What is it about?
Non-native speakers of English may have problems with choosing appropriate language forms to communicate what they mean especially in status unequal situations. For example, when university students need to write a letter of complaint to the faculty registrar, they may not be able to choose the right modal verb to express politeness. The study aims to investigate Turkish university students' indirect requests in the complaint letters they write to ask for correction an error on their transcript.
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Why is it important?
Using language appropriately can be very challenging for language learners. Learning how to express the right degree of indirectness is not easy. It can lead to communication break down and misunderstandings.
Perspectives
As a learner, I have always found finding the appropriate words challenging. Especially, when I have to write official letters, I am more concerned that one or two forms I use will reflect badly on me. For this reason, I think learners should be taught about this aspect of language specifically.
Dr Çi̇ğdem Karatepe
Uludag University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Indirectness in Requests in Complaint Letters to the Higher Institution by Turkish EFL Students, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, October 2016, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.050.
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