Neda Kameh Khosh¹*, Ekaterina Rossinskaya², Alexander G. Rossinsky³

¹PhD student, People’s Friendship University of Russia, Russia, kamekh_khosh_n@pfur.ru

²Associate Professor, PhD in Linguistics, Moscow Pedagogical State University, Moscow University of Economics and Humanities, People’s Friendship University of Russia, Moscow University of Psychoanalysis, Russia, erossinskaya@yandex.ru

³Professor, PhD in Philosophy, Altai State University, Russia, Cello42@mail.ru

*Corresponding author

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to politeness, the communicative features of politeness and the influence of politeness on people’s communicative behaviors in teaching a second language. In order to understand an interlocutor from another culture, it is essential to be aware of (im) politeness in his/her culture and teach politeness to second language learners as well. In the present study, we aimed at analyzing the various approaches proposed in association with teaching politeness to second language learners, highlighting the importance of politeness and its communicative characteristics as well as reviewing the different approaches to teaching politeness to second language learners. One practical shared attribute across all approaches is raising awareness and developing analytical skills among second language learners. Although different approaches to teaching politeness to second language learners have been developed, these approaches have either been extremely theoretical in their politeness conceptualizing or involved patterns that could not properly draw the understanding of politeness among respondents/learners in different cultures. Thus, it is discussed that an approach encompassing learners’ understanding of politeness is a more reliable triggering point in order to raise the learners’ sociopragmatic awareness of (im) politeness in different languages and cultures. This strongly endorsed approach is a practical intellectual approach, in which raising the learners’ pragmalinguistic awareness in connection with the interactional fulfilling of specific meanings and actions through personal interactions is interconnected with raising the learners’ sociopragmatic awareness regarding what underlies evaluations of those meanings and actions as (im) polite. In fact, by raising the learners’ sociopragmatic awareness through this approach, learners are equipped with appropriate means of analyzing differences that happen between the politeness systems in their first and second language [Huang 2008]. In conclusion, by concentrating on politeness, the communicative specificities of politeness as well as teaching politeness in a second language, the critical element of culture of the target language in understanding the words, sentences and expressions as well as (im) polite features in a target language is highlighted. In other words, in order to master a foreign language, it is not only essential to learn the vocabulary and grammatical structures, but also mastering the cultural characteristics and (im) polite standard characteristics of the target language which play an essential role.

Keywords: Politeness, second language teaching, pragmalinguistic awareness, sociopragmatic awareness