Exploring the Differencesbetween Male and FemaleStudents in UsingPolitenessStrategiesinside the EFL ClassroomBased on Brown &Levinson’s (1987) Theory The Case of EFL Master 1 LS StudentsatLaarbiTebessiUniversity

Abstract

This studyaimed to explore the differencesbetween male and femalestudents in usingpolitenessstrategiesinside the EFL classroombased on Brown and Levinson'stheory. Specificallywith Master1 Language Sciences studentsat the English Departmentat El Chahid Sheikh LaarbiTebessiUniversitywhereweattempted to explore the dominant usedpolitenessstrategies by eachgender. The population wasselectedbased on purposivesampling technique because master1 studentsweresupposed to bepragmaticallycompetent. The presentstudyadopted mixed-methodresearch design. Moreover, a DiscourseCompletion Test wassubmitted to the same population to answer the first research question (What are the dominant usedpolitenessstrategies by EFL M1 LS males and whichones are used more by females?). Also, an observation wasappliedduring five (05) sessions to seek an answer for the second question (Are thereanysimilarities or differencesbetween M1 LS male and femalelearners in usingpolitenessstrategies?). The obtained data wereanalyzedquantitatively and qualitatively to achievevalidresults. The findingsrevealedthatgender has an effect on the strategiestheyemploy. Moreover, itisfoundthat males tend to be direct, concise and explicit in conversing by usingboth "Bald on-record" and "Positive politeness" with a higherpercentagecompared to the otherstrategies. Unlikefemaleswho are closer to employ "Negativepoliteness" and "Off-record" than the otherstrategieswhichreflecttheirtendency to be indirect and more politethan males by keepingtheirutterancesfriendly and softened. Eventually, a set of implications and recommendations are proposed for possible future researches.