A01 cohe4573 01 se fm. Qxd

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F U R T H E R I S S U E S I N L E A R N I N G , T E A C H I N G , A N D A S S E S S M E N T
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Style preferences: using certain strategies may be easier for those with 
a style preference that caters to those strategies (e.g., a more intuitive
learner being willing and able to make inferences about an implicit
complaint in an email message at work, as opposed to a more concrete
learner who prefers having things spelled out explicitly and misses the
indirect complaint in the message entirely).
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Personality: introverts who do more listening in the L2 classroom 
than talking may have an easier time perceiving a sarcastic tone in a
presumed compliment than extroverts who do more talking than
listening.
The nature of the task
Not all tasks involving pragmatics are created equal. Some are more
demanding than others, depending on factors such as similarities and dif-
ferences between the L1 and the L2. And at times knowing the meaning 
of key words in a message can have a major impact on the pragmatics of the
situation. For example, let us say that an Israeli speaker of English receives
the following e-mail message from his native-speaking colleague, Brian:
Hi, Avi. I wanted to say something about your talk last evening, I think
you did an impeccable job of presenting the issues. What really came
across was your integrity. We can discuss it in person next week when I’m
back from my trip.
Best,
Brian
But supposing that Avi does not really know what two key words in the mes-
sage, “impeccable” and “integrity,” mean. In this case, his first task is to look
up the word “impeccable,” which he finds a Hebrew translation for without
difficulty. His second task, looking up “integrity,” is more problematic since
there is no direct equivalent in Hebrew. Consequently, Avi is a bit confused
as to just what trait of his is being identified, and is not sure as to what his
response should be.
Likewise, if the task is a complex one, such as submitting a request to
your employer at the workplace regarding a work-load issue, then it may call
for a high level of tact and discretion. Strategies need to be fine-tuned in
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For more on style preferences and strategy repertoire, see Cohen and Weaver (2006).

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S T R A T E G I E S F O R L E A R N I N G A N D P E R F O R M I N G S P E E C H A C T S
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order to deliver the communication responsibly, without alienating an
employer and risking being let go. So the employee would probably need 
to be obsequious enough so as not to anger the boss, but at the same time
forceful enough so that the person is clear what the request is. In English
this means that the employee needs to be gracious, as in the following simu-
lated interaction:
Steve (the employee): How are you, Bethany? How’s the family?
Bethany (the boss): Well, I’m OK. Still fighting that cold from last
week. What can I do for you, Steve?
Steve: I just wanted a few minutes of your time to go over some work-
related issues. Uh, you know, uh, that . . . well, I have been doing the
best I can to meet your deadlines and all. I know how important this
is to you. And you’ve said to me more than once that, uh, you’re
pleased with how I’ve been doing it.
Bethany: That’s true, Steve . . .
Steve: Well, I wonder if we could take a look at my work load and, uh,
see whether it might be possible to make, uh, some adjustments here
because there are just so many hours in a day and . . .
In this example, Steve had a difficult message to deliver to his boss – namely,
that he felt he was overworked. He starts his complaint with the strategy of
providing a personal greeting, and then as his next request strategy, he uses
an indirect means for broaching a touchy issue: “I just wanted a few minutes
of your time . . .” This strategy is referred to as one of negative politeness or a
desire to give deference and minimize the imposition.
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He then uses the
strategy of calling attention to his high level of performance on the job in
order to justify requesting a raise. When he gets his boss’s confirmation of
this, he makes the request to have his work load lightened somewhat.
As a third example, let us take the case of a teenage daughter asking to
borrow a car from her parents over the weekend. She could make the request
as follows:
Hey, dad, can I take your old car this weekend?
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Brown and Levinson (1987).

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