As Cultural Performance in Chinese: Cases of Requesting and Declining

“Face” as Cultural Performance in Chinese: Cases of Requesting and Declining

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

HAO-HSIANG LIAO, M.A.

Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2012

Dissertation Committee: Professor Galal Walker, Advisor Professor Mari Noda Professor Charles Quinn

Hao-hsiang Liao

2012

Abstract

Face, a self-image that each member of a society seems to care about, is a cultural performance. Performance refers to situated behaviors that define an individual’s successful functioning in a society. Face can be as explicit as defending yourself in a debate or as implicit as denying a request from a friend. This dissertation investigates how “face” is presented, maintained, negotiated, and how it functions in the cases of requesting and declining in Chinese culture. To be more specific, this dissertation explores “face” in four situations – making a request of your teacher, making a request of a friend, denying a request from your teacher, and denying a request from a friend – and depicts the features of these four situations from both the native speakers’ and the

Chinese learners’ perspectives.

Based on the results of the research, I argue “face” as a theme in requesting and declining as it runs through the considerations and strategies people resort to in these situations. The considerations are face-based and they correspond to the face-saving themes. In Chinese, more specifically, it is lian on mianzi because the speaker, based on his social status, power, and ability, aims to maintain the semblance of integrity.

Last, I provide pedagogical approaches to “face” in C2, both in the beginning and intermediate levels. In the beginning level, I come up with teaching plans for the purpose of classroom practice. In the intermediate level, I design explanations, drills, exercises, and improvisations to show how teachers can incorporate “face” into their instruction and provide learners with opportunities to go through the learning cycle.

Exploring “face” in cases of requesting and declining, I hope to bring the field’s attention to the fact that C2 learners’ exposure to “face” in Chinese culture begins on their first day of class when they ask their teacher to repeat what he/she says. Since there is no “faceless” communication, how to train C2 learners to identify, to become perceptive observers, and then to perform “face” successfully over the course of their study becomes a challenge for all Chinese language teachers.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to thank my adviser, Galal Walker, for being so inspiring during my graduate studies at The Ohio State University. Taking his courses and simply talking to him individually are the most intellectual moments in my life. His unconventional view of pedagogy not only opens my eyes but also pushes me to think what I am doing in class.

I thank Professor Mari Noda and Professor Charles Quinn for their continuous support for me. Professor Noda shows me the genuine spirit of an established languist.

Her portrayal of a professional as well as a sensee often warms my heart. The profound knowledge Professor Quinn demonstrates shows me what a scholar should be like.

Talking to him is always delightful and enjoyable.

I am indebted to all the professors, teachers, and language specialists who share their thoughts and comments on my dissertation. Their unconditional generosity means a lot to me.

I am grateful for all my students during my almost nine years of teaching at The

Ohio State University, Harvard University, and Williams College. Their kind words and encouragement are the best motivation for me to better my profession.

Last but not least, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my family – my father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and my grandmother who is now in heaven. My every accomplishment would not be possible without their love and support.

Vita

August 8, 1976……………………………… Born, Taipei County, Taiwan.

1998………………………………………… B.A. Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan.

2001………………………………………… M.A. Institute of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan.

2003-2004………………………………….. Chinese Language Fellow, Williams College.

2004-2005………………………………….. Drill Instructor, Harvard University.

2005-2007………………………………….. Preceptor in Chinese, Harvard University.

2007-2012………………………………….. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University.

2012-present……………………………….. Visiting Lecturer in Chinese, Williams College.

Publications

1. Liao, Haohsiang. 2011. “Drill Practice and Performed Culture Pedagogy.” Taiwan Journal of Chinese as a Second Language, Vol 3, 33-52. Taipei: The Association of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, published by Crane Publishing Company. 2. Liao, Haohsiang, trans. 2010. “Designing An Intensive Chinese Curriculum.” The Pedagogy of Performing Another Culture, 51-95. Hubei: Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe. 3. Liao, Haohsiang et al. 2010. “Performance-based Intermediate-level Material Design: The Chinese Way.” Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference and Workshops on Technology and Chinese Language Teaching, 145-153. National East Asian Languages Resource Center at The Ohio State University. 4. Liao, Haohsiang. 2009. “A Brief Introduction of the Chinese Language Pedagogy Program of the Ohio State University.” Journal of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, Volume 1, 80-83, Taipei. 5. Feng, Shengli & Liao Haohsiang. 2005. “Conjunctions and Semantic Segments: Another Possibility of Drilling in an Advanced Chinese Course.” Proceedings of Operational Strategies and Pedagogy for Chinese Language Programs in the 21st Century, 60-62, Taipei.

Fields of Study

Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures, Chinese language pedagogy track. Minor Field: Chinese linguistics

Table of Contents

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………. ii

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………... iv

Vita………………………………………………………………………………… v

List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………… xii

List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….. xiii

Page Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 1 1. Pedagogical Background of Requesting and Declining………………………. 4 1.1 Pedagogical Background of Requesting………………………………….. 5 1.1.1 Definition of Requesting…………………………………………….. 8 1.1.2 Requesting in CFL Materials………………………………………... 10 1.2 Pedagogical Background of Declining……………………………………. 21 1.2.1 Definition of Declining……………………………………………… 31 1.2.2 Declining in CFL Materials………………………………………….. 32 1.2.3 Problems with Declining in CFL Materials…………………………. 41 1.3 Summary…………………………………………………………………. 43 2. Face, Performance, and Performed Culture Pedagogy………………………. 44

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2.1 Literature Review of Face ……………………………………………….. 44 2.1.1 Goffman’s Face..…………………………………………………….. 44 2.1.2 Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Strategies….…………………….. 46 2.1.3 Scollon and Scollon’s Intercultural Communication ……………….. 50 2.1.4 Hsien-chin Hu and the Mianzi/Lian Distinction…………………….. 52 2.1.5 Kwang-guo Hwang and the Mianzi/Lian Distinction……………….. 55 2.1.6 Summary…………………………………………………………….. 63 2.2 Chinese Concepts of Face………………………………………………… 64 2.3 Performance……………………………………………………………… 66 2.4 Performed Culture Pedagogy…………………………………………….. 69 2.4.1 Walker and Noda’s Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory ……………. 71 2.4.2 Kolb’s Learning Cycle ……………………………………………. 77 2.4.3 Instructional Cycle…………………………………………………. 81 2.5 Summary………………………………………………….……………… 89 3. Face in the Method of Requesting and Declining …………...…………...... 91 3.1 Motivation………………………………………………………………… 91 3.2 Participants and Procedures……………………………………………… 96 3.3 Survey Items……………………………………………………………… 97 3.3.1 Make a Request of Your Teacher………………………………… 98 3.3.2 Make a Request of a Friend………………………………………. 99 3.3.3 Deny a Request from Your Teacher……………………………… 100 3.3.4 Deny a Request from a Friend……………………………………. 100 4. Face in Requesting and Declining – Analysis and Discussion.……………… 102 4.1 Make a Request of Your Teacher…………………………………………. 102 4.1.1Features………………………………………………………………. 102 4.1.1.1 The Use of Address Terms……………………………………… 103

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4.1.1.2 The Expression of Apology………………………………………. 104 4.1.1.3 The Adoption of Polite Words…………………………………… 105 4.1.1.4 Favored Choices of Auxiliary Verbs…………………………….. 107 4.1.1.5 Summary…………………………………………………………. 108 4.1.2 “Face” in Making a Request of Your Teacher……………………….. 110 4.1.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies …………………………………………… 111 4.2 Make a Request of a Friend………………………………………………. 114 4.2.1 Features ……………………………………………………………… 115 4.2.1.1 The Use of Address Terms………………………………………. 115 4.2.1.2 The Expression of Thoughtfulness ……………………………… 117 4.2.1.3 The Adoption of Polite Words…………………………………… 121 4.2.1.4 Favored Choices of Auxiliary Verbs…………………………….. 123 4.2.1.5 Summary…………………………………………………………. 124 4.2.2 “Face” in Making a Request of a Friend………………………...... 127 4.2.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies …………………………………………… 128 4.3 Deny a Request from Your Teacher………………………………………. 133 4.3.1 Features…………………………………………………………….. 133 4.3.1.1 The Use of Address Terms……………………………………….. 133 4.3.1.2 The Expression of Apology……………………………………… 135 4.3.1.3 The Expression of Consideration and Appreciation…………….. 136 4.3.1.4 The Adoption of Hedges…………………………………………. 138 4.3.1.5 The Expression of Thoughtfulness ……………………………… 139 4.3.1.6 Summary…………………………………………………………. 142 4.3.2 “Face” in Denying a Request from Your Teacher…………………… 144 4.3.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies …………………………………………… 145 4.4 Deny a Request from a Friend……………………………………………. 150

4.4.1 Features……………………………………………………………….. 150 4.4.1.1 Drop of Address Terms ………………………………………… 150 4.4.1.2 The Expression of Apology……………………………………… 151 4.4.1.3 The Adoption of Hedges………………………………………… 154 4.4.1.4 The Expression of Thoughtfulness………………………………. 155 4.4.1.5 Summary………………………………………..……………….. 158 4.4.2 “Face” in Denying a Request from a Friend……………………...... 160 4.4.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies …………………………………………… 161 4.5. Summary………………………………………………………………… 165 5. Interplay among Face, Requesting, and Declining …………………………... 168 5.1 A Follow-up Survey……………………………………………………… 170 5.1.1 Results of the Survey………………………………………………… 171 5.1.2 Analysis and Discussions of the Survey…………………………….. 177 5.2 Face as a Theme in Requesting and Declining…………………………… 180 5.2.1 The Role “Face” Plays in Requesting……………………………….. 181 5.2.2 The Role “Face” Plays in Declining………………………………… 185 5.3 Summary………………………………………………………………… 189 6. Pedagogical Approaches to “Face” in Beginning Levels of C2 ……………. 191 6.1 Pedagogical Approaches to “Face” in Requesting/Declining in C2 – Beginning Level…………………………………………………………. 192 6.1.1 Make a Request of Your Teacher…………………………………… 192 6.1.2 Make a Request of a Friend…………………………………………. 205 6.1.3 Deny a Request from Your Teacher………………………………… 210 6.1.4 Deny a Request from a Friend ……………………………………… 216 6.2 Pedagogical Approaches to “Face” in Requesting/Declining in C2 – Intermediate Level………………………………………………………. 221

6.2.1 Introduction of Access China………………………………………… 222 6.2.2 A Dialogue Involving Declining in AC……………………………… 223 6.2.3 Two Cases of Decline………………………………………………... 228 6.2.4 Incorporation of “Face” in Explanations and Drills………………….. 232 6.2.5 Incorporation of “Face” in Exercises………………………………… 240 6.2.6 Incorporation of “Face” in Improvisation……………………………. 245 6.3 Summary………………………………………………………………….. 247 6.4 Suggestions for Further Research………………………………………… 248 Appendix A: List of Examples………………………………………………… 250 Appendix B: Survey Form for Students of Chinese Regarding Requesting and Declining………………………………………………………………………… 252

Appendix C: Survey Form for Native Speakers of Chinese Regarding Requesting and Declining……………………………………………………….. 259

Appendix D: Results of the Survey……………………………………………… 264

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….. 343

List of Abbreviations

AC: Access China

C2: C2 refers to learning a second culture. In this paper, more specifically, it refers to learning Chinese as a second culture.

CCC: Chinese: Communicating in the Culture

CFL: Chinese as a Foreign Language

BSC: Basic Spoken Chinese

FTA: Face-threatening act

IC: Integrated Chinese

NPCR: New Practical Chinese Reader

TCFL: Teach Chinese as a Foreign Language

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List of Figures

Page Figure 1: Brown and Levinson’s Possible Strategies for Doing FTAs…………… 47 Figure 2: Hwang’s Theoretical Model of Face and Favor in Chinese Society. ….. 57 Figure 3: Walker and Noda’s Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory…………………. 71 Figure 4: Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle…………………………………… 78 Figure 5: The Correspondence bettwen Kolb’s Learning Cycle and the Roles of the Brain Cortext…………………………………………………………………. 80 Figure 6: Zull’s Tranformation Line between Reflective Observation and Abstract Hypothesis in Kolb’s Cycle…………………………………………….. 81 Figure 7: A Common Way of Content Presentation in CFL Materials. ………… 83 Figure 8: The Correspondence between the Learning Cycle and the Design of The Chinese Way…………………………………………………………………. 87 Figure 9: Strategies of Thoughtfulness Native Speakers Take in Making a Request of a Friend………………………………………………………………. 119 Figure 10: Polite Expressions Native Speakers Use in Making a Request of a Friend……………………………………………………………………………. 123 Figure 11: Strategies of Thoughtfulness C2 Learners Take in Making a Request of a Friend………………………………………………………………………... 129 Figure 12: Polite Expressions C2 Learners Use in Making a Request of a Friend. 131 Figure 13: Expressions of Consideration and Appreciation Native Speakers Use in Denying a Request from a Teacher…………………………………………… 137 Figure 14: Strategies of Thoughtfulness Native Speakers Use in Denying a Request from a Teacher………………………………………………………….. 141

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Figure 15: Expressions of Consideration and Appreciation C2 Learners Use in Denying a Request from a Teacher……………………………………………… 148 Figure 16: Strategies of Thoughtfulness C2 Learners Use in Denying a Request from a Teacher………………………………………………………………….... 149 Figure 17: Percentage of Using the Address Terms Gao Ming in Denying a Request from a Friend…………………………………………………………..... 151 Figure 18: Percentage of Using Apology Expressions in Denying a Request from a Friend…………………………………………………………………………… 153 Figure 19: Strategies of Thoughtfulness Native Speakers Use in Denying a Request from a Friend……………………………………………………………. 157 Figure 20: Percentage of Two Kinds of Inappropriate Expressions Due to Lack of Hedges in Making a Request from a Friend………………………………….. 162 Figure 21: Strategies of Thoughtfulness C2 Learners Use in Denying a Request from a Friend…………………………………………………………………….. 164 Figure 22: Summary of the Features of the Native Speakers’ Responses and C2 Learners’ Deficiencies ……………..……………………………………………. 167 Figure 23: The Roles Power and Distance Play in the Teacher-Student and Friend-Friend Interactions……………………………………………………….. 169 Figure 24: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of Their Teacher………………………………………………………... 171 Figure 25: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of a Friend…………………………………………………………. 172 Figure 26: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a 173 Request from Their Teacher……………………………………………………... Figure 27: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a Request from a Friend……………………………………………………………. 173 Figure 28: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of Their Teacher…………………………………………….... 174 Figure 29: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of a Friend……………………………………………………. 175 Figure 30: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a Request from Their Teacher…………………………………………. 176 Figure 31: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in

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Denying a Request from a Friend……………………………………………….. 176 Figure 32: The Correspondence between Figure 24 and Figure 22 in Making a Request of Their Teacher………………………………………………………… 183 Figure 33: The Correspondence between Figure 25 and Figure 22 in Making a Request of a Friend………………………………………………………………. 185 Figure 34: The Correspondence between Figure 26 and Figure 22 in Denying a Request from Their Teacher……………………………………………………… 186 Figure 35: The Correspondence between Figure 27 and Figure 22 in Denying a Request from a Friend……………………………………………………………. 188

INTRODUCTION

1. A 14-year-old son in China asked his mother to dress up when she took him to school. When asked why, he simply replied, “In this way, I feel I have face.”

A news report, http://news.chinatimes.com/, October 12, 2010.

2. “Unlike people in other regions of Taiwan, people in Taipei don’t usually hang their clothes to dry on the balcony. Can you take this as an indication that people in Taipei care more about their face than those in other regions of Taiwan?

Ke Yufen, , October 24, 2010.

3. A 56-year-old celebrity in Hong Kong was accused of fake diploma. She held a press conference to defend herself. In the conference, she said, “My husband is 60 years old. My son is 22 years old and he is still in college. I need to take their face into consideration.”

A news report, http://news.chinatimes.com/, October 6, 2010.

The thread that runs through the three examples mentioned above is face, a self- image that each member of a society seems to care. In example one, the 14-year-old young man cares about his face in the presence of his friends, so he asks his mother to beautify herself when she takes him to school. In example two, the author wonders why the people in Taipei do not hang their clothes to dry on the balcony as most people do in other regions of Taiwan. She argues that this may be related to the face value of people in

Taipei – the idea of hanging clothes on a balcony and being seen by people is simply 1

too revealing. In example three, a 56-year-old celebrity in Hong Kong held a press conference to refute criticism against her. In the press conference, besides providing evidence to show her innocence, she asked the media to “give her family a break” because this event had affected her husband and her son. In other words, she does not want them to be unfairly treated and thus lose face.

The concept of “face” is by no means exclusive to Chinese culture; it exists in

American culture as well. On October 21, 2010, The Los Angeles Times reported a football game between UCLA and Oregon. The UCLA Bruins obviously did not play well in the game; they were smashed by the Oregon Ducks in a 47-point defeat and one of their quarterbacks was also seriously injured. The Los Angeles Times said the Bruins were totally stunned and UCLA also “lost face.”

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) also released a report on October 27,

2010. In the report, a young man confessed that he had bullied someone before. He said,

“I don't even remember how it started that day but I called him names and I even hit him.

To my surprise he began to cry. Instantly I regretted what I'd done. I hadn't expected that.

Of course at 15 I couldn't backtrack or apologise - that would've meant I’d lost face.”

Since “face” seems to play an important role when people make decisions (as illustrated in the aforementioned examples), I am interested in how “face” is manifested as cultural performance in China. The assumption here is that emotional concepts such as face are connected to how people behave in culturally salient ways. In this dissertation, to be more specific, I explore how “face” is presented, maintained, negotiated, and functions in the cases of requesting and declining in Chinese culture.

In Chapter 1, the dissertation begins with the pedagogical background of requesting and declining. Both their definitions and their appearances in contemporary CFL 1 materials will be discussed.

Chapter 2 describes the concepts of face, performance, and Performed Culture

Pedagogy. Literature review of face, Chinese concepts of face, the idea of performance, and the key framework of Performed Culture Pedagogy will be presented.

Chapters 3 and 4 are the presentations of the survey conducted for this dissertation.

Chapter 3 introduces the method and Chapter 4 addresses the analysis and discussion of the survey. The survey is basically divided into four situations: make a request of your teacher, make a request of a friend, deny a request from your teacher, and deny a request from a friend. This dissertation will depict the features of these four situations from native speakers’ perspectives and identify Chinese learners’ deficiencies. The role “face” plays in the features will also be discussed.

Chapter 5 looks at the interplay among face, requesting, and declining. A follow-up survey is presented, followed by the discussion of face as a theme in requesting and declining.

Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation by providing pedagogical approaches to “face” in Chinese language instruction. Both implementation of teaching plans and various exercises involving face are presented to help learners develop expertise in this regard and to show how teachers can incorporate “face” into their instruction.

1 Chinese as a Foreign Language.

CHAPTER 1

PEDAGOGICAL BACKGROUND OF REQUESTING AND DECLINING

Requesting and declining frequently occur in daily life: you were stopped on your way by a young man who asked you to respond to a survey, but you declined by saying that you do not have time. Your student approached you after class for an appointment tomorrow, but you told him that you would be out of town. You wrote an email to the school’s classroom management office to request a change of classroom, but you heard from them that no other classrooms were available.

Following the idea that “face” plays an important role when people make decisions, this chapter presents the cases of requesting and declining and discusses them from pedagogical perspectives. Examples of requesting and declining from TV series clips will be first presented, followed by their definitions. Further, their appearance in contemporary, commonly-used CFL materials and the ways they are presented will be examined.

1.1. Pedagogical Background of Requesting

Requesting is ubiquitous in daily life. It can be as simple as a 4-year-old child asking his mother for “juice” or as complicated as business negotiations on a table. Take a look at the following example from the TV series Chuncao (Example 12 hereafter):

男孩母親小販

媽媽, 我也要糖人。

多少錢一個?

五分

Nanhai Muqin Xiaofan

Mama, wo ye yao tangren.

Duoshao qian yi ge?

Wu fen.

Boy Mother Vendor

Mom, I want a candyman too.

How much is it?

Five cents.

2 All the examples in this dissertation are given a number for the convenience of reference. A full list of examples can be found in Appendix A. Also, to be consistent, all the Chinese texts are presented in traditional characters in this dissertation despite the variety in the originals.

Chuncao 春草 is a 33-episode TV series released in Mainland China in 2008.

Chuncao, which literally means “spring grass”, is the name of the main female character in the show. Chuncao is not only a popular TV series based on a novel, it is also used in a

Chinese language course. The reason that it is adopted for a course is because it provides many performances that are useful for learners.

In Example 1, the little boy sees a vendor selling candymen on the street. He asks his mother to buy him one. His mother asks the vendor about the price and the vendor says it is five cents. Instead of responding to the boy’s request (i.e. buy him the candyman) verbally, the mother realized it behaviorally (i.e. she turned to the vendor and inquired about the price). The boy ended up happily holding a candyman in his hand.

Let us look at another example in Chuncao (Example 2 hereafter):

春草老師

老師, 你跟我媽說說讓我上學吧! 你是老師, 你跟她說她一定能聽的.

(點點頭) 老師問你, 你沒上過學怎麼能算題呢?

有的時候我爸爸給哥哥講題. 我在旁邊邊幹活邊聽到的. 老師, 那些鴨子不可能每天都生蛋, 牠們沒那麼聽話.

(笑) 你哪家的孩子? 叫什麼名字?

我叫春草.

喔, 好, 老師跟你媽說哦.

謝謝老師.

Chuncao Teacher

Laoshi, ni gen wo ma shuoshuo rang wo shangxue ba! Ni shi laoshi, ni gen ta shuo ta yiding neng ting de.

(Diandian tou) Laoshi wen ni, ni mei shang guo xue zenme neng suanti ne?

Youde shihou wo baba gei gege jiangti, wo zai pangbian bian ganhuo bian tingdao de. Laoshi, naxie yazi bu keneng meitian dou shengdan de, tamen mei name tinghua.

(Xiao) Ni najia de haizi? Jiao shenme mingzi?

Wo jiao Chuncao.

O, hao, laoshi gen ni ma shuo o.

Xiexie laoshi.

Chuncao Teacher

Teacher, please talk to my mother and convince her to let me go to school. You are a teacher. My mother will listen to you.

(Nod) Let me ask you – how do you know arithmetic since you didn’t go to school before?

Sometimes when my father explained arithmetic to my brother, I overheard it while I was doing house chores. Teacher, those ducks won’t have eggs every day; they are not so obedient.

(Smile) Where is your home? What’s your name?

My name is Chuncao.

Oh, okay, I will talk to your mother.

Thank you, Teacher.

Example 2 takes place in an elementary school setting. Despite Chuncao’s strong will, her mother has been delaying her decision to let Chuncao attend school. Chuncao is standing outside a classroom. The teacher asks his students an arithmetic question and

Chuncao is the first one to come up with the correct answer. Rather surprised, the teacher approaches Chuncao and asks why she is standing outside the classroom. Chuncao asks that the teacher convince her mother to let her attend school. The teacher agrees.

1.1.1 Definition of Requesting

Searle (1969, 1975) presents a list of five categories of illocutionary acts: assertive, directives, commissives, expressive, and declarations. He defines “directives” as “the illocutionary point of these consists in the fact that they are attempts (of varying degrees, and hence, more precisely, they are determinates of the determinable which includes

attempting) by the speaker to get the hearer to do something.” Typical examples of directives are request, order, ask, beg, invite, and advise.

Searle (1969: 154) further delineates the semantic rules of request as follows:

Propositional content Future A of H. condition

Preparatory condition a. H is able to do A. S believes that H is able to do A. b. It is not obvious to both S and H that H will do A in the normal course of events of his own accord.

Sincerity condition S wants H to do A.

Essential condition Counts as an attempt to get H to do A.

A refers to Act, H means Hearer, S is Speaker. Propositional content condition refers to the proposition S expresses and the future Act S predicates. Preparatory condition is the assumption the Speaker believes or knows about the Hearer. Sincerity condition is the

Speaker’s intention toward Hearer. Essential condition is the Speaker’s undertaking to perform a certain Act.

Thus, a request, based on the definitions and Searle’s rules, is an attempt by the

Speaker to politely ask the Hearer to do an Act. In doing so, the Speaker believes that the

Hearer is able to do the request and hopes that the Hearer will be willing to do it.

Bruner (1983:91) also points out that when making a request, the speaker “must accommodate the hearer’s capacities, his constraints, their relationship to him, and the convention to which he adheres both in language and in the world.” In other words, the speaker realizes the performance of making a request by complying with both linguistic

and cultural norms. These norms are based on the presuppositions that his interlocutor will accept his means of communications and will infer his intention from them.

In sum, in making a request, the speaker, based on the hearer’s capacities, his constraints, and their relationship, believes that the hearer is capable of doing the request and hopes that the hearer will infer his intention from the means of interactions.

1.1.2 Requesting in CFL Materials

Since requesting is a common behavior in our daily life, it is not surprising to find its early appearance in contemporary CFL materials. For example, Integrated Chinese

(IC hereafter), a commonly used beginning-level Chinese language material in the United

States, contains the example of requesting as early as Lesson Four (Liu et al, 2008:98.

Example 3 hereafter):

高文中白英愛

你週末喜歡做什麼?

我喜歡打球、看電視。你呢?

我喜歡唱歌、跳舞, 還喜歡聽音樂。你也喜歡看書, 對不對?

對，有的時候也喜歡看書。

你喜歡不喜歡看電影?

喜歡。我週末常常看電影。

那我們今天晚上去看一個外國電影，怎麼樣? 我請客。

為什麼你請客?

因為昨天你請我吃飯，所以今天我請你看電影。

那你也請王朋、李友，好嗎?

…好。

Gao Wenzhong Bai Ying’ai

Bai Ying’ai, ni zhoumo xihuan zuo shenme?

Wo xihuan daqiu, kan dianshi. Ni ne?

Wo xihuan chang ge, tiao wu, hai xihuan ting yinyue. Ni ye xihuan kan shu, dui budui?

Dui, youde shihou ye xihuan kanshu.

Ni xihuan buxihuan kan dianying?

Xihuan. Wo zhoumo changchang kan dianying.

Na women jintian wanshang qu kan yige waiguo dianying, zenmeyang? Wo qing ke.

Weishenme ni qing ke?

Yinwei zuotian ni qing wo chi fan, suoyi jintian wo qing ni kan dianying.

Na ni ye qing Wang Peng, Li You, hao ma?

…Hao.

Gao Wenzhong Bai Ying’ai

Bai Ying’ai, what do you like to do on weekends?

I like to play ball and watch TV. How about you?

I like to sing, dance, and listen to music. You like to read, right?

Yes, sometimes I like to read as well.

Do you like to watch movies?

Yes, I do. I often watch movies on weekends.

Then let’s go see a foreign movie this evening. Ok? My treat.

Why your treat?

Because you treated me to dinner yesterday, today I’m treating you to a movie.

Then invite Wang Peng and Li You as well, OK?

…OK.3

In the dialogue, Gao Wenzhong, who has a secret crush on Bai Ying’ai, invites her to a movie. Bai Ying’ai asks Gao Wenzhong to invite their friends Wang Peng and Li

You as well. Gao Wenzhong says “yes,” despite his hesitation.

3 English translation is adopted from Integrated Chinese (Liu et al, 2008: 120).

In the first dialogue of Lesson Five in IC, there appears a second example of requesting (Liu et al, 2008:122. Example 4 hereafter):

高文中王朋李友高小音

誰呀？

是我, 王朋, 還有李友。

請進, 請進, 快進來! 來, 我介紹一下 , 這是我姐姐 , 高小音。

小音，你好。認識你很高興。

認識你們我也很高興。

你們家很大, 也很漂亮。

是嗎? 請坐, 請坐。

小音, 你在哪兒工作?

我在學校工作。你們想喝點兒什麼? 喝茶還是喝咖啡?

我喝茶吧。

我要一瓶可樂, 可以嗎?

對不起, 我們家沒有可樂。

那給我一杯水吧。

Gao Wenzhong Wang Peng Li You Gao Xiaoyin

Shei ya？

Shi wo, Wang Peng, hai you Li You.

Qing jin, Qing jin, kuai jin lai! Lai, wo jieshao yixia, zhe shi wo jiejie, Gao Xiaoyin.

Xiaoyin, ni hao. Renshi ni hen gaoxing.

Renshi nimen wo ye hen gaoxing.

Nimen jia hen da, ye hen piaoliang.

Shi ma? Qing zuo, qing zuo.

Xiaoyin, ni zai nar gongzuo?

Wo zai xuexiao gongzuo. Nimen xiang he dianr shenme? He cha, haishi he kafei?

Wo he cha ba.

Wo yao yi ping kele, keyi ma?

Duibuqi, women jia mei you kele.

Na gei wo yi bei shui ba.

Gao Wenzhong Wang Peng Li You Gao Xiaoyin

Who is it?

It’s me, Wang Peng. Li You is here, too.

Please come in. Please come in, Li You. Let me introduce you to one another. This is my sister, Gao Xiaoyin.

How do you do, Xiaoyin. Pleased to meet you.

Pleased to meet you, too.

Your home is very big, and very beautiful, too.

Is that so? Have a seat, please.

Xiaoyin, where do you work?

I work at school. What would you like to drink? Would you like to drink tea or coffee?

I’ll have tea.

I’d like to have a bottle of cola.

I am sorry. We don’t have cola.

Then please give me a glass of water.4

In this dialogue, Wang Peng and Li You are visiting their friend Gao Wenzhong’s home. Greeted by Gao Wenzhong’s sister, Gao Xiaoyin, Wang Peng and Li You make some good remarks on their house. When being offered something to drink, Li You requests a can of cola. As a host, Gao Xiaoyin apologizes for not having cola in their house. Li You requests water instead.

Chinese: Communicating in the Culture (CCC hereafter), another beginning-level

Chinese material, presents the first drill of requesting in Unit 3 Stage 2 (Walker & Lang,

2005:37. Example 5 hereafter):

訪客接待人員

我可以用這兒的電腦寫信嗎？

當然可以, 隨便用吧!

Fangke Jiedai renyuan

Wo keyi yong zher de diannao xiexin ma?

Dangran keyi. Suibian yong ba.

4 English translation is adopted from Integrated Chinese (Liu et al, 2008: 144).

Visitor Receptionist

Can I use this computer to write a letter?

Of course, you can. Please feel free.

In the drill, the visitor asks for permission to use the computer in the office and his/her request is granted.

New Practical Chinese Reader (NPCR hereafter), a leading entry-level Chinese language textbook in Mainland China, appears an example of requesting in Lesson Four

(Liu, 2009:36. Example 6 hereafter):

老師林娜陸雨平

可以進來嗎？

請進! 楊老師, 您好。這是我朋友, 他是記者。

請問, 您貴姓？

我姓陸, 叫陸雨平。

你好, 陸先生, 認識你很高興。

楊老師, 認識您, 我也很高興。

Laoshi Lin Na Lu Yuping

Keyi jinlai ma？

Qing jin! Yang laoshi, nin hao. Zhe shi wo pengyou.

Ta shi jizhe.

Qingwen, nin guixing?

Wo xing Lu, jiao Lu Yuping.

Ni hao, Lu xiansheng, renshi ni hen gaoxing.

Yang laoshi, renshi nin, wo ye hen gaoxing.

Teacher Lin Na Lu Yuping

Can I come in?

Yes, please come in. How are you, Teacher Yang? This is my friend. He is a journalist.

What is your name?

My last name is Lu, and my name is Lu Yuping.

Nice to meet you, Mr. Lu.

Nice to meet you, too, Teacher Yang.

The dialogue begins with Teacher Yang asking for permission to come in while his student, Lin Na, is with her Chinese friend, Lu Yuping.

Basic Spoken Chinese (BSC hereafter), a recently published first-year material in the

United States, contains the example of requesting as early as Unit 2 Part 2 (Kubler,

2011:110. Example 7 hereafter):

中國人一中國人二美國人

請進。

哎, 小馬。

噢, 小陳, 我給你介紹一下。這是我的新同屋, 她叫王愛華。王愛華, 這是我的老同學, 小陳。

噢, 歡迎你到中國來。

很高興認識你, 陳小姐。

噢, 別這麼稱呼我。還是叫我小陳好了。

行。那你也叫我小王好了。

好!

Zhongguoren yi Zhongguoren er Meiguoren

Qing jin!

Ei, Xiao Ma.

O, Xiao Chen. Wo gei ni jieshao yixia. Zhe shi wode xin tongwu, ta jiao Wang Aihua. Wang Aihua, zhe shi wode lao tongxue, Xiao Chen.

O, huanying ni dao Zhongguo lai.

Hen gaoxing renshi ni, Chen Xiaojie.

O, bie zhemme chenghu wo. Hai shi jiao wo Xiao

Chen haole.

Xing. Na ni ye jiao wo Xiao Wang haole.

Hao.

First Chinese Second Chinese American

Come in!

Hi, Little Ma.

Oh, Little Chen, let me introduce you. This is my new roommate, her name is Ivy Wang. Ivy, this is my old classmate, Little Chen.

Oh, welcome to China!

Happy to meet you, Miss Chen.

Oh, don’t address me like this. It’s better if you call me Little Chen.

O.K. In that case, why don’t you also call me Little Wang.

O.K.5

In Example 7, a Chinese student is introducing her new roommate, an American student named Ivy Wang, to her old classmate, Ms. Chen. After the introduction, the

5 English translation is adopted from Basic Spoken Chinese (Kubler, 2011: 110).

American student calls Ms. Chen rather formally in the beginning. Ms. Chen decides to be more personable by asking Ivy Wang to call her Xiao Chen.

All these examples of requesting in various contemporary textbooks in CFL reveal that requesting needs to be included in the beginning level of C2 instruction. As a matter of fact, students of Chinese learn how to make a request long before they encounter these examples; they learn how to ask the teacher to repeat his/her question in the classroom expressions – Qing nin zai shuo yibian 請您再說一遍 in CCC (Walker & Lang, 2004:8) and BSC (Kubler: 2011:67) and Qing zai shuo yibian 請再說一遍 in IC (Liu et al,

2008:16).

1.2 Pedagogical Background of Declining

It is possible to misfire culturally in one’s native culture, but more frequently, faux pas occur cross-culturally because of the natural tendency to interpret new information in terms of previous knowledge.

Eric Shepherd, “Eat Shandong,” 2005:197

Shepherd (2005:197) elaborates the above idea by giving an example – when he and his American students attended a banquet held by a number of local government officials in Shidao, China, the host fulfilled one of his responsibilities by continually urging everyone present to drink. One of Shepherd’s students did not wish to drink and thought that he could refuse, assuming this might be a situation where people simply wanted to drink. What was even more problematic was the manner in which the student refused: he said he did not want to drink because he did not feel like doing so. He said that of course he could drink on a good day, but on that day, he simply did not feel like doing so. The 21

result was that the host felt a loss of face by the American student’s seemingly intentional refusal.

Similarly, one of my students of Chinese once asked me what Chinese people meant exactly when they said zai shuo ba 再說吧. The literal meaning of the sentence is “let’s talk about it later,” but in most cases, “they just don’t seem to be interested in talking about it anymore.”

A decline is articulated generally as a reply to a request, an offer, an invitation, or a suggestion. Look at an example from Chuncao (Example 8 hereafter):

春草的媽媽老師

老師, 有事嗎?

大嫂, 我來呢, 是為了春草。

春草沒上學啊！

是啊, 我就是為這事兒。你看春草都十歲了, 怎麼還不上學啊!

喔, 是這樣的。我家兩個兒子都在上學。他爸身體不好, 就春草能搭把手, 要不然, 日子沒法過了。再說呢, 女孩子家上學用處也不大。

大嫂啊, 這都什麼年代了！男尊女卑那是封建思想。每個孩子都有學習知識的權利。不管男孩兒還是女孩兒, 他們

都是祖國的花朵和未來的希望啊！

女孩子再學成了花將來也不是一樣嫁人

嗎? 一樣幹活, 養孩子, 學不學關係不大。

大嫂, 這女孩兒將來是要當母親的。其實母親有文化, 比父親有文化還要重要。比如說您吧, 你就關係到三個孩子的教育。如果你受了教育, 你肯定不會讓自己女兒到了十歲還不上學的。

老師, 我嫁人前也當過婦女隊長。您看我現在不是一樣上山砍柴, 伺候一家人, 圍著鍋台轉嗎?

大嫂啊, 十一屆三中全會都開過了, 你聽廣播了嗎? 科學是第一生產力。現在不是那種知識越多越反動的年代了。你這

思想啊得好好改改了。

別跟我說這個。我思想好著呢！

大嫂, 你…你這樣就有點兒不講道理了吧！

我不是一直在跟你講道理嗎? 老師你怎麼那麼怪呢? 我家我說了算, 春草不上學。

大嫂, 你這樣是要坑了孩子的。

老師, 我也沒辦法, 我們家兩個孩子都在上學。她要是再上了學, 她哥哥, 她弟弟就沒法上了。老師, 我要做飯了。我們家飯不好, 只能吃飽, 我不留你了。

Chuncao de Mama Laoshi

Laoshi, you shi ma?

Dasao, wo lai ne, shi weile Chuncao.

Chuncao mei shangxue a.

Shi a, wo jiushi wei zhe shir. Ni kan Chuncao dou shisui le. Zenme hai bu shangxue a?

O, shi zheyang de. Wo jia liangge erzi dou zai shangxue. Ta ba shenti bu hao, jiu Chuncao neng dabashou, yaoburan, rizi meifa guo le. Zai shuo ne, nühaizijia shangxue yongchu ye buda.

Dasao a, zhe dou shenme niandai le, nanzunnübei nashi fengjian sixiang. Meige haizi dou you xuexi zhishi de quanli. Buguan nanhair haishi nühair, tamen dou shi zuguo de huaduo he weilai de xiwang a.

Nühazi zai xuecheng le hua jianglai ye bushi yiyang jiaren ma? Yiyang ganhuo, yang haizi, xue buxue guanxi buda.

Dasao, zhe nühair jianglaishi yao dang muqin de. Qishi muqin you wenhua bi fuqin you wenhua haiyao zhongyao. Biru shuo nin ba, ni jiu guanxi dao sange haizi de jiaoyu. Ruguo ni shoule jiaoyu, ni kending buhui rang ziji nü’er dao le shisui hai bu shangxue de.

Laoshi, wo jiaren qian ye dang guo funü duizhang. Nin kan wo xianzai bushi yiyang shangshan kanchai, cihou yijiaren, wei zhe guotai zhuan ma?

Dasao a, shiyi jie san zhong quan hui dou kai guo le, ni ting guangbo le ma? Kexue shi diyi shengchanli. Xianzai bushi nazhong zhishi yue duo yue fandong de niandai le. Ni zhe sixiang a dei haohao gaigai le.

Bie gen wo shuo zheige. Wo sixiang hao zhe ne!

Dasao, ni… ni zheyang jiu youdianr bu jiang daoli le ba!

Wo bushi yizhi zai gen ni jiang daoli ma? Laoshi ni zenme name guai ne? Wo jia wo shuo le suan, Chuncao bu shangxue.

Dasao, ni zheyang shi yao keng le haizi de.

Laoshi, wo ye mei banfa, women jia liangge haizi dou zai shangxue. Ta yaoshi zai shang le xue, ta gege, ta didi jiu mei fa shang le. Laoshi, wo yao zuofan le. Women jia fan bu hao, zhineng chi bao. Wo bu liu ni le.

Chuncao’s Mother Teacher

Teacher, what brings you here?

I am here for Chuncao.

But Chuncao is not in school yet.

That’s right. That’s why I am here. Chuncao is already ten years old. Why is she not going to school?

Oh, this is the reason – my two sons are both in school. Their father is not feeling well physically. Only Chuncao can help me with house chores. Otherwise, our life will be very difficult. Moreover, there is no use for girls to go to school.

The time is different now. It is feudalistic to think that man is

superior to woman.

Girls will get married one day. After they are married, they still have to work and raise their children. It does not matter whether they go to school or not.

Girls will be mothers in the future. Acutally, for women to be educated is even more important than for men. For example, you are involved with the education of your three children. If you were educated, you wouldn’t have let your daughter stay at home at the age of 10.

Teacher, I was the Leader of Women’s Team before I got married. Look at me now – Every day I go to the mountain, chop the woods, cook in the kitchen, and serve the whole family.

Did you listen to the radio? It has been passed by the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Party Central Committee. Science is the priority of productivity. Now is not the age that the more knowledge you have, the more reactionary you will be. You have to change your thoughts.

Don’t talk to me about my thoughts. My

thoughts are fine.

But you are a bit unreasonable with the words you said.

I’ve been trying to be reasonable with you. Why are you so strange, teacher? What I say counts in this family – Chuncao is not going to school.

You are making this girl’s life miserable.

Teacher, I have no choice. My two sons are attending school. If she goes to school too, her two brothers will have to drop out. Teacher, I am sorry I have to cook now. The dishes in our family are not presentable, so I won’t ask you to stay for dinner.

I choose this rather lengthy Example 8 because of its rich combination of requesting and declining. The teacher comes to Chuncao’s house with a request: he is trying to persuade Chuncao’s mother to let Chuncao attend school. Chuncao’s mother is rather surprised at the teacher’s visit and thinks that he is here for her two sons. Out of respect for teachers in Chinese society, Chuncao’s mother is very polite to the teacher in the beginning: she addresses the teacher laoshi and uses the polite form nin to refer to the teacher. However, after realizing the purpose of the teacher’s visit, she changes her overall behavior toward him: she calls him ni instead of nin and argues with him why

Chuncao does not need to go to school; she needs Chuncao to help her with house chores and girls do not need education. Despite the teacher’s efforts to emphasize the importance of education for girls, Chuncao’s mother remains unmoved. As a matter of fact,

Chuncao’s mother becomes upset, if not irritated, by the teacher’s insistence and comes up with an excuse to ask the teacher to leave.

Let us look at another example from the movie, Aiqing Malatang 愛情麻辣燙 Love

Spicy Soup (Example 9 hereafter):6

女士工作人員

您看，我們也不懂，這是頭一回。您

看，我們都等了這麼半天了，您就…

沒結婚証怎麼離啊！你們有什麼証明你

們是合法婚姻？

嗯，請您先把這事辦了，然後我們把那

個結婚証給您送來，行嗎？

不行，這是工作秩序。我們得按章辦

事。

6 Aiqing Malatang 愛情麻辣燙 (Love Spicy Soup) is a Chinese movie released in 1997 by Director Yang Zhang 張揚. Aiqing Malatang is the first independent Chinese film to achieve domestic box office success.

Nüshi Gongzuo Renyuan

Nin kan, women ye budong. Zhe shi tou yi hui. Nin kan, women dou dengle zheme bantian le, nin jiu...

Mei jiehunzheng zenme li a! Nimen you shenme zhengming nimen shi hefa hunyin?

En, qing nin xian ba zheshi ban le, ranhou women ba neige jiehunzheng gei nin song lai, xing ma?

Buxing, zhe shi gongzuo zhixu. Women dei anzhangbanshi.

Woman Government Employee

We don’t know much about the procedures. This is our first time. We’ve been waiting in line for so long. Can you please …?

How can you get divorced without a marriage certificate? You have no proof that you are legally married.

Can you just stamp the forms for us now? We’ll bring you the marriage certificate right away.

I can’t. Rules are rules. I have to stick to them.

In Example 9, a husband and his wife are at the marriage registration office to petition for a divorce, but they forgot to bring their marriage certificate. The woman uses a few polite words such as nin (polite form for you) and qing (please) when she asks for a favor from the government employee. Although she provides a reason why they forgot to bring the certificate (this is their first time, so they don’t know the rules) and suggests an alternative (they will bring the certificate right after they have their petition approved), the employee explicitly denies her request because in her position, she has to follow the rules enforced by the government and there is no room for negotiations.

1.2.1 Definition of Declining

Searle assigns refuse to the “expressive” class in his illocutionary acts categorization, as it expresses the psychological state specified in the sincerity condition about a state of affairs specified in the propositional content (1975:164). Other examples of expressives are accept, thank, congratulate, apologize, condole, deplore, welcome, command, mock.

Grice (1975:173) proposes four maxims of Cooperative Principle in conversational contribution:

(1) Quantity: Make your contribution as informative as is required.

(2) Quality: Make your contribution one that is true (Don’t say what you believe to

be false and don’t say that for which you lack adequate evidence). 31

(3) Relation: Be relevant.

(4) Manner: Be perspicuous (avoid obscurity and ambiguity; be brief and orderly).

Grice further points out the connection between Cooperative Principle and

Conversational Implicature (1975:176). Conversational Implicature refers to the things that a hearer can work out from how something is said, rather than from what is said. For example, when someone says “Can you please close the window?” a hearer will take it as a request rather than as a question.

There are situations where a maxim or more are flouted for the purpose of conveying a conversational implicature. For instance, under the “be perspicuous” maxim, there are violations of deliberate ambiguity. The purpose of it is that the speaker intends or expects the hearer will “get the message.” The aforementioned Chinese expression zai shuo ba (Let’s talk about it later) is a good example of deliberate ambiguity, as it in most cases indicates the speaker’s refusal to the hearer’s request.

In sum, a decline is an attempt to express inability or reluctance to accept a request, an offer, or an invitation. As with requesting, the way declining is manifested in a society also follows specific cultural norms.

1.2.2 Declining in CFL Materials

Declining appears early in many beginning-level CFL materials. In the second dialogue of Lesson 4 of IC, learners encounter their first example of declining in Chinese

(Liu et al, 2008:110. Example 10 hereafter):

王朋高文忠

小高，好久不見，你好嗎?

我很好。你怎麼樣?

我也不錯。這個週末你想做什麼?想不想去打球?

打球? 我不喜歡打球。

那我們去看球，怎麼樣?

看球? 我覺得看球也沒有意思。

那你這個週末想做什麼?

我只想吃飯、睡覺。

算了，我去找別人。

Wang Peng Gao Wenzhong

Xiao Gao, hao jiu bu jian, ni hao ma?

Wo hen hao. Ni zenmeyang?

Wo ye bucuo. Zhege zhoumo ni xiang zuo shenme? Xiang buxiang qu da qiu?

Da qiu? Wo buxihuan da qiu.

Na women qu kan qiu, zenmeyang?

Kan qiu? Wo juede kan qiu ye meiyou shenme yisi.

Na ni zhege zhoumo xiang zuo shenme?

Wo zhi xiang chifan, shuijiao.

Suan le, wo qu zhao bieren.

Wang Peng Gao Wenzhong

Xiao Gao, Long time no see. How are you?

I am fine. How about yourself?

I am fine, too. What would you like to do this weekend? Would you like to play ball?

Play ball? I don’t like playing ball.

Then let’s go see a ball game. How’s that?

See a ball game? I don’t think seeing a ball game is much fun either.

Then what do you want to do this weekend?

I only want to eat and sleep.

Never mind. I’ll ask somebody else.7

Example 10 is contextualized in an American college setting. Two friends, Wang

Peng and Gao Wenzhong, bump into each other. After greetings, Wang Peng asks Gao

Wenzhong if he wants to play ball together this weekend. Gao Wenzhong declines his offer by saying “Da qiu? Wo buxihuan da qiu (play ball? I don’t like playing ball).”

Wang Peng then comes up with another offer by asking Gao Wenzhong if he would like to go to a ball game. Gao Wenzhong declines once again by showing his disinterest and says that all he wants to do over the weekend is eat and sleep, which not surprisingly, upsets Wang Peng.

IC quickly includes its second example of declining in Lesson 6 (Liu et al, 2008:150.

Example 11 hereafter):

常老師李友

喂?

喂, 請問, 常老師在嗎?

我就是。您是哪位?

老師, 您好。我是李友。

李友, 有事兒嗎?

7 English translation is adopted from Integrated Chinese (Liu et al, 2008: 120).

老師, 今天下午您有時間嗎? 我想問您幾個問題。

對不起, 今天下午我要開會。

明天呢?

明天上午我有兩節課, 下午三點要給二年級考試。

您什麼時候有空兒?

明天四點以後才有空兒。

要是您方便, 四點半我到您的辦公室去, 行嗎?

四點半, 沒問題。我在辦公室等你。

謝謝您。

別客氣。

Chang laoshi Li You

Wei?

Wei, qingwen, Chang laoshi zai ma?

Wo jiu shi. Nin shi na wei?

Laoshi, nin hao, wo shi Li You.

Li You, you shir ma?

Laoshi, jintian xiawu nin you shijian ma? Wo xiang wen nin jige wenti?

Duibuqi, jintian xiawu wo yao kaihui.

Mingtian ne?

Mingtian shangwu wo you liang jie ke, xiawu sandian yao gei er nianji kaoshi.

Nin shenme shihou you kongr?

Mingtian si dian yihou cai you kongr.

Yaoshi nin fangbian, si dian ban wo dao nin de bangongshi qu, xing ma?

Si dian ban, mei wenti. Wo zai bangongshi deng ni.

Xiexie nin.

Bie keqi.

Teacher Chang Li You

Hello?

Hello, is Teacher Chang there?

This is she. Who is this, please?

Teacher, how are you? This is Li You.

Hi, Li You, what’s going on?

Teacher, are you free this afternoon? I’d like to ask you a few questions.

I am sorry. This afternoon I have to go to a meeting.

What about tomorrow?

Tomorrow morning I have two classes. Tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock I have to give an exam to the second-year class.

When will you be free?

I won’t be free until after four o’clock tomorrow.

If it is convenient for you, I’ll come to your office at four-thirty. Is that all right?

Four-thirty. No problem. I will wait for you in my office.

Thank you.

You’re welcome.8

In Example 11, Li You calls her teacher to ask if she could meet with her today or tomorrow. Teacher Chang politely denies Li You’s request in the beginning, but later

8 English translation is adopted from Integrated Chinese (Liu et al, 2008: 172).

offers a possibility of meeting with her after four o’clock tomorrow. Li You says that she will go to her office at four-thirty.

In NPCR, there appears its first example of declining (Liu, 2009:63. Example 12 hereafter):

丁力波楊老師

楊老師, 明天您有時間嗎?

對不起, 請再說一遍。

明天您有時間嗎? 我們去打球, 好嗎?

很抱歉, 明天我很忙, 恐怕不行。謝謝你們。

Ding Libo Teacher Yang

Yang laoshi, mingtian nin you shijian ma?

Duibuqi, qing zai shuo yibian.

Mingtian nin you shijian ma? Women qu daqiu, hao ma?

Hen baoqian, mingtian wo hen mang, kongpa buxing. Xiexie nimen.

Ding Libo Teacher Yang

Teacher Yang, do you have time tomorrow?

I am sorry. Can you say it again?

Do you have time tomorrow? Let’s play ball together, would you?

I am sorry. I am afraid I can’t. I am busy tomorrow. But thank you.

In Example 12, a student, Ding Libo, asks his teacher if he wants to play ball together tomorrow. His teacher politely declines his offer by saying that he is busy tomorrow.

In CCC, unit 3 Stage 6 has a good example of refusing a suggestion in Drill Eight

(Walker & Lang, 2005:148. Example 13 hereafter):

老師學生

我餓了。我們吃飯吧。

謝謝, 不用了。我不餓。

Laoshi Xuesheng

Wo e le. Women chifan ba.

Xiexie, buyong le. Wo bu-e.

Teacher Student

I am hungry. Let’s eat.

No, thank you. I am not hungry.

In Example 13, the teacher invites the student to eat together, but the student politely refuses by saying that he/she is not hungry.

1.2.3 Problems with Declining in CFL Materials

If texts serve as a channel for learners to be exposed to authentic materials and carry a goal of helping learners develop their language expertise (Zhang, 2012:44-45), there would be room for Examples 10, 11, and 12 to work on to fulfill this goal.

Example 10 is entertaining to read, as it involves students’ life and habits, but it has a few problems. First, the context is unclear. The only revealed information in the dialogue is that Wang Peng and Gao Wenzhong are friends and “Wang Peng is talking to

Gao Wenzhong” (Liu et al, 2008: 110). A few essential elements to situate the dialogue are missing. For example, where and when does this conversation take place? Is it in a cafeteria or in a dormitory? Is it near winter break or after the mid-term exam? Is anyone

else around? Also, what kind of friends are they? Are they simply acquaintances or they are close enough for Gao Wenzhong to talk in a rather rude manner?

More fundamentally, what is the objective of a dialogue? If one of the goals of the material is to “enable students to learn Chinese in a more efficient and pragmatic way and develop their language proficiency and problem-solving abilities in real-life situations”, as the authors stated (Liu et all, 2008:XV), I argue that the way Gao Wenzhong responds to Wang Peng would cause problems rather than solve problems. Gao Wenzhong’s manner of denying the request from Wang Peng, despite his reasons, is apathetic and unfriendly. If English learners of Chinese pick up his manner of declining from the dialogue without taking the context into account, they run a high risk of offending

Chinese people. In other words, the presentations of the contents do not reflect their stated goals.

In Example 11, when Li You calls her teacher to ask if she could meet with her today, Teacher Chang apologizes to Li You for not being available. While an apology from a student to her teacher in denying a request is necessary in Chinese (as will be evidenced in Chapter 4), an apology from a teacher to her student in this situation is unusual as it sounds too polite. As a matter of fact, Teacher Chang’s overpoliteness by using duibuqi forms a sharp contrast to the cai she adopts later in mingtian si dian yihou cai you kongr 明天四點以後才有空兒 (I won’t be free until after four o’clock tomorrow); cai in this context carries a tone of lukewarmness.

The same problem occurs in Example 12, when a student, Ding Libo, asks his teacher if he wants to play ball together tomorrow. His teacher politely declines his offer 42

by saying that he is busy tomorrow. The teacher can simply say mingtian wo hen mang, kongpa bu xing. Xiexie nimen 明天我很忙, 恐怕不行. 謝謝你們 (I am afraid I can’t. I am busy tomorrow. But thank you.) without an apology; the hen baoqian 很抱歉 (I am sorry) in the text is unauthentic and culturally inappropriate, as the script (i.e. hen baoqian) does not fit the role (i.e. a teacher) in this situation.

1.3 Summary

In this chapter, I discussed requesting and declining from perspectives of beginning level Chinese language pedagogy. I first provided a few examples of requesting and declining from TV series clips, followed by their definitions. The reason to look at these

TV series clips was because of their abundant presentations of requesting and declining.

As frequently seen in daily life, I examined how requesting and declining appear in contemporary beginning-level CFL materials. Besides seeing how these two situations are included in different materials, I also investigated problems in the way they are presented. I argued that in some of the examples, their ways of denying a request seem rather rude, as the speaker does not take the hearer’s feelings into account. These examples are limited in helping students grow knowledge in related aspects. If we believe that Chinese learners’ behaviors are the consequence of their instruction, especially in the beginning level, then as teachers we need to come up with strategies that enable our students to develop their expertise in this regard. In my opinion, “face” is the thread that runs through these situations, so training our students to be able to conceptualize “face” and execute it in interactions is our responsibility.

CHAPTER 2

FACE, PERFORMANCE, AND PERFORMED CULTURE PEDAGOGY

2.1 Literature Review of Face

The notion of face has been studied in many literatures, including those from the perspectives of sociology or anthropology (Goffman 1967, Hu 1944, Hwang 1983 &

1987), or in terms of conflict situation and politeness phenomena (Brown and Levinson

1978), or from the perspective of intercultural communication (Scollon and Scollon

1995).

2.1.1 Goffman’s Face

Goffman (1967) defines “face” as “the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact. Face is an image self delineated in terms of approved social attributes – albeit an image that others may share, as when a person makes a good showing for his profession or religion by making a showing for himself (Goffman, 1967:5).” When a person experiences an event and the encounter establishes a degree of face for him that is up to, or better than his expectation, he “feels good”; if his expectations are not fulfilled, he will “feel bad” or

“feel hurt.” Goffman further explains that a person may have, maintain, save or lose face in an interaction with other people. As a member of a group is expected to have self-

respect and considerateness, he tends to “conduct himself during an encounter so as to maintain both his own face and the face of the other participants (Goffman, 1967:10-

11).” Goffman considers this kind of mutual acceptance as a basic feature of interaction, especially face-to-face talk. Members of a group are expected to have knowledge of face- work and execute its applications. In other words, “face” is conveyed by behavior.

Goffman continues asserting that each person, subculture, and society seems to have its own strategies of face-saving practices, such as avoidance process and corrective process. The avoidance process refers to the strategy of avoiding contacts in which potential threats to face are likely to occur. The corrective process is the strategy to ratify the loss of face as a threat that deserves direct official attention, and the participants proceed to try to correct for its effects. The corrective interchange usually involves four moves – challenge, offering, acceptance, and thanks. “Challenge” refers to the participants’ calling attention to the offender’s misconduct. “Offering” means the chance given to the offender to correct his misconduct. “Acceptance” is the satisfactory message from the person to whom the offering is made, which indicates the re-establishment of the interlocutors’ relationship. “Thanks” is the terminal phase where the offender expresses his gratitude to those who have forgiven him. It is the corrective process level that people usually refer to when they ask what a person or culture is like. These sets of practices may look particular to certain groups, but they are actually drawn from a single, logically coherent framework of possible practices. Any person who wants to function successfully in the group must be aware of the repertoire of the applications and avoid threatening faces. Otherwise, misunderstandings arise when persons coming from different groups evaluate each other with different ritual standards. Goffman’s examples 45

of cross-cultural misunderstandings are that Western travelers often complain that the

Chinese could never be trusted to say what they meant, while the Chinese are uncomfortable by the brusqueness and boorishness of the Westerners (Goffman, 1967:17-

22).

Goffman also points out that maintenance of face is a condition, not an objective in an interaction. He considers face-work as traffic rules of social interactions, but these rules are not the destination; they are merely the code and the signs that people need to know in order to arrive at the destination (Goffman, 1967:12-13).

Goffman’s discussion and analysis of face work is influential in a variety of subsequent research (Brown and Levinson 1978, Scollon and Scollon 1995, Hwang 1983

& 1987). Although his corrective process is oversimplified (e.g. A debate does not usually follow the four typical phases), his thoughts on cross-cultural issues still remain enlightening half a century later.

2.1.2 Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Strategies

Based on Goffman’s (1967) definition, Brown and Levinson (1978) refer to face as

“the public self-image that every member wants to claims for himself (Brown and

Levinson, 1978:66).” Since face is a public self-image, it is in general every participant’s interest to maintain each other’s face. Normally, everyone’s face depends on everyone else’s being maintained. If a person’s face is threatened, he/she will defend for it. Brown and Levinson consider face as emotionally invested. People will feel embarrassed, humiliated, or “lose face” if their expectations are not fulfilled. Thus face “can be lost,

maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to in interaction (Brown and

Levinson, 1978:66).”

Brown and Levinson further differentiate two related aspects of face – the negative face and the positive face. The negative face refers to “the want of every competent adult member that his actions be unimpeded by others” while the positive face refers to “the want of every member that his wants be desirable to at least some others (Brown and

Levinson, 1978:67).” Given that the face tends to be vulnerable and needs to be maintained, any rational person will seek to avoid face-threatening acts (FTAs). If these

FTAs are inevitable, he then will employ certain strategies to minimize the threat. The strategies can be summarized in Figure 1:

Without redressive action, baldly

On record Positive

politeness

Do the FTA With redressive action

Off record Negative

politeness

Don’t do the FTA

Figure 1: Brown and Levinson’s Possible Strategies for Doing FTAs (1978:74).

“On record” means that the communication intention an actor does is clear to participants and no ambiguity is involved. For example, if A says “I promise to come tomorrow” and if participants would consent, then A goes “on record” by unambiguously expressing his intention. In contrast, if an actor goes “off record,” then “there is more than one unambiguously attributable intention so that the actor cannot be held to have committed himself to one particular intent.” For instance, if A says “It’s cold in this room.” A may intend that the hearer will close the window, but the hearer might respond,

“You should put on your jacket.” Brown and Levinson point out that linguistic realizations of off-record strategies include metaphor, understatement, rhetorical questions, tautologies, or giving hints (Brown and Levinson, 1978:74).

“Redressive action” is the strategy the speaker takes to counter the potential face damage of the FTA. Through redressive action, the speaker indicates that he cares for the hearer’s face and no intentional damage is involved (i.e. s/he “gives face” to the hearer).

If a speaker decides to do it without redress, that means he is going to do it in the most direct, clear, unambiguous and concise way (e.g. “Get out!”). Brown and Levinson propose that redressive action is realized in one of the two forms – positive politeness or negative politeness.

Positive politeness is “oriented toward the positive face of the hearer, the positive self-image that he claims for himself.” In other words, positive politeness is an approach- based strategy the speaker takes to make the hearer feel that his face is still valued and taken into consideration, despite the potential face threat of the act. Possible strategies of positive politeness include using in-group identity markers, seeking agreement, or

attending to the hearer’s interests or needs. Through positive politeness, the speaker sends the hearer a message that the FTA does not mean a negative evaluation in general of the hearer’s face (Brown and Levinson, 1978:75).

Negative politeness, on the other hand, is “oriented mainly toward partially satisfying the hearer’s negative face, his basic want to maintain claims of territory and self-determination.” Thus, different from positive politeness, negative politeness is an avoidance-based strategy the speaker adopts to assure that the hearer’s negative-face wants are recognized and respected. Self-effacement, formality and restraint are characteristic of negative politeness, which are aimed to make the self-image of the hearer unimpeded. Examples of negative politeness are apologies for interfering or transgressing, linguistic and nonlinguistic deference, questions and hedges, or minimizing the imposition (Brown and Levinson, 1978:75).

Brown and Levinson mention that there is a natural tension in negative politeness between (1) the desire to go on record as a prerequisite to being seen to pay face, and (b) the desire to go off record to avoid imposing. In this situation, conventionalized indirectness is the compromise for “whatever the indirect mechanism used to do an FTA, once fully conventionalized as a way of doing that FTA it is no longer off record.” The

English indirect request, “Can you pass the salt?” is a good example of conventionalized indirectness (Brown and Levinson, 1978:75).

Brown and Levinson’s analysis of face is undoubtedly of significant value to later researchers (Hwang 1983; Scollon & Scollon 1995; Nisbett 2003). However, the difference between “positive face” and “negative” seems to be unclear, if not misleading

(Scollon & Scollon, 1995:47). As a matter of fact, Brown and Levinson admit that their definition of positive face is adequate only under certain interpretations. Thus, positive face is less obvious and often highly restricted in a society (Brown and Levinson,

1978:67-69).

In this dissertation, I view politeness as a social value and it is part of a theme. A theme overlaps with politeness but with its distinctive features. I will discuss more in

2.4.1.

2.1.3 Scollon and Scollon’s Intercultural Communication

Scollon and Scollon (1995) point out that in communication there are three important aspects of participation to consider: who the participants are, what roles they are taking, and the interpersonal identity of the individuals (Scollon & Scollon, 1995:44).

Scollon and Scollon regard face as the negotiated public image in any form of interpersonal communication. They also believe that people need to make assumptions about face before they engage in any communication. Those assumptions are involved with three factors – power, distance, and weight of imposition. Power “refers to the vertical disparity between the participants in a hierarchical structure.” For example, the boss-employee relationship is +P (plus power) because the boss has more privileges over his employees. Distance “can be seen most easily in egalitarian relationships (–P).” For example, two close friends would be marked as –D because of their closeness. On the other hand, two colleagues of equal rank in a company would be considered +D. Weight of imposition refers to the variations of face strategies used in relation to different levels of topics raised. For instance, if a boss is talking to his employee about business matters,

his face strategy is quite predictable. However, if the boss wants to approach his employee with some rather bad news, he may use different strategies to make the employee feel less hurt (Scollon & Scollon, 1995:52).

Instead of the “positive politeness” and “negative politeness” proposed by Brown and Levinson (1978), Scollon and Scollon prefer the terms “involvement” and

“independence” to refer to the two aspects of face. The involvement aspect of face “is concerned with the person’s right and need to be considered a normal, contributing, or supporting member of society.” One shows involvement by taking other participants’ viewpoints into consideration. That is, the speaker assures the hearer that his viewpoints are considered and valued. Thus, involvement is also called “solidarity politeness” as it emphasizes what participants have in common. Examples in English of involvement would include “I know what you mean” and “Yes, I agree.” The independence aspect of face “emphasizes the individuality of the participants. It emphasizes their right not to be completely dominated by group or social values, and to be free from the impositions of others.” Since the key strategy to independence face is to give or grant independence to the hearer, a typical manifestation is to give the hearer a wide range of options or to use rather formal speech, such as “I don’t know if you would like tea, coffee, or water” or

“I’d like to talk to you, but I suppose you must be busy.” Thus, independence is also called “deference politeness” (Scollon & Scollon, 1995:46-48).

Scollon and Scollon argue that face is a “paradoxical concept” as it, on the one hand, is involved with other participants and showing them our involvement. On the other, everyone needs to maintain some level of independence and we need to respect that.

Emphasizing one aspect of them means a threat to the other. However, it is every participant’s task to find the balance in an interaction because “there is no faceless communication” (Scollon & Scollon, 1995:48).

While Scollon and Scollon do a fine job defining “involvement” and

“independence,” the subsequent linguistic strategies of involvement and independence they list seem to be inadequately defined and elaborated (Scollon & Scollon, 1995:50-51).

For instance, they put “be voluble” under involvement and “be taciturn” under independence, but being voluble can occasionally give independence to the hearer (e.g. A host senses the uneasiness of his guest, so he gives a few options to the guest to feel comfortable and relax.) Scollon and Scollon also consider “use H’s language or dialect” as a strategy of involvement whereas “use own language or dialect” as a strategy of independence. This seems too bald a dichotomy as using own language or dialect can also become an impetus for inviting the hearers to participate. For example, a visiting scholar from China to the U.S.A. is talking to his American colleague in English. In between, the Chinese scholar quotes a Chinese proverb to elaborate his ideas. In this case, the use of Chinese (the scholar’s own language) is not for the purpose of independence of the hearer. On the contrary, it serves as an invitation to the hearer to clarify the meaning of the proverb. In other words, the use of own language here enhances involvement, not independence.

2.1.4 Hsien-chin Hu and the Mianzi/Lian Distinction

One of the earliest English papers systematically introducing the concept of “face” in Chinese culture is Hu (1944). Hu points out that there are two concepts of “face” in

Chinese: lien and mien-tzu (lian and mianzi afterwards).9 Both refer to the individual regard of ego in a group, but they are manifested based on different criteria.

Lian refers to “the respect of the group for a man with a good moral reputation….It represents the confidence of society in the integrity of ego’s moral character, the lost of which makes it impossible for him to function properly within the community (Hu,

1944:45).” Influenced by Confucianism that states human beings are born with a good nature, Chinese people consider it the responsibility of each individual to train his character according to the demands of his role and status. If an individual is unable to perform his role in a group, he runs the risk of “loss of lian” or being sanctioned and isolated by the group. Thus, lian is “not only an external sanction for behavior that violates moral standards, but constitutes an internal sanction as well…. Lian is conceived of as being maintained or lost as a whole; it forms an indivisible entity as experienced by ego (Hu, 1944:61).” Hu mentions that in extremes cases, the loss of lian can drive an individual to suicide.

Mianzi, in contrast, “stands for the kind of prestige that is accumulated by means of personal effort or through success and ostentation. Mianzi can be borrowed, struggled for, added to, padded, - all terms indicating a gradual increase in volume. It is built up through initial high position, wealth, power, ability, through cleverly establishing social ties to a number of prominent people, as well as through avoidance of acts that would cause unfavorable comment (Hu, 1944:61).” Hu further depicts the ambivalence of value

9 Lian 臉 and mianzi 面子 respectively in Pinyin, or Hanyu pinyin, the official romanization spelling system promulgated by the Chinese government in 1958.

in mianzi – on the one hand, it refers to the well-earned reputation of an individual; on the other, it carries the tone of self-aggrandizement. However, self-aggrandizement is allowed as a motive for greater exertion in this regard.

The difference between lian and mianzi can be best illustrated by the Chinese expressions diu lian 丟臉 (lose lian) and diu mianzi 丟面子 (lose mianzi). The former is a strong judgment casting doubt on the integrity of an individual’s moral character; the latter simply refers to the failure of establishment of an individual’s reputation. For instance, in a Chinese banquet an invited guest became so intoxicated that he spoke out of place. In this situation, the drunk guest would be considered diu lian, not diu mianzi, as his moral projection of character was harmed and his integrity was questioned. On the other hand, the inappropriate behavior of the drunk man would make the banquet host diu mianzi, not diu lian, as the host’s effort to make it a good banquet for the other guests has been hampered. Lian is by no means the opposite of mianzi. Instead, according to Hu,

“lian is included among the conditions determining the amount of ego’s mianzi.” If lian is lost, mianzi will be difficult to maintain. Therefore, lian and mianzi are not independent from each other; they are merely based on different sets of criteria for judging the performance of an individual. Lian is a prerequisite for an individual’s self regard and anyone who wishes to be considered honest and decent needs to know how lian is manifested in the society. The manifestation of mianzi differs with an individual’s status, power, or the circumstances in which he is situated. Once an individual’s power, wealth or status has reached a certain level, he will expect corresponding mianzi both from himself and from other people (Hu, 1944:61-64).

In addition to the definition and distinction, Hu also briefly discusses the etymology

(i.e. mian appears as early as the fourth century B.C. and lian is first cited in the K’ang- hsi Dictionary dating from the Yuan Dynasty)10 and relevant expressions of lian and mianzi. Comprehensive as it seems, however, the different sets of criteria that Hu claims differentiate lian from mianzi are not clearly presented in his paper. Hu states: “Once lian is lost, mianzi will be hard to maintain. Because of this interrelationship the concept of lian is bound to overlap with that of mianzi (Hu, 1944:62).” Nonetheless, conditions under which lian and mianzi are overlapped are not further elaborated and thus make

Hu’s sets of criteria less convincing. For example, if a man turns to his friend for a favor but his request is denied, will this man feel he is losing lian or mianzi, or both? In my opinion, it is lian on mianzi, which will be elaborated more in 5.2.

2.1.5 Kwang-guo Hwang and the Mianzi/Lian Distinction

Based on social exchange theory, Hwang (1983, 1987) proposes a theoretical frame to discuss four related concepts in Chinese: renqing 人情 (favor), mianzi 面子 (face), guanxi 關係 (relation) and bao 報 (repay). People undertake social exchange and distribute social resources based on three norms: equity, equality, and need rules. The equity rule “encourages individuals to allocate resources in proportion to their contributions.” The equality rule “dictates that profits or losses be distributed equally among members regardless of their objective contributions. It tends to predominate under conditions of cooperative social harmony, where ‘fostering or maintenance of enjoyable social relations’ is emphasized.” The need rule dictates that the distribution of profits and

10 Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368.

other benefits should satisfy the recipient’s legitimate needs, in spite of their individual contributions to a group (Hwang, 1987: 945-946). Although Hwang agrees that these three rules are applicable to all cultures, he argues that they are insufficient in explaining some unique behaviors in Chinese society. For instance, the Chinese concept of renqing may be regarded as one of the examples of “equality rule,” but renqing is actually more complicated as it emphasizes the importance of maintaining personal harmony and social order. In other words, renqing is not only a rule that regulates social exchanges, it also serves as a social mechanism that an individual can use to gain resources in a social environment (Hwang, 1987: 946).

Hwang points out that there are three types of interpersonal relations: the expressive tie, the instrumental tie, and the mixed tie. An expressive tie is a long, stable social relationship that “renders an individual's feelings of affection, warmth, safety, and attachment.” Typical examples of expressive ties are family and close friends. An instrumental tie is the relationship an individual establishes with members other than his family and close friends when he functions in a society. This kind of relationship is relatively temporary and unstable and it can be viewed as a means or a tool for an individual to achieve specific goals, such as the store clerk and the customer, the bus driver and the passenger, or the nurse and the patient in the hospital. A mixed tie “keeps a certain expressive component in their relationship, but it is never so strong that all participants in this tie could express their authentic behavior as freely as can the members in the expressive tie.” Relatives, teacher-student relationship, colleagues are all examples of mixed ties (Hwang, 1987: 949-953).

Based on Hu’s (1944) definition, Hwang considers mianzi a denotation of “an individual’ social position or prestige, gained by successfully performing one or more specific social roles that are well recognized by others.” Since mianzi is a function of social position and prestige within one’s social network, loss of mianzi should be avoided between interlocutors in Chinese culture. Common strategies in maintaining mianzi include avoidance of public criticism toward others, use of indirect or ambiguous words when giving comments, reward to those who are adept at maintaining other people’s mianzi. Hwang argues that mianzi is manifested when an individual successfully plays his role in a group and fulfills the expectations bestowed on him. Thus, “doing face work is a power game frequently played by the Chinese people (Hwang, 1987: 960-962).”

Hwang further proposes a theoretical model of face and favor in Chinese society:

Figure 2: Hwang’s Theoretical Model of Face and Favor in Chinese Society

In Figure 2, the big box to the right denotes the psychological processes of the resource allocator. Within the box, the rectangle from the left represents three different personal relations (i.e. the instrumental tie, the mixed tie, and the expressive tie). The rectangle is further divided into two parts by a diagonal. The left part stands for the affective component of interpersonal relationships, while the right part represents the instrumental component. The rectangle is subdivided further into three parts by a dashed line and a solid line. These two lines represent the degrees of permeability between the psychological boundaries that a Chinese uses to classify these three personal ties. The dashed line means that it is easier for a person of instrumental tie to become one of mixed tie. The solid line denotes that it is quite difficult for an individual to change from the relationship of mixed tie to that of expressive tie or vice versa. Hwang argues that when an individual (the petitioner) makes a request to another person (the resource allocator), the first thought that jumps to the resource allocator’s mind is what their relationship is and how close they are, which is of great importance when he/she decides whether to accept or decline the request people make (Hwang, 1987: 950).

Hwang’s model of face and favor is strong in many aspects. First, the three categories of interpersonal relations are conducive, if not exclusive, to the discussions of roles in a conversation. Second, based on the norms of social exchange and social resource distribution, Hwang adds to it one Chinese component, renqing (favor), and corresponds them to the interpersonal relations (i.e. the instrumental tie vs. equity rule, the mixed tie vs. favor rule, and the expressive tie vs. need rule). Three, besides face,

Hwang also discusses renqing (favor), guanxi (relation) and bao (repay), which he believes are relevant to face. Four, Hwang outlines a general floor of how face and favor 58

are manifested in Chinese society, along with introductions of related ideas, such as individualism, collectivism, and behavior.

However, there are a few weaknesses in Hwang’s model as well. First of all, the roles in the interpersonal relations are narrowly defined. Consider how friends become close friends. In Hwang’s categories, “close friends” is an example of expressive tie and

“friends” is one of mixed tie. If “it is quite difficult for an individual to change from the relationship of mixed tie to that of expressive tie or vice versa (Hwang, 1987:949),” then how do we explain the phenomena of friends becoming good friends or vice versa? Also,

Hwang’s model does not take cross-cultural interactions into consideration – how would

Hwang define a foreigner’s participating in an interaction with Chinese people? If an

American college student is doing his internship in China, will his American-Chinese colleague relationship be conducted in the same way as other Chinese-Chinese colleague relationships are conducted in the office? Next, will denying a request necessarily result in losing face or will accepting a request lead to enhancing face? Let us take a look at a scenario in the Chinese movie Aiqing lai le 愛情來了 (Love Go Go) (Example 14 hereafter):11

A young salesman is trying to sell a new self-defense product to a middle-aged woman at her bakery shop:

11 Aiqing lai le 愛情來了 (Love Go Go) is a Taiwanese movie released in 1997 by Direcotor Yuxun Chen 陳玉勳 .

推銷員老闆娘

這產品是我們公司最新的電擊棒。你看…

什麼東西 ?

就是把這個打開到最底，然後對歹徒的心臟用力給他…，這樣他就死翹翹了。

哎呀，真恐怖，你小心一點。

不會啦！這其實很簡單的。你要不要試試看？

好了，好了，你不用介紹了，我不會買的，你去向別人推銷吧！你去找小姐推銷。

老闆娘，這真的很有用的。

我看你還蠻老實的，但是這種東西對我來說沒有用。你應該去大間的銀行、酒廊、理髮廳，小姐越多的地方，向他們推銷，保証你的生意一定很好…

Tuixiaoyuan Laobanniang

Zhe chanpin shi women gongsi zuixin de dianjibang. Ni kan…

Shenme dongxi?

Jiu shi ba zhege dakai dao zuidi, ranhou dui daitu de xinzang yongli gei ta…,

zheyang ta jiu si qiaoqiao le.

Ai ya, zhen kongbu, ni xiaoxin yidian.

Buhui la! Zhe qishi hen jiandan. Ni yao buyao shishikan?

Hao le, hao le, ni buyong jieshao le. Wo buhui mai de. Ni qu xiang bieren tuixiao ba! Ni qu zhao xiaojie tuixiao.

Laobanniang, zhe zhende hen youyong de.

Wo kan ni hai man laoshide, danshi zhezhong dongxi dui wo lai shuo meiyou yong. Ni yinggai qu dajian de yinhang, jiulang, lifating, xiaojie yue duo de difang, xiang tamen tuixiao, baozheng nide shengyi yiding hen hao.

Salesperson Female Store Owner

This is the latest electronic self-defense baton from our company. Look…

What is this?

Push the button on the end, and point it at the gansgter’s heart…In this way, he is dead.

Wow, it’s scary. You’d better be careful with that in hand.

This is actually very easy to use. Do you want to try?

Alright, you don’t need to demonstrate it anymore. I won’t buy it. You should try to sell it to the young ladies.

But this is really useful for you.

You look like a decent young man. But this thing is useless for me. You should go to big banks, bars, or beauty salons. They have more young ladies there. I am sure you will have a great business if you sell it to them.

Despite the efforts the young salesman made to associate the importance of the product with her personal safety, the middle-aged woman explicitly declines because she thinks the product to be of no use to her.

A few questions emerge if we compare this scene to Hwang’s model: (1) Does the salesman feel a loss of face in this situation? Probably not. He might feel discouraged because he did not successfully sell his product, but I suspect that he, as a salesperson, would not feel so bad that he associates the failure with his face. (2) Is clerk-customer relationship 12 always instrumental as Hwang describes? Hwang mentions that an instrumental-tie relationship is “relatively temporary and unstable and it can be viewed as a means or a tool for an individual to achieve specific goals (Hwang, 1987:950).” I wonder how different would the performance be if it were a middle-aged salesman selling a self-defense baton to a young woman? (3) If there were other people around (e.g. other customers at the bakery shop), would the woman respond in the same way? Would she decline more explicitly because she needs to attend to other customers or she would make it less explicit for the sake of saving the salesman’s face?

12 The clerk-customer relationship in this scene is to me a bit unconventional. 62

In sum, Hwang’s model of face and favor has strengths and weaknesses. Its strengths lie in the fact that he incorporates unique elements such as favor and face in

Chinese society to contemporary Western theories. He also outlines a floor of how face and favor are manifested in Chinese society so that readers can get a general idea of how it works. However, his model’s weaknesses outweigh its strengths because of the overgeneralization of the categories of interpersonal ties and focusing only on roles out of the other important elements of a performance. Hwang’s lack of discussion of difference between mianzi and lian also weakens the argument he made that doing face work is a power game in Chinese culture. Most importantly for our purposes, his model is insufficient in helping students of Chinese develop situated knowledge for constructing a story and related aspects involving face.

2.1.6 Summary

The concept of “face” is by no means exclusive to Chinese culture; it also exists in

Western cultures. From Western perspectives, face can be viewed as a sense of social status or self-representation that reflects how persons conceive themselves in relation to other people or social groups (Goffman 1967, Brown and Levinson 1978, Scollon and

Scollon 1995). Since face is wanted and emotionally invested in, any face-threatening acts (FTAs) should be avoided. Strategies to avoid FTAs vary based on different situations, subcultures or cultures. If a person wants to successfully function in a culture, he/she needs to know the rules and strategies. In Chinese culture, the concept of face involves two terms – lian and mianzi. They both refer to the individual regard of ego in a group, but they are manifested based on different criteria (Hu 1944, Hwang 1983, 1987).

Lian is a combination of integrity, self-discipline, and moral obligation. It is either 63

manifested or lost as a whole. Mianzi, in contrast, is a gradual increase or decrease in volume. Mianzi is tightly associated with a person’s social status, power, wealth, and ability, and thus can be invested, gained, negotiated, maintained, or lost. Lian and mianzi are not independent of each other, nor is one a prerequisite of the other. They are merely based on different sets of criteria for judging the performance of an individual.

Comprehensive as the literature may seem, there is little research regarding face that focuses on C213 learners. Students of Chinese may have heard that Chinese people care assiduously for their “face,” but contemporary CFL materials and research are short of strategies and specified behaviors to help C2 learners develop their proficiency in this regard. This dissertation aims to address the gap.

2.2 Chinese Concepts of Face

As Hu (1944) and Hwang (1983, 1987) have pointed out, there are two terms involving face in Chinese – lian and mian.

According to Hanyu da zidian 漢語大字典 (2010: 2270), lian has four basic meanings:

- Cheeks of the face, e.g. lianglian ming qie guang 兩臉明且光 (both cheeks are

bright and glamorous)

- Physical face, e.g. xilian 洗臉 (wash your face), lianjia 臉頰 (face chin)

13 C2 refers to learning a second culture. In this paper, more specifically, it refers to learning Chinese as a second culture.

- Facial expressions, e.g. bianlian 變臉 (turn hostile suddenly), fanlian 翻臉 (fall

out with someone)

- Face, self-image, e.g. diulian 丟臉 (lose face; shameful), buyao lian 不要臉 (not

care about one’s face; disgraceful)

The original meaning of lian refers to the cheeks of the face, but has evolved to include the whole physical face. We can consider lian to mean facial expression and self- image its figurative extensions.

Compared to lian, mian appears much earlier in ancient literature. Mian, as a noun, has the following meanings:

- Physical part of face, e.g. mianmao 面貌 (appearance), yanmian 顏面 (face)

- Appearance, e.g. mian’e xinshan 面惡心善 (fierce in appearance but warm-

hearted)

- Surface, top, e.g. lumian 路面 (road surface), shuimian 水面 (water surface)

- Geometric term for surface, having length and width but no thickness.

- Face to face, personally, e.g. dangmian 當面 (face to face), mianshang 面商

(face-to-face discussion)

- Direction, side, e.g. zhengmian 正面 (front), simianbafang 四面八方 (all

directions)

- Situation, circumstance, e.g. changmian 場面 (circumstance), jumian 局面

(situation)

- Classifier for flat objects, e.g. yimian qiang 一面牆 (a wall), liangmian qizi 兩面

旗子 (two flags).

The original graph for mian is an example of pictographs14 in the formation of

Chinese characters. It originally symbolized the front face around the eyes but gradually adopted the other figurative meanings. Mianzi, apparently, derives from mian in the sense of face and evolves its meaning to “self-image” or “reputation.”

This paper follows Hu’s (1944) distinction between lian and mianzi – the former refers to the integrity of an individual’s moral character; the latter simply refers to the failure to establish or augment an individual’s reputation. It is worth mentioning again that lian is by no means the opposite of mianzi, and neither are they independent from each other. Lian is a prerequisite for an individual’s self regard and anyone who wishes to be considered honest and decent needs to know how lian is manifested in the society. The manifestation of mianzi differs with an individual’s status, power, or the circumstance in which he is situated.

2.3 Performance

The notion of performance as a mode of understanding has appeared in many studies

(Hymes, 1975; Hall, 1976; Turner, 1987; Walker, 2000; Shepherd, 2005). If we consider

14 Xiangxingzi 象形字, which indicates the iconic imitation of the objects they represent.

the situations we experience every day as performances, or “situational frames” in Hall’s

(1976: 129) words, culture can be conceived as a collection of various performances. For example, the greetings we exchange with our families in the morning will probably not be the same as those when we bump into a long lost friend on the street; the performances of greetings vary due to different people with whom we speak.

Bruner (1990) proposes the concept of “folk psychology.” It refers to “a system that people organize their experience in, knowledge about, and transactions with the real world (Bruner 1990:35).” Bruner asserts that it is culture that shapes human life and the human mind. Culture gives meaning to action by situating its underlying intentional states in an interpretive system. It does this by imposing the patterns inherent in the culture’s symbolic systems – its language and discourse modes, the forms of logical and narrative explication, and the patterns of mutually dependent communal life (Bruner,

1990: 33-34). Consider how a Chinese student greets his teachers – a Chinese student usually greets his/her teacher by saying “laoshi hao (Teacher, be well),” which is noticeably different from what an American student will do in American culture. If an

American student of Chinese greets his Chinese teacher with his American mindset and behavioral patterns by simply saying “ni hao (You, be will),” he fails his role in this

“situational frame” and runs the risk of being evaluated as not meeting conventional expectations.

Carlson (1996:3) sees “performance” as an art that “requires the physical presence of trained or skilled human beings whose demonstration of their skills is the performance.” There are two rather different but related concepts of performance – one is

the display of skills, and the other is the display of recognized and culturally coded pattern of behavior (Carlson, 1996:4-5). For a performance to be realized, based on

Carlson’s viewpoints on performance, Walker (2000: 229) summarizes that five specified elements must be fulfilled – (1) specified place of occurrence, (2) specified time of occurrence, (3) appropriate script, (4) roles of participants, and (5) audience. Let us use

Example 1 from Chuncao for instance:

Place: On the street.

Time: In the afternoon after school.

Roles: Mother, son, and street vendor (seller).

Audience: Two other unidentified students.

Script: Example 1.

男孩: 媽媽, 我也要糖人。

母親: 多少錢一個?

小販: 五分.

Nanhai: Mama, wo ye yao tangren.

Muqin: Duoshao qian yi ge?

Xiaofan: Wu fen.

Boy: Mom, I want a candyman too.

Mother: How much is it?

Vendor: Five cents.

Example 14 can also be analyzed based on Carlson’s elements of a performance:

Place: A bakery shop in Taipei.

Time: In the morning; shop business time.

Roles: A young salesperson, the female bakery shop owner.

Audience: Anyone who may walk in.

Script: Example 14

In this paper, I use Carlson’s (1996) viewpoints of performance as a recognized and culturally coded pattern of behavior to analyze interactions situated in a culture.

2.4 Performed Culture Pedagogy

The term “Performed Culture Pedagogy” and its implementation in Chinese language pedagogy have been widely discussed in the field of Teaching Chinese as a

Second Language in the United States since the 1990s (Christensen & Noda, 2002; Chou,

2005; Shepherd, 2005; Christensen & Warnick, 2006; Yu, 2010; Liao, 2011). Different from the instruction that dwells on language form, “Performed Culture Pedagogy” directs its focus on culture. To be more specific, it focuses on “behavioral culture.”

Hammerly (1985:56) defines “cultural competence” as “knowledge about a culture and the ability to behave as its members behave.” He further describes culture in three useful discourses: achievement culture, informational culture, and behavioral culture

(Hammerly,1985:145-146). Achievement culture refers to the great achievements of a society, such as Confucianism in China or the pyramids in Egypt. Informational culture deals with the kinds of information that a society values, such as the college entrance

examination in China or the Super Bowl in the America. Behavioral culture refers to the common daily practices and social norms that define an individual to successfully function in a society, such as how to decline an offer while maintain the relationship or how to respond to a compliment. It is noteworthy that a performance is not always restricted to a specific aspect or practice; it largely depends on the situation. For example, teaching students of Chinese how to accept gifts in Chinese culture is Behavioral culture and expressed procedurally. But if two students of Chinese are sharing their gift- accepting experience in China, it is Informational culture and expressed declaratively. In language instruction, Hammerly proposes that performative cultural knowledge – knowing how to behave in various situations in a culture – is more important than declarative knowledge. It is insufficient for second language learners to be able to communicate in just linguistically accurate sentences; they “must also be able to exhibit the knowledge and behavior that the second culture demands.” (Hammerly,1985:145)

If we consider our daily situations as performances, as discussed in 2.3, our C2 instruction should by all means reflect that. With that in mind, the most challenging task of every language instructor is to train students to develop expertise so that they can successfully function in C2. Performed Culture Pedagogy puts equal focus on both students’ accuracy of language forms and cultural appropriateness.15 Students exposed to the Performed Culture approach are expected not only to accurately articulate the target

15 By “appropriateness,” I refer to those identifiable elements of an encultured performance. These elements are usually recognized co-occurrences with particular scripts. For instance, when a student of Chinese receives a compliment on his Chinese from his host family in China, instead of saying xiexie 謝謝 (Thank you), his responding with nali nali 哪裡哪裡 (where does that come from?) is considered appropriate in this circumstance.

language but also to behave in a culturally appropriate way. In other words, cultural appropriateness is as important as language accuracy. Therefore, the goal of a teacher in a

Performed Culture class is to help students develop cultural as well as linguistic situated knowledge in hope that cross-cultural communication breakdown will not occur when students encounter similar situations.

In the following, I first introduce the theoretical framework of Performed Culture

Pedagogy and then discuss its manifestations.

2.4.1 Walker and Noda’s Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory

Walker and Noda (2000) propose the following cycle of compiling C2 memory:16

Figure 3: Walker and Noda’s Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory.

16 The diagram published originally in 2000 did not include “themes.” It is included in Noda (2007), “Performed Culture: Cataloguing Culture Gains during Study Abroad,” Japanese Language and Literature Vol. 41, No. 2, Marcus, Ginger, ed., 297–314.

“Persona” refers to “the personal information that the learner is willing to commit to the learning experience.” For instance, an athletic student may seem timid in a language class or an American student of Chinese may be reluctant to use the “polite form” in

Chinese because of his/her belief in egalitarianism. “Culture knowledge and language knowledge” is the memory based on information about culture and language. Students of

Chinese may have heard that China is a country of long history or Chinese is difficult to learn before they take Chinese classes. They may also have the impression that Chinese people are very polite when they make requests as they tend to use please and thank you much more often than English speakers. “Performances and games”17 are “the enactment of scripts or behaviors situated at a specified time and place with roles and audience specified.” For example, if a student of Chinese does not understand what his/her teacher says in class, he/she will need to raise his/her hand and say Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian 老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍 (Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?). The performance is completed not only with the time

(class time), place (classroom), roles (teacher/student), and audience (other students) being specified, but also with the student’s behavior of raising his/her hand as a signal to the teacher that attention is needed. “Story” is the personal memory of having experienced a performance or a game. If a student can successfully perform the task of asking his/her Chinese teacher to repeat in class, the story of making a request in this situation will be retaind in his/her memory. “Compilation” refers to the fact that “once learners have gained the ability to tell or enact a story, they then can put the story

17 A game is a performance with a “scoring” system.

together with other stories to form larger knowledge domains.” For instance, asking a teacher for a recommendation letter and asking a teacher for an appointment are two separate “stories,” but they can be compiled into “request-of-teacher” domain. A “case” is a series of stories about doing something in a culture. For example, how to deny a request for assistance is a case. Under this, there are a substantial amount of stories due to various sources from which the request is made, such as your boss, your new Chinese friend, or someone you bump into on the subway. A request from different people may take different strategies to respond. A “saga” is a series of stories about a specific set of people (who) or a specific location (where). Asking a teacher for a recommendation letter is a teacher-student saga. It can also be a classroom saga as the student makes the request in relation to the classroom. A “theme” is how people behave in a situation in order to convey the values of the culture. In asking the teacher to reiterate the class content, a student of Chinese will need to raise his/her hand and start with laoshi 老師 (teacher) to get the teacher’s attention and explicitly refer to hierarchy, followed by duibuqi 對不起

(excuse me, sorry) to express apology for intrusion, then use nin 您 (you in polite form) to address the teacher afterwards to show respect for the hierarchical relationship.

Appropriately asking for attention, apologizing for intrusion, and showing respect by using proper terms of address are the “themes” valued by Chinese people in this situation.

“Second-culture worldview construction” is the “compilation of stories into the growing knowledge of a learned culture, and in the long run, it will lead to a new repertoire of attitudes and skills and even the sense of a new self.” A student of Chinese will thus know that simply saying Qing nin zai shuo yibian 請您再說一遍 (Would you please say

it again?) will be insufficient to be considered culturally appropriate in the case of asking the teacher to repeat; he/she will need to include other important themes and be able to perform them in order to successfully establish this case in his/her C2 worldview. Walker and Noda consider “story” as the basic unit of analysis since “the story of a given communication event is the knowledge of culture, context, and performance that permits one to participate in that event.” (Walker and Noda, 2000: 196-206)

Walker and Noda’s C2 memory cycle is of significance in four regards. One, it clearly maps out the roles the agent, the memory, and the activity plays in the cycle. Two, it serves as a fundamental guideline for teachers when they design their curriculum and construct class activities. Three, it functions as a learning roadmap for C2 learners when they try to make sense of what they should focus on in their learning. The idea of “story” as the basic unit is especially enlightening in terms of Chinese language pedagogy – a

Chinese teacher will be worthy of the name if they can manage to help students develop a story out of each class. As a matter of fact, it is not just about “telling a story” as Schank

(1990) might put it; in a language class, it is about “enacting a story.” Last but not least,

Walker and Noda’s concepts of cases/sagas/themes, combined with Carlson’s five elements of a performance, form a solid foundation to analyze each cultural performance.

For instance, the analysis of Example 9 can be enhanced by Walker and Noda’s cases/sagas/themes in the following way:

a) Time: office opening hours.

b) Place: A marriage registration office in Beijing, China.

c) Roles: a middle-aged wife, a female government employee. d) Audience: The wife’s husband. e) Script: See Example 9.

Case: How to deny a request based on government rules.

Saga: Government office saga, government employee/citizen saga.

Themes:

The woman – (1) Shows her respect for the government official by addressing her

as nin.

(2) Makes a proper request by adopting the polite word qing.

(3) Tries to justify their oblivion by saying that they are inexperienced.

(4) Suggests a remedy by bringing the marriage certificate right

afterwards.

The Government employee –

(1) Shows her authority by saying that the petition will not be

processed without the certificate.

(2) Denies the woman’s request by enforcing the law.

Similarly, Example 8 can be further analyzed in this way:

a) Time: After school/before dinner time. b) Place: Chuncao’s house. c) Roles: The teacher, Chuncao’s mother. d) Audience: Chuncao. e) Script: See Example 8.

Case: How to deny a request from a teacher.

Saga: Teacher/parent saga; home saga.

Themes:

Chuncao’s mother –

(1) Shows her respect for the teacher by inviting him to sit down and

serving tea.

(2) Shows her respect for the teacher by addressing him laoshi and nin

afterwards.

(3) Tries to reason with the teacher by offering two reasons why Chuncao

cannot attend school (i.e. she needs Chuncao’s help in the house and

education is useless for girls.).

(4) Defends her stance by emphasizing that she is the mother and is in charge of

Chuncao’s education.

The teacher –

(1) Shows his respect for Chuncao’s mother by addressing her as dasao.

(2) Politely reveals his request by saying that it is time for Chuncao to go to

school.

(3) Makes his arguments more convincing by saying that new rules have been

enforced by the government.

With Walker and Noda’s “cases/sagas/themes,” it is even clearer to see the reasoning/arguing/negotiating/convincing involved in this request-decline interaction between the teacher and Chuncao’s mother.

I use Walker and Noda’s definition of “theme” throughout the dissertation. A

“theme” is how people behave in a situation in order to convey the values of the culture.

As mentioned in 2.1.2, I view politeness as a value so it overlaps with a theme when the theme in the situation is politeness itself. However, a theme also includes other values, such as consideration, appreciation, and thoughtfulness. Therefore, a theme overlaps with politeness but I regard it as a higher tier than politeness as a value.

2.4.2 Kolb’s Learning Cycle

Kolb (1984:42), following Lewin’s experiential learning model and Piaget’s model of learning and cognitive development, proposes that a full learning cycle consist of four

steps: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract hypothesis, and active testing

(see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

Concrete experience refers to the input from the outside world, such as vision, touch, hearing and tasting. Asking students to repeat after the teacher can be thus considered as concrete experience through speaking. Reflective observation is the reflection a learner goes through from an experience. For example, after one week of working with the audio files and observing native speakers, a learner of Chinese may find that the tongue position of the initial “s” sound in Chinese is not necessarily the same as that in English.

Abstract hypothesis is the compilation of these observations and “manipulation of images and language to create new arrangements, developing plans for future action, comparing and choosing options, directing recall of past experience, and replacing and manipulating items held in short-term memory” (Zull, 2002: 21). A good example is a learner’s grasp of tense (i.e. present tense as in walk or walks vs. past tense as in walked) in Chinese language. As Chinese language does not have tense, time phrases play an important role in indicating the time of the action. In Chinese, time phrases are placed either in the 78

beginning of a sentence or after the subject, which is different from English in that time phrases can be put at the end of a sentence. So an English learner of Chinese must restructure his/her syntactic mindset when producing a Chinese sentence with time phrases in it; otherwise, errors may occur. As a matter of fact, putting the time phrase at the end of a sentence is a common mistake among novice English learners of Chinese.

Active testing is literally to put the conceptualizations into practice, either in reality or by deliberate experimentation in some safe arena. For example, English learners of Chinese have been told that when receiving a compliment in Chinese culture, instead of accepting it, it is considered appropriate to refuse the compliment. That explains why when a student of Chinese receives a compliment on his fluent Chinese from his friend, instead of saying xiexie 謝謝 indicating acceptance with gratitude, he should respond with nali nali 哪裡哪裡 (Where does that come from?). Later when the student encounters a similar situation, he might still instinctively say xiexie at first but later self-correct himself with nali nali. Through this process, the student actively tests what he has been instructed and modifies his Chinese language knowledge.

Kolb’s learning cycle is insightful in several ways. One, it captures the psychological process of a learner. A learning experience begins with a concrete experience. But experience is just the beginning. Learning also requires observation, abstract hypothesis, and active testing to make it complete. Two, it further delineates the focus of instruction. Walker and Noda’s memory cycle emphasizes the importance of

“story” in instruction as it provides learners with the personal situated knowledge that permits them to successfully function in C2. Instructionally, Kolb’s learning cycle can be

very useful in helping learners build their stories, as it suggests that the responsibility of a teacher be to offer students chances to experience the learning cycle as fully as possible.

Three, the four components of the cycle correspond to the important functions of each part of brain cortex (Zull, 2002: 21-22). The sensory cortex matches with the concrete experience, the back integrative cortex relates to reflective observation, the frontal integrative cortex is associated with abstract hypothesis, and the frontal cortex is with active testing. The correspondence between the brain cortex and the learning cycle can be summarized as Figure 5:18

Figure 5: The Correspondence bettwen Kolb’s Learning Cycle and the Roles of the Brain Cortext

18 The figure is excerpted from Zull (2002:18)

2.4.3 Instructional Cycle The term “Instructional Cycle” has rarely been discussed in the field of Teaching

Chinese as a Foreign Language. Relevant research is even fewer. Based on Kolb’s

“Experiential Learning Cycle” (1984) and Walker and Noda’s “Cycle of Compiling C2

Memory” (2000), Walker and Noda have on many occasions called for the attention of

“Instructional Cycle” and made it a pivotal role in curriculum design.19

Zull (2002:40) proposes the following Figure 6 to point out the importance of the instructional cycle:

Figure 6: Zull’s Tranformation Line between Reflective Observation and Abstract Hypothesis in Kolb’s Cycle.

19 Walker and Noda have talked about the “Instructional Cycle” in detail in the courses they offered in Winter and Spring Quarters 2012 at The Ohio State University.

The importance of the transformation line in Figure 6 lies in that it transforms a learner from a knowledge receiver to a knowledge producer. Zull claims that only through this process can a learner carry over the experience and reflection that they have already obtained to the abstraction and testing part. In other words, the transformation facilitates the conversion of the data and brings it under the learner’s control. Zull says that, after the transformation, “the learner is free to continuously test their own knowledge.” (Zull, 2002:40)

Zull’s viewpoint of transformation line in a way corresponds to Walker and Noda’s

C2 memory compilation cycle. In Figure 3, the rectangle shape refers to “activity,” such as performance/game, compilation, and second-culture worldview construction. For learners to convert culture knowledge and language knowledge to story, they need to be able to perform/game. Perform/game in this regard serves the role as transformation line in the process to facilitate learners’ conversion from the experience and reflection to the abstraction and testing.

If Kolb’s learning cycle is useful in helping learners build their stories, as it suggests that the responsibility of a teacher be to offer students chances to experience the learning cycle as fully as possible, the “instructional cycle” should be pivotal in curriculum design, as it facilitates the implementation of learning cycle. As a matter of fact, there is no

“learning neutral” curriculum and each curriculum reflects the educator’s thoughts of

“instructional cycle.” The reflection can be evidenced by the material they develop, the class activities they incorporate, and the class type they design.

A majority of CFL materials share a similar style of content presentation illustrated in Figure 7:

Text

(either a dialogue or a text)

Vocabulary List

(typically composed of characters, pinyin, word class, and English translation)

Grammar Explanations

Culture Notes

(if any)

Exercises

(listening, speaking, reading, and writing)

Figure 7: A Common Way of Content Presentation in CFL Materials.

The assumption of the design is clear. Learners read the text first. When they bump into difficulties in reading the text, they refer to the vocabulary list and grammar explanations. Culture notes, mainly achievement and informational culture, are related to the topic of the lesson and are provided mostly for reading pleasure. Exercises are assigned at teachers’ discretion. This way of presentation apparently holds a different view in terms of instructional cycle.

Let us look at another way of material design (Liao, Liu, Meng and Zeng, 2010).20

The lesson includes the following components:

• Dialogue Listening Comprehension • Vocabulary • Supplementary Vocabulary • Dialogue Text • Explanations and Notes • Culture Focus • Sentence Patterns • Drills • Applications (speaking, listening, reading, writing)

Each component accompanies an instruction for learners:

20 The Chinese Way, the name of the experiential material, was developed in 2010 as a project under the supervison of Professor Galal Walker.

Component Instruction

Dialogue Listening Read the following comprehension questions, and then Comprehension watch the video with these questions in mind. Try to answer each question in Chinese. Then watch the video again. This time, pay special attention to the parts you did not understand the first time.

Vocabulary Study the pronunciation, meaning and characters of each word with the audio.

Supplementary These words appear in the “Explanation and Notes,” Vocabulary “Culture Focus,” and “Applications”. You just need to be able to recognize them.

Dialogue Text Now refer to the script of the dialogue and resolve any confusion you had during the previous listening comprehension.

Explanations and They are for your further understanding of the dialogue. Notes

Culture Focus Read the cultural knowledge and relate it to the dialogue.

Sentence Patterns These are the sentence patterns appearing in the dialogue. Read the explanations and examples provided. Be sure to get the structure right.

Drills Use the audio to complete this section. In each drill, you will perform a task by using the sentence patterns introduced in this lesson. Listen to the examples first, paying attention to the situation in which this exchange would take place. Then in the practice, you will either initiate a conversation or respond to what you hear

according to the given cues.

Applications Speaking/Listening – Now it’s your turn to apply what you (selected) have learned in this lesson to relevant situations. Take turns playing both roles to perform the following tasks. You will need to use the map, the menus, and the reviews given below.

Reading – Mo Ruiwen’s 莫睿文 friend from the Northeast China is coming to visit him tomorrow. Mo Ruiwen is thinking about taking him to a dongbei restaurant for dinner. He turns to online resources for help. Below is a review of a dongbei restaurant he found online that catches his eye. You will encounter a few new words in the following reading. Instead of immediately referring to the vocabulary list, we would like you to first think about what the word may mean from the context. If you cannot figure it out, think about its word class (i.e. is it a verb, a noun, an adjective, etc.) Unlike the dialogue part, the vocabulary list provided below is organized based on the word class of how the words are used in this reading. Dish names are listed in a separate column at the end.

Writing – After browsing the online review of Dongbeiren fengwei jiaozi fang 東北人風味餃子坊 (Northeasterners Dumplings Restaurant), Mo Ruiwen wants to confirm again with his colleague, Xu Yan 許言. He vaguely remembers Xu Yan mentioning the restaurant before. He wants to ask Xu Yan via email about his impression of the restaurant. Now, play the role of Mo Ruiwen and write the email to Xu Yan.

The detailed instruction of each component clearly reveals the target users of the material – it is designed for learners, not teachers. The detailed instruction guides the learners how to proceed in each part. For example, in the Drills, learners are asked both to get the sentence patterns right and to pay attention to the situation in which this exchange would take place. Also, in the reading exercise of the application, besides the introduction of the reading task, reading strategies are also provided. In this way, learners become attentive to not only the task they are given, but also the strategies they need to accomplish the task.

This material design also complies with Kolb’s learning cycle in the following way

(Figure 8):

Dialogue Listening Comprehension

Applications Dialogue (speaking, Text listening, Explanations and Notes reading, Culture writing) Focus

Sentence Patterns

Drills

Figure 8: The Correspondence between the Learning Cycle and the Design of The Chinese Way.

It is noteworthy that an activity may not be restricted only to one phase of the learning cycle; it can be useful at more than one phase of the cycle. For instance, “Drills” is put in the abstract hypothesis category as it provides the learners with the opportunity to make a hypothesis based on experience and observation. However, during the process of drill practice, a learner may make errors and modify his/her hypothesis about what the drill involves. He/She then will go through the cycle from experience to testing again.

“Applications” is another good example – the design of applications is to offer learners simulating tasks to test their knowledge. In the meantime, however, applications also serve as concrete experiences for learners, followed by higher levels of reflections and hypothesis. Therefore, it is accurate to say that the associations in Figure 8 together add up to a “story” or “case” learning cycle. A learner can use any of those learning items

(drills, applications, and explanations) through the same cycle, starting with “concrete experience.”

The aforementioned “transformation line” in the design would heavily lie in the

Drills – learners will need to follow the guidelines of each drill and work rigorously with the accompanying audio/video files. By “rigorously,” that means a significant amount of time is devoted to “acting out” reflective observations so that learners are able to develop

“stories” for future actions.

In short, in addition to Kolb’s “Experiential Learning Cycle” and Walker and

Noda’s “Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory,” “Instructional Cycle” is equally important in terms of pedagogy – it builds a bridge between learners and material and puts both sides

in sync. Teachers will benefit from “Instructional Cycle” in facilitating students’ learning cycle and helping them develop C2 memories.

2.5 Summary

In this chapter, I first reviewed the literature on face. I stated that the concept of

“face” exists in both Chinese and Western cultures. In Western culture, face is viewed as a sense of social status or self-representation that reflects how persons conceive of themselves in relation to other people or social groups. In Chinese culture, the concept of face involves two terms – lian and mianzi. The former is a combination of integrity, self- discipline, and moral obligation, while the latter is a gradual increase or decrease in volume. Mianzi is tightly associated with a person’s social status, power, wealth, and ability, and thus can be invested, gained, negotiated, maintained, or lost. In both Chinese and Western cultures, “face” is conveyed by behavior, as it involves social well being as well as individual well being. As Scollon and Scollon (1995:48) put it, “there is no faceless communication.”

Given the fact that contemporary CFL materials and research are short of strategies and specified behaviors to help C2 learners develop their proficiency on face, I discussed the studies on performance and Performed Culture Pedagogy in the second half of the chapter. I used Walker’s summarization of Carlson’s viewpoints on performance and analyzed a performance based on five elements (i.e. specified place, specified time, script, roles of participants, and audience). I also pointed out the importance the roles “story” and “memory” play in Walker and Noda’s Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory and the necessity of completion of Kolb’s Learning Cycle in C2. Moreover, the idea of

“Instructional Cycle” was mentioned in the end to build a bridge between learners and the material.

CHAPTER 3

FACE IN THE METHOD OF REQUESTING AND DECLINING

Based on Walker and Noda’s cycle of compiling C2 memory, Kolb’s learning cycle, and the concept of instructional cycle, in the next two chapters I use performed culture pedagogy to examine common mistakes beginning-level21 students of Chinese make in the cases of requesting and declining and explore its correlation with face. Chapter 3 introduces the method and Chapter 4 addresses the analysis and discussion of the research. The results of the survey are listed in Appendix D.

3.1 Motivation

My motivation for addressing face in requesting and declining is pedagogical. C2 learners’ behaviors are the consequence of their instruction. As their Chinese teacher, there have been occasions when students would approach me about

21 Here, “beginning-level students” refer to those who have finished their first-year Chinese language coursework and are continuing their second-year of study in American colleges. The class meets about 50 minutes a day, five days a week. The class time is approximately 150 hours in their first year of study.

making-up missed sessions. One day, I received the following email from a student

(Example 15 hereafter):22

廖老師：

我想要補償這個星期的“畫上的美人”課。我已經作這個部分的大意。我想跟您趁早開會。

謝謝您，

(學生)

Liao laoshi：

Wo xiang yao buchang zhege xingqi de “Huashang de meiren” ke. Wo yijing zuo zhege bufen de dayi. Wo xiang gen nin chenzao kaihui.

Xiexie nin,

(Xuesheng)

Dear Teacher Liao,

I would like to make-up the “Lady in the Painting” class this week. I already did the summary. I would like to meet with you as soon as possible.

Thank you,

(Student)

So I replied with the following message:

22 The underlining of words, such as buchang and kaihui, indicates that they are linguistically inaccurate. They are either a wrong choice of words or grammatically incorrect. The bolded parts, such as yao and chenzao, means they are culturally inappropriate. The markings also apply to Examples 16 and 17.

(學生)，

11/2 星期三 12:00-12:15 你可以嗎？

廖老師

(Xuesheng),

11/2 xingqisan 12:00-12:15 ni keyi ma?

Liao laoshi

Dear (Student),

Will 11/2, Wednesday, 12:00-12:15 work for you?

Teacher Liao

The student quickly replied with his answer (Example 16 hereafter):

廖老師,

對不起，不可以。我每天從上午十點半到下午一點十八分都上課。我 10:30 以前和 13:18 以後有空。

(學生)

Liao laoshi,

Duibuqi, bukeyi. Wo meitian cong shangwu shidianban dao xiawu yidian shibafen dou shangke. Wo 10:30 yiqian he 13:18 yihou youkong.

(Xuesheng)

Dear Teacher Liao,

I am sorry I can’t. I have class from 10:30 -1:18 every day. I am free before 10:30 or after 1:18.

(Student)

I responded as follows:

(學生)，

那 11/3 (星期四) 10:00-10:15 怎麼樣？

廖老師

(Xuesheng),

Na 11/3 (xingqisi) 10:00-10:15 zenmeyang?

Liao laoshi

Dear (Student),

What about 11/3, Thursday, 10:00-10:15?

Teacher Liao

The student concluded the exchange with the following email (Example 17 hereafter):

廖老師:

好吧，我能來。

謝謝您，

(學生)

Liao laoshi：

Hao ba, wo neng lai.

Xiexie nin,

(Xuesheng)

Dear Teacher Liao,

Okay, I can come.

Thank you,

(Student)

The student’s linguistic errors in his three emails are actually quite limited. However, the pervasiveness of the expressions that are linguistically accurate but culturally inappropriate is striking. In Example 15, the expressions yao 要 (want) and chenzao 趁早

(as soon as possible) are inappropriate as they both sound presumptuous in a student-to- teacher saga. In Example 16, bukeyi 不可以 (cannot) is a strong term for rejection and is considered rude as a response from a student to his teacher. In Example 17, hao ba 好吧

(okay) carries a tone that the student accepts the time with reluctance – he is not pleased with the time offered, but since this offer is from his teacher, he has no choice but to say yes, albeit unwillingly.

I had a conversation with the student afterwards in the make-up session. As predicted, he was surprised at the unintentional offense his emails had caused. This experience triggered my intention to further explore face in requesting and declining in the pedagogy of beginning levels. 95

3.2 Participants and Procedures

An anonymous survey (see Appendix B) was distributed to thirty-five students of

Chinese in the Chinese language program at The Ohio State University. The participants had finished their first-year Chinese language coursework and were continuing their second year of study. The class met about 50 minutes a day, five days a week. Their class time was approximately 150 hours (1 hr x 5 days x 10 weeks x 3 quarters = 150 class hrs) in their first year of study. Thirty-five surveys were collected. After screening-out those who did not finish the survey, those who had studied Chinese for more than two years, and those who spoke Chinese at home with their parents, twenty surveys remained

(twelve male and nine female). Their ages were between 19 and 34 years old. Among these twenty-one participants, five of them had been to China for short trips. Four of them had study-abroad experience in Mainland China or Taiwan, ranging from one month to six months. The materials students had studied up to this point were Chinese:

Communicating in the Culture Text One, Two, Three, and Four, Character Text for

Beginning Chinese, Reading Chinese Book Two, The Lady in the Painting, and the movie

Strange Friends.

In addition to written data, spoken data of the same survey were also collected. Eight students chose to meet with the researcher face-to-face to participate in the survey (they did not do the written survey) – five male and three female. They were aged between 19 and 24 years old. Each student was asked to first fill-in general information before the role play. Then, the researcher played the role of the Chinese teacher or the Chinese friend Gao Ming in the survey to elicit the student’s responses. After the role play

conversations, the student was asked to answer the multiple choice questions in the survey. All the role play conversations and following discussions were recorded.

To compare with students of Chinese, a similar survey (see Appendix C) was distributed to students from Mainland China or Taiwan who were studying at The Ohio

State University. There were fourteen responses in total – eleven female and three male.

They were all graduate students aged 23 to 34. Thirteen of them were from Mainland

China and one was from Taiwan. The period of their stay in the U.S. was from one year to six years.

Spoken data of the same survey were also collected. Four native speakers from

Mainland China participated in the face-to-face survey. They were all female graduate students at The Ohio State University aged 24 to 28. The participant was asked to first fill in his/her general information. Then, the investigator played the role of the teacher or the friend Gao Ming in the survey to elicit the participant’s responses. After the role play conversations, the participant was asked to answer the multiple choice questions in the survey. Just as with the students of Chinese, all the role play conversations and following discussions were recorded.

Students of Chinese were asked to answer in pinyin as there were a few characters they did not yet know how to write. Native Chinese students were told they could answer in characters.

3.3 Survey Items

The items in the survey can be divided into four categories:

1. Make a request of your teacher.

2. Make a request of a friend.

3. Deny a request from your teacher.

4. Deny a request from a friend.

The roles are specified in all the situations in the survey. Place and audience are left unaddressed because they are not important parameters for present purposes. The following is a detailed description of each category.

3.3.1 Make a Request of Your Teacher

Four questions are designed to elicit students’ responses when they would like to make a request of their teacher:

1. You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d

say:

2. You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether

it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

3. You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you.

You’d say:

4. You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday.

You’d say:

To make it clearer about what kind of teacher they are talking to, a brief line of introduction is added in the beginning:

The teacher of your Chinese class is a native Chinese.

In this way, students know that they are speaking with their Chinese teacher, so the choice of using Chinese for communications is expected.

3.3.2 Make a Request of a Friend

Four questions are designed to elicit students’ responses when they would like to make a request of a friend:

1. You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you

wrote. You’d say:

2. You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d

say:

3. You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport

tomorrow. You’d say:

4. You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese

friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai).

You’d say:

To specify the role of Gao Ming, the following line of introduction is added in the beginning:

Gao Ming is a 25-year-old male student from China who is currently studying at your school. You have become acquainted with each other recently.

Since the student is talking to a Chinese native, the choice of Chinese again makes sense in the situation.

3.3.3 Deny a Request from Your Teacher

Three questions are designed to elicit students’ responses when they would like to deny a request from their teacher:

1. Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you

don’t have time. You’d say:

2. Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly

recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

3. Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a

project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

The role of the teacher is the same as that in the case of making a request of your teacher.

3.3.4 Deny a Request from a Friend

Five questions are designed in this case:

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1. Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you

don’t want to. You’d say:

2. Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but

you don’t have time. You’d say:

3. Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you

need it tonight to study. You’d say:

4. Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport

tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

5. Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during

his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

The role of Gao Ming is defined in the same way as in the case of making a request of a friend.

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CHAPTER 4

FACE IN REQUESTING AND DECLINING – ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter I analyze and discuss face in the aforementioned situations – make a request of your teacher, make a request of a friend, deny a request from your teacher, and deny a request from a friend. Based on the native speakers’ responses, I first highlight the features of these situations and then point out the common deficiencies beginning-level

C2 learners have. The role “face” plays in these situations is also discussed.

4.1 Make a Request of Your Teacher

There are four situations in making a request of your teacher: (1) You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. (2) You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. (3) You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. (4) You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday.

4.1.1 Features

There are four noticeable key features from the native speakers’ responses in the survey – the use of address terms, the expression of apology, the adoption of polite words,

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and favored choices of auxiliary verbs. Among them, the use of address terms, the adoption of polite words, and the correct choices of auxiliary verbs are essential for the appropriateness of the performance while the expression of apology is used depending on the situation.

4.1.1.1 The Use of Address Terms

One of the most prominent features of native speakers’ answers is that they begin their request by addressing their teachers laoshi 老師 (teacher) and then using nin 您

(polite form of address terms for you) to refer to the teachers afterwards. For example:

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

老師, 不好意思, 麻煩您再說一遍。

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, mafan nin zai shuo yibian. Excuse me, Teacher, can I trouble you to say it again?

You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

老師，不好意思，做業我今天忘了帶，明天給您可以嗎？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, zuoye wo jintian wangle dai, mingtian gei nin keyi ma? Teacher, I am sorry. I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to give it to you tomorrow?

You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. You’d say:

老師，能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信？

Laoshi, neng buneng mafan nin bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin?

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Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me?

You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday. You’d say:

老師，您星期五有時間嗎？

Laoshi, nin xingqiwu you shijian ma? Teacher, would you have time on Friday?

It turned out that only two out of the eighteen native speakers did not use the addressing term laoshi in one or two of the situations in their responses, but they still used nin to address their teachers.

4.1.1.2 The Expression of Apology

The second distinctive feature in making a request of teachers in Chinese is the expression duibuqi 對不起 (excuse me or sorry) or buhaoyisi 不好意思 (excuse me or sorry) as an apology. Among the four situations, the use of apology expressions is expected in two of them:

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian? Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?

You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

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老師，不好意思，做業我今天忘了帶，明天給您可以嗎？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, zuoye wo jintian wangle dai, mingtian gei nin keyi ma? Teacher, I am sorry. I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to give it to you tomorrow?

When students ask their teacher to repeat the question, the use of duibuqi or buhaoyisi appears in 77.8% of the responses from the native speakers. Duibuqi or buhaoyisi in this case conveys a sense of apology for intrusion as students might interrupt the teacher when the class is in session. In the case of turning in homework tomorrow,

83.3% of the natives use the expressions duibuqi, buhaoyisi, or baoqian 抱歉 (sorry) to show their apology for the delayed homework.

As for the other two situations (i.e. ask for an appointment on Friday and a recommendation letter), the apology expressions are not required but are still encouraged because of the inconvenience their request causes to the teacher.

4.1.1.3 The Adoption of Polite Words

The third feature in requesting in Chinese is the ubiquitous adoption of polite words, such as qing 請 (please), qingwen 請問 (excuse me for asking), mafan 麻煩 (trouble), or bang 幫 (help). Examples:

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian?

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Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?

You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

老師，對不起，我今天忘記帶作業了。請問可以明天再交給您嗎？

Laoshi, duibuqi, wo jintian wangji dai zuoye le. Qingwen keyi mingtian zai jiao gei nin ma? Teacher, I am sorry, I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to turn it in tomorrow?

You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. You’d say:

老師，能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信？

Laoshi, neng buneng mafan nin bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin? Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me?

You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday. You’d say:

老師，請問您星期五有没有空？

Laoshi, qingwen nin xingqiwu you meiyou kong? Excuse me, teacher, would you have time on Friday?

These polite words stand out in the case of requesting as they make the act of requesting less blunt. For instance, in the example of requesting a recommendation letter from their teacher, 77.8% of the natives use the pattern qing/mafan nin bang wo … 請/麻

煩您幫我… (trouble you to help me…). Here, qing or mafan carries the tone of politely asking the teacher to take time to do the favor, and bang is the explicit indicator of asking for a favor.

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4.1.1.4 Favored Choices of Auxiliary Verbs

Last but not least is the word choice of auxiliary verbs. When making a request, neng 能 and keyi 可以 are the two auxiliary verbs in Chinese that can be used to ask for permission. Examples:

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian? Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?

You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

老師，對不起，我今天忘記帶作業了。請問可以明天再交給您嗎？

Laoshi, duibuqi, wo jintian wangji dai zuoye le. Qingwen keyi mingtian zai jiao gei nin ma? Teacher, I am sorry, I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to turn it in tomorrow?

You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. You’d say:

老師，能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信？

Laoshi, neng buneng mafan nin bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin? Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me?

You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday. You’d say:

老師，這個星期五您有時間嗎？可以跟您見個面嗎？

Laoshi, zhege xingqiwu nin you shijian ma? Keyi gen nin jian ge mian ma? Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Could I meet with you?

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4.1.1.5 Summary

Based on the four features mentioned above, a typical expression for each of the four situations can be analyzed as follows:

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian?

Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?

Proper terms of address afterwards

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Terms of address apology proper auxiliary verb polite words for asking for help

You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday. You’d say:

老師，請問您星期五有没有空？

Laoshi, qingwen nin xingqiwu you-meiyou kong?

Teacher, would you be available on Friday?

Proper terms of address afterwards

老師，請問您星期五有没有空？

Terms of address polite words for asking for help 108

You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. You’d say:

老師, 能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信?

Laoshi, neng buneng mafan nin bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin?

Teacher, would you write a recommendation letter for me?

Proper terms of address afterwards

老師, 能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信?

Terms of address proper auxiliary verb polite words for asking for help

You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn in tomorrow. You’d say:

老師，不好意思，做業我今天忘了帶，明天給您可以嗎？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, zuoye wo jintian wangle dai, mingtian gei nin keyi ma?

Teacher, I am sorry. I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to give it to you tomorrow?

Proper terms of address afterwards

老師，不好意思，做業我今天忘了帶，明天給您可以嗎？

Terms of address apology proper auxiliary verb

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4.1.2 “Face” in Making a Request of Your Teacher

In the four situations mentioned in 4.1 (i.e. ask your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class, ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn in the late homework tomorrow, ask your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you, and make an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday), three of the four features are closely related to face. The address terms are used to recognize hierarchy between the teacher and the student and show consideration of the teacher’s face. The expression of apology is used for intrusion and it restores both the teacher’s and the student’s face as the teacher’s face is affected by the student’s request and the student’s face is at risk because of the request. The adoption of polite words is to minimize the impact of the request and thus shows consideration of the teacher’s face. Given that a teacher has more power and privileges over his student in a teacher-student interaction (Scollon & Scollon,

1995:52), the adoption of polite words is especially important in this case as it both re- acknowledges hierarchy and minimizes the impact of the request. Proper use of auxiliary verbs is more a linguistic feature than a cultural feature. Thus, if we use the situation of asking your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class as an example, the features can be delineated from the perspectives of face as follows:

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian?

Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?

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(for the face of the H)

Proper terms of address afterwards

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

Terms of address apology polite words for asking for help

(for the face of the H) (for the face of both the S and H) (for the face of the H)

4.1.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies

Compared to natives speakers, there are four common deficiencies in the beginning- level C2 learners’ responses in the aforementioned situations – improper terms of address, negligence of apology expressions, a comparatively lower rate of adoption of polite words, and cultural translation. As shown in 4.1.2, the first three deficiencies are face- related.

The first common deficiency among beginning-level C2 learners is their lack of a sense of addressing their teacher as laoshi when they make a request. Take the case of asking the teacher to repeat his/her question for example, none of the students used laoshi before they went into their request. In addition, 21 students (72.4%) used ni 你 (the generic form for you) instead of nin (the polite form for you) to refer to their teacher, which is considered rather rude culturally. One explanation for this phenomenon could be related to the material they use – In CCC Unit 0, one of the instructional expressions introduced to students is Qing ni zai shuo yibian 請你再說一遍 (Would you please say it again?) (Walker & Lang, 2004:8) The context where the expression is introduced is that

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a teacher asks his/her student to repeat. If a learner did not pay attention to the context and applies the expression to asking their teacher to repeat, errors occur.

The second deficiency that beginning-level C2 learners have is their negligence of the importance of apology. In the case of turning in their homework tomorrow, only seven students (24.1%) used the apology expression duibuqi in their responses, while

83.3% of the native speakers used duibuqi, buhaoyisi, or baoqian. When it comes to asking their teachers to repeat in class, the contrast between C2 learners and native speakers is even greater – only one (3.4%) student used duibuqi whereas 77.8% of native speakers used duibuqi or buhaoyisi. Thus, I argue that in instructional expressions, students should learn Laoshi, duibuqi, qing nin zai shuo yibian 老師, 對不起, 請您再說

一遍 (Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?) when they would like to ask their teacher to repeat what he/she says.

The third deficiency concerns the adoption of polite words. In the case of asking their teacher to write them a recommendation letter, 68.9% of the students used the pattern keyi bukeyi gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin 可以不可以給我寫一封推薦信 (Can you write me a recommendation letter?). While it is not wrong to say so, 77.8% of the natives chose the more polite word bang 幫 (to help) instead of gei 給 to make the request. The reason for students to use the gei pattern could still be material-related – in CCC Unit 2

Stage 8 (Walker & Lang, 2004:259), students learn gei as a co-verb that marks beneficiary of an action, and the most frequent pattern they practice with gei is gei someone xie xin/da dianhua/fa chuanzhen 給 someone 寫信/打電話/發傳真 (write a letter/make a phone call/send a fax to someone). Note that the context where the pattern 112

appears is either manager-secretary saga or colleague saga (e.g. the manager asks the secretary to write a letter/make a phone call/send a fax to someone or a co-worker asks another one to help him/her with these things.) If students use this context in student- teacher saga, extra caution needs to be applied, as students, in Chinese culture, are expected to verbally and behaviorally show respect for teachers. This explains why the majority of native speakers would choose bang instead of gei when they ask a favor of their teacher.

The last deficiency of C2 learners is what I call “cultural translation,” which refers to those culturally inappropriate expressions they translate from English. Those expressions may appear grammatically correct, but they would make natives ponder, if not feel outright offended. For example, in the case of asking for a recommendation, one of the students said Nin keyi gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin ma? Xinshang yinggai you wo zuihao de shi 您可以給我寫一封推薦信嗎? 信上應該有我最好的事 (Would you write a recommendation for me? The letter should include the best things about me.) The first part, nin keyi gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin ma, is good enough to make a proper request.

Unfortunately, the additional part of the request, xinshang yinggai you wo zuihao de shi, which is apparently translated from English, harms the cultural appropriateness of the request, as it sounds presumptuous for a student to direct their teacher what to write in a recommendation. Contrastively, one native speaker answered the same question in the survey with Laoshi, wo keyi qing nin bang wo xie tuijianxin ma? Ruguo youxing neng na dao ninde tuijianxin de hua, wode jingzhengli kending neng dadade jiaqiang 老師, 我可

以請您幫我寫推薦信嗎? 如果有幸能拿到您的推薦信的話, 我的競爭力肯定能大大

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的加強 (Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me? If I am lucky enough to get your recommendation, it would be very helpful for my competitiveness.) In contrast to the C2 learner’s explicit instructions, the native speaker focused on the value of the recommendation and gave the credit to the teacher. Although he/she did not explicitly ask the teacher what to write in the letter, his/her expectation was that what would be written in the recommendation could enhance his competitiveness.

To conclude, there are four aspects that beginning-level C2 learners can work on when they rehearse making requests of their teacher. The first one is to begin their request by addressing their teacher as laoshi and then referring to him/her as nin. The second one is to adopt duibuqi or buhaoyisi when they ask their teacher to repeat in class or ask for permission to turn in delayed homework. Although duibuqi or buhaoyisi are not required in asking for an appointment or a recommendation letter, it is still encouraged, as the request causes an inconvenience to the teacher. The third one is to use polite expressions, such as qing, qingwen, mafan, or bang when they need a favor from their teacher. Last, avoid “cultural translation,” since the way an argument or reasoning is presented in English could be very different from that in Chinese; asking for a recommendation letter from a teacher is a good example.

4.2 Make a Request of a Friend

There are four situations presented for making a request of a friend: (1) You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. (2) You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. (3) You would like

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your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. (4) You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai).

4.2.1 Features

There are four noticeable key features from the native speakers’ responses in the survey – the use of address terms, the expression of thoughtfulness, the adoption of polite words, and favored choices of auxiliary verbs. Among the four, the use of address terms, the adoption of polite words, and favored choices of auxiliary verbs are essential in making a request of a friend. The expression of thoughtfulness should be given weight as it minimizes the impingement of the FTA and reduces the harm of the potential decline of the request.

4.2.1.1 The Use of Address Terms

As in the situation of making a request of the teacher, the use of address terms also plays an important role in making a request of the friend. The requester typically begins by addressing the friend’s name Gao Ming and refers to him as ni (the general form for you) afterwards. For example:

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Gao Ming, ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo kankan zhepian wenzhang? Gao Ming, are you free? Would you take a look at this article for me?

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You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

高明，能不能借你的課本給我用一下？

Gao Ming, neng buneng jie nide keben gei wo yong yixia? Gao Ming, can you lend me your book?

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

高明，明天你方便送我去機場嗎？

Gao Ming, mingtian ni fangbian song wo qu jichang ma? Gao Ming, would it be convenient for you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

高明，我可能會去趟上海幾天，方便不方便在你那兒住兩天呢？

Gao Ming, wo keneng hui qu Shanghai jitian, fangbian bufangbian zai ni nar zhu liangtian ne? Gao Ming, I will probably go to Shanghai for a couple of days. Would it be convenient to stay with you for a couple of days?

Although not every native speaker begins their request by addressing Gao Ming, there is still a tendency to do so at the beginning of the request:

Number of People and Percentage

of Addressing Gao Ming in the

Beginning of the Request

Proofread a Chinese essay 15 (83.3%)

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Borrow a textbook 15 (83.3%)

Give you a ride to the airport tomorrow 13 (72.2%)

Stay with Gao Ming in Shanghai 13 (72.2%)

As for referring to Gao Ming afterwards, not surprisingly, all the native speakers use ni, which conveys the relationship between the speakers.

4.2.1.2 The Expression of Thoughtfulness

The second most distinctive feature in making a request of a friend is the thoughtful expressions that are embedded in the request. By “thoughtful,” I mean the speaker considers the other more than himself.23 Since request is a FTA, the requester would try to minimize the impingement by means of a variety of strategies. In the situation of making a request of a friend, I conclude three strategies the requester takes to show his/her thoughtfulness: (1) ask for availability, (2) give a reason, (3) provide an alternative option. Here are the examples from each of the situations:

23 In Chinese, there is an expression for it – wei bieren zhaoxiang 為別人著想. Literally, it means “think for others.”

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You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

你在忙嗎？我有篇文章得校對一下，能不能麻煩你？

Ni zai mang ma? Wo you pian wenzhang dei jiaodui yixia, neng buneng mafan ni? Are you busy? I have an article that needs to be proofread. Can I trouble you to do this?

Ask for availability

You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

高明，我今天書忘在家裡了。能用你的嗎？

Gao Ming, wo jintian shu wang zai jiali le. Neng yong nide ma? Gao Ming, I left my book at home today. Can you lend me yours?

Give a reason

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

你明天有空嗎？如果方便，能不能請你送我去機場啊？

Ni mingtian you kong ma? Ruguo fangbian, neng buneng qing ni song wo qu jichang a? Do you have time tomorrow? If it’s convenient for you, can you give me a ride to the airport?

Ask for availability

You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

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我下星期要去一趟上海，期間能待你家嗎？如果不方便的話也沒問題啊，我再問問別的上海朋友就行。

Wo xiaxingqi yao qu yitang Shanghai, qijian neng dai ni jia ma? Ruguo bufangbian de hua ye mei wenti a, wo zai wenwen biede Shanghai pengyou jiu xing. I am going to Shanghai next Monday. Can I stay with you? If it is not convenient, that’s totally fine. I’ll ask my other friends in Shanghai.

Provide an alternative option

Here is a chart of the strategies the native speakers take in each of the situations

(Figure 9 hereafter):

Ask for Give a Reason Provide an

Availability Alternative Option

Proofread a Chinese essay 10 (55.6%) 5 (27.8%) N/A

Borrow a textbook 5 (27.8%) 3 (16.7%) N/A

Give you a ride to the 11 (61.1%) 3 (16.7%) 1 (5.6%)

airport tomorrow

Stay with Gao Ming in 9 (50%) 3 (16.7%) 4 (22.2%)

Shanghai

Figure 9: Strategies of Thoughtfulness Native Speakers Take in Making a Request of a Friend.

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There are three conventional ways of asking for availability – (1) Ni you shijian ma

你有時間嗎 (Do you have time?), (2) Ni you kong ma 你有空嗎 (Do you have time?), (3)

Ni fangbian ma 你方便嗎 (Is it convenient for you?). The first two are usually used when the hearer needs to make time to do the favor, such as in the situations of proofreading an essay or giving a ride to the airport. The last one is adopted usually when the request is an impingement on the hearer’s life, such as borrowing his/her book or staying in his/her place. It is worth noting that ni fangbian ma can also go with ni you shijian ma or ni you kong ma, such as in the following example:

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

你明天有空嗎？如果方便，能不能請你送我去機場啊？

Ni mingtian you kong ma? Ruguo fangbian, neng buneng qing ni song wo qu jichang a? Do you have time tomorrow? If it’s convenient for you, can you give me a ride to the airport?

The function of giving a reason is straightforward – the requester would like to give a compelling reason to increase the possibility of having his/her request granted. For example, when asking his/her friend to proofread an essay, two of the native speakers compliment the hearer’s writing skills. The compliment justifies the requester’s motivation to turn to the hearer for help in this situation.

Providing an alternative option usually follows the request. Let us revisit the following example:

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You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

我下星期要去一趟上海，期間能待你家嗎？如果不方便的話也沒問題啊，我再問問別的上海朋友就行。

Giving options is one of the redressive actions to minimize the effect of FTA. Since the alternative option is provided, the harm would not seem too blunt if the request is denied.

4.2.1.3 The Adoption of Polite Words

Even if this is a saga of friends, the adoption of polite words still occurs here and there in the request. For instance:

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Gao Ming, ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo kankan zhepian wenzhang? Gao Ming, are you free? Would you help me take a look at this article?

You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

高明，請問你可以借我這本課本嗎？

Gao Ming, qingwen ni keyi jie wo zheben keben ma? Excuse me, Gao Ming, can you lend me your book?

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You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

高明, 明天能不能麻煩你送我到機場?

Gao Ming, mingtian neng buneng mafan ni song wo dao jichang? Gao Ming, can I trouble you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

高明，你家住在上海吧？我之後會去上海，如果你方便的話，不知道你願不願意讓我在你家住幾天呢？

Gao Ming, ni jia zhu zai Shanghai ba? Wo zhihou hui qu Shanghai, ruguo ni fangbian de hua, buzhidao ni yuanyi buyuanyi rang wo zai ni jia zhu jitian ne? Gao Ming, you live in Shanghai, right? I will go there. If it’s convenient for you, I don’t know if you would be willing to let me stay with you for a couple of days?

Polite expressions such as bang 幫 (help), mafan 麻煩 (trouble), qing 請 (please), and qingwen 請問 (Excuse me) still appear in the four situations, but statistically, the latter three are used much less, compared to the situations of making a request of one’s teacher. Here is the chart (Figure 10 hereafter):

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bang mafan qing qingwen

(help) (trouble) (please) (Excuse me)

Proofread a Chinese essay 14 (77.8%) 3 (16.7%) N/A N/A

Borrow a textbook N/A 2 (11.1%) N/A 1 (5.6%)

Give you a ride to the N/A 1 (5.6%) 2(11.1%) N/A airport tomorrow

Stay with Gao Ming in N/A 1 (5.6%) N/A N/A

Shanghai

Figure 10: Polite Expressions Native Speakers Use in Making a Request of a Friend.

4.2.1.4 Favored Choices of Auxiliary Verbs

As with making a request of one’s teacher, only two auxiliary verbs are allowed in the case of making a request of a friend – neng 能 and keyi 可以.

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Gao Ming, ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo kankan zhepian wenzhang? Gao Ming, are you free? Would you take a look at this article for me?

You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

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高明，請問你可以借我這本課本嗎？

Gao Ming, qingwen ni keyi jie wo zheben keben ma? Excuse me, Gao Ming, can you lend me your book?

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

高明, 明天能不能麻煩你送我到機場?

Gao Ming, mingtian neng buneng mafan ni song wo dao jichang? Gao Ming, can I trouble you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

高明，我這個星期去上海，可以住你那不？

Gao Ming, wo zhege xingqi qu Shanghai, keyi zhu ni na bu? Gao Ming, I am going to Shanghai this week. Can I stay with you?

4.2.1.5 Summary

Based on the four features mentioned above, a typical expression for each of the four situations can be analyzed as follows:

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Gao Ming, ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo kankan zhepian wenzhang? Gao Ming, are you free? Would you take a look at this article for me?

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Polite words for asking for help

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Address terms Thoughtfulness Proper auxiliary verb

(ask for availability)

You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

高明，你什麼時候不用你的課本，能借我看看嗎？

Gao Ming, ni shenme shihou buyong nide keben, neng jie wo kankan ma? Gao Ming, can you lend me your book when you don’t need it?

高明，你什麼時候不用你的課本，能借我看看嗎？

Address terms Thoughtfulness Proper auxiliary verb

(ask for availability)

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You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

你明天有空嗎？如果方便，能不能請你送我去機場啊？

Ni mingtian you kong ma? Ruguo fangbian, neng buneng qing ni song wo qu jichang a? Do you have time tomorrow? If it’s convenient for you, can you give me a ride to the airport?

Polite words for asking for help

你明天有空嗎？如果方便，能不能請你送我去機場啊？

Thoughtfulness Proper auxiliary verb

(ask for availability)

You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say: 我下星期要去一趟上海，期間能待你家嗎？如果不方便的話也沒問題啊，我再問問別的上海朋友就行。

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Thoughtfulness Proper auxiliary verb

(give a reason)

我下星期要去一趟上海，期間能待你家嗎？如果不方便的話也沒問題啊，我再問問別的上海朋友就行。

Thoughtfulness (provide an alternative option)

4.2.2 “Face” in Making a Request of a Friend

In the four situations mentioned in 4.2 (i.e. ask your Chinese friend to proofread a

Chinese essay you wrote, borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, ask your Chinese friend to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow, and ask whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend during your visit), three of the four features are related to face. The address terms are used to acknowledge the relationship between the speaker and the hearer and take the hearer’s face into consideration. The expression of thoughtfulness is used to show consideration of the hearer’s face and reduce the impact of a potential decline, so it saves both the speaker’s and the hearer’s face. The adoption of polite words, just as in the situations of making a request of your teacher, minimizes the impact of the request and thus shows consideration of the hearer’s face. Although the difference in power between friends is less obvious (Scollon & Scollon, 1995:52), the adoption of polite words is still essential in this case as it conveys modesty and minimizes the impact of the request. We can delineate the features of asking your

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Chinese friend to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote from the perspectives of face as follows:

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Gao Ming, ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo kankan zhepian wenzhang? Gao Ming, are you free? Would you take a look at this article for me?

(for the face of the H)

Polite words for asking for help

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章?

Address terms Thoughtfulness

(for the face of the H) (for the face of both the S and H)

4.2.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies

There are three deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have in making a request of a friend – deficient expression of thoughtfulness, inappropriate adoption of polite words, and wrong usage of auxiliary verbs. Among them, the first two are related to face discussed in 4.2.2.

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One of the most distinctive differences between the native speakers and the C2 learners in making a request of a friend lies in their use of thoughtful expressions. As mentioned in 4.2.1.2, there are three ways of expressing thoughtfulness (i.e. ask for availability, give a reason, and provide an alternative option). Below is a chart of how

C2 learners employ them in the four situations (Figure 11 hereafter):

Ask for Give a Reason Provide an

Availability Alternative

Option

Proofread a Chinese essay 3 (10.3%) 2 (6.9%) N/A

Borrow a textbook N/A N/A N/A

Give you a ride to the airport 3 (10.3%) 2 (6.9%) N/A

tomorrow

Stay with Gao Ming in N/A 3 (10.3%) N/A

Shanghai

Figure 11: Strategies of Thoughtfulness C2 Learners Take in Making a Request of a

Friend.

If we compare Figure 11 with Figure 9, we will see a significant difference between the native speakers and the C2 learners in making a request of a friend – In the case of proofreading an essay, while there are 55.6% of the native speakers asking for

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availability before they make the request, there are only 10.3% of the C2 learners doing so. The same strategy applies to the case of asking for a ride to the airport – 61.1% of natives would ask the hearers about their availability whereas only 10.3% of the learners do the same. In the case of staying with Gao Ming in Shanghai, 50% of the native speakers would ask whether it is convenient for Gao Ming to stay with him, but none of the C2 learners do so; they simply go straight to their request – can they stay with him?

In addition to asking for availability, C2 learners also did not seem to have the sense of providing an alternative option. For a rather big request such as staying with your friend for a few days, four native speakers provided an alternative option (e.g. If it is not convenient, she/he can ask someone else, go to the hotel, or try something else.) but none of the C2 learners did so. This, in combination with other factors, may add up to the impression of inconsideration on the part of the requesters.

The second difference that distinguishes the C2 learners from the natives is their inappropriate adoption of polite words. Making a request of a friend, just as in other request situations, requires appropriate adoption of polite words. Figure 10 has demonstrated how the natives show their politeness in making a request of their friends.

Below is the chart of the C2 learners in this regard:

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bang mafan qing qingwen

(help) (trouble) (please) (Excuse me)

Proofread a Chinese essay 1 (3.4%) 2 (6.9%) 5(17.2%) N/A

Borrow a textbook N/A N/A 2 (6.9%) N/A

Give you a ride to the N/A 2 (5.6%) 4(13.8%) N/A airport tomorrow

Stay with Gao Ming in N/A N/A 3(10.3%) N/A

Shanghai

Figure 12: Polite Expressions C2 Learners Use in Making a Request of a Friend.

Figure 12 shows that in making a request of a friend, C2 learners’ problem does not lie in their not using polite words; their problem is that they use inappropriate polite words. C2 learners have a tendency to use qing 請 (please) to make a request. To be more specific, they like to use the qing ni 請你+ verb phrase (Would you verb phrase, please?) structure to show their politeness. For example:

高明, 請你借給我你的課本, 謝謝。

Gao Ming, qing ni jie gei wo nide keben. Xiexie. Gao Ming, can you lend me your book? Thank you.

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高明, 請你讓我住在你的房子。

Gao Ming, qing ni rang wo zhu zai nide fangzi. Gao Ming, please let me stay in your house.

請你明天帶我到飛機場。

Qing ni mingtian dai wo dao feijichang. Please take me to the airport tomorrow.

Statistically, native speakers do not use qing so often as it sounds rather formal; using the qing ni+ verb phrase structure is even rarer because to the natives’ ears, this structure sounds more like a command than a request.

The third error C2 learners make is their wrong choice of auxiliary verbs. Three students mistakenly used hui buhui 會不會 (can in the sense of capability or probability) and one student used keneng 可能 (possible) to make a request. However, these mistakes were not made among the majority and they are more a language issue than a cultural issue.

To conclude, there are three deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have in making a request of a friend. The first one is their deficient expression of thoughtfulness. C2 learners are especially weak at asking for availability before making a request and giving an alternative option. Their second deficiency is the inappropriate adoption of polite words. C2 learners have the tendency to use the qing ni + verb phrase structure to show their politeness, but it sounds rather blunt to the natives. The last one is wrong usage of

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auxiliary verbs. A small number of learners erroneously used hui buhui or keneng, which is inappropriate in this situation.

4.3 Deny a Request from Your Teacher

In this part, our focus will move from requesting to declining. We will start with denying a request from your teacher. Three situations will be discussed: (1) Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. (2)

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. (3) Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. The features of native speakers’ performances will be presented first, followed by the C2 learners’ deficiencies.

4.3.1 Features

There are five key features from the native speakers’ responses in the survey – the use of address terms, the expression of apology, the expression of consideration and appreciation, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness. Among the five, the use of address terms, the expression of consideration and appreciation, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness are essential in denying a request from a teacher. The expression of apology is used if it is situationally appropriate.

4.3.1.1 The Use of Address Terms

The most salient feature that runs though these three situations is the use of address terms laoshi 老師 (Teacher) in the beginning of the utterance. Let us look at some examples:

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Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師，我最近特別忙，您看能不能等我忙完這陣子再幫您做？

Laoshi, wo zuijin tebie mang, nin kan neng buneng deng wo mangwan zhe zhenzi zai bang nin zuo? Teacher, I have been terribly busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this hectic period?

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

謝謝老師的幫助，我覺得這個意見很好，我會好好考慮考慮的。

Xiexie laoshide bangzhu, wo juede zhege yijian hen hao, wo hui haohao kaolü de. Thank you for your help, Teacher. I think this is a good suggestion. I’ll think about it.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

老師，我想先看看自己能不能獨立作出個雛形來，要是我覺得完成不了，再跟別人合作，您看行不行？

Laoshi, wo xiang xian kankan ziji neng buneng duli zuochu ge chuxing lai, yaoshi wo juede wancheng bu liao, zai gen bieren hezuo, nin kan xing buxing? Teacher, I wanted to see if I could come up with a prototype first. If I feel it’s not going to work, I will cooperate with other people. Would it be okay with you?

In the survey, only three native speakers did not use laoshi to address their teacher in the beginning of their responses. Even so, they still used nin (the polite form for you) to address their teacher afterwards. This fact is fascinating in that when talking to their teacher, students’ addressing their teacher as laoshi in the beginning of the utterance is prominent not only in making a request but also in responding to a request (i.e. deny a request in this case).

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4.3.1.2 The Expression of Apology

The second feature is the expression of apology, such as duibuqi 對不起 (sorry) or buhaoyisi 不好意思 (sorry). For instance:

Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師，真對不起，我最近在趕一個文章，可能沒時間參加這個計劃。

Laoshi, zhen duibuqi, wo zuijin zai gan yipian wenzhang, keneng mei shijian canjia zhege jihua. Teacher, I am so sorry, I have been working on a paper and I am afraid I won’t have time for this project.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

老師, 不好意思 ,我覺得好像不太適合我。

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo juede haoxiang bu tai shihe wo. Teacher, I am sorry, I feel like it is not suitable for me.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

老師，不好意思, 我可以自己做嗎？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo keyi ziji zuo ma？

Teacher, I am sorry, but could I do it by myself?

Among these three situations, fourteen natives (77.8%) use duibuqi or buhaoyisi in the case of research project, but only four (22.2%) use the apology expressions in the cases of applying for a program or working alone on the project.

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4.3.1.3 The Expression of Consideration and Appreciation

The third feature of denying a request from your teacher is the expression of consideration and appreciation. Let us start with some examples:

Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師我很願意做，但是我最近實在太忙了，下次有機會一定參與。

Laoshi wo hen yuanyi zuo, danshi wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, xiaci you jihui yiding canyu. Teacher, I’d love to, but I have been terribly busy lately. I’d definitely do it next time if there would be a chance.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

謝謝老師的幫助，我覺得這個意見很好，我會好好考慮考慮的。

Xiexie laoshide bangzhu, wo juede zhege yijian hen hao, wo hui haohao kaolü de. Thank you for your help, Teacher. I think this is a good suggestion. I’ll think about it.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

謝謝老師這麼周全的考慮！但是我在想，不知道有沒有可能我這次自己做？

Xiexie laoshi zheme zhouquan de kaolü! Danshi wo zai xiang, buzhidao you meiyou keneng wo zheci ziji zuo? Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, Teacher. But I was wondering if I could do it myself this time?

There are basically two ways to show consideration – one is to show interest and the other is to show consideration. Related expressions of showing interest include wo hen yuanyi 我很願意 (I am willing to) or wo hen gan xingqu 我很感興趣 (I am interested).

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As for showing consideration, wo hui kaolü 我會考慮 (I’ll consider it), wo hui shishi 我

會試試 (I’ll give it a try), or wo hui xiangxiang 我會想想 (I’l think about it) are the most common choices.

Showing appreciation is straightforward – the decliners would like to show his/her appreciation for the requester’s thoughts. Xiexie laoshi 謝謝老師 (Thank you, teacher), xiexie laoshide kaolü 謝謝老師的考慮 (Thank you, Teacher, for your consideration) are the common expressions.

Below is a chart of how the native speakers show their consideration and appreciation in the three situations:

Show Interest Show Consideration Show Appreciation

Research Project 5 (27.8%) N/A 2(11.1%)

Apply for a Program 3 (16.7%) 9 (55.6%) 9 (50%)

Work on the Project 3 (16.7%) 5(27.8%) 3 (16.7%)

Alone

Figure 13: Expressions of Consideration and Appreciation Native Speakers Use in

Denying a Request from a Teacher.

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4.3.1.4 The Adoption of Hedges

The fourth feature of denying a request from your teacher is the adoption of hedges.

A hedge is an application in pragmatics and discourse analysis which expresses a notion of imprecision or qualification (Crystal, 2003:216). The function of a hedge is to lessen the impact of an utterance and thus “is a primary and fundamental method of disarming routine interactional threats” (Brown and Levinson, 1978:151). Examples of hedges are sort of, more or less, I mean.

The hedges that the native speakers use in the three situations are haoxiang 好像 (it seems that…), keneng 可能 (possibly), youdianr 有點兒 (a bit, kind of), wo buzhidao 我

不知道 (I don’t know). Below are some examples:

Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師，真對不起，我最近在趕一個文章，可能沒時間參加這個計劃。

Laoshi, zhen duibuqi, wo zuijin zai gan yipian wenzhang, keneng mei shijian canjia zhege jihua. Teacher, I am so sorry, I have been working on a paper and I am afraid I wouldn’t have time for this project.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

老師,不好意思,我覺得好像不太適合我。

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo juede haoxiang bu tai shihe wo. Teacher, I am sorry, I feel like it is not suitable for me.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

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老師, 我可能時間上很難和別的同學協調，不知道自己做可以嗎？

Laoshi, wo keneng shijian shang hen nan gen biede tongxue xietiao, buzhidao ziji zuo keyi ma? Teacher, it is a bit difficult for me to cooperate with other students due to time conflict. I don’t know if it would be okay if I do it myself?

The function of these hedges is to lessen the impact of the denial and makes it sound softer. If a decliner simply says wo mei shijian canjia zhege jihua 我沒時間參加這個計

劃 (I don’t have time for this project) without the hedge keneng 可能 (possibly) or Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo juede bu tai shihe wo 老師，不好意思，我覺得不太適合我 (Teacher, I am sorry, I feel it is not suitable for me) without the hedge haoxiang 好像 (it seems that…), the denial sounds direct and baldfaced.

4.3.1.5 The Expression of Thoughtfulness

In 4.2.1, the expression of thoughtfulness is one of the features in making a request of a friend. Three strategies are generally used to show thoughtfulness: (1) ask for availability, (2) give a reason, (3) provide an alternative option. When it comes to denying a request from the teacher, giving a reason and providing an alternative option are favored. Let us look at some examples:

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Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo zuijin bijiao mang, neng buneng deng wo guowanle zhe duan shijian zai canjia? Teacher, I am sorry. I have been busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this period?

provide an alternative option

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

謝謝老師，那我試試，不過我估計可能不行，我不太符合他們的條件。

Xiexie laoshi, na wo shishi, buguo wo guji keneng buxing, wo bu tai fuhe tamende tiaojian. Thank you, Teacher, I’ll give it a try then. But my hunch is that it’s not going to work out because I am not qualified.

give a reason

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

老師，我想先看看自己能不能獨立作出個雛形來，要是我覺得完成不了，再跟別人合作，您看行不行？

give a reason

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Below is a chart of how the native speakers employ the expressions of thoughtfulness in the situations:

Give a Reason Provide an Alternative Option

Research Project 17 (94.4%) 10 (55.56%)

Apply for a Program 12 (66.7%) N/A

Work on the Project 15 (83.3%) 4 (22.2%)

Alone

Figure 14: Strategies of Thoughtfulness Native Speakers Use in Denying a Request from a Teacher.

Note that the two strategies do not conflict with each other; they can both appear in an utterance. Also, when providing an alternative option, neng and keyi are still the two auxiliary verbs that are allowed to ask for permission. For example:

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Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

auxiliary verb

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo zuijin bijiao mang, neng buneng deng wo guowanle zhe duan shijian zai canjia? Teacher, I am sorry. I have been busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this period?

give a reason provide an alternative option

4.3.1.6 Summary

Based on the five features mentioned above, a typical expression for each of the three situations can be analyzed as follows:

Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo zuijin bijiao mang, neng buneng deng wo guowanle zhe duan shijian zai canjia? Teacher, I am sorry. I have been busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this period?

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

address terms apology give a reason provide an alternative option

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Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

謝謝老師的信息。我覺得這個工作很好，但是可能有些不適合我。所以我考慮了一下，可能還是不會申請了。非常感謝老師的建議！

Xiexie laoshide xinxi. Wo juede zhege gongzuo hen hao, danshi youxie bu shihe wo. Suoyi wo kaolü le yixia, keneng haishi buhui shenqing le. Feichang ganxie laoshide yijian!

Thank you for your information, Teacher. I think this is a great job, but I may not be suitable for it. So I probably won’t apply for it after consideration. Thank you very much for your suggestion.

appreciation & address terms hedge consideration

謝謝老師的信息。我覺得這個工作很好，但是可能有些不適合我。所以我考慮了一下，

可能還是不會申請了。非常感謝老師的建議！

hedge appreciation give a reason

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

老師, 我可能時間上很難和別的同學協調，不知道自己做可以嗎？

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老師, 我可能時間上很難和別的同學協調，不知道自己做可以嗎？

address terms hedge give a reason hedge

4.3.2 “Face” in Denying a Request from Your Teacher

In the three situations mentioned in 4.3 (i.e. Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone), all five features are related to face. The address terms are used to acknowledge the relationship between the speaker and the hearer and take the hearer’s face into consideration. The expression of apology is used for being unable to fulfill the expectation of the teacher and it restores both the teacher’s and the student’s face, as the teacher’s face is affected by the student’s decline and the student’s face is at risk because of the decline. The expression of consideration and appreciation is used to assure the teacher that his/her request is of special value and will be thoroughly considered. In this way, the teacher’s face can be respected and preserved. The adoption of hedges minimizes the impact of the decline and saves both the speaker’s and the hearer’s face.

The expression of thoughtfulness is used to show consideration of the hearer’s face and reduce the impact of the decline by providing an alternative option, so it also saves both the speaker’s and the hearer’s face. We can delineate the features of denying the request from your teacher who wants you to help him/her with a research project as follows:

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Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo zuijin bijiao mang, neng buneng deng wo guowanle zhe duan shijian zai canjia? Teacher, I am sorry. I have been busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this period?

(for the face of both the S and H) (for the face of both the S and H) apology provide an alternative option

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

address terms give a reason

(for the face of the H) (for the face of both the S and H)

4.3.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies

There are three common deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have in denying a request from their teacher – lack of hedges, scanty knowledge of consideration and appreciation, and insufficient expression of thoughtfulness. As discussed in 4.3.2, they are all face-related.

One of the C2 learners’ weaknesses in denying a request from a teacher is the lack of hedges in their responses. Consequently, their decline sounds straightforward, even a bit impertinent. In the research project, for example, twenty students (69%) use the 145

expression wo meiyou shijian 我沒有時間 (I don’t have time) or wo meiyou kong 我沒有

空 (I don’t have time) to deny the request. Although they do use the apology expression duibiqi 對不起 (sorry) before wo meiyou shijian or wo meiyou kong, the whole utterance still sounds rude as a response to a request from a teacher. Contrastively, only two native speakers (11.1%) use the expression wo meiyou shijian in the same situation, but both of them try to lessen the impact of their decline by using hedges in their responses – one says wo haoxiang meiyou shijian 我好像沒有時間 (It seems that I wouldn’t have time) and the other says wo keneng meiyou shijian 我可能沒有時間 (It’s quite possible that I wouldn’t have time); haoxiang and keneng are the hedges that take both the teacher’s and the student’s face into account.

Similar problems go to the recommend-a-program situation. Many of the C2 learners’ deficiencies (51.7%) in this situation come from the inappropriate ways of declining – wo buxiang 我不想 (I don’t feel like it), wo buyong 我不用 (I don’t need to), wo buneng 我不能 (I can’t), wo buyao 我不要 (I don’t want to), wo buxihuan 我不喜歡

(I don’t like to) or wo meiyou xingqu 我沒有興趣 (I am not interested). Even if most of the learners do use the apology expression duibiqi in their responses, it does not reduce the brusqueness of their direct expressions of decline. In contrast, none of the native speakers use similar expressions such as wo buxiang, wo buyong, wo buneng, wo buyao, wo buxihuan or wo meiyou xingqu. Rather, they avoid responding to the request directly and show their hesitation by taking the aforementioned strategies (i.e. expression of consideration and appreciation, give a reason, and hedges).

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In the situation of working on the project alone, hedges still play an important role in the deficiencies C2 learners have. The majority of the deficiencies (51.7%) come from the following expressions: wo xihuan ziji zuo 我喜歡自己做 (I like to do it myself), wo xiang ziji zuo 我想自己做 (I feel like doing it by myself), wo yao ziji zuo 我要自己做 (I want to do it by myself), wo juede ziji yige ren bijiao hao 我覺得自己一個人比較好 (I think it’s better to do it by myself). These expressions sound rather presumptuous and are especially inappropriate as a response to a request from a teacher. As a matter of fact, none of the expressions mentioned above appears in the native speakers’ responses.

Instead, most of the natives (72.2%) would ask the teacher whether it would be possible to do it alone by using the hedge wo buzhidao 我不知道 (I don’t know), as in buzhidao you meiyou keneng wo zheci ziji zuo 不知道有沒有可能我這次自己做 (I was wondering if I could do it myself this time).

The second error that C2 learners have is their scanty knowledge of consideration and appreciation. Below is a chart of consideration and appreciation expressed in the C2 learners’ responses:

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Show Interest Show Consideration Show Appreciaiton

Research Project 4 (13.8%) N/A 1 (3.4%)

Apply for a Program N/A 2 (6.9%) 6 (20.7%)

Work on the Project N/A 2 (6.9%) N/A

Alone

Figure 15: Expressions of Consideration and Appreciation C2 Learners Use in

Denying a Request from a Teacher.

Compared with the native speakers’ responses in Figure 13, we can see that C2 learners are particularly weak at showing interest and consideration – only four learners show interest in the research project situation and two say that they will consider it in the situation of applying for a program.

Last but not least, C2 learners use insufficient expression of thoughtfulness in denying a request from their teacher. In 4.3.1.5, two strategies are used by the natives to show their thoughtfulness in this situation – give a reason and provide an alternative option. Let us see how the C2 learners employ them in their responses:

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Give a Reason Provide an Alternative Option

Research Project 27 (93.1%) 4 (13.8%)

Apply for a Program 7 (24.1%) 1 (3.4%)

Work on the Project 7 (24.1%) N/A

Alone

Figure 16: Strategies of Thoughtfulness C2 Learners Use in Denying a Request from a Teacher.

As we can see from Figure 16, while C2 learners are fine at giving a reason in the research project situation, they are not as skilled in the other two situations. C2 learners are especially inadequate in providing an alternative option. This would make them sound inconsiderate, if not egocentric.

To conclude, there are three common deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have in denying a request from their teacher. The first one is lack of hedges, such as haoxiang and keneng. This deficiency makes their decline blunt and inappropriate as a response to their teacher’s request. The second deficiency is their lack of knowledge of expressions of consideration and appreciation. They are particularly weak at showing interest and consideration. The last one is insufficient expression of thoughtfulness. C2 learners need improvement in giving a reason and providing an alternative option.

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4.4 Deny a Request from a Friend

In this part, we will focus on denying a request from a friend. Five situations will be discussed: (1) Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. (2) Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. (3) Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. (4) Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. (5) Your

Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. Features of native speakers’ responses will be first presented followed by the analysis of C2 learners’ deficiencies.

4.4.1 Features

There are four important features in denying a request from a friend – drop of address terms, the expression of apology, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness. Among the four, the adoption of hedges and the expression of thoughtfulness are essential. While the expression of apology is not mandatory, it is still used in the majority of instances.

4.4.1.1 Drop of Address Terms

One of the most salient features that distinguish denying a request from a friend from the other situations in 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 is the significant drop of address terms Gao

Ming in the natives’ responses:

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Percentage of Using the Address Terms

Gao Ming

Teach English 1 (5.6%)

Proofread an essay N/A

Borrow a textbook N/A

A ride to the airport N/A

Gao Ming wants to stay with you N/A

Figure 17: Percentage of Using the Address Terms Gao Ming in Denying a Request from a Friend.

Figure 17 is striking in that only one native speaker uses the address terms Gao

Ming in one of the five situations. This phenomenon of dropping address terms makes denying a requet from a friend different from the other situations mentioned in 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3, in which the use of address terms plays a significant role in the appropriateness of the performance.

4.4.1.2 The Expression of Apology

The apology expressions duibuqi 對不起 (sorry), buhaoyisi 不好意思 (sorry), or baoqian 抱歉 (sorry) appear extensively in the five situations. For example:

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Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

教英語我很願意，但是我最近實在太忙了，時間排不過來，真對不起。

Jiao yingyu wo hen yuanyi, danshi wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, shijian pai bu guolai, zhen duibuqi. I would be happy to teach English, but I have been very busy and I don’t think I’ll have time. So sorry!

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

真對不起最近太忙了，下次有空一定幫。

Zhen duibuqi zuijin tai mang le, xiaci you kong yiding bang. I am sorry. I have been too busy. I’ll do it next time.

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. You’d say:

很抱歉，我今晚也很需要這本書。我明天再借給你，來得及嗎？不好意思啊！

Hen baoqian, wo jinwan ye xuyao zheben shu. Wo mingtian zai jie gei ni, laideji ma? Buhaoyisi a! I am sorry. I need this book tonight. I can give it to you tomorrow. Would it be okay? Sorry!

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

我明早有課，不好意思，要不你問問別人？

Wo mingzao you ke, buhaoyisi, yaobu ni wenwen bieren? I have class tomorrow morning, sorry! Can you ask someone else?

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

我跟爸媽住一起，我是沒問題，但是我爸媽比較介意外人一起住。不好意思啊。

Wo gen bama zhu yiqi, wo shi mei wenti, danshi wo bama bijiao jieyi wairen yiqi

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zhu. Buhaoyisi a. I live with my parents. I am okay with it, but my parents are a bit uncomfortable with visitors. I am sorry.

Below is a chart of the percentage of using apology expressions in each situation:

Percentage of Using Apology Expressions

Teach English 6 (33.3%)

Proofread an essay 9 (50%)

Borrow a textbook 13 (72.2%)

A ride to the airport 12 (66.7%)

Gao Ming wants to stay with you 7 (38.9%)

Figure 18: Percentage of Using Apology Expressions in Denying a Request from a Friend.

Figure 18 shows that in the situations of proofreading an essay, borrowing a textbook and giving a ride to the airport, the majority of native speakers will use apology expressions in their responses. In teaching English and staying in your friend’s place, the number is between 30% and 40%.

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4.4.1.3 The Adoption of Hedges

The third feature of denying a request from a friend is the adoption of hedges.

Besides the hedges identified in 4.3.1.4 (i.e. haoxiang 好像 it seems that, keneng 可能 possibly, youdianr 有點兒 a bit, kind of), two more hedges appear in this case – kongpa

恐怕 (I am afraid) and tai 太 (a bit). For instance:

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

哎呀，真對不起，我已經有安排了，恐怕沒有辦法去送你啊…真抱歉！也許你問問看別的同學？

Ai ya, zhen duibuqi, wo yijing you anpai le, kongpa meiyou banfa qu song ni a…zhen baoqian! Yexu ni wenwen biede tongxue? Ah, I am sorry, I have other engagements. I am afraid I can’t. Sorry. Maybe you can ask someone else?

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

真不好意思，我家那幾天有別的客人，不太方便呢，真對不起呀！

Zhen buhaoyisi, wo jia na jitian you biede keren, bu tai fangbian ne, zhen duibuqi a! I am sorry. I have guests on those days and it’s a bit inconvenient. Sorry.

The tai here is not a stress marker as its common appearance in the tai…le structure

(e.g. tai da le 太大了 too big). Rather, it functions as a hedge that minimizes the impact of the decline. In the example, instead of saying bufangbian 不方便 (inconvenient), bu tai fangbian 不太方便 (a bit inconvenient) sounds softer and makes the decline less blunt.

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4.4.1.4 The Expression of Thoughtfulness

In 4.3.1.5, I identified two strategies to show thoughtfulness in denying a request from your teacher: (1) give a reason, (2) provide an alternative option. When it comes to denying a request from a friend, both of the strategies are still favored. Let us look at some examples:

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

對不起，我最近實在太忙，要不你問問別人有沒有時間？

Duibuqi, wo zuijin shizai tai mang, yaobu ni wenwen bieren you mei you shijian? I am sorry. I have been really busy. Can you ask someone else?

give a reason provide an alternative option

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

最近特別忙呢，等我忙完這兩天幫你改行不行？

Zuijin tebie mang ne, deng wo mang wan zhe liangtian bang ni gai xing buxing? I have been extremely busy lately. Can I do it after I have my work done in two days?

give a reason provide an alternative option

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. You’d say:

give a reason provide an alternative option

不好意思，我也還沒看。我今晚看完，明早借給你好嗎？

Buhaoyisi, wo ye hai meikan. Wo jinwan kan wan, mingzao jie gei ni hao ma? 155

I am sorry. I haven’t finished it either. I will finish it tonight and can give it to you tomorrow morning. How about that?

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

我明早有課，不好意思，要不你問問別人？

Wo mingzao you ke, buhaoyisi, yaobu ni wenwen bieren? I have class tomorrow morning, sorry! Can you ask someone else?

give a reason provide an alternative option

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

好像有點不方便呢，要不我幫你找一家合適的旅館？

Haoxiang youdian bufangbian ne, yaobu wo bang ni zhao yijia heshi de lüguan. It’s a bit inconvenient. Maybe I can find a hotel for you?

give a reason provide an alternative option

Below is a chart of how the native speakers employ the two strategies in the five situations:

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Give a Reason Provide an Alternative Option

Teach English 18 (100%) 11 (61.1%)

Proofread an essay 17 (94.4%) 13 (72.2%)

Borrow a textbook 18 (100%) 14 (77.8%)

A ride to the airport 18 (100%) 8 (44.4%)

Gao Ming wants to stay 17 (94.4%) 6 (33.3%)

with you

Figure 19: Strategies of Thoughtfulness Native Speakers Use in Denying a Request from a Friend.

In Figure 19, we find that giving a reason is what almost every native speaker does in denying a request from a friend, whereas providing an alternative option varies in situations. The reason could be that in the situations of teaching English, proofreading an essay, and borrowing a textbook, it is probably easier to provide another option than giving a ride to the airport or staying with a friend in Shanghai. Common general reasons people give are you shi 有事 (have things to attend to), tai mang 太忙 (too busy), and bufangbian 不方便 (inconvenient). If they want to make their reasons more convincing, more specifics will be given, such as car problems or parents’ concerns.

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4.4.1.5 Summary

Based on the four features mentioned above, a typical expression for each of the four situations can be analyzed as follows:

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

哎呀，真對不起，我最近實在是太忙了，恐怕抽不出時間啊…

Ai ya, zhen duibuqi, wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, kongpa choubuchu shijian a …

Oh, I am sorry, I have been terribly busy lately and I am afraid I won’t be able to squeeze time.

哎呀，真對不起，我最近實在是太忙了，恐怕抽不出時間啊…

expression of apology give a reason the adoption of hedges

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

不好意思啊，我最近真是太忙了，沒有時間。過一陣子再說好嗎？

Buhaoyisi a, wo zuijin zhenshi tai mang le, meiyou shijian. Guo yizhenzi zai shuo hao ma?

I am sorry. I have been too busy recently and I don’t have time. Can we talk about it later?

不好意思啊，我最近真是太忙了，沒有時間。過一陣子再說好嗎？

expression of apology give a reason provide an alternative option 158

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. You’d say:

不好意思，我也還沒看。我今晚看完，明早借給你好嗎？

Buhaoyisi, wo ye hai meikan. Wo jinwan kan wan, mingzao jie gei ni hao ma? I am sorry. I haven’t finished it either. I will finish it tonight and can give it to you tomorrow morning. How about that?

不好意思，我也還沒看。我今晚看完，明早借給你好嗎？

expression of apology give a reason provide an alternative option

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

哎呀，真對不起，我已經有安排了，恐怕沒有辦法去送你啊…真抱歉！也許你問問看別的同學？

Ai ya, zhen duibuqi, wo yijing you anpai le, kongpa meiyou banfa qu song ni a…zhen baoqian! Yexu ni wenwen biede tongxue?

Ah, I am sorry, I have other engagements. I am afraid I can’t. Sorry. Maybe you can ask someone else?

expression of apology expression of apology

哎呀，真對不起，我已經有安排了，恐怕沒有辦法去送你啊…真抱歉！也許你問問看別的同學？

give a reason hedge provide an alternative option

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Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

真不好意思，我家那幾天有別的客人，不太方便呢，真對不起呀！

Zhen buhaoyisi, wo jia na jitian you biede keren, bu tai fangbian ne, zhen duibuqi a! I am sorry. I have guests on those days and it’s a bit inconvenient. Sorry.

真不好意思，我家那幾天有別的客人，不太方便呢，真對不起呀！

expression of apology give a reason hedge expression of apology

4.4.2 “Face” in Denying a Request from a Friend

In the five situations mentioned in 4.4 (i.e. Your Chinese friend wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. Your Chinese friend wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. Your Chinese friend wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. Your Chinese friend wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. Your Chinese friend asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no), three of the four features are related to face. The expression of apology is used for being unable to fulfill the expectation of the friend and it restores both the friend’s and the speaker’s face, as the friend’s face is affected by the speaker’s decline and the speaker’s face is at risk because of the decline. The adoption of hedges minimizes the impact of the decline and saves both the friend’s and the speaker’s face. The expresssion of thoughtfulness is used to show consideration of the friend’s face and reduces the impact of the decline by providing an alternative option, so it also saves both the friend’s

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and the speaker’s face. We can delineate the features of denying the request from a friend who wants you to teach his sister English as follows:

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

哎呀，真對不起，我最近實在是太忙了，恐怕抽不出時間啊…

Ai ya, zhen duibuqi, wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, kongpa choubuchu shijian a …

Oh, I am sorry, I have been terribly busy lately and I am afraid I won’t be able to squeeze time.

(for the face of both the S and H)

give a reason

哎呀，真對不起，我最近實在是太忙了，恐怕抽不出時間啊…

expression of apology the adoption of hedges

(for the face of both the S and H) (for the face of both the S and H)

4.4.3 C2 Learners’ Deficiencies

There are two common deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have in denying a request from a friend – lack of hedges and insufficient expression of thoughtfulness. Both of them are face-related.

The lack of hedge is the thread that runs through the deficiencies C2 learners have in denying a request from a friend. In 4.3.3, I have identified two kinds of deficiencies C2 learners have in denying a request from their teacher due to lack of hedging – one is the 161

expressions such as wo meiyou shijian 我沒有時間 (I don’t have time) wo meiyou kong

我沒有空 (I don’t have time) and the other is about expressions such as wo buxiang 我不

想 (I don’t feel like it), wo buyong 我不用 (I don’t need to), wo buneng 我不能 (I can’t), wo buyao 我不要 (I don’t want to), wo buxihuan 我不喜歡 (I don’t like to) or wo meiyou xingqu 我沒有興趣 (I am not interested). They are both again the culprit in denying a request from a friend.

Below is a chart that shows the percentage of C2 learners to use the two kinds of inappropriate expressions in the five situations:

wo meiyou shijian/ wo buxiang/ wo buyong/ wo

wo meiyou kong/ wo buneng/ wo buyao/ wo bu xihua/ bu

meiyou gongfu xing/ bukeyi

Teach English 7 (24.1%) 10 (34.5%)

Proofread an essay 17 (58.6%) 2 (6.9%)

Borrow a textbook N/A 3 (10.3%)

A ride to the airport 6 (20.7%) 8 (27.6%)

Gao Ming wants to 3 (10.3%) 6 (20.7%)

stay with you

Figure 20: Percentage of Two Kinds of Inappropriate Expressions Due to Lack of Hedges in Making a Request from a Friend. 162

As we can see from Figure 20, when C2 learners express that they are short on time as a response to a request, they are inclined to say wo meiyou shijian, wo meiyou kong, or wo meiyou gongfu. Without the use of hedges such as haoxiang 好像 (it seems that), keneng 可能 (possibly), or kongpa 恐怕 (I am afraid), the expressions are insolent. They give the requester the feeling that they do not want to do the favor at all; being short on time is simply an excuse.

In addition, when C2 learners would like to express their inability to help, they tend to say wo buxiang 我不想 (I don’t feel like it), wo buneng 我不能 (I can’t), wo buyao 我

不要 (I don’t want to), or simply buxing 不行 (I can’t) or bukeyi 不可以 (I can’t). As mentioned in 4.3.3, these expressions are extremely inappropriate when someone wants to make a proper decline either to a teacher or to a friend, as they send a strong message that the decliner is determined and there is no room for discussion.

The second error that C2 learners have is their insufficient expression of thoughtfulness. In 4.4.1.4, two strategies that native speakers typically use to show thoughtfulness in denying a request from a friend are: (1) give a reason, (2) provide an alternative option. Below is a chart of how C2 learners employ them in the five situations:

Give a Reason Provide an Alternative Option

Teach English 23 (79.3%) 1 (3.4%)

Proofread an essay 20 (69%) 6 (20.7%)

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Borrow a textbook 27 (93.1%) 8 (27.6%)

A ride to the airport 20 (69%) 4 (13.8%)

Gao Ming wants to 23 (79.3%) 2 (6.9%)

stay with you

Figure 21: Strategies of Thoughtfulness C2 Learners Use in Denying a Request from a Friend.

Figure 21 reveals two facts. First, C2 learners are aware of the necessity in giving a reason in these situations. However, their problem lies in how to give a reason in an appropriate way; lack of hedges is a good example. In 4.4.1.4, I have mentioned that common general reasons native speakers give are you shi 有事 (have things to do), tai mang 太忙 (too busy), and bufangbian 不方便 (inconvenient). Only a small number of

C2 learners (five students) use them in the responses; the majority still choose to say wo meiyou shijian 我沒有時間 (I don’t have time) or wo meiyou kong 我沒有空 (I don’t have time) in a rather blunt way. Second, compared to native speakers in Figure 19, C2 learners are weak at giving an alternative option. For example, in the situation of borrowing a textbook, 77.8% of the native speakers offer an alternative (e.g. give it to him/her tomorrow) whereas only 27.6% of the C2 learners do the same. Provision of an alternative option gives the requester the feeling that his/her face is still cared for even though his/her request is denied.

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In short, in denying a request from a friend, there are two common deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have. The first one is lack of hedges, such as haoxiang 好像

(it seems like), keneng 可能 (possibly), or kongpa 恐怕 (I am afraid) when they would like to express their lack of time. The second one is their insufficient expression of thoughtfulness. While C2 learners know that they should give a reason to deny a request, they need to improve their skills of giving proper reasons by adopting hedges. Moreover, they should enhance their skills of providing an alternative option as it minimizes the impact of the denial and makes the requester feel that his/her face is still cared for.

4.5 Summary

In this chapter, I have analyzed and discussed the four situations – make a request of your teacher, make a request of a friend, deny a request from your teacher, and deny a request from a friend. Four situations of making a request of your teacher, four situations of making a request of a friend, three situations of denying a request from your teacher, and five situations of denying a request from a friend are investigated. Based on the results of the survey, I first highlighted the features of these situations from the native speakers’ responses and then pointed out the common deficiencies beginning-level C2 learners have. I also delineated the role “face” plays in these four situations. Below is a chart that summarizes the features of the situations and the common deficiencies of C2 learners:

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Features of Native Speakers’ C2 Learners’ Deficiencies

Responses

Make a request of your 1. The use of address terms. 1. Improper address terms. teacher 2. The expression of 2. Negligence of apology apology. expressions.

3. The adoption of polite 3. A comparatively lower words. rate of adoption of polite words. 4. Favored choices of auxiliary verbs. 4. Cultural translation.

Make a request of a 1. The use of address terms. 1. Deficient expression of thoughtfulness. friend 2. The expression of thoughtfulness. 2. Inappropriate adoption of polite words. 3. The adoption of polite words. 3. Wrong usage of auxiliary verbs. 4. Favored choices of auxiliary verbs.

Deny a request from your 1. The use of address terms. 1. Lack of hedges. teacher 2. The expression of 2. Scanty knowledge of apology. consideration and appreciation. 3. The expression of consideration and 3. Insufficient expression appreciation. of thoughtfulness.

4. The adoption of hedges.

5. The expression of thoughtfulness.

Deny a request from a 1. Drop of address terms. 1. Lack of hedges. friend 2. The expression of 2. Insufficient expression apology. of thoughtfulness.

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3. The adoption of hedges.

4. The expression of thoughtfulness.

Figure 22: Summary of the Features of the Native Speakers’ Responses and C2

Learners’ Deficiencies.

In the situation of making a request of your teacher, C2 learners should work on the address terms of their teacher, adopting apology expressions when necessary, using more polite words, and avoiding cultural translation. In the situation of making a request of a friend, besides using proper polite words and auxiliary verbs, C2 learners also need to work on their expressions of thoughtfulness, especially asking for availability and providing an alternative option. When it comes to denying a request, lack of hedges is the most significant deficiency C2 learners have. This consequently makes their reasons to decline bald and impertinent. In addition, they also need to attend to the importance of providing an alternative option and showing consideration/appreciation. After all, it is usually not the decline that harms the requester most; it is the way the decline is situated and presented, as for the most part it is related to face.

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CHAPTER 5

INTERPLAY AMONG FACE, REQUESTING, AND DECLINING

From Western perspectives, face can be viewed as a sense of social status or self- representation that reflects what a person conceives of himself or herself in relation to other people or social groups. In Chinese culture, the concept of face is expressed in two terms – lian and mianzi. Lian is a combination of integrity, self-discipline, and moral obligation. It is either gained or lost as a whole. Mianzi, in contrast, is a gradual increase or decrease in volume. Mianzi is tightly associated with a person’s social status, power, wealth, ability, and thus can be invested, gained, negotiated, maintained, or lost. Lian and mianzi are not independent of each other, nor is one a prerequisite of the other. They are merely based on different sets of criteria for judging the performance of an individual.

Scollon & Scollon (1995:52) have pointed out that people need to make assumptions before they engage in any communication. Those assumptions are involved with three factors – power, distance, and weight of imposition. The differences between conversing with a teacher and conversing with a friend can be generally summarized as follows:

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Teacher Friend

Power +P -P

Distance +D +D or –D24

Figure 23: The Roles Power and Distance Play in the Teacher-Student and Friend- Friend Interactions.

The teacher-student relationship is apparently +P (plus power) because the teacher has more privileges over his/her student. The relationship between friends, however, is –

P (minus power) because friends are egalitarian. Likewise, the teacher-student relationship is –D whereas friends can be marked as –D if they are close or +D if they are not. Presumably, different assumptions made to different interlocutors should be reflected from the language they use in their interaction.

In this chapter, I further explore the role “face” plays in requesting and declining in

Chinese language and culture. Following the analysis and discussions in the previous chapter, here we are exploring the following questions: (1) What factors do people take into account when they make a request or deny a request? (2) Do people have different considerations when they make/deny a request of/from their teacher/friend? If so, what are the differences? (3) What does the role “face” play in requesting and declining? (4)

What different considerations do native speakers and C2 learners have when they make/deny a request of/from their teacher/friend?

24 For friends, +D or –D depends on the level of friendship.

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5.1 A Follow-up Survey

In the aforementioned survey in 3.3 (see Appendix B), besides the handwritten questions, the same participants were also asked to answer four multiple choice questions

– two appear after the make-a-request questions and the other two appear after the deny- a-request questions. The four questions are: (1) what factors would you consider when you would like to make a request of your teacher, (2) what factors would you consider when you would like to make a request of a friend, (3) what factors would you consider when you would like to deny a request from your teacher, and (4) what factors would you consider when you would like to deny a request from a friend.

Under the category of request-of-your-teacher and of request-of-your-friend, there are six options: (1) whether or not it’s a good time to make the request, (2) whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and the teacher/friend, (3) whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for the teacher/friend, (4) whether or not it will make the teacher/friend think negatively of you, (5) whether or not you did a favor for the teacher/friend before, (6) others, please explain. The participants can select all that apply.

Under the category of deny-a-request-from-your-teacher/friend, the options are: (1) whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your teacher/friend, (2) whether or not you will make the teacher/friend feel “a loss of face”, (3) whether or not it will make the teacher/friend think negatively of you, (4) whether or not your teacher/friend denied your request before, (5) others, please explain. Just as the make-a- request category, the participants can select all that apply.

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To compare with C2 learners, the same questions were asked in Chinese in the survey to the native speakers in Appendix C.

5.1.1 Results of the Survey

For the convenience of contrast and comparison, the results of the responses of native speakers and C2 learners are presented in the same table.

When you would like to make a request of your teacher, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Native C2

Speakers Learners

Whether or not it’s a good time to make the request? 17 (94.4%) 28 (96.6%)

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you 12 (66.7%) 15 (51.7%) and the teacher?

Whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for 15 (83.3%) 26 (89.7%) the teacher?

Whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively 13 (72.2%) 20 (69%) of you?

Whether or not you did a favor for the teacher before? 3 (16.7%) 2 (6.9%)

Others. Please explain 3 (16.7%) 6 (20.7%)

Figure 24: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of Their Teacher.

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When you would like to make a request of a friend, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Native C2

Speakers Learners

Whether or not it’s a good time to make the request? 15 (83.3%) 28 (96.6%)

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you 11 (61.1%) 23 (79.3%) and your friend?

Whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for 16 (88.9%) 29 (100%) your friend?

Whether or not it will make the friend think negatively of 10 (55.6%) 15 (51.7%) you?

Whether or not you did a favor for the friend before? 13 (72.2%) 22 (75.9%)

Others. Please explain 9 (50%) 4 (13.8%)

Figure 25: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of a Friend.

When you would like to deny a request from your teacher, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Native C2

Speakers Learners

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between 17 (94.4%) 28 (96.6%) you and your teacher?

Whether or not you will make the teacher feel “a loss of 13 (72.2%) 13 (44.8%) face”?

Whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively 14 (77.8%) 25 (86.2%) of you?

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Whether or not your teacher denied your request before? 2 (11.1%) 15 (51.7%)

Others. Please explain 6 (33.3%) 3 (10.3%)

Figure 26: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a Request from Their Teacher.

When you would like to deny a request from a friend, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Native C2

Speakers Learners

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between 17 (94.4%) 26 (89.7%) you and your friend?

Whether or not you will make your friend feel “a loss of 14 (77.8%) 14 (48.3%) face”?

Whether or not it will make the friend think negatively 13 (72.2%) 15 (51.7%) of you?

Whether or not your friend denied your request before? 7 (38.9%) 13 (44.8%)

Others. Please explain 6 (33.3%) 1 (13.4%)

Figure 27: Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a Request from a Friend.

As for other considerations, below are the collections of both the native speakers and

C2 learners in the four situations:

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When you would like to make a request of your teacher, what other considerations would you have:

Native Speakers25

1. Whether or not the teacher is the best person to turn to in this regard?

2. What is my performance in the teacher’s class? What is his/her impression on me?

3. Whether or not the request will make the teacher feel that I am stupid, immature or not independent?

C2 Learners

1. Whether or not I can say it in good Chinese?

2. What is the best way to ask politely?

3. I believe it is the teacher’s duty to help students.

4. I need to be respectful in all requests.

5. Whether or not it’s the teacher’s fault that I need to make a request (e.g. he/she graded my paper wrong and I want a grade change).

Figure 28: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of Their Teacher.

When you would like to make a request of a friend, what other considerations would you have:

Native Speakers

1. Depends on the relationship with the friend and what kind of request (big or small).

2. Whether or not this friend is reliable?

25 The native speakers’ answers were originally written in Chinese. For the convenience of readers, I translated them into English.

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3. How possible he/she would agree?

4. Whether or not he/she looks comfortable when I come up with the request?

5. Whether or not this friend is the best person to turn to in this regard?

C2 Learners

1. Depends on our relationship.

2. Can I figure it out myself first?

3. I can be a little more relaxed in speech with a good friend.

4. Likelihood of request being granted.

Figure 29: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Making a Request of a Friend.

When you would like to deny a request from your teacher, what other considerations would you have:

Native Speakers

1. I simply don’t deny a request from a teacher.

2. Depends on the frequency of request from the teacher. If it’s occasional, I will not decline. If it is not, I will see what the requests are.

3. It’s difficult for me to deny a request from a teacher. Even if I need to say no this time, I‘ll try to make it up later. If the teacher is not my teacher, I will find an excuse to decline if necessary.

4. Whether or not I can do it.

5. Depends on the relationship between the teacher and me.

C2 Learners

1. Whether or not it will hurt my grade.

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2. Whether it will jeopardize my career path.

3. If it will make me look better to the teacher.

Figure 30: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a Request from Their Teacher.

When you would like to deny a request from a friend, what other considerations would you have:

Native Speakers

1. Whether or not I can do it?

2. Whether or not I am interested in the request? If it’s going shopping, I would usually decline.

3. If he/she is a close friend, I will ask for his/her understanding after I decline. If he/she is just a friend, I will try to find an excuse but not to harm his/her mianzi.

4. Largely depends on our relationship. If he/she did me a favor before, I would still try to return the favor even though I am reluctant about the request.

5. The closer the friend is, the less I would take the considerations mentioned above into account.

6. I will consider how important this friend is to me.

C2 Learners

1. If he/she will be upset.

Figure 31: Other Considerations Native Speakers and C2 Learners Have in Denying a Request from a Friend.

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5.1.2 Analysis and Discussions of the Survey

There is no significant difference between native speakers and C2 learners in the situations of making a request of your teacher (Figure 24). Among the considerations, whether or not it’s a good time to make the request tops the others in both groups, followed by whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for the teacher and then whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively of you. Whether or not you did a favor for the teacher before is least considered among the options.

While there is still no major difference between native speakers and C2 learners in the situations of making a request of a friend (Figure 25), the priority of considerations is different from that in making a request of your teacher. Whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for your friend tops whether or not it’s a good time by a small number, followed by whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your friend, and then whether or not it will make the friend think negatively of you. Most strikingly, 72.2% of native speakers and 75.9% of C2 learners will consider whether or not you did a favor for the friend before when they make a request to a friend, which contrasts significantly to the situation of making a request of a teacher (16.7% of native speakers and 6.9% of C2 learners).

In denying a request from your teacher (Figure 26), there are similarities as well as differences between native speakers and C2 learners. The similarities are that both groups put whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your teacher and whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively of you as priority in their considerations. However, 72.2% of the natives will consider whether or not you will

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make the teacher feel “a loss of face”, whereas only 44.8% of the C2 learners will do so.

Moreover, 51.7% of the C2 learners will consider whether or not your teacher denied your request before, while only 11.1% of the natives will have this in mind.

Similar results go to denying a request from a friend (Figure 27). Both groups choose whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your friend and whether or not it will make the friend think negatively of you as their top considerations.

Nonetheless, 77.8% of the natives will consider whether or not you will make your friend feel “a loss of face”, whereas only 48.3% of the C2 learners will do the same. Moreover,

38.9% of the natives will consider whether or not your friend denied your request before, which is close to the 44.8% of the C2 learners.

When it comes to other considerations in making a request of your teacher (Figure

28), native speakers seem to be concerned about their image in the teacher’s mind while

C2 learners care more about the legitimacy and the politeness of the request. Natives do not want the request to effect the relationship with the teacher. C2 learners, in contrast, would like their request to be reasonable and presented in an appropriate way. In the situations of making a request of a friend (Figure 29), there seems to be a resonance between natives and C2 learners – a few people from each group will consider the relationship with their friend and the likelihood of the request being granted. However, native speakers and C2 learners do show different considerations in denying a request from their teacher (Figure 30) – The natives do not usually deny a request from their teacher, and if they do, they will come up with a remedy to minimize the impact on the relationship. Contrastively, C2 learners are more concerned about their grade or career

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path; they fear the decline will hurt their grade or jeopardize their career path. In denying a request from a friend (Figure 31), the majority of the native speakers’ considerations still lie in the relationship with the friend. As one puts it, “the closer the friend is, the less

I would take the considerations mentioned above into account.” There is not much response collected from the C2 learners in this regard.

From the survey, we can draw preliminary conclusions as follows: (1) As far as considerations are concerned, native speakers and C2 learners do not show a significant difference in making a request of their teacher and of their friend. They both regard timing and trouble/inconvenience as the priority in consideration. (2) Whether or not you did a favor for the friend before plays an important role in making a request of a friend in both groups; the idea of qian renqing 欠人情 (owe a favor) mentioned by Hwang

(1987:954) is by no means exclusive to Chinese culture. (3) Compared to native speakers, the sense of “loss of face” in denying a request from your teacher and from a friend seems to be insufficient in C2 learners. This lack of sense of “loss of face” could correspond to their deficiencies (i.e. lack of hedges, scanty knowledge of considerations and appreciation, and insufficient expression of thoughtfulness) discussed in 4.3.3 and

4.4.3. (4) In denying a request from your teacher and from a friend, both native speakers and C2 learners think that whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your teacher/friend and whether or not it will make the teacher/friend think negatively of you are important considerations. (5) About half of the C2 learners will consider whether or not your teacher/friend denied your request before in denying a request. When it

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comes to native speakers, although the percentage in denying a request from a friend is higher than in denying a request from a teacher, the consideration is never the majority.

5.2 Face as a Theme in Requesting and Declining

Nisbett (2003:57-61), using Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama’s terms, states that Asian countries such as China and Japan favor an “interdependent” social system while Western countries, especially U.S.A., favor an “independent” social system.

People’s interaction in an “interdependent” society is largely based on a shared sense of identity and in an “independent” society, the interaction is mostly a means to achieve goals. Nisbett asserts that the training for independence or interdependence starts in the crib. When playing with toys, American mothers will guide toddlers’ attention on objects and supply information about them. Asian parents, in contrast, focus on feelings and social relations (e.g. “would you like to share it with mommy?”). As Nisbett puts it, “as

American parents help to prepare children for a world in which they are expected to act independently, Asian parents help children to anticipate the reactions of other people with whom they will have to coordinate their behavior.” (Nisbett, 2003:59)

The difference between interdependence and independence also impacts cross- cultural communication. Westerners assume that it is the speaker’s responsibility to express clearly so that there won’t be any miscommunication involved. Asians tend to think that the hearers have the responsibility to understand what is said or implied from the utterances. Consequently, Americans “are apt to find Asians hard to read because

Asians are likely to assume that their point has been made indirectly and with finesse.

Asians, in turn, are apt to find Americans direct to the point of condescension or even

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rudeness.” (Nisbett, 2009:61) C2 learners’ lack of hedges in denying a request is a good example in this regard. They feel it is their responsibility to express clearly the reason they cannot grant the request is due to being short on time, so they say wo meiyou shijian

我沒有時間 (I don’t have time) without any redressive strategy. Chinese native speakers, in contrast, tend to employ hedges in their expression (e.g. wo kongpa meiyou shijian 我

恐怕沒有時間 I am afraid that I don’t have time) to make their point indirectly conveyed. Therefore, if a decliner simply says wo meiyou shijian 我沒有時間 (I don’t have time), it is a very direct decline without taking the requester’s face into account.

Since “face” plays an important role and weighs differently for natives and C2 learners as discussed in 5.1.2, in this part I explore “face” as a theme and see how it is manifested in requesting and declining.

5.2.1 The Role “Face” Plays in Requesting

In Walker and Noda’s Cycle of Compiling C2 Memory, a “theme” is how people behave in a situation in order to convey the values of the culture. For example, in asking the teacher to repeat, a student of Chinese will need to raise his/her hand and start with laoshi 老師 (teacher) to get the teacher’s attention, followed by duibuqi 對不起 (excuse me; sorry) to express apology for intrusion, use nin 您 (you in polite form) to address the teacher afterwards to show respect, and adopt polite words along the lines to appear decent. Appropriately asking for attention, apologizing for intrusion, showing respect by using proper terms of address and polite words are the “themes” utilized by Chinese people in this situation. These themes respectfully acknowledge the higher status of the teachers in Chinese society. 181

The thread that runs through these themes is face.26 That is, these themes are the values the speakers take into account in order to maintain the face of both the speaker and their interlocutor. The face here involves both lian and mianzi in Chinese as it is not only associated with the integrity or moral obligation of a person (lian), it is also related to his social status, power, and ability (mianzi). To be more specific, it is lian on mianzi in the aforementioned situations because the speaker, based on his position, power, and ability, aims to maintain his image as a person of integrity and moral obligation through strategies. A person’s position, power, and ability are associated with his mianzi, and his aiming to maintain his image as a person of integrity and moral obligation is related to his lian. Let us take a look at how Figure 24 can correspond to Figure 22 in making a request of your teacher:27

Considerations Native Speakers Have Related Themes in Making a Request of Their Teacher

Whether or not it’s a good time to make (1) The use of address terms to explicitly the request? recognize hierarchy and show respect.

(2) The expression of apology for intrusion.

Whether or not it will harm the (1) The adoption of polite words to ask for relationship between you and the a favor and decrease the possibility of a teacher? potential decline.

Whether or not you will cause (1) The expression of apology for the

26 In this dissertation, I view “politeness” as a value and this value is manifested by face as a theme. For example, people would say that the reason to address the teacher in Chinese culture as nin is out of politeness. I would put it in a broader perspective and argue that this politeness is manifested because of considerations of face.

27 For weight of consideration, I only take the factors that number beyond 50% in Figure 24 into account.

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trouble/inconvenience for the teacher? trouble/inconvenience caused.

(2) The adoption of polite words to show decency and minimize the impact of the trouble/inconvenience.

Whether or not it will make the teacher (1) The expression of apology for the think negatively of you? trouble/inconvenience caused.

(2) The adoption of polite words to minimize the impact on the relationship.

Figure 32: The Correspondence between Figure 24 and Figure 22 in Making a Request of Their Teacher.

As we can see from Figure 32, the considerations native speakers have in making a request of their teacher correspond to the strategies they use. To know whether or not it is a good time to make the request, they need to ask for the teacher’s attention by addressing them appropriately and apologize for intrusion. To reduce the impact of the

FTA caused by the request, adoption of polite words is pervasive. To know whether they would cause trouble/inconvenience for the teacher or make the teacher think negatively of them, the expression of apology and the adoption of polite words are used to reduce the harm. Based on the speaker’s position – a student in this situation – the themes and values he wants to convey are out of consideration of mianzi and their purpose is to successfully perform his role in a group (i.e. to maintain his lian). In other words, whether or not it’s a good time to make the request, whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and the teacher, whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for the teacher, whether or not it will make the teacher think

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negatively of you are all face-related considerations and the use of address terms, the expression of apology, and the adoption of polite words are all face-saving themes. The considerations are made out of face and are reflected by their corresponding themes; the themes echo the considerations – it is lian on mianzi.

Similarly, the correspondence between Figure 25 and Figure 22 in making a request of a friend can be illustrated as follows:

Considerations Native Speakers Have Related Themes in Making a Request of a Friend

Whether or not it’s a good time to make (1) The use of address terms to show the request? respect and acknowledge relationship.

(2) The expression of thoughtfulness to give consideration to the interlocutor’s convenience.

Whether or not it will harm the (1) The expression of thoughtfulness to relationship between you and your rationalize the request and minimize the friend? effect of a potential decline.

(2) The adoption of polite words to ask for a favor and decrease the possibility of a potential decline.

Whether or not you will cause (1) The expression of thoughtfulness to trouble/inconvenience for your friend? give consideration to the interlocutor’s availability and minimize the effect of a potential decline.

(2) The adoption of polite words to show decency and minimize the impact of the trouble/inconvenience.

Whether or not it will make the friend (1) The expression of thoughtfulness to think negatively of you? give consideration to the interlocutor’s availability and minimize the effect of a

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potential decline.

(2) The adoption of polite words to show decency and minimize the effect on the relationship.

Whether or not you did a favor for the (1) The expression of thoughtfulness to friend before? rationalize the request and minimize the effect of a potential decline.

Figure 33: The Correspondence between Figure 25 and Figure 22 in Making a Request of a Friend.

In this situation, out of consideration of mianzi, the expression of thoughtfulness (i.e. ask for availability, give a reason, and provide an alternative option) and the adoption of polite words play important roles throughout the themes; the speaker aims to maintain his reputation as a friend. The considerations native speakers have – whether or not it’s a good time to make the request, whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your friend, whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for your friend, and whether or not it will make the friend think negatively of you function to represent the speaker’s integrity and moral character (lian). Once again, based on the speaker’s role in a group, these face-related considerations correspond to these face-saving themes – it is lian on mianzi.

5.2.2 The Role “Face” Plays in Declining

The role “face” plays in declining is as prominent as in requesting. Let us start with the correspondence between Figure 26 and Figure 22 in denying a request from their teacher: 185

Considerations Native Speakers Have Related Themes in Denying a Request from Their Teacher

Whether or not it will harm the (1) The expression of consideration and relationship between you and your appreciation to acknowledge the weight of teacher? thoughts from the teacher.

(2) The expression of thoughtfulness to rationalize the decline and minimize the effect on the relationship.

Whether or not you will make the teacher (1) The expression of apology to show feel “a loss of face”? sincerity of being unable to do the request.

(2) The expression of consideration and appreciation to acknowledge the weight of thoughts from the teacher.

(3) The adoption of hedges to minimize the effect of the decline and appropriately show inability to help despite willingness.

(4) The expression of thoughtfulness to rationalize the decline and minimize the effect on the relationship.

Whether or not it will make the teacher (1) The expression of apology to show think negatively of you? sincerity of being unable to do the request.

(2) The expression of consideration and appreciation to acknowledge the weight of thoughts from the teacher.

(3) The expression of thoughtfulness to rationalize the decline and minimize the effect on the relationship.

Figure 34: The Correspondence between Figure 26 and Figure 22 in Denying a Request from Their Teacher.

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In order not to harm the relationship between the teacher and the speaker due to denying the request, the speaker has to show that he/she appreciates the teacher’s consideration and then expresses thoughtfulness by giving a reason or providing an alternative option. To not make the teacher think negatively of you, the expression of apology is added on top of the expression of consideration and appreciation and the expression of thoughtfulness. To prevent the teacher from feeling a loss of face, four strategies are used – the expression of apology, the expression of consideration and appreciation, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness. The speaker will need to offer an apology for not being able to do the request, show his/her appreciation for being considered, lessen the impact of his/her decline by using hedges, and provide an alternative. These themes – the expression of apology, the expression of consideration and appreciation, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness are mianzi-related strategies a speaker adopts to maintain his social ties to his teacher. Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your teacher, whether or not you will make the teacher feel “a loss of face,” whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively of you are lian-related considerations native speakers have when they deny a request from their teacher. They function to preserve the face of both the requester and the decliner.

Last, let us take a look at the correspondence between Figure 27 and Figure 22 in denying a request from a friend:

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Considerations Native Speakers Have Related Themes in Denying a Request from a Friend

Whether or not it will harm the (1)The expression of thoughtfulness to relationship between you and your rationalize the decline and minimize the friend? effect on the relationship.

Whether or not you will make your (1) The expression of apology to show friend feel “a loss of face”? sincerity of being unable to do the request.

(2) The adoption of hedges to minimize the effect of the decline and appropriately show inability to help despite willingness.

(3) The expression of thoughtfulness to rationalize the decline and minimize the effect on the relationship.

Whether or not it will make the friend (1) The expression of apology to show think negatively of you? sincerity of being unable to do the request.

(2) The expression of thoughtfulness to rationalize the decline and minimize the effect on the relationship.

Figure 35: The Correspondence between Figure 27 and Figure 22 in Denying a Request from a Friend.

The mianzi-related strategies native speakers take in denying a request from a friend is for the most part similar to denying a request from their teacher – the expression of apology, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness. The difference lies in the expression of consideration and appreciation. This may be related to the nature of the request itself – compared to the request from the teacher (research project, apply for a program, etc.), the request from the friend in the survey is comparatively small (borrow a book, a ride to the airport, stay overnight, etc.) There is no need to show consideration in 188

requesting these small favors. As for the lian-related considerations, they still aim to maintain the speaker’s image of integrity, despite the effect of the decline.

5.3 Summary

In this chapter, I began with a follow-up survey. I investigated the following questions: (1) What factors do people take into account when they make a request or deny a request? (2) Do people have different considerations when they make/deny a request of/from their teacher/friend? If so, what are the differences? (3) What does the role “face” play in requesting and declining? (4) What different considerations do native speakers and C2 learners have when they make/deny a request of/from their teacher/friend?

The results show that as far as considerations are concerned, both native speakers and C2 learners regard timing and trouble/inconvenience as the priority in consideration.

In addition, whether or not you did a favor for the friend before plays an important role in making a request of a friend in both groups; the idea of renqing 人情 (favor) is by no means exclusive to Chinese culture. Moreover, C2 learners’ sense of “loss of face” in denying a request to your teacher and to your friend is not as deep rooted as the natives.

This could associate with the deficiencies they have in the performances. Last, whether or not your teacher/friend denied your request before plays a role in the C2 learners’ decision in denying a request. However, it is not so much a consideration to native speakers in denying a request from a friend; denying a request from a teacher is even rarer.

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Following the results of the survey, I argued that we could consider “face” as a theme in requesting and declining. More specifically, it is lian on mianzi in Chinese because the speaker, based on his social status, power, and ability, aims to maintain his image of integrity. I revisited the considerations people have in requesting/declining and found their corresponding themes in the situations. The considerations and strategies people have in the situations are reflected and manifested by face-saving themes. I argued that we can consider face as a higher tier of theme beyond the themes discussed in requesting and declining.

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CHAPTER 6

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES TO “FACE” IN BEGINNING LEVELS OF C2

In 5.2, I have discussed the role “face” plays in requesting and declining. In 5.1, I have also mentioned the similar and different considerations native speakers and C2 learners have when they make/deny a request of/from their teacher/friend. Since C2 learners’ behaviors are the consequence of their instruction, especially in the beginning level, then as a teacher we need to think about how we can help students remedy their deficiencies and gradually develop their sensitivity about “face.” In this chapter, I provide pedagogical approaches to “face” in the beginning and intermediate level of C2 instruction. In the beginning level, I provide four teaching plans that address four cases of requesting and declining – make a request of your teacher, make a request of a friend, deny a request from your teacher, and deny a request from a friend. In the intermediate level, I design explanations, drills, exercises, and improvisations to show how teachers can incorporate “face” into their instruction and provide learners with opportunities to go through the learning cycle. Detailed implementation of the teaching plans will also be discussed.

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6.1 Pedagogical Approaches to “Face” in Requesting/Declining in C2 – Beginning Level

As Scollon and Scollon (1995:48) state that “there is no faceless communication,” it is not too early to begin C2 learners’ exposure to “face” in the beginning level. Four teaching plans are presented in this part to show how teachers can incorporate “face” into their beginning-level instruction in cases of requesting and declining.

6.1.1 Make a Request of Your Teacher

This teaching plan aims to elicit students’ responses in two of the situations we have discussed in 3.3.1:

You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday.

You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you.

The situation is that a student of Chinese would like to make an appointment with his/her Chinese teacher on Friday. In the meeting, the student plans to ask for a recommendation letter from the teacher among other discussions.

Place: In the classroom.

Time: After class.

Roles: A student (S) and a teacher (T).

Audience: The other departing students.

Script:

學生: 老師, 您星期五有沒有時間? 能不能跟您見個面?

老師: 星期五幾點?

學生: 下午一點可以嗎?

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老師: 可以。

學生: 好, 謝謝。

老師: 欸。

S: Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Could I meet with you?

T: When on Friday?

S: Would 1pm work for you?

T: Yes, that’s fine.

S: Great, thank you.

T: Sure!

Case: Make an appointment with your teacher.

Saga: Teacher-student saga; classroom saga.

Theme:

Student: (1) Shows respect for the teacher by using proper terms of address – address the teacher as laoshi (teacher) when approaching him/her and then use nin (polite form of address terms for you) to refer to the teacher afterwards.

(2) Makes a proper request by using the correct auxiliary verbs neng and keyi.

(3) Shows appreciation by saying xiexie.

Teacher: (1) Shows willingness to help by offering time.

(2) Shows availability by saying keyi.

To help students build up their story and develop their situated knowledge in this regard, in class the teacher can set up the context with the following instruction: 193

我們在教室。你們是學生，我是老師。現在下課了。你這個星期五想跟我見面，請你問我有沒有時間。

(We are in the classroom. You are students and I am your teacher. You’d like to make an appointment with me on Friday. You approach me after class to see if I’d have time on Friday.)

After setting up the context, the teacher should ask the following questions:

- 我們現在在哪兒? (Where are we now?)

- 你是老師嗎? (Are you a teacher?)

- 現在上課嗎? (Are we in class now?)

- 你有什麼事? (What do you have in mind?)

The purpose of these questions is to make sure that students understand the context so that they can come up with a script that conforms to Chinese norms.

There are two cue cards that the teacher needs to prepare – one is to indicate the time of the meeting for the student, and the other is to indicate that the teacher is free at the time the student requests to meet. Sample cue cards can appear as follows: 28

1:00 pm?

today!

(For the student)

28 The calendar can be adapted based on the actual teaching date.

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Free!

(For the teacher)

Once the context is clear to students, the teacher can then appoint a student as the teacher and another student as the student. After reading the distributed cue cards, the students should be able to do the dialogue. If the first pair of students does not come up with the expected dialogue, the teacher can ask another pair of students to do it again. If the second pair still cannot come up with a model performance for the other students to follow, then the teacher should jump in by playing either the teacher role or the student role, depending on students’ weaknesses.

Right after a model dialogue has been performed, the teacher should check the audience’s comprehension (i.e. those students who are observing the performance) by asking follow-up questions. Sample questions are:

- (學生名) 想做什麼? (What does (student’s name) want to do?)

- 他們什麼時候見面? (When are they going to meet?)

- 他們在什麼地方見面? (Where do you think they will meet?)

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The function of follow-up questions is to hold the audience’s attention when the performance is in practice. In order not to make students’ feel bored after the same dialogue has been practiced for a number of times, the teacher can change a piece of the information in the dialogue. For example, he/she can change the meeting day from Friday to next Monday or meeting time from 1 pm to 10 am. When a piece of information in the dialogue has been changed, it is imperative to do follow-up questions. In other words, follow-up questions are the best way to check students’ comprehension as well as their awareness of change of information.

Besides as a facilitator, another important role for the teacher to play is to be an evaluator. After each pair of students’ performance, the teacher should provide immediate and efficient feedback, both from linguistic and from behavioral perspectives.

The teacher should not only correct the students’ wrong pronunciation, tones or grammar, he/she should also bring it to the student’s attention if there are any behavioral distractions involved (e.g. the student puts his/her hands in his/her pocket when he/she talks to the teacher.) The features in making a request of your teacher in 4.1.1 should receive particular attention. The feedback will not only be beneficial for those students who have just performed, it will also serve as guidelines for the observers as they will soon be the performers.

When the practice of request for an appointment is moving toward the end, the teacher can prepare to extend the dialogue by incorporating the request for a recommendation letter into the dialogue. Let us begin with the five specified elements of the performance:

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Place: In the teacher’s office.

Time: 1 pm on Friday.

Roles: The student (S) and the teacher (T).

Audience: Anyone who may walk in.

Script:

學生: 老師, 能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信? 我想申請講學金。

老師: 你什麼時候要?

學生: 兩個星期以後。方便嗎?

老師: 可以。

學生: 謝謝老師。那我先走了, 我們下禮拜見。

老師: 欸, 再見。

S: Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me? I would like to apply for a scholarship.

T: When do you need it?

S: Two weeks later. Would it be convenient for you?

T: Yes, that’s fine.

S: Thank you, teacher. I’ll be going now. I will see you next week.

T: Okay, see you.

Case: Ask for a recommendation letter from a teacher.

Saga: Teacher-student saga; office saga.

Theme:

Student: (1) Shows respect for the teacher by using proper terms of address – address the teacher as laoshi (teacher) and then 197

use nin (polite form of address terms for you) to refer to the teacher afterwards.

(2) Makes a proper request by adopting a polite word mafan (trouble), bang (help), and fangbian (convenient).

(3) Makes a proper request by using the correct auxiliary verb neng.

(4) Shows acceptance and appreciation by saying xiexie.

Teacher: (1) Shows interest to help by asking about the deadline.

(2) Shows willingness to help by saying keyi.

One of the smoothest transitions from the first context (i.e. request for an appointment) to the second context (i.e. request for a recommendation letter) can be done as follows:

When the last pair of students is done with their practice of request for an appointment, the teacher can reset the context as:

好, 你們現在在老師的辦公室。現在是星期五下午一點。你需要一封推薦信, 請你問老師。

(Okay. Now you are at the teacher’s office. It is one o’clock on the afternoon of Friday. You need a recommendation letter from your teacher.)

Similarly, the teacher can check if the students understand the change of context by asking the following questions:

- 我們現在在哪兒? (Where are we now?)

- 今天星期幾? (What day is today?)

- 現在幾點? (What time is it now?)

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- (學生名)需要什麼? (What does (student’s name) need?)

To elicit the target expressions, the teacher will need to give the student the following sample cue card:

scholarship application due!

The practice procedure is very much like the previous one – once a model dialogue has been performed, the teacher should ask the follow-up questions and have one or two more pairs of students do the same performance. Then change a piece of the information

(e.g. the deadline of the scholarship application) and have students practice the dialogue again.

When the students have become familiar with the recommendation letter case, the teacher can extend the dialogue by combining the first and the second scenarios. In this way, students have one more chance to review what they have learned as well as to compile these two related stories into their “request” case.

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Besides guiding students’ attention of performance to the features mentioned in

4.1.1, the teacher can also prepare a printed material for students to read before class that introduces the role “face” plays in these two situations. The purpose of the material is to expose students to the behavioral culture in making a request of their teacher. Here is a sample:

In these two situations (i.e. you would like to have an appointment with your

Chinese teacher on Friday and you would like your Chinese teacher to write a

recommendation letter for you), you may have noticed that there are three features

that are essential for the appropriateness of the expression – the use of address

terms (e.g. address the teacher as laoshi when approaching him/her and then use

nin to refer to the teacher afterwards), the adoption of polite words (e.g. qing or

mafan), and favored choices of auxiliary verbs (neng or keyi). The thread that runs

through the features in these situations is “face,” a self-image heavily considered

in interactions in Chinese culture. As a beginning-level student, it is not too early

for you to start to take your Chinese interlocutor’s “face” into account in

interactions. For example, in the situation of making an appointment with your

teacher, due to the nature of the request, you have caused inconvenience to the

teacher and thus put the teacher’s face at risk. To minimize the impact of the

request, you accordingly use proper address terms and adopt polite words. In this

way, the teacher’s face is preserved and the possibility of your request being

granted increases. Besides the use of address terms and the adoption of polite

words, the expression of apology (e.g. duibuqi or buhaoyisi) also plays an

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important role in other situations of making a request. For instance, when you

would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class, you are

expected to say Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian (Excuse

me, Teacher, would you please say it again?). Here, the expression of apology is

used for intrusion and it restores both the teacher’s and your face, as the teacher’s

face is effected by your request and your face is at risk because of the request. We

strongly suggest you incorporate the apology term duibuqi or buhaoyisi into your

expression in the situation of asking your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her

question in class, as it sounds more polite than simply saying Qing nin zai shuo

yibian (Please say it again).

To see if students can improvise their acquired “request” memory, the teacher can test students with a similar situation. Here is an example:

你在一家公司工作。例行工作會議後, 你上前問經理明天有沒有時間, 你有事想找他商量。見面時, 你打算告訴經理你想出國念書的事, 並想麻煩他幫你寫一封推薦信。

(You are working for a company. After the weekly meeting, you approach the manager. You would like to make an appointment with him/her tomorrow. In the meeting, you plan to tell him/her your intention to study abroad and would like to ask for a recommendation letter from him/her.)

Despite minor differences in roles (manager-employee vs. teacher-student) and places (company vs. classroom), the context is similar to the previous teacher-student scenario in two ways: (1) The interlocutors have a superior-employee relationship. (2)

They share similar cases (i.e. to make an appointment and to ask for a recommendation

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letter) and themes (i.e. proper terms of address, adoption of polite words, correct use of auxiliary verbs, and expressions of appreciation.). To better help students capture the context, the following cue cards should be provided:

10:00 am?

today!

(For the student who plays the employee)

9:00 am – noon free!

today!

(For the student who plays the manager)

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application deadline!

(For the student who plays the employee)

The teacher at this stage will not need to provide the model; he/she can simply assign two students to play the roles of the employee and the manager respectively. If any of the two assigned students cannot do the job, the teacher can have another student replace him/her. Feedback on linguistic and behavioral deficiencies is still necessary, as are the follow-up questions for the observing students.

Below is a sample performance that students should be able to come up with:

Place: In the meeting room of a company.

Time: 10 am on Thursday.

Roles: The manager (M) and the employee (E).

Audience: Other colleagues.

Script:

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下屬: 經理, 明天上午您有沒有時間? 我想跟您說點事。

經理: 好啊, 明天什麼時候?

下屬: 上午十點鐘方便嗎?

經理: 可以。

下屬: 謝謝經理, 明天見。

經理: 欸。

E: Manager, would you have time tomorrow morning? I have something that I’d like to talk to you about.

M: Sure. When tomorrow?

E: Would 10 am be convenient for you?

M: Yes, that’s fine.

E: Thank you, Manager. I’ll see you tomorrow.

M: Okay.

When the context proceeds to the manager’s office, a possible script could be as follows:

Place: In the manager’s office.

Time: 10 am on Friday.

Roles: The manager (M) and the employee (E).

Audience: Anyone who may walk in.

Script:

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下屬: 經理, 很不好意思, 我打算出國念書。不知道方便不方便麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信?

經理: 你什麼時候要?

下屬: 兩個星期以後, 方便嗎?

經理: 沒問題。

下屬: 謝謝經理, 麻煩您了。

經理: 別客氣。

E: Manager, I am sorry, I plan to go abroad to study. I don’t know if it would be convenient for you to write me a recommendation letter?

M: When do you need it?

E: Two weeks later. Would it be fine with you?

M: Sure, no problem.

E: Thank you, Manager. Sorry to trouble you.

M: Not a problem.

6.1.2 Make a Request of a Friend

Different from 5.3.1.1, this teaching plan aims to elicit students’ responses in one of the situations we have discussed in 3.3.2:

You would like your Chinese friend to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow.

Let us first specify the five elements of the performance:

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Place: In the classroom.

Time: After class.

Roles: An American student (S1) who is fluent in Chinese and a Chinese student

(S2); not too close to each other.

Audience: Other departing students.

Script:

學生 1: (學生名)，你明天有沒有時間？能不能麻煩你送我去機場？

學生 2: 明天幾點？

學生 1: 下午兩點。

學生 2: 可以啊。

學生 1: 那謝謝了，明天見。

學生 2: 明天見。

S1: (Name of the student), do you have time tomorrow? Can I trouble you to give me a ride to the airport?

S2: What time tomorrow?

S1: 2 pm.

S2: Okay, I can do it.

S1: Thank you very much. See you tomorrow.

S2: See you tomorrow.

Case: Make a request.

Saga: Friend saga; classroom saga.

Theme:

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S1: (1) Shows relationship to S2 by addressing him/her properly.

(2) Expresses thoughtfulness by asking for availability (whether S2 has time).

(3) Shows politeness by using polite word mafan (trouble).

(4) Uses proper auxiliary verb neng to make a request.

(5) Shows appreciation by saying xiexie (thank you).

S2: (1) Shows his/her interest to help by asking when.

(2) Offers his/her help.

In class, the teacher can set up the context with the following instruction:

我們在教室，現在下課了。我們是朋友，我想請你明天送我到機場。

(We are in the classroom. The class is just over. We are friends. I’d like to ask you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow.)

Context check-up questions can be as follows:

- 我們在哪兒? (Where are we?)

- 我是你的老師嗎? (Am I your teacher?)

- 我想請你做什麼? (What do I want to ask you to do?)

The teacher needs to prepare two cue cards – one is the flight information for S1, and the other is S2’s schedule tomorrow. They can look like as follows:

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Flight to DC at 4pm!

today!

(Cue card for S1)

Free in the afternoon!

today!

(Cue card for S2)

As in 5.3.1.1, the teacher can prepare printed material for students that introduces the role “face” plays in this situation. Here is a sample:

In this situation of asking your Chinese friend to give you a ride to the

airport, there are four features that are essential for the appropriateness of the

expression – the use of address terms, the adoption of polite words (e.g. qing or

mafan), the expression of thoughtfulness, and favored choices of auxiliary verbs

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(neng or keyi). You have encountered the concept of “face” in the aforementioned

case of making a request of your teacher. The role “face” plays in this situation of

asking your Chinese friend to give you a ride to the airport is similar – the address

terms are used to acknowledge the relationship between your friend and you, and

thus take your friend’s face into consideration. The adoption of polite words, just

as in the situations of making a request of your teacher, minimizes the impact of

the request and shows consideration of your friend’s face. The expression of

thoughtfulness (e.g. ask for availability or provide an alternative option) is used to

show consideration of your friend’s face and reduce the impact of a potential

decline, so it saves both your friend’s and your face.

The expression of apology (e.g. duibuqi or buhaoyisi), which plays an

important role in the case of making a request of your teacher, is not necessary in

making a request of a friend, as compared to the teacher-student interactions, the

power difference in friend-friend interactions is less obvious and their distance

depends on the level of their friendship.

After this, the teacher can provide another situation in 3.3.2 to see if students can apply to other context. A sample performance can be as follows:

You would like your Chinese friend to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote.

Place: In the classroom.

Time: After class.

Roles: An American student (S1) who is fluent in Chinese and a Chinese student 209

(S2); not too close to each other.

Audience: Other departing students.

Script:

學生 1: (學生名)，你有沒有一點時間？可以不可以幫我看一下我寫的中文文章？

學生 2: 好啊，沒問題。

學生 1: 謝謝。

S1: (Name of the student), do you have time now? Can you take a look at my Chinese essay?

S2: Sure, no problem.

S1: Thank you.

When doing this practice, students should pay attention to the four features mentioned in 4.2.1 (i.e. the use of address terms, the expression of thoughtfulness, the adoption of polite words, and favored choices of auxiliary verbs) as they reflect the

“face” value in Chinese culture. If students ignore any of the elements, the teacher should correct him/her and have him/her do it again.

6.1.3 Deny a Request from Your Teacher

This teaching plan aims to elicit students’ responses in one of the situations we have discussed in 3.3.3:

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to.

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Let us begin with specifying the five elements of the performance:

Place: In the teacher’s office.

Time: In the afternoon, early spring.

Roles: A student (S) and his/her teacher (T).

Audience: Anyone who may walk in.

Script:

老師: (學生名)，你今年夏天想不想去北京學中文？我知道一個很好的項目，想推薦你去。

學生: 謝謝老師。那個項目多長時間？

老師: 七月和八月，兩個月。

學生: 對不起，老師，今年夏天我可能已經有計劃了，我要到一家公司打工。很不好意思。

老師: 那沒關係。下次還有機會。

學生: 謝謝老師。如果以後還有機會，我一定考慮。

T: (Name of the student), do you want to go to Beijing to study Chinese this summer? I know a very good program and I want to recommend you to them.

S: Thank you, Teacher. How long is that program?

T: July and August. Two months.

S: I am sorry, Teacher. I have already had a plan this summer. I am going to work in a company. I am really sorry.

T: That’s fine. Next time then.

S: Thank you, Teacher. I will definitely consider it next time.

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Case: To deny a request from a teacher.

Saga: Teacher-student saga; office saga.

Theme:

Student: (1) Shows respect for the teacher by addressing the teacher as laoshi (teacher).

(2) Shows consideration and appreciation by saying xiexie (thank) and asking how long the program is.

(3) Properly declines by using hedges keneng and expressing apology duibuqi and buhaoyisi.

(4) Expresses thoughtfulness by giving a reason (have to work) and providing an alternative option (will definitely consider next time).

Teacher: (1) Shows his/her care for the student by recommending him/her to a program.

(2) Shows his/her generosity as a response to the student’s decline by saying meiguanxi (that’s alright).

(3) Shows his/her continuous interest in recommending the student if there is another chance.

In class, the teacher can set up the context with the following instruction:

我們在我的辦公室。你們是學生，我是老師。我想推薦你今年夏天去北京學中文，但是你今年夏天得工作。

(We are in my office. You are students and I am your teacher. I’d like to recommend you to study Chinese in Beijing this summer. But you need to work.)

After setting up the context, the teacher should start with the following questions to make sure students understand the context:

- 我們現在在哪兒? (Where are we now?)

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- 你是老師嗎? (Are you a teacher?)

- 我為什麼找你? (Why do I ask you to come to my office?)

- 你今年夏天有時間嗎? (Do you have time this summer?)

The practice procedure is slightly different from that in making a request. The teacher should model as the teacher role first so that he/she can manage the student’s responses and guide them with the script in his/her mind. Once the model script has been performed, the teacher can assign another student to play the teacher role.

The teacher should pay special attention to the five features mentioned in 4.3.1 (i.e. the use of address terms, the expression of apology, the expression of consideration and appreciation, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness). If students don’t observe the themes and come up with inappropriate expressions (e.g. lack of apology expressions or simply say wo bukeyi to mean I can’t), the teacher should correct them immediately and have them do it again.

As in the cases of making a request, students will find it beneficial if the teacher can prepare a written material for them to read before class that explains how “face” is manifested in the features in 4.3.1. Here is a sample:

You have been introduced the role “face” plays in the cases of making a

request. In this part, we would like to use this situation (i.e. Your Chinese teacher

wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want

to) as an example to introduce how “face” is manifested in denying a request from

your teacher.

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There are five features that are essential for the appropriateness of the expression in this situation – the use of address terms, the expression of apology, the expression of consideration and appreciation, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of thoughtfulness. These five features are all related to “face.” The address terms are used to acknowledge the relationship between your teacher and you, and take your teacher’s face into consideration. The expression of apology is used for being unable to fulfill the expectation of the teacher and it restores both the teacher’s and the student’s face, as the teacher’s face is affected by the student’s decline and the student’s face is at risk because of the decline. The expression of consideration and appreciation is used to assure the teacher that his/her request is of special value and will be thoroughly considered. Through the expression of consideration and appreciation can the teacher’s face be respected and preserved. The adoption of hedges minimizes the impact of the decline and saves both the teacher’s and the student’s face. The expression of thoughtfulness

(e.g. give a reason or provide an alternative option) is used to show consideration of the teacher’s face and reduce the impact of the decline by providing an alternative option, so it also saves both the teacher’s and the student’s face.

As in the case of making a request of the teacher, the expression of apology here is essential, as denying a teacher’s request is rare in Chinese culture and the decline has inevitably harmed the teacher’s face. What is equally important as the expression of apology is the adoption of hedges. A hedge is an application in discourse which expresses a notion of imprecision or hesitation. The function of a

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hedge in this situation is to lessen the impact of an utterance and reduce the

interactional threats due to the decline.

One of the common deficiencies of students of Chinese in this situation is

their tendency to include expressions such as wo buxiang 我不想 (I don’t feel like

it), wo buneng 我不能 (I can’t), wo buyao 我不要 (I don’t want to) or wo meiyou

xingqu 我沒有興趣 (I am not interested) in their responses. Even with the apology

expression duibiqi or buhaoyisi, it does not reduce the brusqueness of this direct

decline. In this situation, where there is a significant difference in power between

the teacher and the student, native speakers of Chinese avoid denying the request

directly and show their hesitation by taking the aforementioned strategies (i.e.

expression of consideration and appreciation, give a reason, and hedges).

After this, the teacher can use another situation mentioned in 3.3.3 for improvisation practice:

Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time.

A sample performance can be like this:

Place: In the teacher’s office.

Time: In the afternoon, early spring.

Roles: A student (S) and his/her teacher (T).

Audience: Anyone who may walk in.

Script:

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老師: (學生名)，我有個研究計劃想請你幫忙。你有時間嗎？

學生: 老師，請問那個計劃是多長時間？

老師: 現在到五月，三個月。

學生: 對不起，老師，最近我在忙著論文，可能比較忙。不知道六月之後可以不可以﹖

老師: 我再想想看。

學生: 很不好意思，老師。如果還有機會幫的上忙，請您一定告訴我。

T: (Name of the student), I would like you to help me with a research project. Do you have time?

S: How long is the project?

T: From now to May. Three months.

S: I am sorry, Teacher. I have been busy with my thesis recently and may not have time. Would it be okay if I do it in June?

T: Let me think about it.

S: I am sorry, Teacher. Please let me know if I could be of help in the future.

In setting up the context, as long as the teacher makes it clear that the student is busy with his/her thesis from now until May, the dialogue should not be too difficult for the students.

6.1.4 Deny a Request from a Friend

This teaching plan aims to elicit students’ responses in one of the situations we have discussed in 3.3.4, which can also function as a contrast to 5.3.1.2:

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Your Chinese friend wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to.

Place: In the classroom.

Time: After class.

Roles: A Chinese student (S1) and an American student (S2) who is fluent in

Chinese; not too close to each other.

Audience: Other departing students.

Script:

學生 1: (學生名)，你明天有沒有時間？能不能麻煩你送我去機場？

學生 2: 明天幾點？

學生 1: 下午兩點。

學生 2: 不好意思，我明天下午有課，可能沒辦法。你要不問問其他人？

學生 1: 沒事，我再找別人。謝謝。

S1: (Name of the student), do you have time tomorrow? Can I trouble you to give me a ride to the airport?

S2: What time tomorrow?

S1: 2 pm.

S2: I am sorry. I have class tomorrow afternoon, so I probably can’t. Can you ask someone else?

S1: That’s okay. I’ll ask someone else. Thank you.

Case: Deny a request from a friend.

Saga: Friends saga; classroom saga.

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Theme:

S1: (1) Properly declines by using hedges keneng and expressing apology buhaoyisi.

(2) Expresses thoughtfulness by giving a reason (have class) and providing an alternative option (ask someone else).

S2: (1) Makes S1 feel better that he/she is fine with the decline by saying meishi (that’s okay).

In class, the teacher can set up the context with the following instruction:

我們在教室，現在下課了。我們是朋友，我想請你明天送我去機場，可是你不想。

(We are in the classroom. The class is just over. We are friends. I’d like to ask you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to.)

Context check-up questions can be:

- 我們在哪兒? (Where are we?)

- 我是你的老師嗎? (Am I your teacher?)

- 我想請你做什麼? (What do I want to ask you to do?)

- 你想不想？ (Do you want to?)

The teacher does not need to prepare for a cue card as one of the challenges for the student who plays S2 is to come up with an excuse. As in the other situations, students need to consider all the features mentioned in 4.4.1 (i.e. the expression of apology, the adoption of hedges, the expression of thoughtfulness). Feedback should be given immediately if any of the features is ignored in the performance.

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Written material about how “face” is manifested in this situation will be helpful for students to keep developing their sensitivity about “face” in various situations. Here is an example:

There are four important features in the expressions of denying a request

from a friend who asks you to give him/her a ride to the airport – drop of address

terms, the expression of apology, the adoption of hedges, and the expression of

thoughtfulness. Similar to the case of denying a request from your teacher, three of

the four features are closely related to “face.” The expression of apology is used

for being unable to fulfill the expectation of the friend and it restores both the

friend’s and the speaker’s face as the friend’s face is affected by the speaker’s

decline and the speaker’s face is at risk because of the decline. The adoption of

hedges minimizes the impact of the decline and saves both the friend’s and the

speaker’s face. The expression of thoughtfulness is used to show consideration of

the friend’s face and reduce the impact of the decline by providing an alternative

option, so it also saves both the friend’s and the speaker’s face.

Even though the difference in power between friends is less obvious than that

between a teacher and a student, the expression of apology and the adoption of

hedges still remain essential in this situation as it reduces the impact of the decline

and shows the sincerity of the speaker. The expression of thoughtfulness (e.g. give

a reason or provide an alternative option) is of equal importance as it justifies the

speaker’s inability to offer help despite his/her willingness to do so.

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As in the case of denying a request from your teacher, avoid denying the

request from a friend by saying wo buxiang 我不想 (I don’t feel like it), wo

buneng 我不能 (I can’t), wo buyao 我不要 (I don’t want to), buxing 不行 (I can’t)

or bukeyi 不可以 (I can’t). These expressions are extremely inappropriate when

someone wants to properly decline either a teacher or a friend, as they send a

strong message that the decliner is determined, is not taking the friend’s face into

account, and there is no room for discussion.

Once this practice is done, the teacher can challenge students with another similar context that contrasts to 5.3.1.2:

Your Chinese friend wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time.

A sample performance can be as follows:

Place: In the classroom.

Time: After class.

Roles: A Chinese student (S1) and an American student (S2) who is fluent in

Chinese; not too close to each other.

Audience: Other departing students.

Script:

學生 1: (學生名)，你有沒有一點時間？可以不可以幫我看一下我寫的英文文章？

學生 2: 不好意思，我這個星期在寫一個報告，可能沒有時間。下個星期可以嗎？

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學生 1: 沒問題。

S1: (Name of the student), do you have time now? Can you take a look at my English essay?

S2: I am sorry. I am working on a paper this week, and probably won’t have time. Can we do next week?

S1: Sure.

Again, the expression of apology (buhaoyisi), the adoption of hedges (keneng), and the expression of thoughtfulness (next week) play important roles in appropriately denying the request, and students should by all means incorporate them into their performance.

6.2 Pedagogical Approaches to “Face” in Requesting/Declining in C2 – Intermediate Level

In 6.1, I used the scenarios I designed to show how to introduce “face” in requesting and declining in the beginning level. In this part, I use a dialogue from Access China, a multimedia series for intermediate level learners, to demonstrate how “face” can be incorporated into contemporary CFL material in the intermediate level. Despite the fact that this dissertation focuses on beginning-level instruction, the continuation of exposing

C2 learners in the higher levels is also essential. Due to the nature of a dissertation, I use intermediate level to show possible topics that teachers can take advantage of by having

“face” embedded in their instruction. Two cases of decline are presented from a chosen dialogue in an instructional setting. Besides providing learners with sufficient explanations of the two cases, I also design drills, exercises (both reading and writing),

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and improvisation that aim to help learners develop related stories and go through the aforementioned Kolb’s Learning Cycle.

6.2.1 Introduction of Access China

Access China (AC) is a multimedia TV series designed for intermediate learners of

Chinese. It contains thirty episodes and each episode has three acts (mu 幕). The material consists of three textbooks and thirty DVDs. It can be used for class instruction or self- study.

The overall structure of each act is as follows:

- Dialogue (in characters and pinyin)

- Vocabulary

- Useful Language

- Language focus

- Activities

- English translation of the dialogue in the glossary

Despite its high-quality videos and enticing storyline, AC has neither drills for learners to practice useful expressions nor exercises to consolidate and further enhance their learning. Most activities provided in the textbook are comprehension-oriented.

Learners are short of opportunities to perform in a situated setting, not to mention to develop their own stories. After watching the video with the assistance of vocabulary list,

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they will probably have some rudimentary understanding of the dialogue, but they lack exposures to reflective observation, abstract hypothesis, and active testing. Their learning experience is far from being complete. The material provided below aims to address these deficiencies and demonstrate how teachers can incorporate the idea of “face” into their instruction with a material like this in hand.

6.2.2 A Dialogue Involving Declining in AC

In the first act of episode two, there appears the following dialogue (Example 18 hereafter):

曹玉蘭唐雅林如松林文濤

這豆漿甜不甜？我給你加一點兒糖。

不用了，挺好的，謝謝！

哎呀，來晚了，來晚了。對不起呀！

林教授！

啊？

您每天都要出去鍛煉嗎？

生命在於運動，天氣好的時候我就出去鍛煉鍛煉，天氣不好的時候我就在附近打打太極拳。

来。哎！唐雅！

嗯？

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你今天是不是要去學校報到啊？

是啊，我想早一點兒了解一下學校的情況。

那我們正好一起去吧，我送完林琳上學，然後送你到學校報到。

不用麻煩您了，我自己去吧。

可你第一次来北京啊。

沒問題，這樣我可以熟悉一下周圍的環境。

嗯！唐雅，吃完早飯呢，我給你畫一張路線圖。你的漢語說得這麼好，肯定沒問題。

好，謝謝。

Cao Yulan Tang Ya Lin Rusong Lin Wentao

Zhe doujiang tian butian? Wo gei ni jia yidianr tang?

Buyong le, ting hao de. Xiexie！

Ai ya, lai wan le, lai wan le, duibuqi ya.

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Lin jiaoshou!

A？

Nin meitian dou yao chuqu duanlian ma?

Shengming zaiyu yundong. Tianqi hao de shihou wo jiu chuqu duanlian duanlian, tianqi buhao de shihou wo jiu zai fujin dada Taijiquan.

Lai. Ai！Tang Ya！

En？

Ni jintian shibushi yao qu xuexiao baodao a?

Shi a, wo xiang zao yidianr liaojie yixia xuexiaode qingkuang.

Na women zhenghao yiqi qu ba, wo song wan Lin Lin shangxue, ranhou song ni dao xuexiao baodao.

Buyong mafan nin le, wo ziji qu ba.

Ke ni diyici lai Beijing a.

Mei wenti. Zheyang wo keyi shuxi yixia

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zhouweide huanjing.

En, Tang Ya, chi wan zaofan ne, wo gei ni hua yizhang luxiantu. Nide Hanyu shuo de zheme hao, kending mei wenti.

Hao, xiexie.

Cao Yulan Tang Ya Lin Rusong Lin Wentao

Is the soymilk sweet enough? Shall I add more sugar for you?

That’s all right. It’s really good, thanks.

Sorry I am late.

Professor Lin!

Ah？

Do you go out and exercise every day?

Life is all about movement. I go out and exercise when the weather is nice. When the weather is bad, I just practice Taichi nearby.

Tang Ya.

Ah？

You are going to school for registration

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today, right?

Yes, I would like to get familiar with the school ahead of time.

Let’s go together then. I’ll drop Lin Lin off at her school first, and then I give you a ride.

I don’t want to trouble you. I can go by myself.

But this is your first time in Beijing.

I will be fine. This way, I can get acquainted with the surrounding environment.

Okay, Tang Ya. I will draw you a road map after breakfast. I am sure that you will have no problem with your good Chinese.

Great, thank you.

The dialogue is contextualized in a Chinese family in Beijing. Tang Ya, a Canadian student studying in China, stays with Lin Wentao’s family. Lin Wentao’s parents, Lin

Rusong and Cao Yulan, also live with them. It is the second day of Tang Ya’s arrival in

Beijing and they are having breakfast.

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6.2.3 Two Cases of Decline

There are two cases of decline in this dialogue – one is how to decline the host’s offer of food on a dining occasion and the other is how to decline the host’s offer to help by assuring them that you will be fine. Detailed examinations of both cases are analyzed in the following.

The first case of decline, how to politely decline the host’s offer of food on a dining occasion, takes place when Cao Yulan, Lin Wentao’s mother, asks Tang Ya if she wants some sugar in her soymilk:

a) Time: Breakfast time

b) Place: On the dining table in Lin Wentao’s house.

c) Roles: Tang Ya (T) and Cao Yulan, Lin Wentao’s mother (C)

d) Audience: Lin Wentao, Gao Li (Lin Wentao’s wife), Lin Lin (Lin Wentao’s

daughter), Lin Rusong (Lin Wentao’s father).

e) Script:

曹玉蘭：這豆漿甜不甜？我給你加一點兒糖。

唐雅：不用了，挺好的，謝謝！

Cao Yulan: Zhe doujiang tian bu tian? Wo gei ni jia yidianr tang? Tang Ya: Buyong le, ting hao de. Xiexie.

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Cao Yulan: Is the soymilk sweet enough? Shall I add more sugar for you? Tang Ya: That’s all right. It’s really good, thanks.

Case: How to decline the host’s offer of food on a dining occasion

Saga: Guest/host family saga, dining table saga

Themes: Cao Yulan:

1. Shows her hospitality by asking if the soymilk tastes good

enough.

2. Makes sure the guest enjoys the food by offering additional sugar.

Tang Ya:

1. Politely declines the offer by saying that she doesn’t need the

sugar.

2. Provides a reason of her decline by commenting on the good taste

of the soymilk.

Since this is the second day of Tang Ya’s arrival, the Lin family is not sure if Tang

Ya likes the food they offer. As a host, Cao Yunlan’s intention is to make sure that Tang

Ya enjoys a Chinese-style breakfast by asking if the soymilk is to her liking. As a guest,

Tang Ya makes an appropriate response by commenting on the good taste of the soymilk indicating she does not need any sugar.

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The second case of decline is how to decline the host’s offer to help by assuring them that you will be fine. When Lin Wentao learns that Tang Ya is going to school today, he offers to give her a ride, given that this is her first time in Beijing and she might not know the direction:

a) Time: Breakfast time

b) Place: On the dining table in Lin Wentao’s house.

c) Roles: Tang Ya (T) and Lin Wentao (L)

d) Audience: Cao Yulan, Lin Rusong, Gao Li, Lin Lin.

e) Script:

林文濤：那我們正好一起去吧，我送完林琳上學，然後送你到學校報到。

唐雅：不用麻煩您了，我自己去吧。

林文濤：可你第一次來北京啊。

唐雅：沒問題，這樣我可以熟悉一下周圍的環境。

Lin Wentao: Na women zhenghao yiqi qu ba, wo song wan Lin Lin shangxue, ranhou song ni dao xuexiao baodao. Tang Ya: Buyong mafan nin le, wo ziji qu ba. Lin Wentao: Ke ni diyici lai Beijing a. Tang Ya: Mei wenti. Zheyang wo keyi shuxi yixia zhouweide huanjing.

Lin Wentao: Let’s go together then. I’ll drop Lin Lin off at her school first, and then I give you a ride. Tang Ya: I don’t want to trouble you. I can go by myself.

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Lin Wentao: But this is your first time in Beijing. Tang Ya: I will be fine. This way, I can get acquainted with the surrounding environment.

Case: How to decline the host’s offer to help by assuring them that you will be

fine.

Saga: Guest/host family saga, house saga

Themes: Lin Wentao:

1. Shows his hospitality by offering a ride.

2. Offers again by showing his concern that Tang Ya will not know

the route.

Tang Ya:

1. Politely addresses the host as nin and declines the offer by saying

that it’s too much trouble and she can go by herself.

2. Reassures Lin Wentao (the host) that she will be fine by providing

a good reason (she can get familiar with the environment).

This case differs from the first one in the intention of the host – In the first case, the intention of the host is to make sure that the guest enjoys the food, whereas in the second case, the intention is to show the host’s desire to make the guest’s stay in Beijing more comfortable.

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Based on the two cases, explanations, drills, exercises, and improvisations involving

“face” help learners develop their related stories and form a rather complete learning cycle.

6.2.4 Incorporation of “Face” in Explanations and Drills

A good introduction of each case of decline can begin with a thorough explanation.

A thorough explanation has the following functions: (1) It points out important behavioral information (e.g. the five elements of a performance, case, saga, and themes) learners should pay attention to when they prepare for the performance. (2) It expands learners’ repertoire of expressions by introducing similar alternatives. (3) It alerts students of the potential consequences if they use the language in a culturally inappropriate way. (4) Particularly in this material, it provides a good opportunity to delineate how “face” is manifested in these two cases. Below are the examples of explanations and drills for the two cases of decline with delineation of “face”:

“Face” in declining the host’s offer of food on a dining occasion

Chinese dining culture is structured differently in many ways from American dining culture. In this lesson, we would like you to focus on the strategies to respond to the situations where the host encourages his guest to have more food.

On a dining occasion in Chinese society, the host fulfills one of his responsibilities by continuously urging everyone present to eat or drink. Therefore, they frequently check with his guests by saying, “duo chi dianr 多吃點兒 (eat more).”

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To respond, if you really enjoy the dish and still have room for more, feel free to do so by saying “xiexie 謝謝 (thank you).” Your good comments on the dishes are also welcome, such as “zhedao cai hen haochi 這道菜很好吃 (This dish tastes good)” or

“feichang haochi 非常好吃 (It’s very good-tasting).” If you are full and cannot digest more, one polite way to decline the offer is to say “buyong le 不用了 (that’s all right)” as introduced in the dialogue. It will be even more polite to add xiexie either after or before buyong le. You can also expand the expression to a fuller version by telling the host that you are full, “buyong le, xiexie, wo chi bao le 不用了, 謝謝, 我吃飽了

(That’s all right, thank you. I am full).” It is quite likely that the host will not cease to offer after your first refusal. In this case, you can say “xiexie, wo zhende chi bao le 謝

謝, 我真的吃飽了 (Thank you, I am really full).” The function of zhende here is to assure the host that you are really full and you are not being polite.

For example, He Ming, an American student doing his internship in Guangzhou,

China, is invited to a dinner banquet by his Chinese supervisor, Li Shan. In the banquet, they sit on the same table. Li Shan asks He Ming to eat more but He Ming is full already:

李山：何明，多吃點兒，多吃點兒。

何明：不用了，謝謝。我吃飽了。

李山：再多吃點兒吧。

何明：謝謝，我真的吃飽了。

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Li Shan： He Ming, help yourself to more food.

He Ming： I am fine, thank you. I am full.

Li Shan： Try to eat more.

He Ming： Thank you. I am really full.

If the dish is not your taste, simply state “buyong le, xiexie 不用了, 謝謝 (I am fine, thank you).” What it literally means is “what you offer is not needed, thank you.”

Do not say “wo buxiang chi 我不想吃 (I don’t want to eat it)” or “wo buyao chi 我不

要吃 (I don’t feel like eating it)” as it conveys a strong message that you don’t like the food or you are not enjoying the occasion. It will badly offend the host as a result.

If it is beverage or alcohol, instead of “wo chi bao le 我吃飽了 (I am full),” you should say “wo he buxia le 我喝不下了 (I can’t drink anymore)” or “wo he tai duo le

我喝太多了 (I drink too much).” Avoid saying “wo he bao le 我喝飽了” as it is not appropriate in this situation.

The reason to adopt these proper expressions in declining the host’s offer of food is actually face-related. The host shows his/her hospitality by inviting guests to eat/drink more and makes sure that everyone is enjoying the food. This gesture aims to take care of guests’ face by making them feel welcome and will bring face to the host in return if everyone at the dining table is content and merry. Since the guests’ face is preserved from the host’s perspectives, the host’s face needs to be maintained as well

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in return by the guests’ behaviors. The problem with all the inappropriate expressions mentioned above (e.g. wo buxiang chi or wo buyao chi) lies in that they fail to take the host’s face into consideration and consequently make the host feel a loss of face.

In the following drills, suppose you are Ma Teng, an American working for a

Chinese company in Shanghai. You are invited to a dinner banquet by your Chinese client, Zhang Chen. In the banquet, you are at the same table and Zhang Chen encourages you to eat more. Respond appropriately based on the cue given.

1. 張琛：馬騰，多吃點兒。馬騰：不用了，我吃飽了，謝謝。

張琛：再多吃點兒吧。

馬騰：真的吃飽了，謝謝。

2. 張琛：馬騰，多吃點兒。馬騰：不用了，謝謝。

張琛：别客氣啊。

馬騰：真的不用了，謝謝。

3. 張琛：馬騰，多喝點兒。馬騰：我喝太多了。 I drink

張琛：别客氣啊。 too much!

馬騰：真的喝不下了，謝謝。

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“Face” in declining the host’s offer to help by assuring them that you will be fine.

If the host offers you help (e.g. a ride) but you don’t need it, buyong le, xiexie is the best way to go. “Buyong mafan nin le 不用麻烦您了 (There is no need to trouble you)” used by Tang Ya in the dialogue is also a good choice. In this case, after saying buyong le, xiexie, you should provide a reason so that the host can be sure that you are not being polite. For example, following the context of He Ming mentioned above, Li

Shan offers He Ming a ride back home after the banquet, but He Ming prefers to walk:

李山：何明，要不要我送你回去？

何明：不用了，謝謝。

李山：真的不用？

何明：真的不用，我自己走回去就行了。

Li Shan： He Ming, do you need a ride back home?

He Ming： I am fine, thank you.

Li Shan： Are you sure?

He Ming： I am fine, really. I can just walk home.

A good reason provided by the guest is expected in this situation because the host feels responsible for the safety of the guests and wants to make sure that the guests will be safe wherever they go. This sense of responsibility, of course, is also related to face.

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If anything unfortunate happens to the guests, the host feels bad about being incapable of taking care of the guests and a sense of loss of face will arise. In the dialogue of the text, the host, Lin Wentao, wants to make sure that Tang Ya is safe during her stay in

Beijing, so he kindly offers her a ride to school. As in the case of declining the host’s offer of food on a dining occasion, do not decline the offer by saying wo buxiang, wo buyao, or even wo buxuyao 我不需要 (I don’t need it) as they sound extremely blunt as a response to an offer without taking the host’s face into consideration.

In the following drills, we continue using the same context of the dinner banquet between Ma Teng and his Chinese client, Zhang Chen. After the banquet, Zhang Chen offers Ma Teng a ride home. Now, play the role of Ma Teng and respond to Zhang

Chen’s offer by referring to the cue.

1. 張琛：何明，要不要我送你回去？馬騰：不用了，謝謝。

張琛：真的不用？

馬騰：真的不用，我喜歡走路。

2. 張琛：何明，要不要我送你回去？馬騰：不用麻煩您了，謝謝。 I can give you a ride! 張琛：真的不用？

馬騰: 真的不用，楊帆可以送我回去。

Yang Fan, a colleague

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3. 張琛：何明，要不要我送你回去？馬騰：不用麻煩您了，謝謝。 Just 500 meters 張琛：真的不用？ away

馬騰：真的不用，我家就在附近。

I provide two extra drill practices below that consist of similar situations but with different roles or sagas.

Extra Drill Practice One: How to decline your friend’s offer to help.

Now, listen to the audio program and respond to your friend’s kind offer based on the cue given.

1. 志安: 雨生，明天要不要我送你去機場？雨生: 不用了，我搭出租車。謝謝。

2. 志安: 雨生，今晚要不要我幫你帶飯？雨生: 不用了，我的東西還很多。謝謝。

Full fridge

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3. 志安: 雨生，星期五要不要我幫你錄像？雨生: 不用了，榮彬可以幫我。謝謝。 I can help.

Rongbin

Extra Drill Practice Two: Learn to be a good host

In this drill, you are inviting a few colleagues over to celebrate Chinese New Year.

You have prepared many dishes and beverages. Based on the cues given, make sure that the guest has enough to eat or drink. Remember, do not cease to offer again despite the guest’s first refusal.

1. 天衣：李晉，多吃點兒。李晉：不用了，謝謝。

天衣：再多吃點兒吧！

李晉：真的吃不下了。

Li Jin

2. 天衣：江心，多喝點兒。江心：不用了，謝謝。

天衣：再多喝點兒吧！

江心：真的喝不下了。

Jiang Xin

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3. 天衣：崔浩，多喝點兒。崔浩：我喝太多了。

天衣：再多喝點兒吧！

崔浩：真的喝不下了。

Cui Hao

4. 天衣：田靜，多吃點兒。田靜：不用了，謝謝。

天衣：再多吃點兒吧！

田靜：我真的吃飽了。 Tian Jing

6.2.5 Incorporation of “Face” in Exercises

After the explanations and drills, learners should have developed stories about the two cases of decline and remain excited about more challenges. In this part, two reading exercises and a writing exercise are provided to enhance learners’ further reflections and testing of their growing knowledge about the two cases of decline. To achieve the task, they not only need to be familiar with all the contents introduced in the dialogue, they also need to apply what they have learned from the explanations and drills to the reading and writing.

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Reading Task One

Lin Wentao has an online blog where he writes regularly and shares with his friends. Below is an article he wrote:

今天是唐雅到我們家的第二天。一早媽媽準備了早飯。她擔心唐雅不習慣中國的

油條豆漿，所以她另外還準備了咖啡。沒想到唐雅很喜歡中國的早飯，她特別喜

歡豆漿和包子，這樣一來我就放心了。後來，我問唐雅需要不需要我送她到學

校，她說不用。我希望她不是客氣。大家都是一家人，應該互相照顧。不過去讓

她熟悉熟悉環境也好，這樣她可以更了解北京。

今天是唐雅到我們家的第二天…

Now, answer the following two questions orally in Chinese:

1. What was Lin Wentao’s mother concerned about?

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2. Lin Wentao mentioned “我希望她不是客氣.” What did he refer to? In your

opinion, is this statement face-related?

3. From the context, what can “另外” possibly mean? You can answer this

question in English.

The main purpose of this reading exercise is to test if learners have grasped the main idea of the dialogue and the face-related themes revealed in the explanations. The article is contextualized in an authentic form that learners will very likely encounter in the future.

Also, it purposefully includes a few words that students have not learned at this point but they should be able to decipher from the context. The whole process of learning – experience, observation, hypothesis, and testing – provides the learners with another opportunity to once again go through their learning cycle.

Reading Task Two:

Besides the two cases introduced in the previous part, there is actually another exchange involving decline in the dialogue. Can you identify it? After you find it, answer the following question in English: To what extent is this decline similar to or different from the first case (i.e. How to decline the host’s offer of food on a dining occasion) and the second case (i.e. How to decline the host’s offer to help by assuring them that you will be fine)?

*In the dialogue, there is an exchange between Cao Yulan and Tang Ya:

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曹玉蘭：咖啡已經準備好了，我去給你拿吧。

唐雅：不用了，我想我應該習慣這裡的生活。

Cao Yulan: Kafei yijing zhunbei hao le, wo qu gei ni na ba. Tang Ya: Buyong le, wo xiang wo yinggai xiguan zhelide shenghuo.

Cao Yulan: The coffee is ready. Let me get it for you. Tang Ya: Oh, no thanks. I think I should get used to the life here.

Different from Reading Task 1, this task aims to exercise learners’ growing knowledge of face of decline and test if they can become keen observers of similar situations. If learners have successfully built their story about how to decline the host’s offer to help at this point, they should have no difficulties identifying the similar case in the dialogue.

Writing Task

You are working in a company in China. Your Chinese colleague, Li Yanfei (李

岩飛), just called and left you a voice message asking if you would need a ride back home today. You go to his cubicle but he is away from his seat. Now, write a note to Li

Yanfei in Chinese. In it, you should:

1. Indicate the name of the person to whom you are writing this note.

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2. Tell him that you won’t need the ride because you are meeting a friend for

dinner tonight.

3. Your friend will give you a ride back home after dinner.

4. Closure showing your appreciation.

5. Indicate your first name (or full name if your first name has only one syllable).

6. Indicate the date in numbers.

7. Use proper punctuations.

______

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Sample:

岩飛,

不用麻煩您了。今天晚上我和一位朋友吃飯。吃完飯後，他會送我回家。

謝謝,

灝翔 2012/12/12

The purpose of this writing task is to train learners to exercise his/her existing knowledge in a written form. Besides the information he/she is required to include in the note, he/she also needs the knowledge of how a note is typically formatted and presented in Chinese. This exercise is designed to once again reinforce learners’ experience by guiding them through the components of the learning cycle.

6.2.6 Incorporation of “Face” in Improvisation

In this part, learners are given three tasks to apply what they have learned to assimilating situations. Even though the scripts learners come up with may vary significantly, it is important that their attention be guided to the elements of a performance in the tasks. If one of the elements is changed and consequently influences the way the interlocutors interact, learners should be able to recognize the change and adjust their performance accordingly.

Task One

You graduated from college last year and currently work in a company in Wuhan,

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China. You are invited to the end-of-year banquet by the company tonight. During the banquet, you are sitting on the same table with your Chinese Chief Manager and he keeps encouraging you to have more wine. However, you have had too much wine and cannot drink it anymore.

Now, work in pairs, and develop a performance based on the scenario described above. When creating your script, do take “face” into consideration as it plays an important role in manager-employee interactions.

Task Two:

Following the context of Task One, the Chief Manager offers you a ride back home after the banquet. Tell him that your apartment is nearby. Besides, Du Ping, your mutual colleague, is going the same way.

Just 500 meters away

Task Three

You are studying in Qingdao, China. You are on the phone with your friend, Yan

Luobin (顏洛彬). In the conversation, you mention that you are traveling to Beijing

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tomorrow. Luobin kindly offers you a ride to the bus station. However, another friend of yours, Du Bailing (杜百玲), has agreed to help.

Work in pairs, and develop a performance based on the scenario described above.

Do not forget to greet each other and end the phone call in a nice way.

6.3 Summary

In this chapter, following the features identified in Chapter 4 and the themes delineated in Chapter 5, I provided pedagogical approaches to “face” in C2, both in the beginning and intermediate levels. I argued that since face plays an important role in requesting and declining, it is not too early to start to develop C2 learners’ sensitivity about face in the beginning level. I presented four teaching plans that address four cases of requesting and declining – make a request of your teacher, make a request of a friend, deny a request from your teacher, and deny a request from a friend. In the intermediate level, based on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, I designed explanations, drills, exercises, and improvisations to show how teachers can incorporate “face” into their instruction by using contemporary materials. Ultimately, as teachers, we need to come up with strategies to help our students remedy their deficiencies. Giving them opportunities to go through the four components of the learning cycle in class is a good start.

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6.4 Suggestions for Further Research

This dissertation is a first step to see how “face” is manifested in the cases of requesting and declining from the perspectives of Performed Culture Pedagogy. It has limitations and further research is necessary.

First, the analysis is limited to beginning level C2 learners. Future study needs to be conducted to see if the differences between native speakers and C2 learners in the intermediate or advanced level still follow the patterns delineated in this dissertation.

Two, the concept of “face” could occasionally be a convenient way to go in interpreting the considerations or the themes involved in the situations discussed in this dissertation. The traditional dichotomy of “positive face vs. negative face” or

“involvement vs. independence” is not sufficient in helping to explain the complexities either. Further research on sorting out various tiers of face should be done to better help

C2 learners grasp the ideas.

Three, the pedagogical approaches provided in Chapter 6 are still far from being complete due to the nature of this dissertation. A thorough material design involving

“face” should be developed in a more systematic way. Possible aspects to consider are: (1)

Introduction of “face” in CFL material in different levels. (2) Incorporation of other speech acts that also count heavily on face and should be included in the material in addition to requesting and declining. (3) Besides the features of requesting and declining we have discussed in this dissertation, we should also train C2 learners with skills to make up their inappropriate expressions if they unfortunately occur. In other words,

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besides face strategies, more investigation on “when-face-fails” strategies should also be incorporated in the material.

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Appendix A – List of Examples

Page

Example 1 – from Chuncao: A boy wants a candyman…………………………. 5

Example 2 – from Chuncao: Chuncao asks the teacher to convince her mother to let her attend school………………………………………………………… 6

Example 3 – from IC: Bai Ying’ai asks Gao Wenzhong to invite Li You and Wang Peng……………………………………………………………………… 10

Example 4 – from IC: Li You asks for coke, but it is not available at Gao Xiaoyin’s house………………………………………………………………… 13

Example 5 – from CCC: A visitor asks the receptionist if he/she could use the computer………………………………………………………………………... 16

Example 6 – from NPCR: Teacher Yang asks for permission to enter Lin Na’s room…………………………………………………………………………… 17

Example 7 – from BSC: Ms. Chen asks her new American friend, Ivy, to call her Xiao Chen…………………………………………………………………… 18

Example 8 – from Chuncao: Chuncao’s mother denies the teacher’s request to let Chuncao attend school……………………………………………………… 22

Example 9 – from Love Spicy Soup: The government official denies the woman’s request to stamp on the divorce application form…………………… 29

Example 10 – from IC: Gao Wenzhong rejects Wang Peng’s offer of playing ball and going to a ball game together this weekend…………………………… 32

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Example 11 – from IC: Teacher Chang denies Li You’s request of meeting today and tomorrow morning………………………………………………………….... 35

Example 12 – from NPCR: Teacher Yang declines Ding Libo’s offer of palying ball together tomorrow………………………………………………………….. 39

Example 13 – from CCC: A student refuses a suggestion from the teacher…… 40

Example 14 – from Love, Go! Go: A salesperson wants the female owner to try their new product but she declined……………………………………………… 59

Example 15 – a student’s email requesting for make-up sessions (part 1)……… 92

Example 16 – a student’s email requesting for make-up sessions (part 2)……… 93

Example 17 – a student’s email requesting for make-up sessions (part 3)……… 94

Example 18 – a dialogue involving declining in Access China………………… 223

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Appendix B – Survey Form for Students of Chinese Regarding Requesting and Declining

Your age: Gender:

Educational level (Please circle):

Bachelor Master Doctoral Other (please specify):

How long have you been studying Chinese:

Which Chinese language courses have you completed at OSU (Please circle)?

101 102 103 104 210 211 310 311 510 511 610 611 612

Other (please specify):

Have you been to Mainland China or Taiwan?

Yes (Please specify when and how long):

Do you speak Chinese with your parents?

Yes

Do you speak any Chinese dialect?

Yes (please specify):

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What would you say in the following situation(s) in Chinese (pinyin is fine)?

The teacher of your Chinese class is a native Chinese.

1. You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

2. You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday. You’d say:

3. You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. You’d say:

4. You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

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Gao Ming is a 25-year-old male student from China who is currently studying at your school. You have become acquainted with each other recently.

5. You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

6. You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

7. You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

8. You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

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When you would like to make a request of your teacher, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Whether or not it’s a good time to make the request?

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and the teacher?

Whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for the teacher?

Whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively of you?

Whether or not you did a favor for the teacher before?

Others. Please explain

______

When you would like to make a request of a friend, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Whether or not it’s a good time to make the request?

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your friend?

Whether or not you will cause trouble/inconvenience for your friend?

Whether or not it will make the friend think negatively of you?

Whether or not you did a favor for the friend before?

Others. Please explain

______

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What would you say in the following situation(s) in Chinese (pinyin is fine)?

The teacher of your Chinese class is a native Chinese.

4 Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

5 Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

6 Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

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Gao Ming is a 25-year-old male student from China who is currently studying at your school. You’ve become acquainted with each other lately.

7 Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

8 Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

9 Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. You’d say:

10 Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

11 Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

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Answer the following questions in English:

When you would like to deny a request from your teacher, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your teacher?

Whether or not you will make the teacher feel “a loss of face”?

Whether or not it will make the teacher think negatively of you?

Whether or not your teacher denied your request before?

Others. Please explain

______

When you would like to deny a request from a friend, what factors would you consider (select all that apply):

Whether or not it will harm the relationship between you and your friend?

Whether or not you will make your friend feel “a loss of face”?

Whether or not it will make the friend think negatively of you?

Whether or not your friend denied your request before?

Others. Please explain

______

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Appendix C - Survey Form for Native Speakers of Chinese Regarding Requesting and Declining

您的年龄：您的性别：女男

您的教育程度:

本科硕士博士其它(请注明)：

您的背景：

中国大陆台湾香港其它(请注明)：

您在美国多长时间了：

除了普通话以外，您还会说其它方言吗？

会 (请注明)：

不会：

259

在国内遇到下列几个情况时，您会怎么说？

1. 上课老师的问题你没听清楚，你想请老师再说一遍。你会说：

2. 你想跟老师约个时间星期五见面。你会说：

3. 你想请老师帮你写封推荐信。你会说：

4. 今天该交的作业你忘了带，你想问老师可以不可以明天交。你会说：

5. 你想请你的朋友高明帮你修改一篇文章。你会说：

6. 你跟你的朋友高明借本课本。你会说：

7. 你想请你的朋友高明明天载你到机场。你会说：

8. 你想问你的朋友高明去上海的时候能不能住他那儿 (高明住在上海)。你会说：

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当您在请老师帮忙时，你会考虑什么事情 (可复选)：

问的时机是否适当?

这会不会影响到你和老师的关系?

这会不会给老师带来不便?

这会不会让老师觉得你很麻烦?

这位老师以前有没有找过你帮忙?

其它。请说明

______

当您在请朋友帮忙时，你会考虑什么事情 (可复选)：

问的时机是否适当?

这会不会影响到你和你的朋友之间的关系?

这会不会给你的朋友带来不便?

这会不会让你的朋友觉得你很麻烦?

这位朋友以前有没有找过你帮忙?

其它。请说明

______

261

在国内遇到下列几个情况时，您会怎么说？

1. 你的老师想请你帮忙一个研究计划，但是你没有时间。你会说：

2. 你的老师有个工作叫你申请，但是你觉得不合适。你会说：

3. Final Project 你的老师希望你和别的同学合作，但是你想自己做。你会跟老师说：

4. 你的朋友高明想请你教他妹妹英语，但是你不愿意。你会说:

5. 你的朋友高明想请你帮他修改文章，但是你没有时间。你会说：

6. 你的朋友高明想跟你借本课本，但是你今天晚上要读。你会说：

7. 你的朋友高明想请你明天载他到机场，但是你不愿意。你会说：

262

8. 你的朋友高明问你到上海时能不能住你那儿 (你住在上海)，你不太愿意。你会说：

当您想拒绝老师的请求时，你会考虑什么事情 (可复选)：

这会不会影响到你和老师的关系?

这会不会让老师觉得丢了面子?

这会不会影响到老师对你的印象？

这位老师以前拒绝过你的请求吗？

其它。请说明：

______

当您想拒绝朋友的请求时，你会考虑什么事情 (可复选)：

这会不会影响到你和你的朋友的关系?

这会不会让你的朋友觉得丢了面子?

这会不会影响到你的朋友对你的印象？

这位朋友以前拒绝过你的请求吗？

其它。请说明：

______

263

Appendix D – Results of the Survey

Results of the survey are presented in two tables for each question. The first table presents selected answers from the native speakers, and the second table gives corresponding selected answers from the learners. Both tables include answers from the written and the spoken data. The table containing the answers from the learners is further divided into two columns. The left column lists the answers that are considered appropriate in Chinese culture and the right column lists the answers that are either erroneous or inappropriate. Similar answers from the survey will be listed only once.

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Make a Request of Your Teacher

You would like your Chinese teacher to repeat his/her question in class. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師, 不好意思, 麻煩您再說一遍。

老師, 對不起, 能不能請您再說一遍?

老師, 剛才那個問題可以麻煩您再說一遍嗎?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

老師，請問您可以再說一遍您的問題嗎？

老師, 不好意思, 剛才沒聽清楚, 能不能麻煩您再說一遍?

不好意思，老師，您能再說一遍嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, mafan nin zai shuo yibian.

Laoshi, duibuqi, neng buneng qing nin zai shuo yibian?

Laoshi, gangcai nage wenti keyi mafan nin zai shuo yibian ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Laoshi , qingwen nin keyi zai shuo yibian ninde wenti ma?

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, gangcai mei tingqingchu, neng buneng mafan nin zai shuo yibian?

Buhaoyisi, laoshi, nin neng zai shuo yibian ma?

265

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Excuse me, Teacher, can I trouble you to say it again?

Excuse me, Teacher, would you please say it again?

Teacher, would you please repeat the question you just said?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Excuse me, Teacher, would you please repeat your question?

I am sorry, Teacher. I didn’t hear what you said. Would you please say it again?

I am sorry, Teacher, would you say it again?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

請您再說一遍。請問, 再說一遍。

請再說一遍。請你再說一遍。

老師, 請您再說一遍。請你再說一次。

請再說一遍吧。

請您再說一遍吧。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 請您再說一遍。請你再說一遍。

請再說一遍。請問, 您可以再說一遍嗎?

266

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Qing nin zai shuo yibian. Qingwen, zai shuo yibian.

Qing zai shuo yibian. Qing ni zai shuo yibian.

Laoshi, qing nin zai shuo yibian. Qing ni zai shuo yici.

Qing zai shuo yibian ba.

Qing nin zai shuo yibian ba.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, qing nin zai shuo yibian. Qing ni zai shuo yibian.

Qing zai shuo yibian. Qingwen, nin keyi zai shuo yibian ma?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers29

Please (you) say it again. Excuse me, please say it again.

Please say it again. Please (you, general form) say it again.

Teacher, please (you) say it again. Please (you, general form) say it again.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, please (you) say it again. Please (you, general form) say it again.

29 I leave some of the inappropriate or erroneous answers untranslated since the translations would seem awkward. Thus, the order of the translations may not correspond to the character and pinyin versions. This applies to the rest of the data analysis.

267

Please say it again. Excuse me, could you say it again?

You would like to have an appointment with your Chinese teacher on Friday. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師，您星期五有時間嗎?

老師，請問您星期五有没有空？

老師，這個星期五您有時間嗎？可以跟您見個面嗎？

老師，星期五您有時間嗎？能不能和您談點兒事？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

老師，我有些問題想向您請教，不知道您這個星期五方不方便？

老師，我想跟你約個時間說一點兒事，您這周五有空嗎?

老師，您這周五有時間嗎？

老師，不知道您星期五有沒有空，我有些問題想問問您。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi, nin xingqiwu you shijian ma?

Laoshi, qingwen nin xingqiwu you meiyou kong?

Laoshi, zhege xingqiwu nin you shijian ma? Keyi gen nin jian ge mian ma?

Laoshi, xingqiwu nin you shijian ma? Neng buneng he nin tan dianr shi?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Laoshi, wo youxie wenti xiang xiang nin qingjiao, buzhidao nin zhege xingqiwu fang

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bufangbian?

Laoshi, wo xiang gen ni yuege shijian shuo yidianr shi, nin zhe zhouwu you kong ma?

Laoshi, nin zhe zhouwu you shijian ma?

Laoshi, buzhidao nin zhe xingqiwu you meiyou kong, wo youxie wenti xiang wenwen nin.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Teacher, would you have time on Friday?

Excuse me, teacher, would you have time on Friday?

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Could I meet with you?

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Could I talk to you about something?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Teacher, I have a couple of questions to ask you. Would this Friday be a good time for you?

Teacher, I’d like to make an appointment with you. I have something to talk to you. Would you be available on Friday?

Teacher, would you have time on Friday?

Teacher, I don’t know if you would have time on Friday? I’d like to ask you some questions.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

老師, 您這個星期五有空嗎? 星期五您有辦公室小時嗎?

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老師, 星期五您有空嗎? 我可以來您的星期五我可以看你嗎? 辦公室一下嗎?

老師, 我星期五可不可以補課? 星期五我們可以見面嗎?

老師, 星期五您有空嗎? 我想跟您說說星期五我們可以不可以開會? 話?

這個星期五, 你跟我能不能見?

請問, 這個星期五你有沒有空?

星期五有沒有空?

老師, 咱們星期五見吧!

老師, 如果有空, 麻煩這個星期五跟我見面?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

老師, 星期五您有空嗎? 我可以跟您見你星期五有沒有空跟我見面? 面嗎?

老師, 星期五有空嗎? 麻煩您這個星期五可不可以和我見面?

老師, 這個星期五有沒有空? 老師, 星期五有空嗎? 我想要見您。

我有幾個問題, 我們可不可以星期五見老師, 不知道周五有空見我嗎? 個面?

您在星期五有空嗎?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

270

Laoshi, nin zhege xingqiwu you kong ma? Xingqiwu nin you bangongshi xiaoshi ma?

Laoshi, xingqiwu nin you kong ma? Wo Xingqiwu wo keyi kan ni ma? keyi lai ninde bangongshi yixia ma?

Laoshi, wo xingqiwu ke bukeyi buke? Xingqiwu women keyi jianmian ma?

Laoshi, xingqiwu nin you kong ma? Wo Xingqiwu women keyi-bu-keyi kaihui? xiang gen nin shuoshuo hua.

Zhege xingqiwu, ni gen wo neng-bu-neng jian?

Qingwen, zhege xingqiwu ni you-meiyou kong?

Xingqiwu you-meiyou kong?

Laoshi, zanmen xingqiwu jian ba!

Laoshi, ruguo you kong, mafan zhege xingqiwu gen wo jianmian?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Laoshi, xingqiwu nin you kong ma? Wo Ni xingqiwu you mei you kong gen wo keyi gen nin jianmian ma? jianmian?

Laoshi, xingqiwu you kong ma? Mafan nin zhege xingqiwu ke bukeyi he wo jianmian?

Laoshi, zhege xingqiwu you meiyou Laoshi, xingqiwu you kong ma? Wo xiang kong? yao jian nin.

Wo you jige wenti, women ke bukeyi Laoshi, buzhidao zhouwu you kong jian xingqiwu jian ge mian? wo ma?

Nin zai xingqiwu you kong ma?

271

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Can I see you on Friday?

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Can we have a meeting on Friday? Could I come to your office for a second?

Teacher, could I make up my class on Excuse me, would you (general form) Friday? have time on Friday?

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Do you have time on Friday? I have something to talk to you.

Teacher, let’s meet on Friday!

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Do you (general form) have time to meet Could I meet with you? with me on Friday?

Teacher, would you have time on Friday? Teacher, would you have time on Friday? I want to see you.

Teacher, would you have time this Friday?

I have a couple of questions. Could we meet on Friday?

You would like your Chinese teacher to write a recommendation letter for you. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師，能不能麻煩您幫我寫一封推薦信？

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老師，可以請您給我寫一封推薦信嗎？

老師，能麻煩您幫我寫封推薦信嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

老師，如果您方便的話，請問您願意幫我寫一封推薦信嗎？

老師，我在申請一個工作，不知道能不能麻煩您抽空幫我寫一封推薦信？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi, neng buneng mafan nin bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin?

Laoshi, keyi qing nin gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin ma?

Laoshi, neng mafan nin bang wo xie feng tuijianxin ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Laoshi, ruguo nin fangbian de hua, qingwen nin yuanyi bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin ma?

Laoshi, wo zai shenqing yige gongzuo, buzhidao neng buneng mafan nin choukong bang wo xie yifeng tuijianxin?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me?

Teacher, would you please write a recommendation letter for me?

Teacher, could I trouble you to write a recommendation letter for me?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Teacher, if it is convenient for you, would you be willing to write a recommendation

273

letter for me?

Teacher, I am applying for a job. I don’t know if I could trouble you to squeeze time to write a recommendation letter for me?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

老師, 您可以不可以幫我寫一封推薦信? 請問, 你可以給我寫一封推薦信?

您可以不可以給我寫一封推薦信? 請問, 你可以寫我一個推薦信嗎?

請問, 您能不能給我寫一封推薦信? 老師, 你可以幫我忙? 請你寫一封推薦信?

麻煩您給我寫一封推薦信, 好不好? 老師, 您可以不可以幫我的忙? 請您把一封推薦信給我?

您可以給我寫一封推薦信嗎? 信上應該有我最好的事。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

老師, 麻煩您可不可以給我寫一封推薦老師, 請問您願意不願意給我寫一封推信? 薦信?

老師,可不可以給我寫一封推薦信? 太麻老師, 麻煩你寫給我一封推薦信。煩您了。

老師, 請你給我寫一個推薦信。

老師, 你願意寫推薦信給我嗎?

老師, 我麻煩您給我寫一封推薦信。

274

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Laoshi, nin keyi-bu-keyi bang wo xie Qingwen, ni keyi gei wo xie yifeng yifeng tuijianxin? tuijianxin?

Nin keyi-bu-keyi gei wo xie yifeng Qingwen, ni keyi xie wo yige tuijianxin tuijianxin? ma?

Qingwen, nin neng-bu-neng gei wo xie Laoshi, ni keyi bang wo mang? Qing ni yifeng tuijianxin? xie yifeng tuijianxin?

Mafan nin gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin, Laoshi, nin keyi-bu-keyi bang wode hao-bu-hao? mang? Qing nin ba yifeng tuijianxin gei wo?

Nin keyi gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin ma? Xin shang yinggai you wo zuihao de shi.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Laoshi, mafan nin ke bukeyi gei wo xie Laoshi, qingwen nin yuanyi buyuanyi gei yifeng tuijianxin? wo xie yifeng tuijianxin?

Laoshi, ke bukeyi gei wo xie yifeng Laoshi, mafan ni gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin? Tai mafan nin le. tuijianxin.

Laoshi, qing ni gei wo xie yige tuijianxin.

Laoshi, ni yuanyi xie tuijianxin gei wo ma?

Laoshi, wo mafan nin gei wo xie yifeng tuijianxin.

Learners’ Answers – Written

275

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Teacher, would you please write a Excuse me, could you (general form) recommendation letter for me? write a recommendation letter for me?

Would you please write a Excuse me, could you (general form) recommendation letter for me? write me a recommendation letter?

Could I please ask you to write a Teacher, can you (general form) do me a recommendation letter for me? favor? Would you (general form) write a recommendation letter?

Could I please trouble you to write a Would you write a recommendation letter recommendation letter for me? for me? The letter should include the best part of me.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Teacher, could I trouble you to write a Teacher, excuse me, would you be willing recommendation letter for me? to write me a recommendation letter?

Teacher, could you to write a Teacher, I would like to trouble you recommendation letter for me? Sorry to (general form) to write me a trouble you. recommendation letter.

Teacher, please you (general form) write me a recommendation letter.

Teacher, I trouble you to write me a recommendation letter.

You forgot to bring your homework today. You ask your Chinese teacher whether it’d be okay to turn it in tomorrow. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師，不好意思，做業我今天忘了帶，明天給您可以嗎？

276

老師，對不起，我今天没帶做業，能不能明天交？真的非常抱歉。

老師，實在不好意思，我的作業昨天打印好了忘記帶來，能不能明天補交？實在不好意思，給您添麻煩了。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

對不起，老師，我的作業已經做了，但是忘了帶來。我可以明天再交到您辦公室去嗎？

老師，對不起，我今天忘記帶作業了。請問可以明天再交給您嗎？

真是對不起，老師, 我忘了帶作業了，明天帶來可以嗎？我已經寫完了。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, zuoye wo jintian wangle dai, mingtian gei nin keyi ma?

Laoshi, duibuqi, wo jintian mei dai zuoye, neng buneng mingtian jiao? Zhende feichang baoqian.

Laoshi, shizai buhaoyisi, wode zuoye zuotian dayin hao le wangji dai lai, neng buneng mingtian bujiao? Shizai buhaoyisi, gei nin tian mafan le.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Duibuqi, laoshi, wode zuoye yijing zuole, danshi wangle dai lai. Wo keyi mingtian zai jiao dao nin bangongshi qu ma?

Laoshi, duibuqi, wo jintian wangji dai zuoye le. Qingwen keyi mingtian zai jiao gei nin ma?

Zhenshi duibuqi, laoshi, wo wangle dai zuoye le, mingtian dai lai keyi ma? Wo yijing xie wan le.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

277

Teacher, I am sorry. I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to give it to you tomorrow?

Teacher, I am sorry, I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to turn it in tomorrow? I am really sorry.

Teacher, I am so sorry. I printed out my homework yesterday but I forgot to bring it today. Would it be possible to turn it in tomorrow? I am very sorry for adding you some trouble.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

I am sorry, Teacher, I already did my homework, but I forgot to bring it today. Could I give it to you tomorrow in your office?

Teacher, I am sorry, I forgot to bring my homework today. Would it be possible to turn it in tomorrow?

I am so sorry, Teacher. I forgot to bring my homework. Would it be okay to bring it tomorrow? It’s already done.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

我忘了我的作業，明天我可以給您嗎？老師，我忘了我的作業。我可以給你明天嗎?

我忘了我的作業。我可以不可以明天給真對不起老師，我忘了我的作業。我可您我的作業? 以不可以給你明天？

我可以明天給您我的作業嗎？我忘了我的作業，明天可以我給您？

真對不起，我忘了今天的作業。我明天對不起，明天可以不可以我給您作業？給您，好不好？

明天我給您我的作業，好不好？對不起，我没有我的作業。我可以給您明天？

278

我忘了我的作業。明天我給您，行不明天給你我的作業，可以嗎？行？

老師，我今天忘了我的作業。明天我可老師，我没有作業。我明天可以給您以不可以給您？嗎？

老師，今天的作業我忘了。我明天把那個作業交給您，可以嗎？

真對不起, 老師, 我忘了帶我的作業。明天我帶來可以嗎?

對不起, 我把我的功課忘了。我明天能不能交?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

老師, 我今天忘了帶我的功課。我明天今天我忘了我的功課。我明天可以給你可不可以給您? 吧!

對不起, 我今天忘了帶我的作業來。可明天可以我給您我的作業嗎? 以明天交給您嗎?

老師, 我今天忘了把我的作業帶來。可我今天忘我的作業。我明天可以不可以不可以明天帶? 給你這個作業?

我明天可以把作業給你?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Wo wangle wode zuoye, mingtian wo Laoshi, wo wangle wode zuoye. Wo keyi keyi gei nin ma? gei nin mingtian ma?

Wo wangle wode zuoye. Wo keyi-bu-keyi Zhen duibuqi, laoshi, wo wangle wode

279

mingtian gei nin wode zuoye? zuoye. Wo keyi-bu-keyi gei ni mingtian?

Wo keyi mingtian gei nin wode zuoye Wo wangle wode zuoye. Mingtian keyi ma? wo gei nin?

Zhen duibuqi, wo wangle jintiande zuoye. Duibuqi, mingtian keyi-bu-keyi wo gei Wo mingtian gei nin, hao-bu-hao? nin zuoye mingtian?

Mingtian wo gei nin wode zuoye, hao-bu- Duibuqi, wo meiyou wode zuoye. Wo hao? keyi gei nin mingtian?

Wo wangle wode zuoye. Mingtian wo gei Mingtian gei ni wode zuoye, keyi ma? nin, xing-bu-xing?

Laoshi, wo jintian wangle wode zuoye. Laoshi, wo meiyou zuoye. Wo mingtian Mingtian wo keyi-bu-keyi gei nin? keyi gei nin ma?

Laoshi, jintiande zuoye wo wangle. Wo mingtian ba nage zuoye jiaogei nin, keyi ma?

Zhen duibuqi, laoshi, wo wangle dai wode zuoye. Mingtian wo dai lai keyi ma?

Duibuqi, wo ba wode gongke wangle. Mingtian wo neng buneng jiao?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Laoshi, wo jintian wangle dai wode Jintian wo wangle wode gongke. Wo gongke. Wo mingtian ke bukeyi gei nin? mingtian keyi gei ni ba!

Duibuqi, wo jintian wangle dai wode Mingtian keyi wo gei nin wode zuoye ma? zuoye lai. Keyi mingtian jiaogei nin ma?

Laoshi, wo jintian wangle ba wode zuoye Wo jintian wang wode zuoye. Wo dai lai. Ke bukeyi mingtian dai? mingtian keyi bukeyi gei ni zhege zuoye?

Wo mingtian keyi ba zuoye gei ni?

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Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

I forgot my homework. Could I give it to Sorry, I don’t have my homework. Can I you tomorrow? give it to you tomorrow?

I forgot my homework. Could I give it to I give you my homework tomorrow. you tomorrow? Would it be okay?

Could I give my homework to you Teacher, I don’t have my homework. Can tomorrow? I give it to you tomorrow?

I am so sorry. I forgot my homework today. Would it be okay if I give it to you tomorrow?

Would it be okay if I give you my homework tomorrow?

I forgot my homework. Would it be okay if I give it to you tomorrow?

Teacher, I forgot my homework today. Could I give it to you tomorrow?

Teacher, I forgot my homework today. Would it be okay if I give it to you tomorrow?

I am sorry, Teacher, I forgot to bring my homework today. Could I bring it tomorrow?

I am sorry. I forgot to bring my homework today. Could I turn it in tomorrow?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Teacher, I forgot to bring my homework I forgot my homework today. I can give it

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today. Could I give it to you tomorrow? to you tomorrow, right?

I am sorry. I forgot to bring my I forgot my homework today. Can I give it homework today. Could I give it to you to you (general form) tomorrow? tomorrow?

Teacher, I forgot to bring my homework today. Could I bring it tomorrow?

Make a Request of a Friend

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to proofread a Chinese essay you wrote. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

你在忙嗎？我有篇文章得校對一下，能不能麻煩你？

高明，請問你有時間幫我看一下這篇文章嗎？

高明，你有空嗎？能不能幫我看看這篇文章？

高明，我這有篇文章，你能幫我看看有什麼問題嗎？

高明，你可以幫我修改一下我寫的東西嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

高明你有空嗎，能不能幫我改一下文章？

高明，最近有時間幫我修改一篇文章嗎？

嘿, 高明，你幫我看看我的文章。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Ni zai mang ma? Wo you pian wenzhang dei jiaodui yixia, neng buneng mafan ni?

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Gao Ming, qingwen ni you shijian bang wo kan yixia zhepian wenzhang ma?

Gao Ming, ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo kankan zhepian wenzhang?

Gao Ming, wo zhe you pian wenzhang. Ni neng bang wo kankan you shenme wenti ma?

Gao Ming, ni keyi bang wo xiugai yixia wo xiede dongxi ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Gao Ming ni you kong ma? Neng buneng bang wo gai yixia wenzhang?

Gao Ming, zuijin you shijian bang wo xiugai yipian wenzhang ma?

Hei, Gao Ming, ni bang wo kankan wode wenzhang.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Are you busy? I have an article that needs to be proofread. Can I trouble you to do this?

Gao Ming, would you have time to take a look at this article for me?

Gao Ming, are you free? Would you help me take a look at this article?

Gao Ming, I have an article here. Would you take a look at it and see if there is any problem?

Gao Ming, could you proofread an article I wrote?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Gao Ming, are you free now? Can you proofread this article for me?

Gao Ming, do yo have time to proofread an article for me?

Hey, Gao Ming, help me with this article.

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Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

高明, 你可以看我的文章嗎? 高明, 你會不會看我的中文文章?

高明, 你可以不可以看一下我的中文文高明, 請你告訴我我這個文章對不對? 章?

高明, 我需要寫一個文章。你可以看一請你幫助我讀我的文章, 然後告訴我對下嗎? 不對。

高明, 如果你有空, 你可以讀一下我的中高明, 你可以把我的文章讀一次嗎? 然文文章嗎? 告訴我哪裡寫錯了。後我就給老師。

高明, 你可以看我的中文文章, 告訴我什對不起麻煩你, 可是你可以讀我的中文麼地方不對嗎? 文章嗎?

高明, 我又來麻煩你了。你可以不可以高明, 你可不可以讀一讀, 告訴什麼我寫讀一下我的文章? 如果有不對的地方, 錯了? 請你告訴我。

請你看我的作文。可能我寫錯了。

高明, 你可不可能讀我的文章?

麻煩你可以看一下我的文章?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

高明, 你可以看我的中文文章嗎? 高明, 請你看我的文章。告訴我在哪兒有問題?

高明, 你可以不可以幫我改我的文章? 小高, 請你看我的文章, 然後告訴我如果我寫錯了。

你如果有時間的話, 給我看一看我寫的你可以看一下吧。這對不對? 文章, 行嗎?

284

我剛才寫的作文一定有錯。你可以看一高明, 我讓你把我的文章看一看好嗎? 下嗎?

嘿, 小明, 可以給我複習這個文章嗎?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, ni keyi kan wode wenzhang Gao Ming, ni hui buhui kan wode ma? zhongwen wenzhang?

Gao Ming, ni keyi bukeyi kan yixia wode Gao Ming, qing ni gaosu wo wo zhege zhongwen wenzhang? wenzhang dui bu dui?

Gao Ming, wo xuyao xie yige wenzhang. Qing ni bangzhu wo du wode wenzhang, Ni keyi kan yixia ma? ranhou gaosu wo dui bu dui?

Gao Ming, ruguo ni you kong, ni keyi du Gao Ming, ni keyi ba wode wenzhang du yixia wode zhongwen wenzhang ma? yici ma? Ranhou wo jiu jiao gei laoshi. Gaosu wo nali xie cuo le.

Gao Ming, ni keyi kan wode zhongwen Duibuqi mafan ni, keshi ni keyi du wode wenzhang, gaosu wo shenme difang budui zhongwen wenzhang ma? ma?

Gao Ming, wo you lai mafan ni le. Ni keyi Gao ming, ni ke bukeyi du yi du, gaosu bukeyi du yixia wode wenzhang? Ruguo shenme wo xie cuo le? you budui de difang, qing ni gaosu wo.

Qing ni kan wode zuowen. Keneng wo xie cuo le.

Gao Ming, ni ke bu keneng du wode wenzhang?

Mafan ni keyi kan yixia wode wenzhang?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

285

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, ni keyi kan wode zhongwen Gao Ming, Qing ni kan wode wenzhang. wenzhang ma? Gaosu wo zai nar you wenti?

Gao Ming, ni keyi bukeyi bang wo gai Xiao Gao, Qing ni kan wode wenzhang, wode wenzhang? ranhou gaosu wo ruguo wo xie cuo le.

Ni ruguo you shijian de hua, gei wo kan yi Ni keyi kan yixia ba. Zhe dui bu dui? kan wo xie de wenzhang, xing ma?

Wo gangcai xie de zuowen yiding you Gao Ming, wo rang ni ba wode wenzhang cuo, ni keyi kan yixia ma? kan yi kan hao ma?

Hei, Xiao Ming, keyi gei wo fuxi zhege wenzhang ma?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, can you take a look at my Gao Ming, please (you) tell me if my essay? essay is correct.

Gao Ming, can you take a look at my Please (you) help me read my essay, then Chinese essay? tell me if it is correct.

Gao Ming, I need to write an essay. Can Gao Ming, can you read my essay? Then you take a look? I’ll give it to the teacher.

Gao Ming, if you have time, can you take Sorry to trouble you, but can you read my a look at my Chinese essay and tell me if essay? there is any error?

Gao Ming, can you take a look at my Please (you) read my essay. Maybe I write Chinese essay and tell me if there is any it wrong. error?

Gao Ming, I am troubling you again. Can Gao Ming, is it possible that you read my you take a look at my Chinese essay? essay?

286

Please tell me if there is an error.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, can you take a look at my Gao Ming, please (you) read my essay. Chinese essay? Tell me if there is a problem.

Gao Ming, can you help me revise my You can read if this is correct. Chinese essay?

If you have time, can you take a look at my Chinese essay?

There must be some errors in the essay I just wrote. Can you take a look?

You would like to borrow a textbook from your Chinese friend, Gao Ming. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

書你什麼時候不用借我一下?

高明，你什麼時候不用你的課本，能借我看看嗎？

高明，能不能借你的課本給我用一下？

高明，我能不能借你的課本來看一下？

高明，我想麻煩借用一下你的課本行不行？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

高明，請問你可以借我這本課本嗎？

高明，我向你借下課本行嗎？

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高明，我今天書忘在家裡了。能用你的嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Shu ni shenme shihou buyong jie wo yixia?

Gao Ming, ni shenme shihou buyong nide keben, neng jie wo kankan ma?

Gao Ming, neng buneng jie nide keben gei wo yong yixia?

Gao Ming, wo neng buneng jie nide keben lai kan yixia?

Gao Ming, wo xiang mafan jie yong nide keben xing buxing?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Gao Ming, qingwen ni keyi jie wo zheben keben ma?

Gao Ming, wo xiang ni jie xia keben xing ma?

Gao Ming, wo jintian shu wang zai jiali le. Neng yong nide ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

When can you lend me your book when it’s not in use?

Gao Ming, can you lend me your book when you don’t need it?

Gao Ming, can you lend me your book?

Gao Ming, would it be okay if you lend me your book?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Excuse me, Gao Ming, can you lend me your book?

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Gao Ming, would it be okay if you lend me your book?

Gao Ming, I left my book at home today. Can you lend me yours?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

我可以借你的課本嗎? 高明, 請你借給我你的課本, 謝謝。

高明, 你可以借我你的書嗎? 高明, 我可以用你的書?

我可以不可以用你的課本? 高明, 你可以給我你的課本看一看嗎?

小高, 我可以不可以借你的書? 高明, 我可不可以借你的書嗎?

高明, 我可不可能用你的書?

高明, 我讓你把你的課本借給我, 好不好?

高明, 你會不會把你的書借給我?

高明, 我借你的書, 好不好?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

小明,可以讓我用你的課本嗎? 今天你可不可以給我你的書?

我可不可以借你的這本書? 高明, 我要看看你的課本。你借給我一天行不行

高明, 這本書你可以不可以借給我? 高明, 你能不能讓我借你的書?

可以用你的課本一下嗎? 高明, 請你讓我借你的書。

289

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Wo keyi jie nide keben ma? Gao Ming, qing ni jie gei wo nide keben. Xiexie.

Gao Ming, ni keyi jie wo nide shu ma? Gao Ming, Wo keyi yong nide shu?

Wo keyi bukeyi yong nide keben? Gao Ming, ni keyi gei wo nide keben kanyikan ma?

Xiao Gao, wo keyi bukeyi jie nide shu? Gao Ming, wo ke bukeyi jie nide shu ma?

Gao Ming, wo ke bu keneng yong nide shu?

Gao Ming, wo rang ni ba nide keben jie gei wo, hao bu hao?

Gao Ming, ni hui buhui ba nide shu jie gei wo?

Gao Ming, wo jie nide shu, hao bu hao?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Xiao Ming, keyi rang wo yong nide keben Jintian ni ke bukeyi gei wo nide shu? ma?

Wo keyi bukeyi jie nide zheben shu? Gao Ming, wo yao kankan nide keben. Ni jie gei wo yitian xing buxing?

Gao Ming, zheben shu ni keyi bukeyi jie Gao Ming, ni neng buneng rang wo jie gei wo? nide shu?

Keyi yong nide keben yixia ma? Gao Ming, qing ni rang wo jie nide shu?

Learners’ Answers – Written

290

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Can you lend me your textbook? Gao Ming, please (you) lend me your book. Thank you.

Gao Ming, can you lend me your book? Gao Ming, lend me your book, ok?

Can I use your textbook?

Little Gao, can your lend me your textbook?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Little Ming, can I use your textbook? Can you give me your book today?

Can you lend me your book? Gao Ming, I want to read your book. Can you lend it to me for one day?

Gao Ming, can you lend me this book? Gao Ming, can you let me borrow your book?

Can I use your book? Gao Ming, please (you) let me borrow your book.

You would like your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, to give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

高明，明天你方便送我去機場嗎？

你明天有空送我去一趟機場嗎？

高明，明天你有時間能送我去機場嗎？

高明，你明天載我去機場吧。

291

Native Speakers’ Answers - Spoken

你明天有空嗎？如果方便，能不能請你送我去機場啊？

高明明天你有空嗎，你帶我去機場好嗎？

你明天有空嗎？我想去機場，你可不可以送我一下？

高明, 明天能不能麻煩你送我到機場?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Gao Ming, mingtian ni fangbian song wo qu jichang ma?

Ni mingtian you kong song wo qu yitang jichang ma?

Gao Ming, mingtian ni you shijian neng song wo qu jichang ma?

Gao Ming, ni mingtian zai wo qu jichang ba.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Ni mingtian you kong ma? Ruguo fangbian, neng buneng qing ni song wo qu jichang a?

Gao Ming mingtian ni you kong ma, ni dai wo qu jichang hao ma?

Ni mingtian you kong ma? Wo xiang qu jichang, ni ke bukeyi song wo yixia?

Gao Ming, mingtian neng buneng mafan ni song wo dao jichang?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Gao Ming, would it be convenient for you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

Would you have time to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

Gao Ming, do you have time to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

292

Gao Ming, give me a ride to the airport tomorrow.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Do you have time tomorrow? If it’s convenient for you, can you give me a ride to the airport?

Gao Ming, do you have time tomorrow? Can you give me a ride to the airport?

Do you have time tomorrow? I’d like to go to the airport. Can you give me a ride?

Gao Ming, can I trouble you to give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

高明, 明天你可以送我去飛機場嗎? 你可以不可以明天給我開車到飛機場?

麻煩你明天給我送到機場行嗎? 高明, 明天請你陪我去飛機場。

你明天可以不可以帶我到飛機場? 請問, 你願意不願意開我去機場?

小明, 明天你可以送我去機場不可以? 請你送我到飛機場去嗎?

高明, 明天有沒有空可以開車送我去飛請問, 明天你能送我到飛機場? 機場?

明天我得到飛機場去, 你陪我?

明天你可以幫我在飛機場去嗎?

請你明天帶我去飛機場嗎?

請你明天帶我到飛機場。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

293

高明, 明天我們一起到飛機場去, 我可以我麻煩你給我到機場去送我。坐你的車嗎?

我明天要去飛機場, 你可以送我去嗎? 明天你有沒有時間接我去飛機場?

小明, 可不可以帶我到飛機場去? 高明, 你可以給我開車到飛機場去嗎?

明天請你把我開車送到飛機場。

我明天要上飛機. 你能不能帶我去?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, mingtian ni keyi song wo qu Ni keyi bukeyi mingtian gei wo kaiche feijichang ma? dao feijichang?

Mafan ni mingtian gei wo song dao Gao Ming, mingtian qing ni pei wo qu feijichang xing ma? feijichang.

Ni mingtian keyi bukeyi dai wo dao Qingwen, ni yuanyi buyuanyi kai wo qu feijichang? jichang?

Xiao Ming, mingtian ni keyi song wo qu Qing ni song wo dao feijichang qu ma? feijichang bukeyi?

Gao Ming, mingtian you meiyou kong Qingwen, mingtian ni neng song wo dao keyi kaiche song wo qu feijichang? feijichang?

Mingtian wo dei dao feijichang qu. Ni pei wo?

Mingtian ni keyi bang wo zai feijichang qu ma?

Qing ni mingtian dai wo qu feijichang ma?

Qing ni mingtian dai wo dao feijichang.

294

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, mingtian women yiqi dao Wo mafan ni gei wo dao jichang qu song feijichang qu, wo keyi zuo nide che ma? wo.

Wo mingtian yao qu feijichang, ni keyi Mingtian ni you meiyou shijian jie wo qu song wo qu ma? feijichang?

Xiao Ming, ke bukeyi dai wo dao Gao Ming, ni keyi gei wo kaiche dao feijichang qu? feijichang qu ma?

Mingtian qing ni ba wo kaiche song dao feijichang.

Wo mingtian yao shang feiji. Ni neng buneng dai wo qu?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, can you take me to the airport Can you drive me to the airport tomorrow? tomorrow?

Can I trouble you to take me to the airport Gao Ming, please accompany me to the tomorrow? airport tomorrow.

Can you take me to the airport tomorrow?

Xiao Ming, can you take me to the airport tomorrow?

Gao Ming, will you have time to take me to the airport tomorrow?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

295

Gao Ming, let’s go to the airport together I trouble you to send me off at the airport. tomorrow. Can I sit in your car?

I am going to the airport tomorrow. Can Gao Ming, can you drive me to the airport you give me a ride? tomorrow?

Xiao Ming, can you take me to the airport I am going to the airport tomorrow. Can tomorrow? you take me to?

You would like to know whether it would be okay to stay with your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, during your visit to Shanghai (Gao Ming lives in Shanghai). You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

我下星期去上海，方便在你家住幾晚上嗎？

高明，我去上海要是没地儿住，能跟你蹭嗎?

高明，我可能會去趟上海幾天，方便不方便在你那兒住兩天呢？

高明，你家住在上海吧？我之後會去上海，如果你方便的話，不知道你願不願意讓我在你家住幾天呢？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

我要來上海，能不能在你這兒住兩天？

高明不知道方不方便，我去上海的時候能不能住你那兒？

高明，我這個星期去上海，可以住你那不？

我下星期要去一趟上海，期間能待你家嗎？如果不方便的話也沒問題啊，我再問問別的上海朋友就行。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

296

Wo xia xingqi qu Shanghai, fangbian zai ni jia zhu ji wanshang ma?

Gao Ming, wo qu Shanghai yaoshi mei dir zhu, neng gen ni ceng ma?

Gao Ming, wo keneng hui qu Shanghai jitian, fangbian bufangbian zai ni nar zhu liangtian ne?

Gao Ming, ni jia zhu zai Shanghai ba? Wo zhihou hui qu Shanghai, ruguo ni fangbian de hua, buzhidao ni yuanyi buyuanyi rang wo zai ni jia zhu jitian ne?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Wo yao lai Shanghai, neng buneng zai ni zher zhu liangtian?

Gao Ming buzhidao fang bufangbian, wo qu Shanghai de shihou neng buneng zhu ni nar?

Gao Ming, wo zhege xingqi qu Shanghai, keyi zhu ni na bu?

Wo xiaxingqi yao qu yitang Shanghai, qijian neng dai ni jia ma? Ruguo bufangbian de hua ye mei wenti a, wo zai wenwen biede Shanghai pengyou jiu xing.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

I am going to Shanghai next week. Is it convenient to stay with you for a few days?

Gao Ming, if I have no place to stay in Shanghai, can I stay with you?

Gao Ming, I will probably go to Shanghai for a couple of days. Would it be convenient to stay with you for a couple of days?

Gao Ming, you live in Shanghai, right? I will go there. If it’s convenient for you, I don’t know if you would be willing to let me stay with you for a couple of days?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

I am coming to Shanghai. Can I stay with you for a couple of days?

Gao Ming, I don’t know if it would be convenient to stay with you when I go to Shanghai?

297

Gao Ming, I am going to Shanghai this week. Can I stay with you?

I am going to Shangahi next Monday. Can I stay with you? If it is not convenient, that’s totally fine. I’ll ask my other friends in Shanghai.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

高明, 我去上海的時候, 可以住在你的地高明, 可以住你的家我去上海的時候? 方嗎?

高明, 在上海我可以住在你家嗎? 高明, 請你讓我住在你的房子。

高明, 我去上海的時候可以跟你住嗎? 到上海時在你的房子我可不可以住嗎?

高明, 我到上海旅行的時候, 我住在你的我在上海的時候, 請你給我住的地方行家, 好不好? 嗎?

可以在你的家住一點嗎?

請你讓我去上海的時候在你的家住嗎?

我可以不可以跟你住在你的家?

我到上海的時候, 我可能到你的家去住嗎?

我在上海的時候, 住在你的家庭 ok 嗎?

高明, 我在上海的時候, 能不能在你的家睡覺?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

到上海的時候, 我可不可以在你家住一我去上海的時候, 可以住在你的房子, 好下呢? 不好?

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高明, 我到上海的時候, 可以住在你家我旅行上海的時候, 我可以在你的家住嗎? 嗎?

高明, 我很快要去上海旅行. 我可以不可我在上海的時候, 我可以住在你的家, 好以住在你家幾天? 不好?

小明, 我一會兒就來上海. 可以讓我住在你家一下嗎?

我打算去上海, 你覺得你願意讓我跟你待一下嗎?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, wo qu Shanghai de shihou, Gao Ming, keyi zhu nide jia wo qu keyi zhu zai nide difang ma? Shanghai de shihou?

Gao Ming, zai Shanghai wo keyi zhu zai Gao Ming, qing ni rang wo zhu zai nide ni jia ma? fangzi.

Gao Ming, wo qu Shanghai de shihou Zai Shanghai shi nide fangzi wo ke bukeyi keyi gen ni zhu ma? zhu?

Gao Ming, wo dao Shanghai lüxing de Wo zai Shanghai de shihou, qing ni gei shihou, wo zhu zai nide jia, hao bu hao? wo zhu de difang xing ma?

Keyi zai nide jia zhu yidian ma?

Qing ni rang wo qu Shangahi de shihou zai nide jia zhu ma?

Wo keyi bukeyi gen ni zhu zai nide jia?

Wo dao Shanghai de shihou, wo keneng dao nide jia qu zhu ma?

Wo zai Shanghai de shihou, zhu zai nide

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jiating ok ma?

Gao Ming, wo zai Shanghai de shihou, neng buneng zai nide jia shuijiao?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Dao Shanghai de shihou, wo ke bukeyi zai Wo qu Shanghai de shihou, keyi zhu zai nide jia zhu yixia ne? nide fangzi, hao bu hao?

Gao Ming, wo dao Shanghai de shihou, Wo lüxing Shanghai de shihou, wo keyi keyi zhu zai ni jia ma? zai nide jia zhu ma?

Gao Ming, wo hen kuai yao qu Shanghai Wo zai Shanghai de shihou, wo keyi zhu lüxing. Wo keyi bukeyi zhu zai ni jia zai nide jia, hao bu hao? jitian?

Xiao Ming, Wo yihuir jiu lai Shanghai. Keyi rang wo zhu zai ni jia yixia ma?

Wo dasuan qu Shanghai, ni juede ni yuanyi rang wo gen ni dai yixia ma?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Gao Ming, Can I stay in your place when Gao Ming, please let me stay in your I go to Shanghai? house.

Gao Ming, can I stay in your place when I When I am in Shanghai, can you give me am in Shanghai? a place to stay?

Gao Ming, Can I stay with you when I go Can I stay with you? to Shanghai?

Gao Ming, When I travel to Shanghai, Gao Ming, when I am in Shanghai, can I would it be okay if I stay in your place? sleep in your place?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

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Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Can I stay in your place when I go to Can I stay in your place when I travel to Shanghai? Shanghai?

Gao Ming, Can I stay in your place when Xiao Ming, I am coming to Shanghai I am in Shanghai? soon. Can I stay in your place?

Gao Ming, I am traveling to Shanghai I plan to go to Shanghai. Do you think that soon. Can I stay in your place for a couple you will be willing to let me stay with of days? you?

Deny a Request from Your Teacher

Your Chinese teacher wants you to help him/her with a research project, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師我很願意做，但是我最近實在太忙了，下次有機會一定參與。

老師，真對不起，我最近在趕一個文章，可能沒時間參加這個計劃。

老師，我最近特別忙，您看能不能等我忙完這陣子再幫您做？

老師，實在對不起，我最近在忙一些事，我覺得好像沒時間做這個計劃。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

老師, 不好意思，我最近比較忙，能不能等我過完了這段時間再參加？

老師, 這個計劃急不急啊？我最近有點忙，過兩個星期開始來得及嗎？

非常抱歉，老師，我對這個計劃非常感興趣，但是因為最近太忙了，我實在是心有餘而力不足。非常不好意思！以後如果有可能，請老師再給我一個機會來看看有什麼能幫老師做的。

老師, 具體時間是什麼時候呢？我很感興趣，但是最近事情確實多，壓力有點兒大，不知道自己還能不能勝任？

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Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi wo hen yuanyi zuo, danshi wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, xiaci you jihui yiding canyu.

Laoshi, zhen duibuqi, wo zuijin zai gan yipian wenzhang, keneng mei shijian canjia zhege jihua.

Laoshi, wo zuijin tebie mang, nin kan neng buneng deng wo mangwan zhe zhenzi zai bang nin zuo?

Laoshi, shizai duibuqi, wo zuijin zai mang yixie shi, wo juede haoxiang mei shijian zuo zhege jihua.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo zuijin bijiao mang, neng buneng deng wo guowanle zhe duan shijian zai canjia?

Laoshi, zhege jihua ji bu ji a? Wo zuijin youdian mang, guo liangge xingqi kaishi laideji ma?

Feichang baoqian, laoshi, wo dui zhege jihua feichang gan xingqu, danshi yinwei zuijin tai mang le, wo shizai shi xinyouyu’er libuzu. Feichang buhaoyisi! Yihou ruguo you keneng, qing laoshi zai gei wo yige jihui lai kankan you shenme neng bang laoshi zuo de.

Laoshi, juti shijian shi shenme shihou ne? Wo hen gan xingqu, danshi zuijin shiqing queshi duo, yali youdianr da, buzhidao ziji hai neng buneng shengren?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Teacher, I’d love to, but I have been terribly busy lately. I’d definitely do it next time if there would be a chance.

Teacher, I am so sorry, I have been working on a paper and I am afraid I wouldn’t have time for this project.

Teacher, I have been terribly busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this 302

hectic period?

Teacher, I am so sorry, I have a few things to attend to lately. I am afraid I won’t have time for this project.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Teacher, I am sorry. I have been busy lately. Would it be possible that I do it after this period?

Teacher, is this project urgent? I have been pretty busy lately. Would it be possible that I begin after two weeks?

I am so sorry, Teacher. I am very interested in this project, but I have been terribly busy lately, so I am afraid I won’t have time for it at this moment. I am truly sorry! Please let me know if there would be another opportunity to do something for you in the future.

Teacher, when is the time for the project to be done? I am interested, but I have a few things to attend to lately and they are quite stressful, so I don’t know if I would be able to do it?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

真對不起, 老師, 這個星期我忙極了, 下老師, 我沒有時間, 對不起。個星期我有空, 那個時候可以嗎?

真對不起, 我要幫你, 可是我沒有空。

老師, 真對不起, 我真沒有時間幫助你。

對不起, 我有點兒忙, 我不可以幫助你。

對不起, 我很想幫助您, 但是我沒有時間。

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老師, 真對不起, 今天我沒有空, 明天怎麼樣?

我很高興你選我, 可是現在我沒有空, 夏天做怎麼樣?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我明天沒有空。

我非常願意, 但是時間太少了。

老師, 對不起啊, 我沒有時間幫您的忙。

不好意思, 我今天沒有時間。

老師, 真對不起, 可是我沒有時間。

對不起, 當然我要幫助你, 不過我今天沒空。

對不起, 老師, 我想幫您, 但是我沒有時間。

真對不起, 我要, 但是我沒有空. 但是如果你明天有空, 我可以幫助你。

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Zhen duibuqi, laoshi, zhege xingqi wo Laoshi, wo meiyou shijian, duibuqi. mang ji le, xiage xingqi wo you kong, nage shihou keyi ma?

Zhen duibuqi, wo yao bang ni, keshi wo meiyou kong.

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Laoshi, zhen duibuqi, wo zhen meiyou shijian bangzhu ni.

Duibuqi, wo you dianr mang, wo bukeyi bangzhu ni.

Duibuqi, wo hen xiang bangzhu nin, danshi wo meiyou shijian.

Laoshi, zhen duibuqi, jintian wo meiyou kong, mingtian zenmeyang?

Wo hen gaoxing ni xuan wo, keshi xianzai wo meiyou kong, xiatian zuo zenmeyang?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wo mingtian meiyou kong.

Wo feichang yuanyi, dan shi shijian tai shao le.

Laoshi, duibuqi a, wo meiyou shijian bang nin de mang.

Buhaoyisi, wo jintian meiyou shijian.

Laoshi, zhen duibuqi, keshi wo meiyou shijian.

Duibuqi, dangran wo yao bangzhu ni, buguo wo jintian mei kong.

Duibuqi, laoshi, wo xiang bang nin, danshi wo meiyou shijian.

Zhen duibuqi, wo yao, danshi wo meiyou kong. Danshi ruguo ni mingtian you kong, wo keyi bangzhu ni.

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Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

I am sorry, Teacher. I am extremely busy Teacher, I don’t have time. Sorry. this week. I will have time next week. Would that be okay?

I am so sorry, I’d like to help you, but I don’t have time.

Teacher, I am so sorry, I don’t have time to help you.

Sorry, I am a bit busy, I can’t help you.

Sorry, I’d really like to, but I don’t have time.

Teacher, sorry, I don’t have time today. How about tomorrow?

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I don’t have time tomorrow.

I’d love to, but I don’t have time.

Teacher, sorry, I don’t have time to help you.

Sorry, I don’t have time today.

Teacher, sorry, but I don’t have time.

Sorry, of course I want to help you, but I don’t have time today.

Sorry, teacher, I’d love to, but I don’t have time.

I am so sorry. I’d love to, but I don’t have time. But if you are free tomorrow, I can

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help you.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to apply for a program he/she strongly recommends, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師,不好意思,我覺得好像不太適合我。

老師我挺感興趣的，但是我想了想還是覺得不合適。

謝謝老師的幫助，我覺得這個意見很好，我會好好考慮考慮的。

好的老師，我會關注一下。

謝謝老師，那我試試，不過我估計可能不行，我不太符合他們的條件。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

謝謝老師的信息。我覺得這個工作很好，但是可能有些不適合我。所以我考慮了一下，可能還是不會申請了。非常感謝老師的建議！

老師,這份工作聽起來真是不錯，就是不知道是不是適合我呢…

老師, 好吧, 我試一下。不過同時我也想申請某某職位，我覺得這個職位更適合我。

謝謝老師, 我會考慮一下。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo juede haoxiang bu tai shihe wo.

Laoshi wo ting gan xingqu de, danshi wo xiang le xiang haishi juede bu heshi.

Xiexie laoshide bangzhu, wo juede zhege yijian hen hao, wo hui haohao kaolü de.

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Haode laoshi, wo hui guanzhu yixia.

Xiexie laoshi, na wo shishi, buguo wo guji keneng buxing, wo bu tai fuhe tamende tiaojian.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Xiexie laoshide xinxi. Wo juede zhege gongzuo hen hao, danshi youxie bu shihe wo. Suoyi wo kaolü le yixia, keneng haishi buhui shenqing le. Feichang ganxie laoshide yijian!

Laoshi, zhefen gongzuo tingqilai zhenshi bucuo, jiushi buzhidao shi bu shi shihe wo…

Laosho, hao ba, wo shi yixia. Buguo tongshi wo ye xiang shenqing moumou zhiwei, wo juede zhege zhiwei geng shihe wo.

Xiexie laoshi, wo hui kaolü yixia.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Teacher, I am sorry, I feel like it is not suitable for me.

Teacher, I am interested, but I don’t think I am suitable after consideration.

Thank you for your help, Teacher. I think this is a good suggestion. I’ll think about it.

Okay, Teacher, I’ll attend to this.

Thank you, Teacher, I’ll give it a try then. But my hunch is that it’s not going to work out because I am not qualified.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Teacher, this job sounds good, but I don’t know if it will fit me.

Teacher, okay, I’ll give it a try. But at the same time I also wanted to apply for another position. I feel this one fits me better.

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Thank you, Teacher, I’ll think about it.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

好。老師, 我不想, 對不起。

好, 我想一想, 謝謝您的建議。謝謝您, 老師, 不過我不用。

對不起, 我今年夏天很忙, 明年我再申對不起, 我對這件事沒有興趣。請。

對不起, 老師, 我已經打算我的將來。

真對不起, 我不能做那個 program。

對不起, 你太客氣, 我覺得這個機會給我不好。

對不起, 我知道您的想法, 但是我不喜歡這個項目。

老師, 我知道你要我申請, 可是我真不想。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

謝謝您, 我想一下。真對不起, 我不想去。

我知道學中文的人都應該去中國大陸或對不起, 我不要。是台灣, 但是恐怕我沒有這個 qualification。

如果你覺得我應該申請, 我就申請。謝謝, 對不起, 我不可以做。

309

謝謝您, 雖然這個機會很不錯, 可是我不要。

對不起, 我對這個事情沒有興趣, 不想做。

謝謝老師, 但是我對那個項目沒有興趣。

我相信您的話, 但是我真不相信這是合適的項目。

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Hao. Laoshi, wo buxiang, duibuqi.

Hao, wo xiang yi xiang, xiexie ninde Xiexie nin, laoshi, buguo wo buyong. jianyi.

Duibuqi, wo jinnian xiatian hen mang, Duibuqi, wo dui zhe jian shi meiyou mingnian wo zai shenqing. xingqu.

Duibuqi, laoshi, wo yijing dasuan wode jianglai.

Zhen duibuqi, wo buneng zuo nage program.

Duibuqi, ni tai keqi, wo jude zhege jihui gei wo bu hao.

Duibuqi, wo zhidao ninde xiangfa, danshi wo buxihuan zhege xiangmu.

Laoshi, wo zhidao ni yao wo shenqing, keshi wo zhen buxiang.

310

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Xiexie nin, wo xiang yixia. Zhen duibuqi, wo buxiang qu.

Wo zhidao xue zhongwen de ren dou Duibuqi, wo buyao. yinggai qu Zhongguo Dalu huoshi Taiwan, danshi kongpa wo meiyou zhege qualification.

Ruguo ni juede wo yinggai shenqing, wo Xiexie, duibuqi, wo bukeyi zuo. jiu shenqing.

Xiexie nin, suiran zhege jihui hen bucuo, keshi wo buyao.

Duibuqi, wo dui zhege shiqing meiyou xingqu, buxiang zuo.

Xiexie laoshi, danshi wo dui nage xiangmu meiyou xingqu.

Wo xiangxin ninde hua, danshi wo zhen buxiangxin zhe shi heshi de xiangmu.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Okay. Teacher, I don’t want to, sorry.

Okay, I’ll think about it. Thank you for Thank you, teacher, but I don’t need it. your suggestions.

I am sorry. I am busy this summer, but I’ll Sorry, I am not interested. apply next year.

Sorry, teacher, I have my future planned already.

I am so sorry, I can’t do the program.

311

Sorry, I understand your thought, but I don’t like this program.

Teacher, I know you want me to apply, but I really don’t want to.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Thank you, I’ll think about it. I am so sorry, I don’t want to.

I know people who learn Chinese should Sorry, I don’t want it. go to Mainland or Taiwan, but I am afraid I am not qualified.

If you think I should apply, I’ll apply. Thank you. I am sorry I can’t.

Thank you. This opportunity sounds nice, but I don’t want it.

Thank you, teacher, but I am not interested in that program.

Your Chinese teacher wants you to work together with other classmates on a project, but you prefer to work alone. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

老師，不好意思, 我可以自己做嗎？

老師，我有過不少 team work 的經歷，自己做的經歷卻不是很多，我是不是能自己做呢？

老師，我想先看看自己能不能獨立作出個雛形來，要是我覺得完成不了，再跟別人合作，您看行不行？

謝謝老師這麼周全的考慮！但是我在想，不知道有沒有可能我這次自己做？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

312

老師，這個作業可以一個人做嗎？我有一個想法，覺得好像自己做比較容易實施。

老師, 我可能時間上很難和別的同學協調，不知道自己做可以嗎？

老師，請問這個報告我可以自己一個人做嗎？

老師我也願意跟同學合作，但是這次想自我挑戰一下，自己做一個 project，不知道可不可以?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Laoshi, buhaoyisi, wo keyi ziji zuo ma？

Laoshi, wo you guo bushao team work de jingli, ziji zuo de jingli que bushi hen duo, wo shi bu shi neng ziji zuo?

Laoshi, wo xiang xian kankan ziji neng buneng duli zuochu ge chuxing lai, yaoshi wo juede wancheng bu liao, zai gen bieren hezuo, nin kan xing buxing?

Xiexie laoshi zheme zhouquan de kaolü! Danshi wo zai xiang, buzhidao you meiyou keneng wo zheci ziji zuo?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Laoshi, zhege zuoye keyi yigeren zuo ma? Wo you yige xiangfa, juede haoxiang ziji zuo bijiao rongyi shishi.

Laoshi, wo keneng shijian shang hen nan gen biede tongxue xietiao, buzhidao ziji zuo keyi ma?

Laoshi, qingwen zhege baogao wo keyi ziji yigeren zuo ma?

Laoshi wo ye yuanyi gen tongxue hezuo, danshi zheci wo xiang ziwo tiaozhan yixia, ziji zuo yige project, buzhidao ke bukeyi?

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Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Teacher, I am sorry, but could I do it by myself?

Teacher, I have a few experiences of team work, but I am inexperienced in doing by myself. Can I do it myself?

Teacher, I wanted to see if I could come up with a prototype first. If I feel it’s not going to work, I will cooperate with other people. Would it be okay with you?

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, Teacher. But I was wondering if I could do it myself this time?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Teacher, can I do this project myself? I have an idea, and I feel it’s easier to realize it by myself.

Teacher, it is a bit difficult for me to cooperate with other students due to time conflict. I don’t know if it would be okay if I do it myself?

Teacher, could I do this project by myself?

Teacher, I would be happy to work with other students, but I’d like to challenge myself this time with a project on my own. I don’t know if it would be okay with you?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

老師, 我可以一個人做報告嗎? 我喜歡自己做。

我可不可以自己做? 我自己做比一起做好。

老師, 我可以不可以自己做. 我覺得自己對不起, 老師, 麻煩您讓我自己做。做比較容易。

老師, 我想自己做作業. 對不起。

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對不起, 老師, 我喜歡自己工作。

老師, 我知道你要我跟同學一起做, 可是我只想一個人做。

對不起, 我想自己做, 不喜歡跟別的人一起做。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

我想一個人做那個作業, 可以嗎? 老師, 我要自己做。

請問, 這個作業能一個人做嗎? 對不起, 我喜歡一個人做。

可以, 但是我可以自己一個人做嗎? 老師, 對不起, 我覺得一個人比較好。

嗯, 可以, 可是我覺得一個人做是最好的。

我覺得我自己做比較好。

我比較喜歡自己做. 有關係嗎?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Laoshi, wo keyi yige ren zuo baogao ma? Wo xihuan ziji zuo.

Wo ke bukeyi ziji zuo? Wo ziji zuo bi yiqi zuo hao.

Laoshi, wo keyi bukeyi ziji zuo. Wo juede Duibuqi, laoshi, mafan nin rang wo ziji ziji zuo bijiao rongyi. zuo.

Laoshi, wo xiang ziji zuo zuoye. Duibuqi.

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Duibuqi, laoshi, wo xihuan ziji gongzuo.

Laoshi, wo zhidao ni yao wo gen tongxue yiqi zuo, keshi wo zhi xiang yige ren zuo.

Duibuqi, wo xiang ziji zuo, buxihuan gen bie de ren yiqi zuo.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Wo xiang yige ren zuo nage zuoye, keyi Laoshi, wo yao ziji zuo. ma?

Qingwen, zhege zuoye neng yige ren zuo Duibuqi, wo xihuan yige ren zuo. ma?

Keyi, danshi wo keyi ziji yige ren zuo Laoshi, duibuqi, wo juede yige ren bijiao ma? hao.

Em, keyi, keshi wo juede yige ren zuo shi zui hao de.

Wo juede wo ziji zuo bijiao hao.

Wo bijiao xihuan ziji zuo, you guanxi ma?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Teacher, can I do the project myself? I like to do it myself.

Can I do it by myself? Doing by myself is better than working with others.

Teacher, can I do it by myself? I think it’s Sorry, teacher, I want to do it myself. easier.

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Teacher, I know you want me to work with others, but I want to work on my own.

Sorry, I want to do it myself. I don’t like working with other people.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Would it be okay if I do the project Teacher, I want to do it by myself. myself?

Can I do the project myself? Sorry, I like to work on my own.

I can, but can I do it myself? Sorry, Teacher, I think it’s better to work on my own.

I can. But I think it’s best to work on my own.

Deny a Request from a Friend

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to teach his sister English, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

我不行的，我最沒耐心了，我絕對要誤人子弟的，我幫你看看有沒有合適的師妹。

我的英語不太好，或者你可以找別人。

我那英文太破了，别教壞你妹妹了。

我的英語也就這樣呢，會不會教不了她啊？

我做她的家庭老師？我的英語不夠好啊，你就別開玩笑了。

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教英語我很願意，但是我最近實在太忙了，時間排不過來，真對不起。

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

對不起，我最近實在太忙，要不你問問別人有沒有時間？

哎呀，我的英語也不好，別教壞她了。你還是找個老外來教吧。

不好意思啊，我最近真是太忙了，沒有時間。過一陣子再說好嗎？

哎呀，真對不起，我最近實在是太忙了，恐怕抽不出時間啊…

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Wo buxing de, wo zui mei naixin le, wo juedui yao wurenzidi de, wo bang ni kankan you meiyou heshi de shimei.

Wode yingyu bu tai hao, huozhe ni keyi zhao bieren.

Wo na yingyu tai po le, bie jiao huai ni meimei le.

Wode yingyu yejiu zheyang ne, hui buhui jiaobuliao ta a?

Wo zuo tade jiating jiaoshi? Wode yingyu bu gou hao a, ni jiu bie kai wanxiao le.

Jiao yingyu wo hen yuanyi, danshi wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, shijian pai bu guolai, zhen duibuqi.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Duibuqi, wo zuijin shizai tai mang, yaobu ni wenwen bieren you mei you shijian?

Ai ya, wode yingyu ye bu hao, bie jiao huai ta le. Ni haishi zhao ge laowai lai jiao ba.

Buhaoyisi a, wo zuijin zhenshi tai mang le, meiyou shijian. Guo yizhenzi zai shuo hao ma?

Ai ya, zhen duibuqi, wo zuijin shizai tai mang le, kongpa choubuchu shijian a …

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Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

I don’t think I can because I am impatient. I’ll ruin your sister. I’ll check somebody else for you.

My English is not good. You could find someone else.

My English is pretty rusty. I won’t be able to teach her.

My English is so so. I wonder if I could teach her?

As a tutor? My English is not good enough. You must be kidding.

I would be happy to teach English, but I have been very busy and I don’t think I’ll have time. So sorry!

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

I am sorry. I have been really busy. Can you ask someone else?

Oh, my English is not good either. I don’t think I am qualified. You’d better find a foreigner.

I am sorry. I have been terribly busy lately and I have no time. Would it be okay if we talk about this later?

Oh, I am sorry, I have been terribly busy lately and I am afraid I won’t be able to squeeze time.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我的英文不好。對不起, 不要。

對不起. 我覺得英文老師教英文比較高明, 我不想教你的姊姊, 對不起。好。

真對不起, 我不覺得我能教你的姊姊英對不起, 我已經有女朋友。文。

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對不起, 我沒有時間教你妹妹英語, 下次對不起, 我有點兒忙, 沒有功夫。吧!

真不好意思, 我不知道怎麼教英文. 另對不起, 我已經太忙了, 不可以。外, 我的英文語法不太好。

對不起, 高明, 我不是老師。我陪你去找對不起, 當然我要教她, 但是我沒空。別的英文老師。

對不起, 我不能給你的妹妹教英文。

高明, 我知道你要我教你的姊姊英文, 但是我不想。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我教英文教得不太好。對不起, 我不可以做。

最近我很忙, 所以恐怕我沒有時間。真對不起, 我沒有空。

我很願意幫你忙, 但是我忙死了。對不起, 高明, 我是壞的英文老師。

為什麼呢? 我不想教她英文。

對不起, 我沒有空, 可以找別人嗎?

高明, 對不起, 可是現在我沒有時間。

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wode yingwen bu hao. Duibuqi, buyao.

Duibuqi. Wo juede yingwen laoshi jiao Gao Ming, wo buxiang jiao nide jiejie. yingwen bijiao hao. Duibuqi.

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Zhen duibuqi, wo bu juede wo neng jiao Duibuqi, wo yijing you nüpengyou. nide jiejie yingwen.

Duibuqi, wo meiyou shijian jiao ni Duibuqi, wo youdianr mang, meiyou meimei Yyingyu. Xiaci ba! gongfu.

Zhen buhaoyisi, wo buzhidao zenme jiao Duibuqi, wo yijing tai mang le, bukeyi. yingwen. Lingwai, wode yingwen yufa bu tai hao.

Duibuqi, Gao Ming, wo bushi laoshi. Wo Duibuqi, dangran wo yao jiao ta, danshi pei ni qu zhao biede yingwen laoshi. wo mei kong.

Duibuqi, wo buneng gei nide meimei jiao yingwen.

Gao Ming, wo zhidao ni yao wo jiao nide jiejie yingwen, danshi wo buxiang.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wo jiao yingwen jiao de bu hao. Duibuqi, wo bukeyi zuo.

Zuijin wo hen mang, suoyi kongpa wo Zhen duibuqi, wo meiyou kong. meiyou shijian.

Wo hen yuanyi bang ni mang, danshi wo Duibuqi, Gao Ming, wo shi huai de mang si le. yingwen laoshi.

Weishenme ne? Wo buxiang jiao ta yingwen.

Duibuqi, wo meiyou kong, keyi zhao bieren ma?

Gao Ming, duibuqi, keshi wo meiyou shijian.

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Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

I am sorry. My English is not good. Sorry, I don’t want to.

Sorry, I feel that English teachers would Gao Ming, I don’t want to teach your be better. sister. Sorry.

I am really sorry, I don’t think I am Sorry, I am a bit busy. I don’t have time. qualified to teach your sister English.

I am sorry, I don’t have time to teach your Sorry, of course I want to teacher her, but sister English. Next time. I don’t have time.

I am sorry, I don’t know how to teach Sorry, I can’t teach your sister English. English. Also, my English grammar is not so good.

Sorry, Gao Ming, I am not a teacher. I can Gao Ming, I know you want me to teach help you to find someone else. your sister English, but I don’t want to.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I don’t teach English well. Sorry, I can’t do it.

I have been really busy. I am afraid that I Sorry, I don’t have time. don’t have time.

I’d love to, but I am terribly busy. Sorry, Gao Ming, I am a bad English teacher.

Why? I don’t want to teach her English.

Sorry, I can’t. Can you find someone else?

Sorry, Gao Ming, but I don’t have time now.

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to proofread his article in English, but you don’t have time. You’d say:

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Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

真對不起最近太忙了，下次有空一定幫。

對不起呀，高明。我這幾天特別忙，我下次再幫你改好嗎？

最近特別忙呢，等我忙完這兩天幫你改行不行？

今天真不行，能不能等到我有時間的時候，再幫你改。

我最近有好幾篇論文要交，實在抽不出時間，你能等過了這陣子找我改嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

我這兩個星期特別忙，要是你不急的話，先放放，我忙過這段時間再幫你看，行不？

我最近比較忙，能不能過一段時間我再幫你看看？

不好意思啊，我最近真是太忙了，沒有時間。過一陣子再說好嗎？

實在對不起啊，我現在太忙了，沒有時間做。如果你不急，下個月可以嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Zhen duibuqi zuijin tai mang le, xiaci you kong yiding bang.

Duibuqi a, Gao Ming. Wo zhe jitian tebie mang, wo xiaci zai bang ni gai hao ma?

Zuijin tebie mang ne, deng wo mang wan zhe liangtian bang ni gai xing buxing?

Jintian zhen buxing, neng buneng dengdao wo you shijian de shihou, zai bang ni gai.

Wo zuijin you hao ji pian lunwen yao jiao, shizai choubuchu shijian, ni neng deng guo le zhe zhenzi zao wo gai ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Wo zhe liangge xingqi tebie mang, yaoshi ni bu ji, xian fangfang, wo mang guo zhe

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duan shijian zai bang ni kan, xing bu?

Wo zuijin bijiao mang, neng buneng guo yiduan shijian wo zai bang ni kankan?

Buhaoyisi a, wo zuijin zhenshi tai mang le, meiyou shijian. Guo yizhenzi zai shuo hao ma?

Shizai duibuqi a, wo xianzai tai mang le, meiyou shijian. Ruguo ni bu ji, xiage yue keyi ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

I am sorry. I have been too busy. I’ll do it next time.

I am sorry, Gao Ming. I have been extremely busy these few days. Can I do it next time?

I have been extremely busy lately. Can I do it after I have my work done in two days?

I really can’t today. Can I do it when I have time?

I have a couple of papers due recently and I really don’t have time. Can I do it after this period?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

I have been extremely busy these two weeks. If you are not in a hurry, I can do it after I have my work done.

I have been busy recently. Can I do it later?

I am sorry. I have been too busy recently and I don’t have time. Can we talk about it later?

I am so sorry. I am too busy now and I don’t have time. If you are not in a hurry, can we do it next month?

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Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 這星期我非常忙, 下星期我可我想幫助你, 可是現在我沒有空。以。

不好意思, 我的英語語法非常不好。這個星期沒有時間啊。

對不起, 我的時間不多。你可以找別的對不起, 今天我沒有空。人嗎?

對不起, 我有點兒忙, 沒有功夫。

對不起, 我不可以, 我沒有空。

對不起, 我沒有時間。最近很忙。

對不起, 我沒有時間看你的文章, 下次吧。

對不起, 現在我沒有空, 但是明天我有空。

高明, 我知道你要我讀你的文章, 可是我沒有時間。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 今天太忙了。我現在沒有空。

我可以別的時間幫你看嗎? 高明, 我沒有時間, 對不起。

不好意思, 我沒有空。

對不起, 高明, 我沒有時間看你的文章。

我沒有空啊! 可能我有別的朋友可以幫你。

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對不起, 高明, 我忙死了。別的時候可以, 現在不行。

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, zhe xingqi wo feichang mang, Wo xiang bangzhu ni, keshi xianzai wo xia xingqi wo keyi. meiyou kong.

Buhaoyisi, wode yingyu yufa feichang bu Zhege xingqi meiyou shijian a. hao.

Duibuqi, wode shijian bu duo. Ni keyi Duibuqi, jintian wo meiyou kong. zhao biede ren ma?

Duibuqi, wo youdianr mang, meiyou gongfu.

Duibuqi, wo bukeyi, wo meiyou kong.

Duibuqi, wo meiyou shijian. Zuijin hen mang.

Duibuqi, wo meiyou shijian kan nide wenzhang, xiaci ba!

Duibuqi, xianzai wo meiyou kong, danshi mingtian wo you kong.

Gao Ming, wo zhidao ni yao wo du nide wenzhang, keshi wo meiyou shijian.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, jintian tai mang le. Wo xianzai meiyou kong.

Wo keyi biede shijian bang ni kan ma? Gao Ming, wo meiyou shijian, duibuqi.

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Buhaoyisi, wo meiyou kong.

Duibuqi, Gao Ming, wo meiyou shijian kan nide wenzhang.

Wo meiyou kong a! Keneng wo you biede pengyou keyi bang ni.

Duibuqi, Gao Ming, wo mang si le. Biede shihou keyi, xianzai buxing.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I am busy this week. But I can do I’d like to help you, but I don’t have time next week. now.

Sorry, my English grammar is bad. I don’t have time this week.

Sorry, I don’t have much time. Can you Sorry, I don’t have time today. find someone else?

Sorry, I am a bit busy, I don’t have time.

I don’t have time to read your essay. Maybe next time.

Sorry, I don’t have time now, but I will tomorrow.

Gao Ming, I know you want me to read your essay, but I don’t have time.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I am terribly busy today. I don’t have time now.

Can I read it some other time? Gao Ming, I don’t have time. Sorry.

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Sorry, Gao Ming, I don’t have time to read your essay.

I don’t have time! Maybe I have other friends who can help you.

Sorry, Gao Ming, I am terribly busy. I can do other time, but now I can’t.

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants to borrow a textbook from you, but you need it tonight to study. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

對不起，這本書我現在要用。明天借你怎麼樣？

不好意思，我也還沒看。我今晚看完，明早借給你好嗎？

你什麼時候要看呢？我就用今晚，要是改天就沒事。

不好意思，但是我今天晚上也要讀這本課本呢，明天要考試。

很抱歉，我今晚也很需要這本書。我明天再借給你，來得及嗎？不好意思啊！

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

啊，不好意思，我正好今晚要用誒，要不明天一早就給你，來得及嗎？

這本書今天晚上我正好要用呢，要不明天我給你拿過去？

啊，我今天晚上正好要看，明天借你，行不？

不好意思今天晚上我要用，明天給你可以嗎？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

328

Duibuqi, zheben shu wo xianzai yao yong. Mingtian jie ni zenmeyang?

Buhaoyisi, wo ye hai meikan. Wo jinwan kan wan, mingzao jie gei ni hao ma?

Ni shenme shihou yao kan ne? Wo jiu yong jinwan, yaoshi gaitian jiu meishi.

Buhaoyisi, danshi wo jintain wanshang ye yao du zheben keben ne, mingtian yao kaoshi.

Hen baoqian, wo jinwan ye xuyao zheben shu. Wo mingtian zai jie gei ni, laideji ma? Buhaoyisi a!

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

A, buhaoyisi, wo zhenghao jinwan yao yong e, yao bu mingtian yizao jiu gei ni, laideji ma?

Zheben shu jintian wanshang wo zhenghao yao yong ne, yaobu mingtian wo gei ni na guoqu?

A, wo jintian wanshang zhenghao yao kan, mingtian jie ni, xing bu?

Buhaoyisi jintian wanshang wo yao yong, mingtian gei ni keyi ma?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

I am sorry. I need this book now. How about tomorrow?

I am sorry. I haven’t finished it either. I will finish it tonight and can give it to you tomorrow morning. How about that?

When do you need it? I will need it just tonight. You can have it on other days.

I am sorry, but I’ll need this book tonight. There is a test tomorrow.

I am sorry. I need this book tonight. I can give it to you tomorrow. Would it be okay? Sorry!

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Ah, I am sorry, but I need it tonight. Would it be in time if I give it to you tomorrow

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morning?

I need this book tonight. Can I give it to you tomorrow?

Ah, I need it tonight. How about tomorrow?

Sorry that I need it tonight. Would tomorrow be okay?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我今天晚上想學習, 明天的話可不可以, 我今天得用書學習。以。

對不起, 今天晚上我需要我的書, 明天我不行, 我需要學習。可以借給你。

對不起, 高明, 今天晚上我得用那本書, 明天我可以給你。

高明, 我今天晚上要看, 對不起。

對不起，今天晚上我得用那本書。

真對不起, 今天晚上我需要用那本書。

對不起, 我需要我的課本學習。

對不起, 我需要我的書。明天有考試。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我今天晚上得用這本書. 我提議不可以, 晚上我要。我們一起學習, 好吧?

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真對不起, 今天晚上我得唸書。

今天晚上我要用, 或者我們可以一起用。

今天晚上我需要這本書, 對不起。

我今晚需要這本書學習。

對不起, 我今天晚上得用。

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wo jintian wanshang xiang Bukeyi, wo jintian dei yong shu xuexi. xuexi, mingtian de hua keyi.

Duibuqi, jintian wangshang wo xuyao Buxing, wo xuyao xuexi. wode shu, mingtian wo keyi jie gei ni.

Duibuqi, Gao Ming, jintian wanshang wo dei yong na ben shu, mingtian wo keyi gei ni.

Gao Ming wo jintian wangshang yao kan, duibuqi.

Duibuqi, jintian wanshang wo dei yong na ben shu.

Zhen duibuqi, jintian wanshang wo xuyao yong na ben shu.

Duibuqi, wo xuyao wode keben xuexi.

Duibuqi, wo xuyao wode shu. Mingtian you kaoshi.

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Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wo jintian wanshang dei yong Bukeyi, wanshang wo yao. zheben shu. Wo tiyi women yiqi xuexi, hao ba?

Zhen duibuqi, jintian wanshang wo dei nianshu.

Jintian wanshang wo yao yong, huozhe women keyi yiqi yong.

Jintian wanshang wo xuyao zheben shu, duibuqi.

Wo jinwan xuyao zheben shu xuexi.

Duibuqi, wo jintian wanshang dei yong.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I need it to study tonight. I can’t. I need the book tonight to study. Tomorrow will be fine.

Sorry, I need my book to study tonight. I can’t. I need it to study. But I can give it to you tomorrow.

Sorry, Gao Ming, I need the book tonight, but I can give it to you tomorrow.

Gao Ming, sorry, I need to read it tonight.

Sorry, I’ll need the book tonight.

So sorry, I’ll need this book tonight.

Sorry, I’ll need my book to study tonight.

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Sorry, I’ll need my book. There is a test tomorrow.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I need this book tonight. I suggest I can’t. I need it tonight. we study together, ok?

I am sorry, but I need to study tonight.

I’ll need it tonight, or we can study together.

I’d need this book tonight. Sorry.

I’ll need this book to study tonight.

Sorry, I need it tonight.

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, wants you to give him/her a ride to the airport tomorrow, but you don’t want to. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

我明早有課，不好意思，要不你問問別人？

對不起啊，我有點事，不能送你。不好意思。

我的車有點問題啊…

明天我得趕一個報告，真對不起。

我明天上午要上課。你問問別人行不行。

對不起明天正好有安排了，你回來時我來接吧！

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

我的車的剎車有點問題，正好約了明天開去修理廠看看。你還能找到別的人送你

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嗎？

明天事兒還挺多呢，要不你問問看灝翔有沒有空？

不好意思，我明天那個時間有事，你可以找李璟看看嗎？

哎呀，真對不起，我已經有安排了，恐怕沒有辦法去送你啊…真抱歉！也許你問問看別的同學？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Wo mingzao you ke, buhaoyisi, yaobu ni wenwen bieren?

Duibuqi a, wo you dian shi, buneng song ni. Buhaoyisi.

Wode che you wenti a ….

Mingtian wo de gan yige baogao, zhen duibuqi.

Wo mingtian shangwu yao shangke, ni wenwen bieren xing buxing?

Duibuqi mingtian zhenhao you anpai le, ni huilai shi wo lai jie ba!

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Wode che de shache youdian wenti, zhenghao yuele mingtian kaiqu xiuchechang kankan. Ni hai neng zhaodao biede ren song ni ma?

Mingtian shir hai ting duo ne, yaobu ni wenwen kan Haoxiang you meiyou kong?

Buhaoyisi, wo mingtian nage shijian you shi, ni keyi zhao Li Jing kankan ma？

Ai ya, zhen duibuqi, wo yijing you anpai le, kongpa meiyou banfa qu song ni a…zhen baoqian! Yexu ni wenwen biede tongxue?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

334

I have class tomorrow morning, sorry! Can you ask someone else?

I am sorry, I have something to do and I can’t give you a ride. Sorry.

There is something wrong with my car….

I have a paper to work on tomorrow. Sorry.

I have class tomorrow morning. Can you ask someone else?

I am sorry that I am taken tomorrow. But I can pick you up when you return.

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

There is something wrong with the brake of my car and I am taking it to the repair place tomorrow. Can you find someone else?

I am pretty busy tomorrow. Can you ask Haoxiang and see if he’s available?

I am sorry, but I have an engagement at the time tomorrow. Can you ask Li Jing?

Ah, I am sorry, I have other engagements. I am afraid I can’t. Sorry. Maybe you can ask someone else?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

明天我太忙了, 請別的人可以嗎? 我不想到機場送你。

明天我有事, 對不起。對不起, 不要。

對不起, 我沒有車。對不起, 我不可以, 我需要打工。

對不起, 我的車壞了。對不起, 沒有功夫。

對不起, 我媽媽要用我的車。我不能幫你, 明天我沒有空。

對不起, 我很忙, 可是我可以叫別的人送對不起. 我明天有別的事, 沒有時間送你你。到機場。

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對不起, 我明天太忙了, 不能幫你的忙。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 明天早上我得上課。對不起, 我不可以送你去飛機場。

對不起, 我沒有車。對不起, 明天我沒有時間。

我明天早上有重要的事, 對不起。

對不起, 十點我有事, 可以找別人嗎?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Mingtian wo tai mang le, qing biede ren Wo buxiang dao jichang song ni. keyi ma?

Mingtian wo you shi, duibuqi. Duibuqi, buyao.

Duibuqi, wo meiyou che. Duibuqi, wo bukeyi, wo xuyao dagong.

Duibuqi, wode che huai le. Duibuqi, meiyou gongfu.

Duibuqi, wo mama yao yong wode che. Wo buneng bang ni, mingtian wo meiyou kong.

Duibuqi, wo hen mang, keshi wo keyi jiao Duibuqi, wo mingtian you biede shi, biede ren song ni. meiyou shijian song ni dao jichang.

Duibuqi, wo mingtian tai mang le, buneng bang nide mang.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, mingtian zaoshang wo dei Duibuqi, wo bukeyi song ni qu feijichang.

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shangke.

Duibuqi, wo meiyou che. Duibuqi, mingtian wo meiyou shijian.

Wo mingtian zaoshang you zhongyao de shi, duibuqi.

Duibuqi, shidian wo you shi, keyi zhao bieren ma?

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

I am very busy tomorrow. Can you find I don’t want to send you to the airport. someone else?

I have other engagement tomorrow, sorry. Sorry, I don’t want it.

Sorry, I don’t have a car. Sorry, I can’t. I need to work.

Sorry, my car is broken. Sorry, I don’t have time.

Sorry, my mother needs my car tomorrow. I can’t help you. I don’t have time tomorrow.

Sorry, I am busy, but I can find someone Sorry, I have other engagement tomorrow else for you. and I don’t have time to send you to the airport.

Sorry, I am too busy tomorrow. I am afraid I can’t help you.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I have class tomorrow morning. Sorry, I can’t send you to the airport tomorrow.

Sorry, I don’t have a car. Sorry, I don’t have time tomorrow.

337

I have important engagement tomorrow morning. Sorry.

Sorry, I have engagement at 10 tomorrow. Can you find someone else?

Your Chinese friend, Gao Ming, asks if it would be okay to stay with you during his/her visit in town, but you are inclined to say no. You’d say:

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

我可能得問問同屋，因為她好像不喜歡有外人來住。

好像有點不方便呢，要不我幫你找一家合適的旅館？

我家太小了，爸媽管得又多，我都不愛在家住。要不，我幫你看看附近有沒有什麼便宜的好賓館，我陪你住賓館？

我跟爸媽住一起，我是沒問題的，但是我爸媽比較介意外人一起住。不好意思啊。

本來住我那兒也不是不可以，但我們家那兩天正好有點不方便，要不我幫你再找個經濟型旅館？

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

啊，我這裡地方太小了，好像住不下多一個人…

可是我男朋友也住我這兒誒。

真不好意思，我家那幾天有別的客人，不太方便呢，真對不起呀！

這個…真的很抱歉，我這邊可能有些不方便呢…或者你到上海來我請你吃飯吧？或者你需要關於上海酒店住宿的信息，儘管告訴我，我去幫你打聽打聽！

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Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

Wo keneng dei wenwen tongwu, yinwei ta haoxiang buxihuan you wairen lai zhu.

Haoxiang youdian bufangbian ne, yaobu wo bang ni zhao yijia heshi de lüguan.

Wo jia tai xiao le, bama guande you duo, wo dou bu ai zai jia zhu. Yaobu, wo bang ni kankan fujin you meiyou shenme pianyi de hao binguan, wo pei ni zhu binguan?

Wo gen bama zhu yiqi, wo shi mei wenti, danshi wo bama bijiao jieyi wairen yiqi zhu. Buhaoyisi a.

Benlai zhu wo nar ye bushi bukeyi, dan women jia na liangtian zhenghao youdian bufangbian, yaobu wo bang ni zhao ge jingjixing lüguan?

Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

A, wo zheli difang tai xiao le, haoxiang zhu buxia duo yige ren…

Keshi wo nanpengyou ye zhu wo zher e.

Zhen buhaoyisi, wo jia na jitian you biede keren, bu tai fangbian ne, zhen duibuqi a!

Zhege…zhende hen baoqian, wo zhebian keneng youxie bufangbian ne…huozhe ni dao Shanghai lai wo qing ni chifan ba? Huozhe ni xuyao guanyu Shanghai jiudian zhusu de xinxi, jinguan gaosu wo, wo qu bang ni dating dating!

Native Speakers’ Answers – Written

I would probably need to ask my roommie because she doesn’t seem to like visitors.

It’s a bit inconvenient. Maybe I can find a hotel for you?

My house is too small and my parents are pretty naggy. I don’t even like to stay there. Maybe I can look for a hotel nearby and we stay together?

I live with my parents. I am okay with it, but my parents are a bit uncomfortable with visitors. I am sorry.

Normally, it would be fine, but it is a bit inconvenient during your stay. Maybe I can find a hotel for you?

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Native Speakers’ Answers – Spoken

Ah, my place is too small to have another person to stay.

But my boyfriend lives with me.

I am sorry. I have guests on those days and it’s a bit inconvenient. Sorry.

Mm…I am sorry, it’s a bit inconvenient. Maybe I can invite you for dinner when you are in Shanghai? Or if you need information about hotels in Shanghai, please do not hesitate to let me know. I’ll check for you.

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我的地方太小了, 還有我有室對不起, 那個星期我的家沒空。友。

對不起, 我生病了. 我不想讓你也病了。高明, 你不可以住在我的家裡. 對不起。

對不起, 現在不太方便, 因為… 對不起, 因為我的父母也在我家, 所以沒有房間讓你住。

不好意思, 我爸爸媽媽會有客人。

對不起, 我這兒沒有地方, 可是我知道一個好旅館。

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

對不起, 我和我的家人住在一起。我覺得在我家住不太方便。

我的家不夠好, 住在飯店比較好吧。你能不能找別的人?

對不起, 我母親要來看我。對不起, 下個星期我沒空。

下個星期我沒有什麼打算, 可是我可不

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可以下個星期再告訴你。

Learners’ Answers – Written

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wode difang tai xiao le, haiyou Duibuqi, nage xingqi wode jia mei kong. wo you shiyou.

Duibuqi, wo shengbing le. Wo buxiang Gao Ming, ni bukeyi zhu zai wode jiali. rang ni ye bing le. Duibuqi.

Duibuqi, xianzai bu tai fangbian, Duibuqi, yinwei wode fumu ye zai wo jia, yinwei… suoyi meiyou fangjian rang ni zhu.

Buhaoyisi, wo baba mama hui you keren.

Duibuqi, wo zher meiyou difang, keshi wo zhidao yige hao lüguan.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Duibuqi, wo he wode jiaren zhu zai yiqi. Wo juede zai wo jia zhu bu tai fangbian.

Wode jia bu gou hao, zhu zai fandian Ni neng buneng zhao biede ren? bijiao hao ba.

Duibuqi, wo muqin yao lai kan wo. Duibuqi, xiage xingqi wo mei kong.

Xiage xingqi wo meiyou shenme dasuan, keshi wo ke bukeyi xiage xingqi zai gaosu ni.

Learners’ Answers – Written

341

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, my place is too small, and I have Sorry, my place is not available that week. roommates.

Sorry, I am sick. I don’t want you to catch Gao Ming, you can’t stay in my place. it from me. Sorry.

Sorry, it’s not convenient now because … Sorry. I live with my parents, so I do’t have space for you.

Sorry, my parents will have guests.

Sorry, I don’t have a place here. But I know a good hotel.

Learners’ Answers – Spoken

Appropriate Answers Inappropriate or Erroneous Answers

Sorry, I live with my family. I think it’s kind of inconvenient to stay in my place.

My house is not good enough. It’s better Can you find someone else? to live in the hotel.

Sorry, my mother is visiting me. Sorry, I don’t have time next week.

I don’t have any plan for next week. Can I let you know next week?

342

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