The speech act of apology made by Vietnamese EFL Learners: An interlanguage pragmatic study . M.A Thesis Linguistics: 60 22 15

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN HƯƠNG LÝ THE SPEECH ACT OF APOLOGY MADE BY VIETNAMESE EFL LEARNERS: AN INTERLANGUAGE PRAGMATIC STUDY (LỜI XIN LỖI CỦA NGƯỜI VIỆT NAM HỌC TIẾNG ANH: NGHIÊN CỨU DỤNG HỌC LIÊN NGÔN NGỮ) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: Dr Hà Cẩm Tâm Ha noi – 2012 1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN HƯƠNG LÝ THE SPEECH ACT OF APOLOGY MADE BY VIETNAMESE EFL LEARNERS: AN INTERLANGUAGE PRAGMATIC STUDY (LỜI XIN LỖI CỦA NGƯỜI VIỆT NAM HỌC TIẾNG ANH: NGHIÊN CỨU DỤNG HỌC LIÊN NGÔN NGỮ) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Ha noi – 2012 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Content page Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of Contents iv List of Abbreviations vii List of Tables viii List of Figures viii Part A: INTRODUCTION Identification of the problem Aims of the study Objectives of the study Scope of the study Significance of the study Method of the study Organization of the study Part B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.1 Pragmatics 1.1.1 Overview 1.1.2 Interlanguage pragmatics 1.1.3 Pragmatic transfer 1.2 Speech acts 1.2.1 Three-dimension speech acts 1.2.2 Classification of speech acts 1.2.3 Speech act of Apology 10 1.2.4 Apology strategies 10 1.3 Previous studies on apology 12 Chapter 2: Methodology 14 2.1 Research questions 14 2.2 Research design 14 2.2.1 Informants 14 2.2.2 Data collection instruments 15 2.2.2.1 Variables manipulated in data collection instruments 15 2.2.2.2 The content of the questionnaire 15 2.2.2.2.1 Metapragmatic questionnaire (MPQ) 16 2.2.2.2.2 Open-ended Discourse Completion Task Questionnaire (DCT) 17 2.2.3 Procedure 18 2.3 Results of the MPQ 18 2.4 Coding system 20 Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion 22 3.1 Apologies by EFL Learners and English native speakers 22 3.1.1 In high power settings (+P) 22 3.1.2 In equal power settings (=P) 24 3.1.3 In low power settings (-P) 26 3.1.4 In familiar settings (-D) 28 3.1.5 In unfamiliar settings (+D) 30 3.2 Apologies by English native Speakers and Vietnamese native Speakers 30 3.2.1 In high power settings (+P) 30 3.2.2 In equal power settings (=P) 32 3.2.3 In low power settings (-P) 33 3.3 Pragmatic transfer on Learners‘ Apologies 34 3.3.1 Sociopragmatic Transfer 34 3.3.2 Pragmalinguistic Transfer 36 Part C: CONCLUSION Major findings 38 Implications for Teaching and Learning English in Vietnam 39 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 40 REFERENCES 42 APPENDIXES Appendix A: MPQ Questionnaire (2 versons) I Appendix B: DCT Questionnaire (3 versons) XIII Appendix C: Figure (Apology strategies by EN Speakers and VN Speakers) XIX Appendix D: Figure (Apology strategies by EN Speakers, EFL Learners XX and VN Speakers) Appendix E: The coding system XXI Appendix F: Samples of the coding procedure XXII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EN: English native VN: Vietnamese native EFL: English as a foreign language L1: First language L2: Second language MPQ: Metapragmatic questionnaire DCT: Discourse Completion Task D: Social Distance P: Relative Power R: Ranking of Imposition Sit Situation Strat Strategy LIST OF TABLES Table Mean ratings of social factors by English and Vietnamese informants 19 (n=29) and Vietnamese informants (n=30) Table The use of Strategies with respect to +P (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 22 Table The use of Strategies with respect to =P (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 25 Table The use of Strategies with respect to -P (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 27 Table The use of Strategies with respect to +D (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 28 Table The use of Strategies with respect to –D (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 30 Table The use of Strategies with respect to +P (EN Speakers & VN Speakers) 30 Table The use of Strategies with respect to =P (EN Speakers & VN Speakers) 32 Table The use of Strategies with respect to -P (EN Speakers & VN Speakers) 33 Table 10 Apology strategies by EN Speakers, EFL Learners and VN Speakers across the six situations LIST OF FIGURES Figure Apology strategies in +P settings (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 22 Figure Apology strategies in =P settings (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 25 Figure Apology strategies in =P settings (EN Speakers & EFL Learners) 27 Figure Apology strategies by EN Speakers & VN Speakers in the six situations XIX Figure Apology strategies by EN Speakers, EFL Learners & VN Speakers XX Part I: INTRODUCTION Identification of the problem To become effective communicators nowadays, it is essential for English foreign language (EFL) Learners to gain communicative competence Communicative competence, according to Ellis, ―entails both linguistic competence and pragmatic competence‖ (Ellis, 1994:696) Linguistic competence is the ability to use the linguistic rules of a given language Pragmatic competence, on the other hand, is ―the ability to use language effectively in order to achieve a specific purpose and to understand language in context‖ (Thomas, 1983:94) Likewise, Bialystok (1993) claimed that pragmatic competence is the ability to make use of different language functions, the ability to understand the speakers‘ underlying intention; and the ability to modify the speech according to contexts Recently, increasing attention has been paid to pragmatic competence due to the fact that foreign language learners who have good knowledge of grammar and a wide range of vocabulary but lack sociolinguistic awareness may encounter communicating problems with native speakers because of their incompetence to use sociolinguistic rules properly or interpret those words correctly Moreover, in accordance with Thomas (1983), native speakers often forgive the phonological, syntactic and lexical errors made by L2 speakers but usually interpret pragmatic errors negatively as rudeness, impoliteness or unfriendliness Thus foreign language speakers need to have more than pure linguistic competence in order to be able to communicate effectively in a language and know how a language is used by members of a speech community to accomplish their purposes (Hymes:1972) In other words, it can be justifiably suggested that foreign language speakers need to use the target language in both linguistically and socially appropriate ways Over the past few decades, language teaching in the world has witnessed a shift from the focus on the development of learners‘ linguistic competence to the development of learners‘ communicative competence Many empirical studies on learners‘ pragmatic competence on the basis of diverse speech acts have been conducted in variety of cultures and languages to gather information on what appropriate use of linguistic forms in different sociocultural contexts actually comprises (e.g., Bergman & Kasper, 1993; Blum-Kulka, 1991; Ellis, 1992; Trosborg, 1987, 1995; Yu, 1999a, 1999b, 2005; Shardakova, 2005; Bataineh, 2006, 2008) Those studies have contributed greatly to a better understanding of the use of linguistic forms in different languages and cultures and further to avoiding cross-cultural miscommunication On response to this trend, some Vietnamese researchers investigated similarities and differences in the realization of speech acts such as requesting, inviting, disagreeing, greeting, giving and receiving compliments, apologizing, promising made by speakers of English and Vietnamese Among these speech acts, apology is considered a highlyrecurrent and routinized act Kasper (1996) stated that in any speech community, participants need to engage in remedial verbal action upon committing an offense, that is to apologize However, this kind of speech act is still under-researched in Vietnam Van (2000), Phuong (2000) and Trang (2010) are some of Vietnamese researchers working on this topic up to now However, their studies mainly compared and contrasted the realization of apology between two groups of language, English and Vietnamese Native Vietnamese speakers‘ speech act behavior which can influence Learners‘ performance of the target language was understudied Thus, gaps are still there to fill in pragmatics, especially in the interlanguage speech act of apology In this study the aim is to compare the speech act of apologies among EN speakers, English EFL learners and VN speakers Aims of the study This study aims at identifying Vietnamese EFL learners‘ deviations linguistically in the production of apology in relation to English native speakers in the contexts studied In particular, the study attempts to find out how much Vietnamese learners of English can approximate native speakers in the apology strategy use as well as responding to contextual factors involved in the contexts Objectives of the study The study will uncover the deviations in using apology strategies by Vietnamese EFL learners in some contexts studied Particularly, it uncovers: 1) differences in the use of apology strategies by EN Speakers and Vietnamese EFL Learners 2) differences in the use of apology strategies by EN Speakers and VN Speakers Scope of the study Due to limited time, it is impossible to cover all interlanguage pragmatic matters This study just focus on the language used by Vietnamese learners of English in formulating in the speech act of apology in relation to the three social parameters (P, D and R) in the contexts studied In other words, the survey concentrates on verbal communication Moreover, the survey mainly considers the acceptance of apologies and ignores all the cases where apologies are refused As a result, the theoretical frameworks applied to this study are pragmatics and the speech act theory Significance of the study This study will be an attempt to fill in a gap in the area of interlanguage pragmatics where learners‘ production of linguistic acts has not taken into consideration enough Thus, the study will be a reference material for not only English language learners to improve their knowledge on the interlanguage pragmatics but also their communicative competence Method of the study Quantitative is mainly used in this study In other words, all the conclusions and considerations are based on the analysis of the empirical studies and statistics processed Chi-square test In addition, such methods as descriptive, analytic, comparative and contrastive are also utilized to describe and analyze, to compare and contrast the database so as to bring out differences in using apology strategy by English and Vietnamese speakers Organization of the study This study is divided into three parts as follows: Part A is the introduction of the study including the identification of the problem, the aims, the objectives, the scope of the study, the significance, the research method as well as the organization of the study Part B contains chapters Chapter reviews the theoretical issues relevant to the study including pragmatics, speech act theory and some previous studies on interlanguage apologies Chapter discusses issues of methodology and outlines the study design, data collection instruments, reliability and validity test of the data collection instruments, procedure of data collection, selection of subjects and analytical framework Chapter presents the data analysis and discusses the findings on the choice of apology strategies used by EN speakers, EFL learners and VN speakers in relation to the variables of Power (P), Social Distance (D) and Ranking of Imposition (R) in the contexts under studied Some pragmatic transfer on interlanguage apology is also mentioned in this chapter Part C provides an overview of major findings and interpretations, implications, limitations and suggestions for further research Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng Tình 9: Bạn hứa với nhân viên trường đại học điền nộp lại tờ đăng ký hai ngày trước bạn lại nộp chậm hai ngày Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 10: Bạn hứa mua giúp người hàng xóm rau xanh ngũ cốc bạn chợ Tuy nhiên, mải mê tìm thứ danh sách mua sắm mà bạn quên thứ hàng xóm nhờ bạn mua bạn đến nhà Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 11: Bạn trưởng phịng nhân Bạn để sinh viên chờ bạn hàng nửa đồng hồ cho vấn việc làm bạn bị gọi tới họp đột xuất Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Khơng quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 12: Bạn mượn sổ ghi chép người bạn thân, số trang bị ướt hỏng bạn gặp mưa ngày hôm trước Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 13: Khi ngồi uống trà với người bạn quán cà phê bạn vơ tình làm rớt trà vào áo sinh viên khóa trước ngồi cạnh bạn Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 14: Bạn tiếp viên nhà hàng sang trọng Một khách hàng gọi thịt bị bạn lại mang nhầm gà chiên Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Khơng quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 15: Tại nhà hàng, bạn vơ tình dẫm lên chân người phục vụ ngang qua bạn Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao người nghe? Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng Tình 16: Khi bạn lùi xe khỏi bãi đỗ, bạn đâm vào xe khác làm xe bị bẹp dúm Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Khơng quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 17: Do bận rộn chuẩn bị cho kỳ thi hết môn trường đại học bạn quên gọi điện cho cô em gái nhân ngày sinh nhật cô tận khuya Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Tình 18: Bạn hẹn gặp bạn thân tin trường, mời ăn trưa Tuy nhiên, bạn không thực điều việc khác Câu hỏi Người nói người nghe có mối quan hệ nào? Không quen biết Quen biết Thân thiết Người nói có quyền lực xã hội so với Thấp Ngang Cao Bạn đánh mức độ nghiêm trọng Không nghiêm Khá nghiêm Nghiêm vấn đề? trọng trọng trọng người nghe? Xin chân thành cảm ơn giúp đỡ bạn APPENDIX B: DCT QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE B1 (For English native Speakers) This questionnaire is designed for my research on ―The speech act of apology made by Vietnamese EFL Learners: An interlanguage pragmatic study‖ The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out what you would naturally say in the situations below I hope you will feel free to complete the questionnaire, as all information is confidential Part 1: Background information Instruction: Please circle the choice which indicates your information: Gender: A Male B Female Age: ………………………………………………………………………… Nationality: ………………………………………………………………… First language:……………………………………………………………… Highest level of education: ………………………………………………… The place you spend most of your time living/working: Other language(s) you speak with your parents at home:…………………… Part 2: Questionnaire Instruction: Please read the six brief situations calling for an apology below After each situation, please write down exactly what you might say in a normal conversation Situation 1: You promised to take your son to the cinema on his tenth birthday but you couldn‘t so He has been waiting for you at home for several hours What would you say to your son when you get home? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 2: You copied some ideas from a published book for your essay without acknowledging the source and your professor found out when he read it What would you say to your professor? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 3: Your roommate has bought a new digital camera You ask her to let you try it However, you carelessly drop it on the ground and it breaks What would you say to your roommate? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 4: You are a staff manager You kept a student waiting for half an hour for a job interview because you were called to an unexpected meeting What would you say to that student when you return? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 5: You are a waiter in an expensive restaurant A customer orders beef steak, but you bring fried chicken by mistake What would you say to that customer? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 6: When you are backing out of a parking place, you run your car into the back of another car and it is badly dented What would you say to the driver? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… This is the end of the questionnaire Thank you for your kind assistance! QUESTIONNAIRE B2 (For Vietnamese EFL Learners) This questionnaire is designed for my research on ―The speech act of apoloy made by Vietnamese EFL Learners: An interlanguage pragmatic study‖ The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out what you would naturally say in the situations below I hope you will feel free to complete the questionnaire, as all information is confidential Part 1: Background information Instruction: Please circle the choice which indicates your information: Gender: A Male B Female Age: ………………………………………………………………………… Nationality: ………………………………………………………………… First language:……………………………………………………………… Highest level of education: ………………………………………………… The place you spend most of your time living/working:……………………… Part 2: Questionnaire Instruction: Please read the six brief situations calling for an apology below After each situation, please write down exactly what you might say in a normal conversation Situation 1: You promised to take your son to the cinema on his tenth birthday but you couldn‘t so He has been waiting for you at home for several hours What would you say to your son when you get home? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 2: You copied some ideas from a published book for your essay without acknowledging the source and your professor found out when he read it What would you say to your professor? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 3: Your roommate has bought a new digital camera You ask her to let you try it However, you carelessly drop it on the ground and it breaks What would you say to your roommate? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 4: You are a staff manager You kept a student waiting for half an hour for a job interview because you were called to an unexpected meeting What would you say to that student when you return? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 5: You are a waiter in an expensive restaurant A customer orders beef steak, but you bring fried chicken by mistake What would you say to that customer? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Situation 6: When you are backing out of a parking place, you run your car into the back of another car and it is badly dented What would you say to the driver? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… This is the end of the questionnaire Thank you for your kind assistance! BẢN ĐIỀU TRA B3 (Dành cho người Việt Nam nói tiếng Việt) Phiếu câu hỏi điều tra thiết kế nhằm phục vụ cho đề tài nghiên cứu ngơn ngữ học Mục đích câu hỏi để tìm hiểu xem thơng thường bạn xin lỗi tình Xin bạn vui lịng dành chút thời gian giúp chúng tơi hồn thành phiếu câu hỏi điều tra Những thông tin phiếu câu hỏi giữ kín khơng sử dụng vào mục đích khác Chúng xin chân thành cảm ơn! Phần 1: Thông tin cá nhân Nơi sinh:…………………………………………………………………… Nơi bạn sống lâu (Nông thơn-Thành thị):…………………………… Tuổi:……………………………………………………………………… Giới tính:…………………………………………………………………… Bậc đào tạo cao (THPT-Cao đẳng-Đại học):………………………… Trình độ ngoại ngữ (Giỏi-Khá-Trung bình-Yếu): ………………………… Bạn có sử dụng ngơn ngữ ngồi Tiếng Việt nhà khơng:…………… Phần 2: Tình Xin bạn đọc kỹ tình mơ tả sau trả lời cách xác câu hỏi bên tình Tình Bạn hứa đưa trai xem phim vào ngày sinh nhật lần thứ mười cậu bạn không thực hứa Cậu chờ bạn lâu nhà Trong tình bạn nói với trai bạn nhà? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Tình Bạn chép vài ý hay từ sách xuất cho tiểu luận mà khơng trích nguồn thầy giáo bạn phát ông đọc Trong tình bạn nói với giáo viên hướng dẫn nào? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Tình Bạn phịng bạn vừa mua máy ảnh kỹ thuật số Bạn xin phép cho bạn thử Tuy nhiên, bạn bất cẩn đánh rơi xuống nhà làm vỡ Trong tình bạn nói với bạn nào? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Tình Bạn trưởng phòng nhân Bạn để sinh viên chờ bạn hàng nửa đồng hồ cho vấn việc làm bạn bị gọi tới họp đột xuất Trong tình bạn nói với bạn sinh viên bạn quay trở lại? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Tình Bạn tiếp viên nhà hàng sang trọng Một khách hàng gọi thịt bị bạn lại mang nhầm gà chiên Trong tình bạn nói với người khách hàng nào? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Tình Khi bạn lùi xe khỏi bãi đỗ, bạn đâm vào đuôi xe khác làm xe bị bẹp dúm Lái xe bước giận tiến đến chỗ bạn Trong tình bạn nói với người lái xe nào? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Tơi xin chân thành cảm ơn! APPENDIX C Figure 4: Apology strategies by EN Speakers and VN Speakers Situation (Camera) 100 EN Speaker VN Speaker e g 80 a t n ec60 re p40 ev it20 a le r0 Strat.1 Strat.2 Strat.3 Strat.4 Strat.5 Strat.6 APPENDIX D FIGURE 5: Apology strategies by EN Speakers, EFL Learners & VN Speakers relative percentage 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 EN Speaker Learners VN Speaker Situation 14 (Food) EN Speaker Learners VN Speaker 120 relative percentage Situation (Essay) 100 80 60 40 20 Strat.1 Strat.2 Strat.3 Strat.4 Strat.5 Strat.6 APPENDIX E Strat.1 Strat.2 Strat.3 Strat.4 Strat.5 Strat.6 CODING SYSTEM Code Strategies Strat.1 An expression of apology Strat.2 An explanation or account Strat.3 An acknowledgement of responsibility Strat.4 An offer of repair Strat.5 Promise of forbearance Strat.6 Concern for the hearer APPENDIX F: SAMPLE OF THE CODING PROCEDURE F1: ENGLISH NATIVE INFORMANT Situation 1: You promised to take your son to the cinema on his tenth birthday but you couldn‘t so He has been waiting for you at home for several hours I’m sorry I couldn’t take you to the movies My boss kept me at work for extra hours Never mind we’ll go tomorrow (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.2 + Strat.4) Situation 2: You copied some ideas from a published book for your essay without acknowledging the source and your professor found out when he read it It won’t happen again Please accept my apology (Strat.5 + Strat.1) Situation 3: Your roommate has bought a new digital camera You ask her to let you try it However, you carelessly drop it on the ground and it breaks Oh dear How dummy of me I’m sure it can be repaired I will take it to be fixed I hope not to upset you (Strat.3 + Strat.4 + Strat.6) Situation 4: You are a staff manager You kept a student waiting for half an hour for a job interview because you were called to an unexpected meeting Sorry I’ve kept you waiting I was called away unexpectedly (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.2) Situation 5: You are a waiter in an expensive restaurant A customer orders beef steak, but you bring fried chicken by mistake Oh dear I’m sorry, Sir I will take back the chicken and bring a beef you ordered as quickly as I can There will be no charge for your meal (Strat.1 + Strat.4 + Strat.4) Situation 6: When you are backing out of a parking place, you run your car into the back of another car and it is badly dented The driver gets out and comes over to you angrily I’m sorry for what has happened My car insurance will cover the cost of repairs Let me buy you a drink (Strat.1 + Strat.4 + Strat.4) F2: VIETNAMESE EFL LEARNER Situation 1: You promised to take your son to the cinema on his tenth birthday but you couldn‘t so He has been waiting for you at home for several hours I’m sorry My motorbike broke down on my way home Let’s go tomorrow Ok? (Strat.1 + Strat.2 + Strat.4) Situation 2: You copied some ideas from a published book for your essay without acknowledging the source and your professor found out when he read it I’m so sorry, professor I didn’t mean to copy the ideas from book I promise I won’t that again I hope you will sympathize and forgive me (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.5 + Strat.1) Situation 3: Your roommate has bought a new digital camera You ask her to let you try it However, you carelessly drop it on the ground and it breaks Sorry for my carelessness I will compensate you another one (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.4) Situation 4: You are a staff manager You kept a student waiting for half an hour for a job interview because you were called to an unexpected meeting How long have you been waiting? I had an unexpected meeting Let’s start the interview now (Strat.6 + Strat.2 + Strat.4) Situation 5: You are a waiter in an expensive restaurant A customer orders beef steak, but you bring fried chicken by mistake Oh, I’m sorry for the mistake I’ll bring you the beef right now It’s too crowded here (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.4 + Strat.2) Situation 6: When you are backing out of a parking place, you run your car into the back of another car and it is badly dented Are you injured? I’m sorry for the damage I’ll repair the car for you (Strat.6 + Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.4) F3: VIETNAMESE NATIVE INFORMANT Tình Bạn hứa đưa trai xem phim vào ngày sinh nhật lần thứ mười cậu bạn không thực hứa Cậu chờ bạn lâu nhà Xin lỗi trai Hôm mẹ bân Mẹ phải hoàn thành xong báo cáo quan trọng cho họp ngày mai Cuối tuần bù (Strat.1 + Strat.2 + Strat.2 + Strat.4) Tình Bạn chép vài ý hay từ sách xuất cho tiểu luận mà khơng trích nguồn thầy giáo bạn phát ơng đọc Em xin lỗi thầy Do vội q nên em qn khơng trích nguồn Em mong thầy thông cảm tha lỗi cho em Em xin hứa lần sau cẩn thận (Strat.1 + Strat.2 + Strat.3 + Strat.1 + Strat.5) Tình Bạn phịng bạn vừa mua máy ảnh kỹ thuật số Bạn xin phép cho bạn thử Tuy nhiên, bạn bất cẩn đánh rơi xuống nhà làm vỡ Mình xin lỗi làm vỡ máy ảnh bạn Để mua đền bạn khác Bạn đừng buồn (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.4 + Strat.6) Tình Bạn trưởng phịng nhân Bạn để sinh viên chờ bạn hàng nửa đồng hồ cho vấn việc làm bạn bị gọi tới họp đột xuất Bạn chờ lâu chưa Tơi bận họp đột xuất Mình bắt đầu (Strat.6 + Strat.2 + Strat.4) Tình Bạn tiếp viên nhà hàng sang trọng Một khách hàng gọi thịt bị bạn lại mang nhầm gà chiên Xin lỗi anh nhầm Tại hôm đông khách Mong anh thông cảm bỏ qua cho nhà hàng (Strat.1 + Strat.3 + Strat.2 + Strat.1) Tình Khi bạn lùi xe khỏi bãi đỗ, bạn đâm vào đuôi xe khác làm đuôi xe bị bẹp dúm Anh có bị khơng? Xin lỗi anh phanh xe bị kẹt nên không làm chủ Để sửa xe cho anh (Strat.6 + Strat.1 + Strat.2 + Strat.4)