Investigating the Speech Act of Correction in Iraqi EFL Context

Abstract

The present paper investigates the performance of the Iraqi students for the speech act of correction and how is it realized with status unequal. It attempts to achieve the following aims: (1) Setting out the felicity conditions for the speech act of correction in terms of Searle’ conditions. (2) Identifying the semantic formulas that realize the speech act of correction in the performance of the Iraqi learners of English as a foreign language. (3) Finding out if those students are aware of the role of status inequality in issuing speech acts. To achieve the aims of this study, it is hypothesized that: (1) Different formulas are utilized by students to accomplish the speech act of correction. (2) Iraqi EFL students are aware of the power-status perspective in their interactions. The following procedures have been followed: (1) Reviewing the literature about speech act theory along with the notion of politeness. (2) Developing a discourse completion test to elicit the speech act of correction that is to be distributed to college students in an Iraqi University. The findings of the analysis verify the above mentioned hypotheses.

Keywords: Speech Act Theory, Speech Act of Correction, EFL, Politeness, Intercultural communication