Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skills)

"C u @ d Uni": Analysis of academic emails written by native and non-native English speakers

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, TEFL

2 PhD. Candidate, TEFL

Abstract

The present study examined email communication practices of two groups of students in Iran and the United States to uncover the probable differences between Iranian and American email communication norms. The study also aimed at investigating how power distance in academic centers influences students’ choices of communication strategies in email writing. The use of two politeness strategies namely “indirectness” and “message length” and some common politeness conventions including opening and closing protocols were observed in Iranian and American emails. The findings showed that both Iranian and American students’ choices of opening and closing protocols alter as the students’ institutional distance from the person to whom they write changes. Also, differences were found in the use of politeness strategies in American and Iranian email messages. The study concluded that Iranian students probably resort to their L1 social and cultural norms in their email communication, particularly, in their status-equal communication.

Keywords

References
Baron, N. S. (1998). Letters by phone or speech by other means: the linguistics of email. Language & Communication, 18, 133-170.
Biesenbach-Lucas, S. (2005). Communication topics and strategies in e-mail consultation: comparison between American and International university students. Language learning & Technology, 9, (2). 24-46.
Biesenbach-Lucas, S. (2007). Students writing emails to faculty: An examination of E-politeness among native and non-native speakers of English. Language Learning &Technology, 11 (2), 59-81.
Biesenbach-Lucas, S. & Weasenforth, D. (2001). E-mail and word processing in the ESL classroom: How the medium affects the message. Language Learning &Technology, 5 (1), 135-165.
Bjørge, A., K. (2007). Power distance in English lingua franca email communication. International Journal of Applied Lingusitics.17, 60-80.
Bloch, J. (2002). Student/teacher interaction via email: the social context of Internet discourse. Journal of Second Language Writing, 11, 117-134.
Blum-Kulka, S., House, J., & Kasper, G. (1989). The CCSARP coding manual. In S. Blum-Kulka, J. House, & G. Kasper (Eds.). Cross-cultural pragmatics: Requests and apologies p. 273-294. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Brown, P. & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chen, C. E. (2006). The development of e-email literacy: From writing to peers to writing to authority figures. Language Learning &Technology 10 (2), 35-55.
Coulmas, F. (2005). Sociolinguistics: the study of speakers’ choices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Danet, B. (2001). Cyberpl@y: Communicating online. Oxford, England: Berg.
Duthler, K. W. (2006). The politeness of requests made via email and voicemail: Support for the Hyperpersonal Model. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 500-521.
Friedman, R. A., & Currall, S. C. (2003). Conflict escalation: Dispute exacerbating elements of e-mail communication conflict. Human Relations, 56 (11), 1325–1347.
Gould, S., (2000). Wonderful World: the Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. Vintage, New York.
Harrison, T. M., & Falvey, L. (2002). Democracy and new communication technologies. Communication Yearbook, 25, 1–33.
Hartford, B., & Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1996). "At your earliest convenience": A study of written student requests to faculty. In L. F. Bouton (Ed.). Pragmatics and language learning, Monograph Series Volume 7, p. 55-69. Urbana, IL: Division of English as an International Language.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, (2nd Ed.). Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Li, Y. (2000). Linguistic characteristics of ESL writing in task-based e-mail activities. System, 28, P. 229-245.
Liaw, M. (1998). Electronic mail for English as a foreign language instruction. System 26, 335-352.
Liu, J., & Sadler, W. R. (2003). The effect and affect of peer review in electronic versus traditional modes on L2 writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 2, 193-227.
McKay, S. L. (2003). Toward an appropriate EIL pedagogy: re-examining common ELT assumptions. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13,1-22.
Meij, H., de Vries, B., Boersma, K., Pieters, J. & Wegerif, W. (2005). An examination of international coherence in email use in elementary school. Computers in Human Behavior, 21, 417-439.
Rudy, D., & Grusec, J. E. (2006). Authoritarian parenting in individualistic and collectivistic groups: Associations with maternal emotion and cognition and children’s self-esteem. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 68–78.
Scollon, R. & Scollon S. W., (2001).Intercultural communication: a discourse approach (language in society). (2ndEd.) New York: Blackwell Publishing.
Shetzer, H. &Warschauer, M. (2000). An electronic literacy approach to network-based language teaching. In M. Warschauer& R. Kern (Eds.). Netwotk-based language teaching: Concepts and practice (p. 171-185). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Shortis, T., (2001). The language of ICT: Information and communication technology. London: Routledge.
Simpson, J. (2002). Computer-mediated communication. ELT Journal. 56, 414-415.
Sporoull, L. & Kiesler, S. (1991). Connections: New ways of working in networked organizations.MIT press, Cambridge.
Stibbe, B. (2004). Send me a message: A step-by-step approach to business and professional writing. Journal of Written Communication.25, 104-123.
Taleghani-Nikzam, C. (2002).A conversation analytical study of telephone conversation openings between native and nonnative speakers. Journal of Pragmatics. 34, 1807–1832.
Turange, A. K., (2008). Email flaming behaviors and organizational conflict. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 43-59.
Wall, M., A. (2007).Social movements and email: expressions of online identity in the globalization protests. New media & society, 9, 258-277.
Wardhaugh, R. (1986). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics.Cambridge: Basil Blackwell.
Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skills)
Volume 31, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
Spring 2012
May 2012
Pages 49-72
Files
History
  • Receive Date: 24 September 2012
  • Accept Date: 24 September 2012
Share
How to cite
Statistics