The academic paper titled "Refusal Strategies of Saudi EFL Undergraduate Students" by Wafa Ismail Saud focuses on the refusal strategies employed by Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduate students. The primary research question explores the types of refusal strategies these students use and whether these strategies vary according to the social status of the interlocutor in situations of requests, invitations, offers, and suggestions.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the refusal strategies used by Saudi EFL students and examine if these strategies differ based on the context (request, invitation, offer, and suggestion) or the social status of the interlocutor (higher, equal, or lower). The study aims to provide insights that could enhance the pragmatic competence of EFL learners, particularly in the context of Saudi culture.
The study employed a descriptive quantitative research design, using a discourse completion task (DCT) to collect data from 150 Saudi female undergraduates at King Khalid University. The DCT presented the students with various scenarios requiring them to refuse requests, invitations, offers, and suggestions directed at interlocutors of varying social statuses. The responses were analyzed using Beebe et al.'s (1990) taxonomy of refusal strategies, which categorizes refusals into direct, indirect, and adjunct strategies.
Key findings reveal that Saudi EFL students predominantly used indirect refusal strategies, followed by direct strategies and adjuncts. Indirect strategies, such as providing excuses, reasons, explanations, and expressing regret, were most common, reflecting the students' desire to maintain politeness and avoid offending the interlocutor. The study also found that refusal strategies varied slightly depending on the type of situation, with invitations and requests eliciting more indirect strategies than offers and suggestions. However, social status had little to no influence on the refusal strategies employed by the students, indicating that they used similar strategies regardless of whether they were interacting with someone of higher, equal, or lower status.
The study concludes that while Saudi EFL students are sensitive to the nuances of refusal in different contexts, there is a need for more focused teaching on pragmatic competence in relation to social status. The findings suggest that integrating pragmatic teaching into the EFL curriculum could help students develop better communication skills and avoid potential misunderstandings in cross-cultural interactions.