Expressing gratitude by native speakers of English and Vietnamese learners of English

acts in the following formulae: Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Expressing appreciation Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Complimenting Thanking + Expressing indebtedness And VL choose to express gratitude using the formulae of Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Complimenting Thanking + Complimenting Comparing the formulae of ES’s data with those of VL’s data, it is clear that ES tend to use more sub-acts than VL in their expressions of gratitude. This suggests that VL lack linguistic competence to express gratitude in this situation. But it also indicates that VL do not value the degree of gratitude in this situation as high as ES do and hence tend not to behave culturally in this situation. The difference between ES and VL in this situation may be situationally specific and it may be derived from the role-relationship between S and H as well as VL’s perception of this role-relationship. Traditionally, in the Vietnamese culture the teacher is one of the most respectable people in a person’s life, i.e. the King, the teacher and the father. In fact, the teacher ranks second only to the King (Quan, su, phu). Thus, the teacher is very respectable in the Vietnamese culture. But the teacher is also assumed to have great duties and obligations towards his students. As a result, though S may be aware of the value of the help extended to him by H, his teacher, he does not use thanking and expressing appreciation in his expression of gratitude. In contrasts, such tradition does not exist in the Anglo-American culture. Fully aware of the value of what he has been done for, ES use thanking and expressing appreciation at quite high frequency to show their depth of gratitude to H. But VL make up for the low frequency of thanking and especially expressing appreciation by employing expressing indebtedness at a considerably higher frequency than ES. According to my observation, VL tend to use expressing indebtedness quite often, especially when the help is extended by person of higher power and respectable to them. This suggests a cultural transference occurs in this situation. Graph 6 reveals that the sub-acts used by the two groups in the situation differ in terms of the order of frequency. Thanking and expressing indebtedness, though used with different frequency, are the most and the second most frequently chosen sub-acts in succession. But expressing appreciation, which ranks second in ES’s data, is only among the least frequently used sub-acts in the VL’s data. In contrast, the sub-act ranking third in VL’s data, i.e. complimenting only ranks fourth in the ES’s data. Moreover, it should be noted that it is a little bit more frequently used than the fourth favorite sub-act by ES, i.e. offering reward which is not used by any single VL. Differences can be seen in the choice of other sub-acts but their frequency is low. 3.4. Use of gratitude expressions in the setting where the degree of gratitude is small (Sit 1, sit 9 and sit 11) Overall the choice of acts in expressions of gratitude appears to be similar in the setting of low degree of gratitude. For instance, a few acts are used to express gratitude in this setting. Also, thanking and complimenting are used by both groups in all the three situations. All the results are presented in table 10 and graph 7. However, if a close look is taken at these acts, differences between the two groups in the choice of the acts can be detected. Though ES and VL make similar choice of some acts, the frequency with which they employ these sub-acts is different across situations. Graph 7 shows that thanking is chosen at the biggest frequency in situation 1 and its frequency range in a decreasing order from this situation to 17 and then to sit 11. In sit 1, it is employed by 40 ES (88.9%), in sit 9 by 39 ES (86.7%) and in sit 11 by 34 ES (75.6%). Generally speaking, ES use a variety of forms of thanking including “Thanks for helping me today “ (E20, sit 1), “Thanks for your as assistance” (E19, sit 1), ‘Thanks” (E9, sit 1), “Thanks for your help” (E15, sit 9), ‘Thank you very much” (E19, sit 9), “Thank you” (E7, sit 9), “Thank you for the number’’ (E25, sit 11) and “Thank you, boss” “(E35, sit 11). Table 10. Use of sub-acts with respect to - R (sit 1, sit 9, sit 11; n = 45) Sub-acts Sit 1 (+P – R) Sit 9 (=P – R) Sit 11 (-P-R) English Vietnamese English Vietnamese English Vietnamese N % N % N % N % N % N % Thank 40 88.9 43 95.6 39 86.7 41 91.1 34 75.6 40 88.9 App 10 22.2 - - 5 11.1 1 2.2 8 17.8 - - Compl 9 20 4 8.9 13 37.8 6 13.3 1 2.2 1 2.2 Reciproc - - - - 6 13.3 2 4.4 - - - - Notes: Thank: Thanking; App: Expressing appreciation; Compl: Complimenting; Reciproc: Offering reciprocity. Graph 7. Use of sub-acts with respect to - R (sit 1, sit 9, sit 11) The data in table 10 also show that thanking is used by VL at a higher frequency then ES and it is more evenly distributed across situations. The highest frequency of thanking in VL’s data is found in sit 1 with 43 VL (95.6%) out of 45 and the lowest frequency in sit 11 with 40 VL (88.9%). Thanking in Vl’s data may be in the form of “Thank you very much” (V16, sit 1), “Thank you for your help” (V19, sit 1), “Thank you” (V24, sit 1), “Thanks” (V19, sit 9), “Thanks a lot’’ (V26, sit 9), “Thank you sir” (V19, sit 11), “Thanks for your help” (V24, sit 11) or “Thanks for helping me understand” (V32, sit 11). In addition to thanking, complimenting though used in all the three situations, differs in terms of its ranking among the most preferred sub-act and thus it frequency across situations in ES’s data. It ranks second among the most frequently chosen sub-acts in sit 9 but it only ranks third in sit 1 and it is the least favorite in sit 11. Table 10 shows that it is chosen by 13 ES (37.8%) in sit 9, by 9 ES (20%) in sit 1 and only 1 ES (2.2%) in sit 11. Complimenting by ES may appear in the form of “You are an excellent assistant” (E18, sit 1) or “That’s very nice of you to help me” (E16, sit 9). However, complimenting in VL’s data is the second most commonly used in sit 9, the third most frequently used in sit 11 and the least frequently used in sit 11. Table 10 reveals that it is employed by 6 (13.3%) in sit 9, 4 VL (8.9%) in sit 11 and only 1 VL (2.2%) in sit 11. Compliments by VL may be in the form of “It’s very kind of you”(V9, sit 1), ‘‘You are so kind to help me” (V8, sit 9) or “You are so kind to give me your books” (V17, sit 9). Differences between ES and VL also occur in the choice of some other sub-acts. An important point is in offering reciprocity. It only appears in sit 9 and its frequency is the third most commonly used by ES in this situation. As appears in the data, 6 ES (13.3%) use it along with thanking but only 4 VL (8.9%) do so. It is also important to note that expressing appreciation is used by ES in sit all the three situations. Surprisingly, it is employed by ES only in sit 1 and sit 11. The differences mentioned above may due to the nature of the situation. For instance, offering reciprocity only appears in sit 9 because S may not be able to find any reasons to do so in sit 1 and sit 11. 3.5. Use of gratitude expressions in the setting where the degree of gratitude is high (sit 2, sit 6, sit 12) Apart from the similarity in the choice of thanking, which is the most preferred in all the three situations. ES and VL show big variations in the use of other acts in the setting of high degree of gratitude. These differences can be clearly seen in the results presented in table 11 and graph 8 and they will be discussed in details below. As appears in the data, ES and VL seem to be similar in the choice of some sub-acts in the setting of high degree of gratitude. They all choose thanking, complimenting and expressing indebtedness in this setting. Among these three sub-acts, both groups show a close agreement on the use of thanking in that they choose it as the first priority to express gratitude. However, the frequency with which they use it differs across situations and in the same situations as well. The frequency of thanking in ES’s data varies between 38 ES (84.4%) in sit 12 and 31 ES (68.9%) in sit 2. Hence the average proportion of ES using thanking is 76.7% which is a little bit higher than the proportion of thanking in sit 6 (73.3%). The most common formula to express thanking by ES is “thank you so/very much for +….”. Thus thanking is in the forms of “Thank you so much for completing my speech” (E7, sit 2), “Thank you for your hard work and dedication” (E10, sit 2), “Thank you so much for lending me the money” (E17, sit 6), “Thank you for your generosity” (E25, sit 6), “Thank you for what you have done” (E19, sit 6), “Thank you so much for your support” (E9, sit 12) or “Thank you for your time” (E15, sit12). In addition, ES also use thanking in the forms of “thank you” (E11, sit 2) or “thank you so/very much” (E21, sit 6). Table 11. Use of sub-acts with respect to + R (sit 2, sit 6, sit 12; n = 45) Sub-acts Sit 2 Sit 6 Sit 12 English Vietnamese English Vietnamese English Vietnamese N % N % N % N % N % N % Thank 31 68.9 29 64.4 33 73.3 39 86.7 38 84.4 34 75.6 Compl 20 44.4 28 62.2 9 17.8 13 28.9 7 15.6 7 15.6 App 12 26.7 5 11.1 8 17.8 - - 18 40 2 4.4 Reward 11 24.4 6 13.3 - - - - 6 13.3 - - Indebt 6 13.3 3 6.7 23 51.1 15 33.3 18 40 26 57.8 Repay - - - - 16 55.6 17 37.8 - - - - Reciproc - - - - 9 20 - - - - - - Notes: Thank: Thanking; Compl: Complimenting; App: Expressing appreciation; Return/Reward: Offering return/reward; Indebt: Expressing indebtedness; Repay: Promising to repay; Reciproc: Expressing desire to reciprocate. Graph 8. Use of sub-acts with respect to + R (sit 2, sit 6, sit 12) On the contrary, the highest frequency of thanking found in VL’s data is in sit 6 and the lowest in sit 2. In the former situation, 39 VL (86.7%) choose thanking but in the latter situation only 29 VL (64.4%) opt for thanking. This means that the average proportion of thanking of these situations (75.6%) is lower than the proportion of thanking in sit 12 (84.4%). The most common forms of thanking by VL are “Thank you very much” (V11, sit 2), “Thanks a lot” (V15, sit 2), “Thanks for your help” (V29, sit 2), “Thanks” (V36, sit 2), “Thank you very much for your helping me” (V6, sit 6), “Thank you very much for your help” (V12, sit 6), “Thank you so much for your help” (V15, sit 6), “Thank you” (V35, sit 12), “Thank you very much” (V28, sit 12), “Thanks a lot” (V22, sit 12) and “Thank you so much” (V14, sit 12). As far as complimenting is concerned, it is the most commonly used by ES in sit 2 and its frequency decreases from this situation to sit 6 and then to sit 12. In sit 2, it is chosen by 20 ES (44.4%) while in sit 6 and sit 12 it is chosen by 9 ES (17.8%) and 7 ES (15.6%) respectively. Compliments by ES may include “Well done” (E11, sit 2), “You are an amazing employee” (E11, sit 2), “You are a marvel” (E7, sit 2), “Your work is great” (E13, sit 2), “You are a true friend” (E15, sit 6), and “It makes me realize what a good friend you are” (E36, sit 6). Similarly, complimenting is the most frequently used by VL sit 2 and its frequency ranges in a decreasing order from this situation to sit 6 and then to sit 12. While it is employed by up to 28 VL (62.2%) in sit 2; it is used by 13 VL (28.9%) in sit 6, and in sit 12 it is chosen by only 7 VL (15.6%). This means that there is a far bigger difference between the VL’s data in comparison to ES’s data as regard the frequency in the situation in which complimenting is the most frequently used and in the situation in which it is the least commonly chosen. The most common compliments in VL’s data include “You’ve done a good job” (V7, sit 2), “You are very helpful” (V30, sit 2), “You are a great friend of my life” (V7, sit 6), “How kind you are” (V21, sit 6), “You are so kind to help me” (V6, sit 12), “It’s very kind of you to help me” (V20, sit 12) and “You are a good friend” (V26, sit 12). Along with complimenting, expressing appreciation is also chosen in big variation across situations. It is the most frequently used by ES in sit 12 and its frequency decreases from this situation to sit 2 and then to sit 6. Table 11 shows that it is used by 18 ES (40%) in sit 12, by 12 ES (26.7%) in sit 2 and by 8 ES (17.8%) in sit 6. Expressing appreciation may be formulated as “I really appreciate you letting me use your library” (E23, sit 12, “Greatly appreciate your help” (E24, sit 2), “I really appreciate what you did” (E4, sit 12), “I greatly appreciate everything you do” (E17, sit 2), “We really appreciate your support” (E16, sit 6) and “I appreciate your help so much” (E 27, sit 6). But expressing appreciation is the most frequently chosen by VL in sit 2 and it is not used in sit 6. As can be seen in table 11, it is employed by 5 VL (11.1%) in sit 2 and only by 2 VL (4.4%) in sit 12. Expressing appreciation may appear in the forms of “I appreciate highly your ability” (V9, sit 2) or “I highly appreciate your responsibility and ability” (V38, sit 2). Moreover, even a bigger difference is found in the use of expressing indebtedness across situations. Different to thanking and complimenting, expressing indebtedness is the most preferred by ES in sit 6 and least preferred by ES in sit 2. Table 11 reveals that in sit 6 it is used by 23 ES (51.1%) but in sit 2 it is only employed by 6 ES (13.3%). In sit 12, it is a bit less preferred than in sit 6 and is chosen by 18 ES (40%). Indebtedness may be expressed in the forms of “I will not forgert what you have done for us” (E20, sit 6), “I am eternally indebted to you” (E13, sit 6), “I won’t forget this” (E9, sit 6), “I don’t know how I would have managed without your help” (E2, sit 12), “Your help enabled me to write a thesis I am very proud of” (E9, sit 12), “I got a really good mark because of you” (E18, sit 12), “It won’t be forgotten” (E22, sit 2) or “I am extremely grateful” (E33, sit 2). Nevertheless, expressing indebtedness is most commonly used by VL in sit 12; it is less frequently used in sit 6 and the least preferred in sit 2. Table 11 shows that while up to 26 VL (57.8%) choose it in sit 12 and 15 VL (33.3%) opt for it in sit 6, only 6 VL (13.3%) use it in sit 2. Comparing between the two groups of ES and VL, we can see that VL tend to vary to a much greater degree in the choice of expressing indebtedness in the setting where the degree of gratitude is high. Expressing indebtedness may be formulated as “I will never forget your whole-hearted help for me” (V8, sit 22), “I’ve written an excellent thesis because of you” (V16, sit 12), “I can’t do an excellent thesis like that without your help” (V27, sit 12), “I wouldn’t have known how to deal with this problem” (V19, sit 6), “I can’t do anything with your money” (V27, sit 12) or “Without your help, I can succeed in my speech” (V41, sit 2). Many other sub-acts, though they are not used in all situations and by the two groups, are also used differently across situations. For example, offering reward only appears in sit 2 and sit 12. In sit 2, it is chosen by 11 ES (24.4%) and by 6 ES (13.3%), and no VL uses it in this situation. Differences between ES and VL can be detected in the use of some other sub-acts as well. Promising to repay is only found in sit 6. 16 ES (35.6%) and VL (42.7%) choose it. In this situation, ES may say “I will pay you back as soon as I can” (E14, sit 6) and VL may choose to say “I will pay you back when you need” (E12, sit 6). Promising reciprocity is used in sit 6 only and is only chosen by 9 ES (20%). ES and VL differ in the choice of some more other sub-acts but their frequency is low. 3. 6. Conclusion The findings seem to show that ES and VL are similar in the choice of some sub-acts in expressing gratitude in the setting of low degree of gratitude. ES and VL are also similar in the use of thanking in that they both use it at the highest frequency among the range of sub-acts. However, ES and VL show significant differences for the choice of each sub-act, especially in the setting of high degree of gratitude. Though both seem to be sensitive to the changes in the degree of gratitude, VL are less so than ES, who tend to vary their choice of forms of expressing gratitude to a greater extent than VL. VL makes quite a few mistakes in their expressions of gratitude, which may well indicate either their lack of linguistic competence or pragmatic competence or both. Part C: Conclusion & implications In this part, we will first summarize the major findings of the study and then provide some implications for ELT and suggestions for further study. Major findings Data collection instruments In this study, the English subjects were asked to assess the nature of the socio-pragmatic relationship between S and H in the situations under investigation. The English subjects vary considerably in their assessment of social factors in relation to the contexts studied. What we anticipated about the relationship between S and H do not always coincide with what the subjects thought it was. The next section summarizes the major findings in this study by examining the choice of sub acts made by the two groups of subjects in relation to P, D and R. ES and VL show both similarities and differences in the use of sub-acts in their expressions of gratitude. Choice of gratitude expressions It should be kept in mind that both ES and VL do not often use one sub-act to express gratitude. In stead they choose several sub-acts at the same time to do so. Table 12 summarizes the most common strategies used by ES and VL across situations. In general, the number of sub-acts chosen is in proportion to the degree of gratitude in that situation. As a result, both ES and VL tend to use a smaller number of sub-acts in the setting of low degree of gratitude (sit 1, sit 9, sit 11). In these situations, ES and VL’s expressions of gratitude tend to be short and formulaic. Similarly, both ES and VL choose a larger number of sub-acts in the setting of high degree of gratitude (sit 2, sit 6, sit 12). In these situations, ES and VL’s expressions of gratitude tend to be lengthy, containing a lot of sub-acts. This means that both ES and VL are aware of the different degree of gratitude in situations and hence they modify their expressions of gratitude accordingly. In other words, the higher the degree of gratitude is, the longer ES and VL’s expressions of gratitude tend to be. The fact that both ES and VL use a number of sub-acts in their expressions of gratitude shows that using thanking alone is not enough to express gratitude. Table 12. Common strategies by ES and VL in gratitude expressions Sit English Vietnamese 1 Thanking + Complimenting Thanking + Expressing appreciation + Complimenting Thanking + Expressing appreciation Thanking + Complimenting Thanking 2 Thanking + Complimenting + Expressing appreciation Thanking + Complementing + Offering return Thanking + Expressing appreciation + Expressing indebtedness Thanking + Complimenting + Expressing appreciation Thanking + Complimenting Thanking + Expressing appreciation 6 Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Promising to repay + Complimenting Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Expressing appreciation Thanking + Promising to repay + Expressing desire to reciprocate Thanking + Expressing indebtedness Thanking + Promising to repay + Complimenting Thanking + Promising to repay + Expressing indebtedness Thanking + Promising to repay 9 Thanking + Complimenting Thanking + Complimenting + Offering reciprocity Thanking + Complimenting Thanking 11 Thanking + Expressing appreciation Thanking 12 Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Expressing appreciation Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Complimenting Thanking + Expressing indebtedness Thanking + Expressing indebtedness + Complimenting Thanking + Complimenting In addition to the above-mentioned similarities, both ES and VL choose thanking as the most frequently used sub-acts in all the situations regardless the different degrees of gratitude as well as the different roles and relationships between S and H. This shows that there is a close relationship between thanking and expressing gratitude. Finally, both ES and VL use some sub-acts at a high frequency including thanking, complimenting in the setting of low degree of gratitude as well as in the setting of high degree of gratitude. Despite the above-mentioned similarities, ES and VL differ remarkably in the choice of strategies. In general, ES use more strategies than VL in their expressions of gratitude and these strategies are lengthier than VL. In addition to this, ES tend to choose more sub-acts in their expressions of gratitude. All this suggests that VL tend not to rate the degree of gratitude in these settings as high as ES do. The reason for this may be VL’s perceptions of duties and obligations towards community. In other words, VL tend to be less sensitive to changes in the degree of gratitude and hence tend to suffer from negative cultural transference. What is more, ES and VL also differ greatly in the choice of sub-acts in different settings and across situations. Though both groups use thanking the most, they do not use this sub-act with the same frequency in all the situations. While VL tend to use thanking more frequently than ES in the setting of low degree of gratitude, ES tend to employ this sub-act more frequently than VL in the setting of high degree of gratitude. Further more, though ES and VL choose thanking as their most favourite sub-act in the setting where the degree of gratitude is small, more VL than ES choose thanking as the only act in their expressions of gratitude in this setting. Apart from the differences in the choice of thanking ES and VL show different preferences for complimenting, too. ES tend to use this sub-act more often than VL do in the setting of low degree of gratitude. In contrast, VL tend to choose it more frequently in the setting of high degree of gratitude. This may indicate that VL do not seem to value the degree of gratitude as high as ES do especially when the degree of gratitude is low. The two groups of ES and VL differ greatly in the choice of other sub-acts as well. In general, ES choose some sub-acts more often than VL do in a particular situation. In contrast, VL choose some other sub-acts more frequently than ES do in the same situations. It should be added that ES use some sub-acts in some situations but VL do not employ these sub-acts in those situations. For instance, ES quite often use expressing appreciation and expressing desire to reciprocate or offering reciprocity but VL either ignore these sub-acts or use them with very low frequency. This seems to indicate that VL lack linguistic competence and/ or communicative competence. It also seem to suggest that there is a negative transference from the source culture. Implications for teaching and learning English in Vietnam This study once again emphasizes the need to pay more attention to the teaching and learning of pragmatics in Vietnam in general and the teaching and learning of language functions in particular. Thus, it is the teacher’s task to pay more attention to the teaching of socio-pragmatic rules in the classroom. The teacher should teach these rules explicitly and creates appropriate activities for the students to practise. For example, they can ask students to role-play conversations or describe different situations to elicit appropriate answers from them in those situations. The findings of this study suggests that it is necessary for Vietnamese teachers and learners of English to be aware that in expressing gratitude the rule is that speakers use a number of sub-acts to show his depth of gratitude. Vietnamese teachers must keeping mind that the number of sub-acts used in expressions of gratitude in one situation is in proportion with the degree of gratitude in that situation and that the use of some sub-acts is situationally specific. Therefore, teachers need to analyze the content of each situation to help the student realize what act they should use at higher frequency in each situation. Teachers also should show learners different values in the target culture so that learners can make better choice sub-acts in expressing gratitude. If they take grasp of these rules, Vietnamese teachers can help learners to express gratitude more adequately in different situations in order to “engender feelings of warmth and solidarity among interlocutors” (Eisenstein & Bodman, 1993: 66). Since expressing gratitude is performed by sets of acts, teachers should be also aware that each member act should be performed correctly and appropriately. Thus, basing on learner’s English level, teachers may teach these sub-acts each in turn before teaching them expressing gratitude or teachers can teach some acts, especially those occurring at high frequency, at the same time and then move to expressing gratitude. In addition to that, some sub-acts cause problems for Vietnamese learners and they occur frequently across situations. Hence, Vietnamese teachers should pay much more attention to these sub-acts. As complimenting is concerned, teachers should provide a number of complimenting patterns on a number of topics like appearance, personality etc…and illustrate these patterns with examples, and ask learners to practice in a variety of situations so that their complimentings sound English. In teaching expressing indebtedness, Vietnamese teachers should tell learners different ways to perform this act, not just perform it with the use of conditional sentence. These ways must be practiced in different situations as well. Moreover, it is a good idea for teachers to provide the formula of expressing appreciation and ask them to practice in conversations so that VL’s expressing appreciation sounds English. Teachers should tell learners to perform this act much more frequently and in a direct manner. It is also advisable for Vietnamese teachers to teach expressing willing to reciprocate or offering reciprocity in the same way as they do with expressing appreciation. And they should teach other sub-acts in a similar way. 3. Suggestions for further research Due to the limitation of time and words, this research does not cover every aspect of expressing gratitude by native speakers of English and Vietnamese learners of English. Thus, it is important to continue the investigation of this act in the followings: Firstly, more researches may be conducted on expressing gratitude by native speakers of English and Vietnamese learners of English in different situations to see whether ES and VL express gratitude the same as they do in the situations of this study. Secondly, this thesis focuses on how natives speakers of English in expressions of gratitude in relation to the social variables, so it would be interesting if in future research on responding to expressing gratitude by Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English is systematically studied. Finally, the data of this study are collected from two groups of subjects aged between 18 and 40, so other research could be conducted to examine other age groups. . appendix a Metapragmatic questionnaire This questionnaire is designed for our research into “Expressing gratitude by native speakers of English and Vietnamese learners of English”. The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out how you access the following situations. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Please free to complete the questionnaire as all information is held confidential. Country of birth: …………………………….. . Year of birth: ……………………….. . Your occupation: ……………………………. . Sex: Female Male Highest level of education: High school University Other What is your first language? …………………. . What language do you use to speak to your parents? ………………………….. . Area where you spend most of your time: Urban Rural Please read the situations on the following pages and put a tick the answer in the appropriate box. * Notes: In each situation in which it is advisable to express gratitude, the Speaker is “you”, the Hearer (H) is the person who helps you. 1. You are a senior lecture and supervised an excellent student. So you proposed the director to appoint him/her your assistant lecture and s/he has been working with you for 2 years. Today you have an appointment with a student on his thesis but you have to go out. Your assistant is in the room and he is not busy. As a result, you write your suggestions on a sheet of paper and your assistant helps you to give to the student when he comes to your office. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 2. Your only secretary has been working for you for the last 5 years. You are going to make a very important speech and discuss a potential deal. You should have told her about this earlier but you forgot it. So you apologized her for the short notice and asked her to get ready the speech and the deal yesterday. As a result, she had to do it at home. Today she gives you the speech and the deal and you feel very satisfied with them. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 3. You have been working as an assistant in a small shop for 6 years. Today there have been few customers and it’s late now. So your owner tells you to close the shop earlier than usual. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 4. You've rented a room for 4 years and you often come to visit the owner because s/he lives nearby and is kind to you. But you haven't paid the owner for the last three months because you have been out of job. Today, the owner comes but you haven't got any money. However, s/he agrees that you can pay the sum a month later. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 5. You are going out of town on business for 2 hours. However, no one helps to look after three-old child and you don't want him/her to stay at home alone. Your friend likes your child very much and so does your child. So you phone him/ her and s/he agrees to help you while you are away. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 6. Your mother was seriously ill and had to undergo an operation but you did not have enough money for the fee because it cost too much. Fortunately, your close friend lent you $ 6000. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 7. Your nephew/ niece often comes to visit you because s/he has trouble with his/her love. Today s/he is visiting you again. So you ask him/her to help you post your letter because the post office is on his/her way home. Of course s/he agrees to you. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 8. You usually go on holiday with the same small group of your colleagues because you have similar likes. Yesterday also you went on holiday to an out-of-the-way place with them. At midnight, you had a phone call telling you that your old mother was taken to the hospital due to a stroke. So one of them had to drive the whole night to take you to the hospital. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 9. You and your next-door neighbor study in the same faculty of a university. You often borrow each other’s books to reduce the cost of studies. Today s/he gives you some books you want for your home assignment because it is a little bit far from your house to the library. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 10. You and your roommate have shared a room for the last four years. Today you are doing Mathematics exercises assigned by your professor. The deadline is tomorrow but you can't do some of them because they are too difficult for you. You ask your roommate for help. Although s/he can help you understand your problems and solve them but it takes him/ her much time. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 11. You have worked as a private secretary for a long time. Today our boss asks you to phone a new employee to discuss a new deal. However you forgot his/ her phone number. So the boss must give you the number. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 12. You had been writing your thesis for 9 months, but you got stuck because some of the books are not available in the library. You asked your supervisor and s/he allowed you to use his/her family library. But you still couldn’t understand some important chapters and your supervisor had to explain them. That helped you to write an excellent thesis. Today you are coming to thank him/her. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 13. You have been the teacher in charge of class of 10 pupils for 3 three years. Today it’s very hot when you come to the class the monitor helped you to turn on the fan. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 14. You and John used to go out to drink beer when you both were still employees of the Sales and marketing office of your company. Now you and him still do so when you have free time though you are his manager. Your company had a large amount of goods that hadn't been sold for a long time and you needed money for a good deal. Fortunately, John introduced you to some customers who bought a large amount of the goods. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 15. You’ve employed by a client to work as a lawyer for him/her for the last three years. Today you come to his/her house and s/he offers you a cup of tea. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 16. You’ve been employed to work as a bodyguard of a famous person for 6 years and she likes you very much. Today she wants you to go on holiday with her because she does not want to be troubled by her fans. But you have a very important task to do and you tell her to go there by herself and you’ll join with her tomorrow. Fortunately, she agrees with your proposal. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much You are a post-graduate student and you are doing a research on your thesis. You need 100 subjects to fill in your questionnaire. Fortunately, your cousin who often plays chess with you helped you to deliver the questionnaire to and collect them from most of the subjects. Today you go to his/her house to collect the questionnaires. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much 18 .You have a family library with lots of short stories and novels. So your nephew often comes to your house to borrow them. Sometimes s/he reads them at your house. Last night when you were going out for a walk, a burglar broke in and stole the money you’ve saved this year. Fortunately your nephew/niece came to borrow books and s/he discovered the burglar. S/he phoned the police and today you can get your money back. 1 2 3 A. How close do you think S is in relationship to H? Not close Fairly close Very close B. What is the S’s power in relationship to the H? Lower Equal Higher C. How much appreciation do you think S should make to H? Not at all A little bit Very much appendix b Pragmatic questionnaire This questionnaire is designed for our research into “Expressing gratitude by native speakers of English and Vietnamese learners of English”. The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out how you access the following situations. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Please free to complete the questionnaire as all information is held confidential. Country of birth: …………………………….. . Year of birth: ……………………….. . Your occupation: ……………………………. . Sex: Female Male Highest level of education: High school University Other What is your first language? …………………. . What language do you use to speak to your parents? ………………………….. . Area where you spend most of your time: Urban Rural Please read the situations on the following pages and put a tick the answer in the appropriate box. * Notes: In each situation in which it is advisable to express gratitude, the Speaker is “you”, the Hearer (H) is the person who helps you. 1. You are a senior lecture and supervised an excellent student. So you proposed the director to appoint him/her your assistant lecture and s/he has been working with you for 2 years. Today you have an appointment with a student on his thesis but you have to go out. Your assistant is in the room and he is not busy. As a result, you write your suggestions on a sheet of paper and your assistant helps you to give to the student when he comes to your office. You say: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. Your only secretary has been working for you for the last 5 years. You are going to make a very important speech and discuss a potential deal. You should have told her about this earlier but you forgot it. So you apologized her for the short notice and asked her to get ready the speech and the deal yesterday. As a result, she had to do it at home. Today she gives you the speech and the deal and you feel very satisfied with them. You say: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6. Your mother was seriously ill and had to undergo an operation but you didn't have enough money for the fee because it cost too much. Fortunately, your close friend lent you $6000. How would you say to express gratitude to him? You say: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9. You and your next-door neighbor study in the same faculty of a university. You often borrow each other’s books to reduce the cost of studies. Today s/he gives you some books you want for your home assignment because it is a little bit far from your house to the library. You say: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11. You have worked as a private secretary for a long time. Today your boss asks you to phone a new employee to discuss a new deal. However, you forgot his/her number. So the boss must give you the number again. How would you say to express gratitude to him? You say: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12. You had been writing a thesis for 9 months, but you got stuck because some of the books are not available in the library. You asked your supervisor and s/he allowed you to use his/her family library. But you still couldn't understand some important chapters and s/he had to explain them. That helped you write an excellent thesis. Today you are going to visit him/her. How would you say to express gratitude to him? You say: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… References Austin, J. (1962). How to do things with words. New York: OUP Beebe, L.M. & Cummings, M. (1985). 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