Investigation of Politeness Strategies used in Action Pack Textbooks 5, 6 and 7

Abstract

The current study investigated politeness strategies in Action Pack English Language Textbooks 5, 6 and 7 prescribed for fifth, sixth and seventh graders respectively in Jordan. The researchers adopted a qualitative descriptive methodology by using textbook content analysis checklist that included the politeness strategies of bald-on-record, positive politeness and negative politeness and off-record. The research instrument was applied during the second semester of the academic year 2023/2024.  The study revealed that positive politeness, bald-on-record and negative politeness existed in Action Pack 5 in a descending order. While Action Pack 6 and 7 included positive politeness, bald-on-record, negative politeness and off-record in a descending order. The results may indicate that the Ministry of Education (MoE) places great importance for encouraging students to become active members in their communities and use language that suits students’ levels hence the high frequencies of positive politeness and bald-on-record. Moreover, the low presence of negative politeness and off-record probably means that the MoE is more interested in enabling students to learn informal and clear language. Based on the study’s results, the researchers recommended conducting studies on comparing and contrasting politeness strategies used by Jordanian teachers and those reflected in the Jordanian EFL curriculum and between the Jordanian EFL curriculum and the global EFL curricula. Furthermore, the current study highlights the need for carrying out research to decide the appropriateness of politeness strategies integrated in the textbooks to the Jordanian culture and to explore the effect of teaching politeness strategies on EFL students’ learning process.