Pragma-Linguistic Invitation-Acceptance Strategies Employed by Iraqi EFL University Students in Face-to-Face Interactions

Abstract

The current study was an attempt to investigate the pragma-linguistic strategies that Iraqi EFL university students employ for accepting an invitation during face-to-face interactions. It also investigated the mediating roles of social status, relationship between the two interlocutors, and gender in choosing the invitation strategies. In order to answer the research questions, a number of (80) intermediate-level, fourth-year students of English studying at Basra University were chosen through an OPT. The students’s interactions were divided into four cases (male-male; female-female; male-female; and female-male) and were given 12 Discourse Completion Tests (DCT) in the form of daily-life situations in which they had to accept an invitation directed to them by a partner in three different levels (High-Low, Low-High, and Equal Level). Al-Khatib’s model of accepting an invitation (2006) was used to examine the types of strategies employed by the participants. The results revealed that most Iraqi EFL University students preferred starting their responses with a kind, polite phrase such as thanking and appreciating, complimenting, or offering good wishes before showing their acceptance. Others favored expressing their acceptance in a direct manner. The most prevalent strategies were Thanking and Appreciation as well as Direct strategies. Moreover, gender and social status played significant roles in determining the type of strategies employed by the participants. Males tended to utilize direct strategies mainly when responding to a female’s invitation. Females, on the other hand, showed more femininity and kindness when responding to a male interlocutor’s invitation. They tended to start with offering good wishes or thanking and appreciation before showing their acceptance. This study had some implications for