Why Cant Learners of

JFL Distinguish Polite

From Impolite Speech
Styles?
HARUKO MINEGISHI COOK

The Indexical Nature of Language

How we communicate who we are
How we feel towards a given addressee
Indexes: Signs that indicate context
i.e.: I indexes the speaker and you indexes the
addressee
i.e.: here indexes a place close to the speaker and
there indexes a place close to the addressee

Contextualization Cues
Surface features of message form
Speakers signal and listeners interpret the message
i.e.: I dont wanna read in a rising tone
-> Interpreted by some as a refusal
-> Interpreted by others as a request for encouragement

Japanese Contextualization Cues

Contextual cues are mostly morphological.
How an utterance said is more imporant than what is said.
Politeness and the use of honorific expressions are
extremely important.

Contextualization Cues for FL

Learners
Extremely difficult
Inferential processes are too complex
They are mostly acquired through socialization and
communication
Requires knowledge of:
1. Social roles and social norms
2. Linguistic features related to certain speech styles
(Pragmalinguistic)
3. Which structure is linked to which social role (Sociopragmatic)

Contextualization Cues for

Teachers
Difficult to teach explicitly
-> Co-occur mostly in social context
Requires the teaching of:
1. Language as a means of communication
2. Not as an object to be investigated
3. Different speech styles for different social roles
.Problems:
.Classrooms are limited in terms of socialization
opportunities

Participants
120 average students taking Japanese 201.
54% female 46% male
Native Speakers of English
8 instructors teaching 12 sections.
Half -> Native Speakers of Japanese
Rest -> Near-Native Speakers of Japanese

Material
A listening comprehension task
Topic: Job interview
N. Of Applicants: 3
Task: Choose the most appropriate applicant
Aim: To see whether participants could notice
inappropriate speech

The Applicants
Applicant A: More qualified but uses inappropriate
language, skips honorific words and indirect speech
Applicant B: Less qualified but uses polite language, uses
honorific words and indirect speech
Applicant C: Less qualified but uses polite language, uses
honorific words and indirect speech

Results
81% of choose Applicant A.
14% choose Applicant C.
5% choose Applicant B.
Most students could not notice impolite Japanese.
All instructors noticed Applicant A was impolite. (Higher
Communicative Competence)

Factors in Student Choices

1. Inaccessible pragmatic functions
2. Lacking sociopragmatic knowledge
3. Negative transfer from L1 culture.

The Effects of Instruction

Explicit instruction makes the students notice pragmatic
errors.
Students notice impoliteness when they have time to think.
The participants did not have explicit instruction of pragmatic
knowledge except for Instructor 8.
But Instructor 8s students vary on their performance.
Possible cause: Best performing students are highly
motivated to learn Japan, visit Japan, learn Japanese culture.

Teaching Implications
Teaching pragmatics is beneficial
Contextual cues should be included
An extremely difficult process -> requires a lot of socialization
Language should be taught as a means of communication, not an object
Instructors should:
Improve on pragmatics, sociolinguistics and discourse knowledge
Analyze the social context in teaching materials
Teach co-occuring contextualization cues
Make students pay attention to the social meaning
Increase motivation