Saying 'No' Politely: The Use of Refusal Strategies by Moroccan EFL University Learners

2025-08-01T15:17:02+00:00

This study investigates the refusal strategies employed by Moroccan EFL university learners across a variety of social situations. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research draws on data from Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs) and Focus Group Interviews (FGIs) to explore how learners refuse requests, offers, invitations, and suggestions. The analysis reveals that indirect strategies are the most frequently used, significantly outnumbering direct and adjunctive strategies across the collected responses. Statistical tests confirm that this preference is consistent across all scenarios. Interview data further reinforce these results, showing that students tend to issue refusals when a situation is beyond their capacity or conflicts with personal or cultural values. Learners often opt for polite, indirect expressions to reduce the risk of face-threatening acts (FTAs) and maintain social harmony. These findings underscore the influence of sociocultural norms on pragmatic behaviour and provide valuable insights into interlanguage pragmatics. The study highlights the importance of integrating pragmatic instruction into EFL curricula to better equip learners with the communicative skills needed for effective interaction in real-life situations.

Code-Switching in the Conversations Between the Turkish-English Bilingual Children in the Midlands in the UK

2025-05-14T18:48:08+00:00

This study investigates code-switching (CS) among Turkish-English bilingual children in the Midlands, UK, examining its functions and implications. It explores how bilingual children use CS pragmatically and socially, as well as factors influencing their language choices. Grounded in bilingualism and CS frameworks, the research aims to enhance understanding of early bilingual communication.
Using a pragmatic analytical approach, the study examines naturally occurring dialogues recorded over three months, comprising approximately ten hours of conversation. Participants include children from Turkish-speaking households attending English-dominant schools, with two focal participants exemplifying diverse bilingual experiences. Analyses focus on intra- and inter-sentential CS and its functional roles.
Findings reveal that CS supports topic management, identity expression, and gap-filling, demonstrating strategic language use to navigate social dynamics and enhance coherence. CS reflects linguistic competence rather than deficiency, challenging negative perceptions.
This research uniquely links bilingual pragmatics and social identity within a migrant community, offering a context-sensitive analysis of children's language use. It highlights the need to view CS as a marker of linguistic sophistication, with implications for understanding bilingual development.
Limitations include a small sample and focus on one community. Future research could explore broader contexts and longitudinal patterns.

Studies in Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis

Saying 'No' Politely: The Use of Refusal Strategies by Moroccan EFL University Learners

Code-Switching in the Conversations Between the Turkish-English Bilingual Children in the Midlands in the UK