A Socio-Pragmatic Study of Speech Act of Offers by Korean L2 Learners of English

Taking a cross-cultural pragmatic approach, the present study compared the speech act of offers realized by Korean L2 learners of English and native English speakers. The study attempted to find out whether there is pragmatic transfer from Korean (L1) among L2 learners of English in the strategies used to realize the speech act of offers in English. The participants included 56 Korean university students and 20 native English speakers. The study used the purposive sampling to select the participants. The data consisted of responses to a total of 36 items of written discourse completion test per participant to elicit the speech act of offers. The responses were coded using 10 categories to determine the strategies used. The data for giving offers were analyzed according to frequency and the choice of offering strategies per offer types. Results showed that Korean L2 learners of English were not as balanced as native English speakers in the use of strategies. Findings also demonstrated differences in the choice of the offer strategies between two groups of participants with regard to offer types. Findings call for further research on pragmatic transfer of the varied English proficiency levels and considering adequate pedagogical instructions and practices.