Iranian Non-native English Speaking Teachers’ Rating Criteria Regarding the Speech Act of Compliment: An Investigation of Teachers’ Variables

Among topics in the field of pragmatics, some seem to be in a more rigorous need of investigation. Pragmatic assessment and specifically the issue of pragmatic rating are among issues which deserve more thorough consideration. The purpose of this study was to examine rater criteria and its consistency and variability in the assessment of Iranian EFL learners’ production of compliments based on the teachers’ gender and teaching experience of the Iranian non-native English speakingraters (INNESRs). The data for this study were collected through WDCTs rating questionnaire from sixty Iranian EFL teachers and were later analyzed through descriptive statistics, t-tests and Chi-squares. The results of the study showed that Iranian EFL teachers consider seven macro criteria when rating EFL learners’ pragmatic productions regarding the speech act of compliment. The criteria include “politeness” (26.37%), “interlocutors’ characteristics and relationships” (22.83%), “variety and range” (19.68%), “socio-pragmatic appropriateness” (14.17%), “sincerity” (10.23%),“complexity” (9.84%), and “linguistic appropriacy” (8.66%). The results of the t-test and Chi-squares further showed that whereas there was no significant difference in the teachers’ ratings based on their gender and teaching experience, the difference was significant in the frequency of rating criteria provided by the raters. To conclude, the results of the study reinforce the need for rater training regarding the assessment of pragmatic productions based on pragma-linguistic and socio-pragmatic norms.