How rude! Teaching impoliteness in the second-language classroom

Abstract

English language teaching tends to deal with the pleasanter side of second-language interaction such as making friends, relating experiences, and expressing likes/dislikes while ignoring such everyday communicative realities as rudeness, disrespect, and impoliteness. While neglected in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, impoliteness is likely to be experienced by second-language (L2) users in the target-language context or when interacting with other L2 users. By drawing on the experiences of 84 L2 users in Mexico, I identify impolite situations encountered in second-language interaction and discuss how L2 users can be prepared for such everyday communicative realities. In this paper, I argue that L2 users need to be given choices when confronted with rudeness so that they decide how they want to react. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.