The Use of Compliment Response Strategies among Iranian Learners of English - Researching Interlocutors' Relative Power and Gender

Oct 15, 2026

Study investigates how Iranian EFL learners respond to compliments in English using a discourse completion task with 26 participants (13 males, 13 females). Responses were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, coded according to Yu’s (2004) scheme identifying six compliment response strategies. Results show that, regardless of or concerning gender and power relations, the most frequent strategies were acceptance, combination, and amendment. Chi-square testing indicated significant gender differences, with males using more strategies than females. Semantic analysis suggests acceptance enables agreement and promotes positive politeness to build rapport and solidarity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Communicative competence and speech acts

Compliment responses as a complex, frequently problematic act

Positive face, politeness, and prior findings

The Use of Compliment Response Strategies among Iranian Learners of English: Researching Interlocutors'Relative Power and Gender Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Sa’d1 • This article reports on a study that set out to investigate how Iranian EFL learners respond to compliments in English. The data were collected using a discourse completion task (DCT) consisting of a variety of situations that required the participants, 26 EFL learners (13 males and 13 females) to respond to compliments directed at them. The data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. To this end, the participants’ responses were coded according to a coding scheme adopted from Yu (2004) which identified six compliment response strategies (CRSs) . The findings indicated that, regardless of or concerning gender and power (–P and =P), the first three most frequent CR strategies included “Acceptance”,“Combination” and “Amendment”. These findings were then analyzed in light of previous similar studies that revealed that the participants had followed their first cultural norms not only in using the strategies mentioned above but also in employing very infrequently such strategies as “Face Relationship”,“No acknowledgment”, and “Nonacceptance”. As regards the role of gender, a Chi-square test was run which showed that males and females differed significantly in their use of CRSs. Furthermore, males used more CR strategies compared to females. The qualitative analysis of the semantic formulas ofthe CR strategies also revealed that, by accepting a compliment, Iranian EFL learners sought agreement and consequently relied on positive politeness to foster rapport and solidarity. Keywords: Compliment response strategies, EFL learners, politeness, pragmatic competence 1 Urmia University, Urmia and Iran Language Institute (ILI), Iran; [shtamimi90@gmail.com](shtamimi90@gmail.com) 90 the use of compliment response strategies among iranian learners of english Uporaba strategij odzivanja na pohvale iranskih učencev angleščine: raziskovanje sogovornikove relativne moči položaja in spola Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Sa’d • V prispevku je predstavljena raziskava o odzivanju iranskih učencev angleščine kot tujega jezika na pohvale v angleščini. Podatki so bili zbranis pomočjo diskurza zaključevanja nalog; naloge so vključevale različne situacije z neposrednimi pohvalami, na katere so se morali udeleženci – 26 učencev angleščine (13 moških in 13 žensk)– odzvati. Podatki so biliobdelani kvantitativno in kvalitativno. Odzivi udeležencev so bili kodirani na podlagi kodirne sheme, povzete po Yuju, ki identificira šest strategij odzivanja na pohvale. Izsledki kažejo, da ne glede na spol in moč položaja (– P in = P) tri najpogosteje uporabljene strategije vključujejo »sprejemanje«, »kombinacije« in »spremembe« . Ugotovitve so bile nadalje analizirane glede na predhodne podobne raziskave. Pokazalo se je, da so udeleženci sledili njihovi primarni kulturni normi, in to ne samopri uporabi že omenjenih strategij, ampak tudi pri zelo redki uporabistrategij, kot so: »neposredni odnos«, »brez potrditve« in »nesprejemanje«. Vpliv spola je bil preverjen s hi-kvadrat preizkusom, ki je pokazal, da se med moškimi in ženskami pojavljajo statistično pomembne razlike pri uporabi strategij odzivanja na pohvale. Poleg tega so moški tudiveč uporabljali strategije kot ženske. Kvalitativna analiza semantičnih formul strategij je prav tako pokazala, da so s sprejetjem pohvale iranski učenci angleščine iskali strinjanje in se posledično zanašali na to, da spozitivno vljudnostjo spodbujajo trdnejši odnos in solidarnost. Ključne besede: strategije odzivanja na pohvale, učenci angleščine kot tujega jezika, vljudnost, pragmatične kompetence Introduction Communicative competence has been long an inevitably necessary part of language teaching, with sociolinguistic competence occupying an overwhelmingly important position (Wolfson, 1981) . In this regard, the way that different speech acts, such as reques

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study?

The study examined how Iranian EFL learners respond to compliments in English, focusing on interlocutors’ relative power and gender.

How were the data collected and analyzed?

Data were collected using a discourse completion task with situations requiring participants to respond to compliments. Responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively and coded into six strategies based on Yu (2004).

Which compliment response strategies were most frequent?

The top three strategies were Acceptance, Combination, and Amendment, appearing most frequently across gender and power conditions.

Did gender affect the use of compliment response strategies?

Yes. A chi-square test showed males and females differed significantly, and males used more compliment response strategies than females.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Indoniesian Boy