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A cross-cultural study of communication during social visits : Japanese ESL students as ethnographers in interlanguage pragmatics research Carney, Laura Jane
Abstract
The present study examines how native speakers of English, Japanese ESL students, and native speakers of Japanese communicate during social visits. It contributes to research in the field of interlanguage pragmatics by: (a) examining speech acts which have not been investigated extensively, (b) involving students as ethnographers in the data collection and analysis procedures, and (c) improving upon research methods used thus far. Speech acts such as giving and receiving gifts, making compliments, offering and accepting food and beverages, making an excuse to leave, and expressing gratitude are examined cross-culturally in their full discourse context. The data include five interactions of Japanese ESL students visiting Americans, five of Americans visiting fellow Americans, and six of Japanese visiting fellow Japanese. These interactions were videotaped in the actual apartments or dorm rooms of the participants. A descriptive, exploratory analysis of the transcribed data reveals particular areas in which Japanese ESL students should receive further training and practice. Some of these areas include: using more compliments in the opening segment of the interaction, responding politely to the offer of beverages in the hospitality segment, asking questions to develop or initiate conversation topics in the small talk segment, and taking the initiative to express gratitude in the closing segment. One unique feature of the study is the involving of 31 ESL students in the data collection and analysis procedures in order to test out pedagogical implications. The results show that Japanese ESL students at an intermediate level of proficiency are able to learn something about the cross-cultural pragmatics of a social visit by being their own ethnographers, but not without considerable guidance and assistance. Methodology is central to the discussion. Clear advantages are seen in videotaping semistructured interactions in a natural setting and conducting retrospective interviews. A number of changes in the methodology are suggested for future studies, and additional questions for further research are presented. The study provides many insights for those involved in second language learning, teaching, or research.
Item Metadata
Title |
A cross-cultural study of communication during social visits : Japanese ESL students as ethnographers in interlanguage pragmatics research
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1997
|
Description |
The present study examines how native speakers of English,
Japanese ESL students, and native speakers of Japanese
communicate during social visits. It contributes to research in
the field of interlanguage pragmatics by: (a) examining speech
acts which have not been investigated extensively, (b) involving
students as ethnographers in the data collection and analysis
procedures, and (c) improving upon research methods used thus
far.
Speech acts such as giving and receiving gifts, making
compliments, offering and accepting food and beverages, making an
excuse to leave, and expressing gratitude are examined cross-culturally in their full discourse context. The data include
five interactions of Japanese ESL students visiting Americans,
five of Americans visiting fellow Americans, and six of Japanese
visiting fellow Japanese. These interactions were videotaped in
the actual apartments or dorm rooms of the participants.
A descriptive, exploratory analysis of the transcribed data
reveals particular areas in which Japanese ESL students should
receive further training and practice. Some of these areas
include: using more compliments in the opening segment of the
interaction, responding politely to the offer of beverages in the
hospitality segment, asking questions to develop or initiate
conversation topics in the small talk segment, and taking the
initiative to express gratitude in the closing segment.
One unique feature of the study is the involving of 31 ESL
students in the data collection and analysis procedures in order
to test out pedagogical implications. The results show that
Japanese ESL students at an intermediate level of proficiency are
able to learn something about the cross-cultural pragmatics of a
social visit by being their own ethnographers, but not without
considerable guidance and assistance.
Methodology is central to the discussion. Clear advantages
are seen in videotaping semistructured interactions in a natural
setting and conducting retrospective interviews. A number of
changes in the methodology are suggested for future studies, and
additional questions for further research are presented. The
study provides many insights for those involved in second
language learning, teaching, or research.
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Extent |
8289206 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-03-24
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0078141
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1997-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.