The Effect of Consciousness-raising Tasks on the Turkish EFL Learners' Use of Complaint Strategies

Abstract

The present study sought to investigate the effect of consciousness-raising tasks on the Iranian Turkish EFL learners' use of complaint strategies. To this end, a total of 40 Turkish EFL learners of low-intermediate level participated in the study. Following Takimoto (2009), complaint strategies were taught to the experimental group through consciousness raising tasks in four phases. The control group was exposed to the same authentic input as the experimental group, but they did not receive any consciousness raising tasks. The participants were requested to answer a WDCT consisting of 15 complaint situations as pretest and post-test. The data were analyzed and coded based on Trosborg's (1995) classification of complaint strategies. The results revealed that the differences between the experimental and control groups with respect to employing some complaint strategies including indirect accusation, requesting/ ordering, expression of annoyance or disapproval, total accusation, and total blame were statistically significant at the end of the treatment phase. However, the two groups did not differ statistically in employing strategies of hint, consequences, annoyance, direct accusation, explicit blame (behavior), explicit blame (person), modified blame, expressing disappointment, warning, threatening, criticizing/ rebuking/ reproving/ admonishing, and letting off hook. The finding confirms the facilitative impact of pragmatic instruction.

Keywords: Speech act, Complaint strategy, Consciousness-raising Tasks, Turkish EFL learners