Disagreement Strategies Used by Korean EFL Learners: A Discursive Approach

This study investigates distinctions between native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) of English in their politeness strategies for expressing disagreement. This study addresses three research questions: (1) What are the overall differences between NSs and NNSs in expressing disagreement?; (2) Are there significant differences between NSs and NNSs in the impact of relative power when expressing disagreement?; (3) Are there significant differences between NSs and NNSs in their perception of the degree of seriousness of the disagreement that in turn influence their politeness strategies? A total of 25 individuals, composed of 10 NSs and 15 NNSs of English participated as respondents to the discourse completion task (DCT) in this study. The severity of disagreement in this study is constructed in terms of participant understanding or perception. The results of this study revealed that Korean learners of English and native speakers of English were substantially different in using politeness strategies when expressing disagreements in English.