Face and Politeness Theories Communication Context Interpersonal and Intercultural Questions It Addresses in Our Every Day Lives

Applying Theory to Research—Face-Threatening Acts and Communication Apprehensive 
Instructors. 

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Student responses to their college instructors can be face-threatening acts. Some instructors feel 
particularly anxious about speaking (communication apprehension) and thus face-threatening 
acts could have a significant impact on their classroom behavior. Elizabeth Baiocchi-Wagner 
(2011) conducted a qualitative study where she interviewed fifteen college instructors who had 
identified themselves as being highly communication apprehensive in the classroom. Instructors 
were asked to discuss a negative experience in the classroom. In analyzing their responses, 
Baiocchi-Wagner identified face-threatening acts that fit each of the face types listed by Lim and 
Bower: competence, fellowship, and autonomy.
All the instructors reported instances where students either intentionally or 
unintentionally threatened their competence face by questioning the instructor’s expertise in 
class. For example, a young math instructor felt put down and embarrassed when a top student 
pointed out errors in the math problem the instructor was working on the board. Face was not 
just threatened by student behavior but also by the instructors themselves. An international 
instructor’s struggle with some English words threatened her competence face. Other instructors’ 
threatened their own faces when they felt they inadequately explained a concept.
You might be surprised to find that challenging a course policy, changing the course 
policy to accommodate students, and providing make-up exams are threats to the autonomy face 
of instructors. Each of these involved imposing some restriction or change on the instructor, thus 
creating a threat. Finally, the desire to be accepted reflected in the fellowship face was threatened 
when instructors would try to engage students in small talk before or after class and students 
would be unresponsive. Such a response reflects a rejection of the instructor which led one 
instructor to show up immediately as class was to begin in order to avoid the potential for such 

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rejection. One of the major strategies instructors used to manage face-threat was to be well-
prepared for the class and thus avoid instances that might be face-threatening. 
To what degree have your behaviors toward your instructors been potentially face-
threatening? How might you address your concerns as a student while also protecting the face of 
your teachers?
Baiocchi-Wagner, E. (2011). ‘‘Facing threats’’: Understanding communication apprehensive 
instructors’ face loss and face restoration in the classroom. Communication Quarterly, 59, 221–
238.