Faces, roles and identities in argumentative discourse : the development of facework strategies by L2 learners of German

Abstract

This thesis presents a developmental account of facework strategies in L2 argumentative discourse.  From an individual perspective, face denotes how speakers want to be seen in terms of their social role(s) and personal qualities; from a social perspective, face is the image that is actually conveyed to others.

Data were gathered from learners of German at three different levels of proficiency by means of argumentative discourse tasks and retrospective interviews, and interpreted within the framework of face as well as from a linguistic/psycholinguistic perspective.  The results of the analysis show that linguistic limitations and processing constraints cannot alone explain the observed developments.  Instead, the desire to be seen as a good L2 speaker appears to be playing an important role.  Learners actively tried to make the task easier for themselves by using strategies that contributed to accuracy and fluency, eased processing and helped avoid potential pitfalls.  This suggests that learners acted not only within a ‘discussion frame’ in which it would be important to present a positive self-image based on the opinions expressed in the discussion and the manner of their presentation, but also within an overlapping ‘language task’ frame.

The thesis contributes to the field of interlanguage pragmatics by providing a theoretical framework for the interpretation of face alongside notions of identity, thereby moving it away from politeness and social appropriateness.  By suggesting that learners act according to an internal context that they have set for themselves, it provides an integrated account of psycholinguistic/linguistic and individual/social approaches to second language acquisition.

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