Resisting second-langauge politeness in the foreign language classroom

Abstract

 Whilst being given more and more prominence in the foreign language classroom, pragmatics is often reduced to teaching and practising pre-established patterns and structures such as those found in speech acts, communicative func-tions, and politeness formulae. However, an important pedagogical factor is often missing from an examination of pragmatics teaching since teachers have their own experiences and ways of interacting. These may have emerged from their first lan-guage or have developed and evolved along with their knowledge and experience of the target language. Therefore, there is always an element of choice in sec-ond-language pragmatics. The following questions may arise: Should speakers only adhere to target language norms? Can speakers transfer first-language pragmatic practices to the target language? In other words, to what extent is there a degree of individuality and choice in language use that incorporates individual traits, beliefs, and attitudes? Furthermore, contextual issues need to be taken into consideration when engaging in second-language pragmatics. This paper takes one aspect of pragmatics, linguistic politeness, and examines how it is taught in the language classroom. Specifically, it examines how teachers of English as a foreign language in Guadalajara, Mexico, approach linguistic politeness and how they position them-selves with respect to teaching target-language norms, and whether they allow students to engage in the pragmatic transfer of politeness practices from their first language to the target language.