A Cross-disciplinary Analysis of Refusal Strategies Used by Iranian EFL and Non-EFL Learners

A Cross-disciplinary Analysis of Refusal Strategies Used by Iranian EFL and Non-EFL Learners

The current study is an attempt to examine the possible effect that exposure to English has had on the use of refusal strategies in EFL learners compared with the those of non-EFL learners when refusing. Participants included 12 EFL learners (6 males and 6 females) and 12 learners of other majors (6 males and 6 females), including electronics, psychology and management, who responded to a Persian Discourse Completion Task (DCT), which realized the speech act of refusal. The responses were classified based on the classification of refusal strategies as outlined by Beebe, Tahakashi and Uliss-Weltz (1990). The study results indicated that a) no significant differences were found between the EFL and non-EFL group with regard to the use of Direct versus Indirect refusal strategies, b) the most frequently used refusal strategies in both EFL and non-EFL groups were found to be Non-performative statement (in the case of Direct strategies) and Statement of regret, Excuse, reason or explanation and Attempt to dissuade interlocutor (in the case of Indirect strategies), c) the most frequently used adjuncts to refusal strategies in both EFL and non-EFL groups were found to be Statement of positive opinions, feelings or agreement and Gratitude/Appreciation and finally d) EFL learners utilized more adjuncts to refusals than non-EFL learners, a finding which can be relevant to their polite behavior and politeness strategies. In conclusion, the assumption that the English culture has any effect on the use of refusal strategies by EFL learners is rejected.