,
spellingShingle	Li, Rui Raja Rozina Raja Suleiman, Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners
author_facet	Li, Rui Raja Rozina Raja Suleiman,
author_sort	Li, Rui
title	Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners
title_short	Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners
title_full	Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners
title_fullStr	Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners
title_full_unstemmed	Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners
title_sort	language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of chinese efl learners
publisher	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate	2017
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11161/1/15435-49552-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:59:32Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:59:32Z
_version_	1777406755135815680

Language proficiency and the speech act of complaint of Chinese EFL learners

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