Developing EFL students’ Socio-Pragmatic Competence: A Conceptual Comparative Study of Compliment Response Strategies between Jordanian and Iraqi Speakers

Abstract

In everyday conversations, people frequently use compliments as a means of interaction. Because of societal and cultural considerations, compliment behaviors vary across countries. This study examined the socio-pragmatic competence of EFL students by comparing compliment strategies between Jordanian and Iraqi speakers in an academic setting. The sample of the study includes undergraduate students at Jerash University and Knowledge University in Erbil who study in the English departments. It is a qualitative study that adopts a mixed-methods approach using two research tools, namely observation and interviews. The analytical framework used to analyze the data is proposed by Herbert's (1986,1990). The expected results aim to identify the various types of compliment responses employed by both groups. The compliment strategies mentioned in the analytical framework are acceptance, mitigation/deflection, rejection, no response, and request interpretation. This study recommends future research comparing the expected findings with students in other cultural contexts in other countries.