CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PRAGMATIC TRANSFER IN COMPLIMENT RESPONSES BY VIETNAMESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH BA Thesis Field of study: English Language Teaching Supervisor: BUI LAN CHI, M.A Researcher: Nguyen Thi Hong Quyen Class: NN0652A1 Student code: 7062919 Course: 32 Can Tho, April 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to give my deep gratitude to Mrs Bui Lan Chi, whose comments and suggestions were very useful to make my thesis possible Next, I also would like to thank my friend, Mr Tran Quang Nhat, who helped me deliver the Discourse Completion Task questionnaires to American native speakers Moreover, I really appreciate the great help of English majored and nonmajored students of Can Tho University as well as American native speakers who participated in my thesis Last but not least, my gratitude is extended to English Department of Can Tho University for offering the most favorable conditions to help me complete this thesis TÓM TẮT Nghiên cứu nhằm khảo sát khác cách đáp lại lời khen người Việt ngữ người Mĩ ngữ ảnh hưởng tiếng mẹ đẻ người Việt học tiếng Anh đáp lại lời khen tiếng Anh Công cụ để thu thập số liệu cho luận văn “phiếu thu thập số liệu.” Phiếu thu thập số liệu với hai phiên bản: tiếng Anh tiếng Việt thiết kế bao gồm tám tình huống, dựa bốn chủ đề khen ngợi: bề ngoài, sở hữu, kỹ tính cách Những lời đáp lại lời khen thu thập từ 30 người, chia thành ba nhóm: nhóm người Mĩ ngữ, nhóm người Việt ngữ nhóm người Việt học tiếng Anh Kết cho thấy khác biệt lớn cách đáp lại lời khen người Mĩ ngữ người Việt ngữ, tập trung vào hai hướng: tần suất chiến lược đáp lại lời khen nội dung chiến lược Ngoài ra, kết cho thấy có ảnh hưởng tiếng mẹ đẻ cách đáp lại lời khen người Việt học tiếng Anh Các ảnh hưởng thể hai cấp độ: tần suất chiến lược nội dung chiến lược Kết luận rút giúp cung cấp thêm nguồn tài liệu cho việc sử dụng thích hợp tiếng Anh giao tiếp đa ngôn ngữ nâng cao ý thức người Việt học tiếng Anh khả ngữ dụng ý thức khác biệt văn hóa giao tiếp, sử dụng tiếng Anh ngoại ngữ ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the differences between compliment responses by Vietnamese native speakers and by American native speakers as well as the pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese learners of English when responding to compliments in English To collect data, Discourse Completion Task was employed as the only instrument The Discourse Completion Task questionnaires with two versions: one in English and one in Vietnamese were designed to include eight scenarios based on four compliment topics: appearance, possession, accomplishment/skills and personality traits The compliment responses were collected from thirty people who were divided into three groups: American native speakers (ANS), Vietnamese native speakers (VNS) and Vietnamese learners of English (VLE) The results revealed a significant difference in compliment responses by American native speakers and Vietnamese native speakers focusing on two dimensions: the frequency of compliment response strategies and the content of the strategies Moreover, the results also demonstrated evidence of pragmatic transfer in compliment responses by Vietnamese learners of English This pragmatic transfer was at two levels: the levels of the frequency of compliment response strategies and the level of content of the strategies The findings helps to provide more literature for the appropriate use of English language in intercommunication and raise the awareness of Vietnamese learners of English about pragmatic competence and cross-culture when communicating in English as a foreign language TABLE OF CONTENT Acknowledgements .i Abstract (Vietnamese) ii Abstract (English) iii List of Tables .vi List of Figures vii Abbreviations viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Rationale .1 1.2 Aims and significance of the present study 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Significance of the present study 1.3 Organization of the thesis .2 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Communicative competence 2.2 Pragmatic competence 2.3 Pragmatic transfer .6 2.4 Speech act theory 2.5 Compliments and compliment responses 2.5.1 Definition of compliments 2.5.2 Lexical and syntactical features of compliments 2.5.3 Compliment topics .7 2.5.4 Classification of compliment response strategies 2.6 Inter-language studies on compliment responses 2.7 Inter-language studies on pragmatic transfer in compliment responses 10 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHOD 12 3.1 Research questions 12 3.2 Hypotheses .12 3.3 Participants 12 3.4 Data collection instrument 13 3.4.1 Rationale for using DCT 13 3.4.2 Description of DCT questionnaire 13 3.5 Data analysis 13 CHAPTER RESULTS 15 4.1 General results 15 4.2 Vietnamese native speaker group vs American native speaker group 15 4.2.1 Differences in the frequency of compliment response strategies .16 4.2.2 Differences in the content of compliment response strategies 18 4.3 Vietnamese learners of English and pragmatic transfer 20 4.3.1 Pragmatic transfer in the frequency of compliment response strategies 20 4.3.2 Pragmatic transfer in the content of compliment response strategies 23 CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION 26 5.1 Discussions of the findings .26 5.2 Implications .27 5.3 Limitations .27 5.4 Suggestions for further research 27 5.5 Conclusion 28 REFERENCES ix APPENDIX A .xi APPENDIX B xii APPENDIX C xiii List of Tables Table 2.1 Herbert's taxonomy of compliment responses Table 2.2 Contrastive studies on compliment responses Table 2.3 Inter-language studies on pragmatic transfer in compliment responses Table 3.1 Grouping of participants Table 4.1 Number of agreement and on-agreement strategies produced by three groups: American native speaker group (ANS), Vietnamese native speaker group (VNS) and Vietnamese learners of English group (VLE) Table 4.2 Number of compliment response sub-strategies produced by American native speakers and Vietnamese native speakers List of Figures Figure 2.1 Communicative language competence in the Common European Framework (CEF) Figure 4.1 Differences in agreement and non-agreement strategies produced by American native speakers and Vietnamese native speakers Figure 4.2 Differences in compliment response sub-strategies produced by American native speakers and Vietnamese native speakers Figure 4.3 Pragmatic transfer in agreement and non-agreement compliment response strategies by Vietnamese learners of English Figure 4.4 Pragmatic transfer in compliment response sub-strategies by Vietnamese learners of English Abbreviations CR Compliment response CRs Compliment responses ANS American native speakers VNS Vietnamese native speakers VLE Vietnamese learners of English DCT Discourse Completion Task L1 First Language L2 Second Language CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter includes three parts: (1) the rationale for this study, (2) the aims and the significance of the present study, and (3) the organization of the thesis 1.1 RATIONALE In the intercommunication, the misunderstanding and the communication breakdowns are unavoidable because of different cultural norms and different pragmatic knowledge Smiling, for instance, in Korean culture means that a person is foolish or thoughtless However, on the island of Puerto Rico, a smile can have many positive meanings: “Please”, “Thank you”, and “You’re welcome.” (Tanka and Baker, 2002, p.313) These misunderstandings were demonstrated to be due to the effects of the mother tongue on the interpretation and the production of the foreign language These effects were investigated in a number of previous studies and called the “pragmatic transfer” While people can forgive the mistakes of pronunciation and grammar, they may consider the inappropriate use of language forms as rudeness Therefore, pragmatic transfer plays an important role in the field of Pragmatics and Applied Linguistics Vietnam has been co-operating with many foreign countries, using English as the international language It is required that the Vietnamese have to speak English not only fluently but also appropriately There have been a number of studies on pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese learners of English in the speech acts of refusals, apologies, requests, compliments… However, very few studies focused on the pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese learners of English in compliment responses Hence, conducting study in this line helps to provide more literature on the issue of pragmatic transfer in compliment responses in the process of teaching and learning English It also contributes to raise the awareness of Vietnamese learners of English about pragmatic competence and cross-culture It is also hoped that the communication breakdowns in the intercommunication between Vietnamese non-native speakers of English and native speakers of English can be reduced and activities in class dealing with the ways the speech acts are performed in the target language For example, students can observe the ways native speakers of English respond to compliments on Videos, televisions, films… In addition, roleplay is also useful for students to practice responding to compliments in English appropriately 5.3 LIMITATIONS Though the thesis was carefully designed and conducted, there were still unavoidable limitations of this study First, the shortage of time was considered as a constraint Second, the number of participants was very limited If the research time could be extended and more participants were involved, more reliable results could have been found Besides, since the Discourse Completion Task was in the written form, the participants had time to think carefully before they wrote down their responses Therefore the responses collected did not reflect the truly real communication Moreover, since the participants were aware of responding to compliments, their responses would be less representative of what they unconsciously respond in the real life 5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The results of the study could answer the questions about the differences between compliment responses by Vietnamese native speakers and by American native speakers and the impact of pragmatic transfer on the ways the Vietnamese learners of English respond to compliments in English However, since the limitations of time and of the number of participants, the study did not present enough evidence to show the effects of pragmatic instruction on promoting learners’ pragmatic competence in giving and responding to compliments Therefore, another aspect of further research to be considered is to investigate the impact of the appropriate pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic features after instruction It is also necessary for further research on the differences in giving and responding to compliments between man and woman Studies on condolence strategies, conversational opening and closing strategies would also be interesting The implications withdrawn would hence be more specific and helpful 5.5 CONCLUSION A number of previous studies demonstrated the pragmatic transfer in the intercommunication The studies of pragmatic transfer in many speech acts have been well-established In this thesis, the evidence of pragmatic transfer in compliment responses by Vietnamese learners of English was proved Moreover, the extent they transferred Vietnamese pragmatic knowledge was also found at two levels: the level of frequency of compliment response strategies and the content of strategies Since pragmatic transfer is one of many causes of the communication breakdowns, the findings in this thesis are hoped to raise the awareness of Vietnamese learners of English about the pragmatic competence and cross-culture in the intercommunication It is also hoped that the pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese learners of English in compliment responses in particular and in the speech acts would be reduced REFERENCES Bagaric’, V and Dijigunovic’, J M (2007) Defining Communicative Competence Retrieved on January 20, 2010 from hrcak.srce.hr/file/42651 Cedar, P (2006) Thai and American Responses to Compliments in English The Linguistic Journal, (2), 6-28 Retrieved on July 15, 2006 from http://www.linguistics-journal.com/June2006_pc.php Cooper, R & Cooper, N (1996) Culture Shock! Thailand London: Kuperard Falasi, H A (2007) Just say “Thank You”: A Study of Compliment Responses The Linguistics Journal, (1), 28-42 Retrieved on January 25, 2010 from http://www.linguistics-journal.com/April_2007_haf.php Gaylel, N., Mahmoud, A and Erin, E (1996) Arabic and English Compliment Responses: Potential for Pragmatic Failure Oxford Journals, 17 (4), 411-432 Retrieved from http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/4/411 Halion, K (1989) Deconstruction and Speech Act Theory: A Defence of the Distinction between Normal and Parasitic Speech Acts (Ph.D Dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1989) Retrieved from www.e-anglais.com/thesis.html Han, C (n d.) A comparative study of compliment responses: Korean females in Korean interaction and English interaction (University of Pennsylvania) Retrieved on January 20, 2010 from www.wpel.net/v8/v8n2_han.pdf Kim, H (2008) A Study of Compliments across Cultures: The effect of Sociolinguistic Transfer on EFL Learners (Korea University, 2008) Retrieved from http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL8/pdf/pdf015.p df Lin, A (2008) On English and Chinese compliments (Xianxia Senior School, 2008) Retrieved from www.linguist.org.cn/doc/uc200801/uc20080113.pdf Littlewood, W (1981) Communicative language teaching New York: Cambridge University Press Patricia, B F (1998) On Pragmatic Transfer In: Studies in English Language and Linguistics (Universitat de València, 1998) Retrieved on Januare 30, 2010 from www.uv.es/boup/PDF/Sell-98.pdf Qu, J (2005) Pragmatic Transfer in Compliment Responses by Chinese Learners of English ( Jilin University, 2005) Retrieved on January 20, 2010 from www.linguist.org.cn/doc/su200512/su20051215.pdf Tannen, D (1996) Gender and Discourse New York: Oxford University Press Tran, G Q (2007b) The nature of pragmatic and discourse transfer in compliment responses in cross-cultural interaction The Linguistic Journal, (3), 167-205 Retrieved on January 25, 2010 from www.linguisticsjournal.com/December_2007_gqt.php Tran, G Q (2008) Pragmatic and Discourse transfer of Combination of Compliment Response Strategies in Second Language Learning and Usage The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 10 (2), 7-30 Retrieved on January 20, 2010 from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/June_08_gqt.php Urano, K (2000) Negative Pragmatic Transfer in Compliment Responses by Japanese Learners of English: A Research Proposal (Shinshu University, 2000) Retrieved on January 25, 2010 from http://snow.shinshuu.ac.jp/~surcle/surcle02/urano.pdf Vittoria, G (2009) Teaching pragmatic competence: Compliments and compliment responses in the ESL classroom (Macquarie University, 2009) Retrieved on July 20, 2009 from http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/docs/prospect_journal/volume_24_no_2/Vittor ia_Grossi.pdf Wa, T N P (2009) Pragmatic Transfer in the Speech Act of Refusals as Produced by Native Speakers of Vietnamese in English Unpublished MA thesis, Can Tho university, Can Tho, Vietnam APPENDIX A DCT QUESTIONAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) Your name: Your age: Your mother tongue: Other languages you can speak: Please, write down what you would respond in following situations Thanks very much for your help! Scenario 1: You're going to an important interview for your new job in a large investment company You wear your best suit Your roommates or your family say “Oh! You look good in your suit, all the best with your interviews!” You respond: Scenario 2: You're shopping in a supermarket You try on a dress there A strange person comes to you He says: “This dress looks great on you You look really pretty!” You respond: Scenario 3: You've just got a new car that you really love Your friend sees it and says: “Your car looks terrific Can you take me for a drive?” You respond: Scenario 4: Your friends come over your house at the first time They are very surprised and say: “This is the nicest house I've ever seen!” You respond: Scenario 5: You've just finished your presentation today Your teacher is very satisfied with it S/he says “You did a really good job It will be a model for your friends!” You respond: Scenario 6: You're very successful in your work Your friend admires you very much He says: “I wish I could what you do!” You respond: Scenario 7: Today your mom sees you help a poor child She is very happy She says: “That's the nicest thing I've ever seen you do!” You respond: Scenario 8: Your colleagues come over your house and enjoy some cake you made They say: “That’s really nice cake You must be a good cook!” You respond: The end Thank you very much for your help! APPENDIX B DCT QUESIONAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) Tên bạn: Tuổi: Tiếng mẹ đẻ: Ngoại ngữ: (Xin vui lòng viết bạn trả lời tình Cảm ơn nhiều giúp đỡ bạn!) Tình 1: Bạn chuẩn bị vấn công ty lớn mà bạn mơ ước Vì hôm bạn mặc quần áo đẹp Vài người bạn thân trông thấy, liền khen : “Bạn mặc đẹp Chúc bạn đạt kết vấn tốt nhé!” Bạn đáp lại lời khen: Tình 2: Bạn mua sắm siêu thị Bạn thử váy Vừa khỏi phòng thử quần áo,một người đàn ông lạ đến gần bạn khen: “Ồ, váy hợp với bạn Trông bạn thật xinh!” Bạn đáp lại lời khen: Tình 3: Bạn vừa mua xe honda mà bạn thích Một người bạn bạn trông thấy trầm trồ khen: “Chiếc xe bạn đẹp Chở vòng thử xem.” Bạn đáp lại lời khen: Tình 4: Bạn bạn đến nhà chơi lần Vừa vào nhà, họ ngạc nhiên nói: “Nhà bạn đẹp quá!” Bạn trả lời: Tình 5: Vừa thuyết trình trước lớp xong, cô giáo bạn hài lòng thuyết trình Cô nói: “Em thuyết trình hay Bài làm mẫu cho lớp đấy!” Bạn trả lời: Tình 6: Bạn người giỏi Bạn thành công công việc Những người bạn bạn khâm phục bạn Họ khen : “Ước thành đạt bạn!” Bạn trả lời: Tình 7: Hôm nay, mẹ bạn trông thấy bạn giúp đứa trẻ tôị nghiệp Bà vui khen bạn: “Con làm điều tốt ạ!” Bạn trả lời: Tinh 8: Đồng nghiệp bạn đến nhà chơi Bạn mời họ ăn bánh mà bạn tự làm Họ trầm tồ khen ngợi : “ Bánh ngon thật Em tự làm hả?” Bạn trả lời: Cảm ơn nhiều giúp đỡ bạn! APPENDIX C ANSWERS FROM THE DCT QUESTIONNAIRES American native speaker group (ANS) ANS 1: Name: Jessica Age: 25 Thanks! Um, thanks Thanks I’ll let you know when I’m free Thanks But it’s only because I knew you were coming over Thanks Which parts you think will be the most useful? You can Here’s how 10 Thanks You taught me well 11 Thanks I actually bought it from the store Here’s the address if you’d ever like to have ANS 2: Name: Cassie Age: 24 Thanks everyone I hope it goes well too Why thank you (smile) Thanks Where you want to go? Thank you Feel free to visit again Thank you I’m glad you like it Oh I don’t much I just work a lot (laughs) 10 Well I just felt like I could help her She was just a kid you know? 11 (laughs) Thank you but I’m not that good I’m glad you like it though! ANS 3: Name: Julie Age: 24  Oh, thank you, I really appreciate that!! I was trying to look professional for the interview  Thank you!  Oh sure! It’s not that exciting but I’d love to take a drive with you!  Wow, thanks! We’re just renting it-we got really lucky when we found it  Thank you, I really appreciate that! I think I’ve learned a lot from their presentations as well  You what I as well! Don’t worry about it-you’re a great worker  Thanks, Mom! I hope it’s something anyone could  This is really all I can cook, so I wouldn’t exactly say I’m an expert, but thank you ANS 4: Name: Jen Age: 24  Thanks  Thanks, I don’t usually wear dresses  Thanks Sure!  Thanks, my favorite part is the kitchen  Thank you I worked hard  Thanks You’re doing a great job too  The kid needed help  I bought the cake ANS 5: Name: Connie Age: 24  Thanks I’m really nervous  Thanks,  Thanks Sure  Really? Did you expect something worse?  (not sure what to say)  Oh, it’s just smoke and mirrors I just the least amount of work for the most amount of gain  Oh my gosh mom, I can’t believe that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever seen me Don’t you think you’ve raised me better than that?  Haha, I got it at the grocery store ANS 6: Name: Wanda Age: 25  Thanks  Oh, thank you  Thanks but maybe later  Really Uh, thanks I guess  Thank you  Hard work is the key  Really, you haven’t seen much then  Thanks, I like cooking ANS 7: Name: Katie Age: 22  Thanks so much! I appreciate it  Thanks!!! (smiling)  Thanks! Of course! (smiling)  Thanks! I try to keep it nice and clean  Thanks! I worked really hard on it  Thanks I appreciate it That’s so nice  Thanks I’m really touched  Thanks, but it really wasn’t that hard to make Haha ASN 8: Name: Sue Age: 23  Thank you  Thank you  Sure Thanks  Thank you  Thank you  Thank you You could it too  Really, I’ve done more before  That’s the first cake I ever made ANS 3: Name: Margaret Age: 23  Smile and say thank you  Thank you  Of course Thanks  Thank you  Thank you I worked hard on it  Thank you You are probably very good at your job too  Laugh and tell her there is other stuff I that’s nice  Thank you I’ve been baking for a while ANS 10: Name: Soo Age: 24 Thanks Thanks (then walk away) Sure, just don’t mess anything up Thanks, I paid a lot for it I am glad you though it was good I am sure you are successful too Thanks Mom I bought it, sorry, I don’t cook But thanks Vietnamese native speaker group (VNS) VNS 1: Tên: Huyền Tuổi: 22  Thật hả? Hi vọng  Thật hà? Cám ơn  Cám ơn bạn khen Được thôi, chở bạn vòng  Cám ơn bạn, không đẹp bạn nghĩ đâu Hihi  Dạ (cười)  Trời! Vậy hả? Nếu bạn muốn điều đến với bạn  Vậy mẹ? Dạ nhờ mẹ dạy dỗ nên vậy!  Dạ, em tự làm Cám ơn nhen! VNS 2: Tên: Kim Châm Tuổi: 22 Cảm ơn bạn Đây kiểu thịnh mà Cảm ơn ông, thấy kiểu váy hợp với nhiều người Cám ơn bạn Đây kiểu xe thích Được thôi, chở bạn vòng Cảm ơn bạn toàn me trang trí Cảm ơn lời nhận xét cô Em làm nhờ hướng dẫn cô Có đâu Chỉ cần phấn đấu làm việc Cảm ơn mẹ Đây việc nên làm 10 Cám ôn bạn Bánh dễ làm mà VNS 3: Tên: Phương Mi Tuổ: 20  Cám ơn nhiều Mình mong  Không nói tránh xa người đàn ông  Ừ, lên nhanh đi! Đi ăn kem nhe  Có đâu Mình thấy nhà bạn đẹp  Em cám ơn cô  ÔI, không tải giỏi bạn nghĩ đâu  Điều nên làm mà mẹ  Ừm, em học từ mẹ VNS 4: Tên: Hồng Lĩnh Tuổi: 22 Cảm ơn Hy vọng Cám ơn (cười) Cám ơn nhe Mời bạn lên xe Cũng bình thường thôi.] Dạ Mình thấy người bình thường Mình phải cố gắng Mẹ thường dạy mà Dạ không Mẹ giúp em làm a VNS 5: Tên: Trân Tuổi: 22 Cám ơn lời khen bạn Nó giúp tự tin Cám ơn bạn Nhiều người khác mặc đẹp Cũng bình thường mà Lên đi, sẵn long Bình thường mà Nhà khác đẹp nhiều Cũng bình thường cô Bài bạn khác hay em Ồ! Ai có thành đạt riêng Dĩ nhiên rồi, cố gắng mà mẹ Vâng, bạn ăn nhiều nha! VNS 6: Tên: Kim Tuyền Tuổi: 22 Cảm ơn nha Tôi hi vọng Thật không? Cảm ơn nhe! Mẹ tặng Bạn muốn đâu? Vậy hả? Em gái trang trí Em cảm ơn cô Em run cô Không đâu Tôi phải học hỏi nhiều người Cám ơn mẹ Con thấy mẹ ạ! Ủa Bộ ngon hả? Sao em thấy tệ mà VNS 7: Tên: Hồng Nhung Tuổi: 22 Cám ơn bạn nhiều Thật không? Cũng bình thường mà Lên đi! Quá khen Dạ, em vui Bạn đừng khen Thật đâu Dạ, trách nhiêm mà Thật không? Ăn bánh them nha! VNS 8: Tên: Thị Bích Tuổi: Cảm ơn bạn nha Tôi cố gắng Vậy hả? Cám ơn nhé! Có đâu Bình thường Uh, đẹp sẵn Được tốt Chỉ cần cố gắng bạn đạt Vâng Con thấy việc nên làm Uh Ngon không? Tôi tự làm VNS 9: Tên: Chanh Đa Tuổi: 22 Cám ơn nhiều nhe! Chỉ cười sau tránh xa người Thật không? Được, lên Cũng bình thường Tôi thấy nhà bạn đẹp mà Em cám ơn cô Tôi thấy bạn Thưa mẹ, việc nên làm mà Vậy ăn nhiều nhe Tôi làm lâu VNS 10: Tên: Thúy Duy Tuổi: 21 Cảm ơn nha! Ai nói hết! Vậy hả? Bạn dám ngồi dám chở Nhà xây Dạ cám ơn cô Thành đạt đâu người ta Con mong đứa trẻ tốt Ừ Do tay em làm Anh ăn nhiều nha! Vietnamese learners of English group (VLE) VLE 1: Name: Anh Thuy Age: 22 Thank you Oh, really? Of course Care for a spin Flattery will get you nowhere Thanks, I will try more Sure, you could too Yeah I am your daughter Thanks for your compliment! VLE 2: Name: Tuyết Sương Age: 23 Thanks a lot I will be chosen! Really? I looked for it for a long time Of course Thanks I’ll take you around Really? That is the most modern style nowadays Thanks so much I tried my best Thanks I think you can that well Because I’m your daughter Thanks, I tried to make it many times before VLE 3: Name: Nhuyễn Age: Thanks I will try my best Thanks but I want to try on another one Thanks Of course Quickly! Thanks I think so I spent lots of time on it! Thanks I will try more I believe that if you try and dare to risk You will be successful Yah, I think that you should that! Oh, thanks I’m happy because you like it VLE 4: Name: Như Hiền Age: 21 Thanks I think it can make a good impression to interviewers Really? I’m hesitating about whether I should buy it or not Now I decide I will buy it Thanks! Really? I’m very proud or my car Of course, where you want to go? Thanks a lot! I think yours is also a beautiful one Thanks very much, but I think my friends cab better than me I think everyone has their own strength Perhaps in other cases You can what I can’t No That’s just a small thing that everyone can Thanks very much If they are nice, eat more VLE 5: Name: Thị Diệp Age: 22 I will smile, feel happy and say thank you to them Thank you very much I think so OK No problem Really? I think that it’s normal! Thanks, madam! I hope it will become true If you try, you will get it It’s nothing My mother taught me! She’s a great woman VLE 6: Name: Minh Châu Age: 21 Thank you! I hope so Thank you! I’m glad to hear so Thanks Of course, come on Thank you I’m glad to hear so Thank you! I’m delighted that you say so I think you could too! You’re happy about that, aren’t you? Thank you Have some more VLE 7: Name: Ngọc Diệp Age: 22 Thank you I also hope so Really? Thank you Of course Really? Yes (smile) Oh, really? My mother! Really? So so VLE 8: Name: Minh Tuyền Thanks for your compliment I will try my best Really? I can’t believe that I will get this dress Thanks, Of course if you like You exaggerate too much I think it’s as normal as the others Thanks a lot but I think that I still need to learn from my friends experiences Don’t be so worried! Just be yourself! I will good things to other people Mom! Believe in your child! Thank you I will try more and more to deserve with your belief VLE 9: Name: Kim Ngân Age: 21 Thank you! I will try all my best Thanks This dress is nice It’s OK with you when you go with me by this terrific car Really? Hope you have a good time here Thanks! But I think I should try more to make the next presentation well If you try, you can every thing you want I just what I really like You mean I’m not a good child, mom? Oh Don’t compliment me like that I cook not well This is my favorite cake So it is better VLE 10: Name: Ngọc Hân Age: 22 Thanks I hope so Really? Yes I will help you You are right I’m proud of my family Thanks for your compliment You will this That’s my responsibility Thanks Maybe you’re too [...]... result in the pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese learners of English presented in the following section 4.3 VIETNAMESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AND PRAGMATIC TRANSFER This section seeks to address the second research question: “To what extent do Vietnamese learners of English transfer Vietnamese pragmatic knowledge when responding to compliments in English? ” To answer this question, compliment responses by Vietnamese. .. Vietnamese learners of English when performing compliment responses in English The transfer was found not only in the frequency of strategies but also in the content of the strategies This finding implies that beside the linguistic competence, Vietnamese learners of English need to enhance the pragmatic competence also In terms of improving pragmatic competence for Vietnamese learners of English, firstly... evidence of pragmatic transfer in compliment responses by Vietnamese learners of English from Vietnamese to Australian English Therefore, this result that Vietnamese learners of English performed a strong pragmatic transfer in compliment responses in comparison with American natives was consistent with Tran’s study 5.2 IMPLICATIONS The results of the study revealed the strong pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese. .. responses by Vietnamese non-native speakers of English in comparison with Australian native speakers of English The results of Tran’s study showed the evidence of pragmatic transfer performed by Vietnamese learners of English However, Tran (2008) focused on analyzing the content of compliment responses to investigate the pragmatic transfer in the combination of compliment response strategies In this... study was to investigate the pragmatic transfer in compliment responses by Vietnamese learners of English The findings help to provide more literature on pragmatic transfer issue Therefore, it is hoped to make the process of teaching and learning English more effective The communication breakdowns caused by pragmatic transfer in compliment responses can be avoided some-how 1.3 ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS... compliment responses by Chinese learners of English when responding English compliments Hessa Al Falasi (2007) The occurrence of pragmatic transfer from Arabic to English The effect of proficiency to pragmatic transfer Group 1: 10 American NS of English Group 2: 10 Emarati NS of English majors Group 3: 10 Emarati NS of non -English major Discourse Completion Task and interviews Emarati NNS of English brought... miscommunication Jing Qu Differences in (2005) compliment responses between Chinese and American English Pragmatic 20 Chinese students of English major 20 Chinese students of non -English major Discourse Completion Task (DCT) There is a significant difference in compliment responses between Chinese and American English Chinese learners of English reflect their L1 behavior to some extents transfer in compliment responses. .. produced five of eighty compliment responses in “comment history.” Moreover, “question” was used more by both Vietnamese native speakers and Vietnamese learners of English than by American native speakers Last but not least, Vietnamese learners of English performed a strong pragmatic transfer in the choice of “disagreement” sub-strategies Similar to Vietnamese native speakers, Vietnamese learners of English. .. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRESENT STUDY 1.2.1 Aims of the study This study aims at finding out the differences in compliment responses by Vietnamese native speakers and American native speakers as well as the evidence of pragmatic transfer by Vietnamese learners of English when responding to compliments in English 1.2.2 Significance of the present study As discussed in the previous section, the main purpose of this... with English Due to the differences in compliment responses between various languages and English, pragmatic transfer in compliment responses by non-native speakers of English is desirable 2.7 INTERLANGUAGE STUDIES ON PRAGMATIC TRANSFER IN COMPLIMENT RESPONSES A number of studies have been conducted to demonstrate the existence of pragmatic transfer in compliment responses from various languages to English