A study of politeness strategies in the
conversational activities of the coursebook -
New Headway, Intermediate
Triệu Thị Trang Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15
Người hướng dẫn: Dr. Nguyễn Quang
Năm bảo vệ: 2009 Abstract. When people from different cultures and with different languages
communicate with each other, there exists the possibility of miscommunication. In order to avoid
culture shock or misunderstanding and misbehaviour in communication, learners of English
should know how politeness strategies are used in the language as politeness is one of the key
factors of a successful cross-cultural communication. This work is an attempt to study positive
and negative politeness strategies in the coursebook “New Headway, Intermediate” so that the
learners of English at the University of Labour and Social Affairs can get appropriateness in
communication. In addition, the author also suggests some recommendations that might work in
the Vietnamese context, some sample exercises and activities to improve the teaching and
learning of verbal communication for the third-year students of the University of Labour and
Social Affairs.
Keywords. Tiếng Anh; Hội thoại; Chiến lược lịch sự; Giao tiếp

Content
1. Rationale.
The English language seems to take over the world in the course of the twenty – first

The author of this study aims to investigate and highlight the important role of positive
and negative politeness strategies in the conversational activities of the course book “New –
Headway, Intermediate” by Liz & John Soars so as to improve the teaching and learning of
verbal communication in English for the third – year students of the University of Labour
and Social Affairs.

2. Aims of the study:
The aims of the study are:
- To study positive and negative politeness strategies in most typical contextual
environments in the conversational activities of the course book “New – Headway,
Intermediate”.
- To collect and design sample cross – cultural activities and exercises to raise students’
cross- cultural awareness.
- To suggest effective and efficient ways of teaching the course book “New Headway”

3. Scope of the study:
This study focuses on the realization of positive and negative politeness strategies found in
the conversational activities (twelve units) of the course book “New – Headway,
Intermediate”.

4. Methodology:
The major method that the author has employed is quantitative with due reference to
qualitative method since this study focuses on the practical aspects of cross – cultural
communication. All the considerations and conclusions are based on analysis and reference. The
main approaches are:
- Reference to publication;
- Discussion with supervisor;
- Discussion with colleagues;
- Personal observations
5. Design of the study

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