Politeness: more than just please and thank you

Politeness: more than just please and thank you, Mark Hancock, 17.50-18.35, Monday 18th April

What would be your answer to this question? In which city are people the most polite? Surprisingly, it is New York, not a city in the UK contrary to popular belief and stereotypes.

Mark Hancock says, "we tend to think that such expressions as "thank you" and "please" are polite, but he claims the context determines politeness.

Learners can be misunderstood if they do not use appropriate politeness strategies, which may result in frustration. He says if they have a preferred response (acception), there is no problem. However, when learners have a dispreferred response (refusal), it is the point at which problems emerge! They need more discourse work , and a simple answer such as "no" or "no, i do not want" can be misinterpreted.

He offers teachers to teach some negative and positive politeness strategies, analyse the dialogues and other texts in the textbooks and speculate about the inner thoughts of speakers with the learners.

Politeness strategies have often been neglected, but they can be essential for students, especially the ones who will go to English speaking countries for higher education and business.