Author/Authors :
Ahmadi، Maryam نويسنده English Department, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh Branch, Abadeh, Iran , , Kargar، Ali Asghar نويسنده English Department, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh Branch, Abadeh, Iran , , Rostampour، Mohammad نويسنده PhD in TEFL, Department of English, Abadeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadeh, Iran ,
Abstract :
The present research is an attempt to obtain a better understanding on the type of suggestion speech act strategies which Iranian EFL learners at different proficiency levels use in their L2 productions and to discover whether there are any significant differences between participants’ suggestion strategies with respect to their proficiency levels. It is also intended to explore weather gender and EFL learnersʹ uses of suggestion strategies are interrelated. Furthermore, the focus of analysis will be on the extent to which learnersʹ L1 suggestion scheme may affect their use of EFL suggestion strategies. This study was conducted in Shiraz, Iran. The participants were 70 (28 males and 42 females) Iranian students at Shiraz Islamic Azad University. They were selected from among third and fourth year BA and first year MA students of English at Shiraz Islamic Azad University, majoring in TEFL. Participants were divided into three groups including low, mid and high proficiency learners of English according their scores on a quick placement test. The data was gathered using DCT questionnaires in English and Its translated version in Persian. To analyze the data, the frequencies and percentages of the answers, as well as the Kruskal-Wallis test were run. Analyzing the results indicated that there was no significance difference in suggestion strategies used at three levels of proficiency and there is no relationship between Gender and EFL learnersʹ use of suggestion strategies. It also revealed that Iranian EFL learnersʹ L1 scheme affects their use of English suggestion strategies.
