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English Language and Compliment

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English Language and Compliment
Abstract
This study aims at finding out differences between Persian and English speakers’ patterns (macro and micro) of responding to compliments and observed some dissimilarity between them while accepting, rejecting and evading a compliment. This study also indicates whether Persian learners of English produce target- like compliments and compliment responses in English and whether pragmatic transfer can occur. Discourse completion tests (DCTs) were used to study the strategies employed when complimenting and responding to compliments by Intermediate learners of English. Findings suggest that Persian (L1) expressions and strategies were sometimes transferred to English (L2).

Introduction Learning a foreign language is a life-time procedure which requires years of constant practice. It is by no means a straightforward process which can be mastered quickly, because there are always new areas, aspects, and registers for the learner to master. Communicating with speakers of other languages is a complex behaviour that requires both linguistic and pragmatic competence. Whether we speak in a first or second language, we are influenced by sociocultural norms and constraints that affect the way we communicate.
The aim of modern teaching language is to enable the learners to communicate in the target language, as a result create an efficient interaction between interlocutors. However, the objectives of teaching and learning English have not been satisfactorily met. Consequently, most of EFL learners who are learning English in Iran are not able to use the English language for the purpose of communication. Many intermediate Iranian learners of English as a foreign language have problems as they try to use the English language for the purpose of communication. Communicative action not only includes participation, engaging, and sustaining interaction but also speech acts. Learners tend to have difficulty understanding the intended meaning communicated by



References: Bharuthram, Sh. (2003) “Politeness Phenomena in the Hindu sector of the South African Indian English speaking community” Journal of Pragmatics. 35(2).1523-1544. Brown,H.D.(2000) Costinentt, S with Byrd, B (1994). Spectrum. New York, Pearson Education, Longman. Grossi Vittoria (2009). Teaching pragmatic competence: compliments and compliment responses in the ESL classroom. Macquarie University, 24, 53-62 Heidari, M Holmes, J., & Brown, D. (1987). Teachers and students learning about compliments. TESOL Quarterly, 21(3), 523–546. Holmes,J.(1992). An introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York, NY: Longman. Holmes, J (1998). Paying compliments: A sex-preferential politeness strategy. Journal of Pragmatics, 12, 445-465. Ockenden, M, Jones, T (1982). Around Town (Situational Conversation Practice). New York, Longman Inc. Oka, H. (2004). A non-native approach to ELT: Universal or Asian? Asian EFL journal, 6, 1-8. Schackne , S. (2002). Language teaching research: In the literature, but not always in the classroom. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 1, 1-11. Sharifian. F (2008). Cultural schemas in L1 and L2 compliment responses: A study of Persian-speaking learners of English. Journal of Politeness Research, 4, 55_80 Wardaugh, R

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