Pragmatic Performance acknowledgement of social distance. And mitigation in pre service English language teacher requests

      Аннотация: This study explores how Chilean preservice English language teachers use mitigating devices (downgraders) and acknowledge social distance when they utter a request in English. Fortyfive pre-service teachers representing three proficiency levels (low, intermediate, and high) orally reacted to twelve situations from the Discourse Completion Test (DCT). Responses were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for participant use of acknowledgment of social distance and downgraders. Results suggestthat, as learners advance in proficiency, their responses alsoshow extensive use of mitigating devices and significant acknowledgment of social distance. These results provide further evidence in favour of raising awareness of the importance of these devices in the instruction of English as a second or foreign language.

Ключевые слова: pragmatics, mitigators, Social Distance, request