Politeness strategies in collaborative e-mail exchanges
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| Title: | Politeness strategies in collaborative e-mail exchanges |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Vinagre, Margarita1 mvinagre@nebrija.es |
| Source: | Computers & Education. Apr2008, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p1022-1036. 15p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Collaborative learning, *Internet users, Online etiquette, Email & ethics, Knowledge transfer, Social distance, Social history |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been the subject of a wide range of studies over the last twenty years. Previous research suggests that CSCL exchanges can facilitate group-based learning and knowledge construction among learners who are in different geographical locations (. Guiding the creation of knowledge and understanding in a virtual learning environment. Cyberpsychology &Behaviour, 7(2), 173). A less known fact, however, is that successful CSCL exchanges depend on the social interaction that takes place among participants. This social interaction is crucial, since it affects both cognitive and socio-emotional processes that take place during learning (Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P., Jochems, W. & Van Buuren, H. (2004). Determining sociability, social space, and social presence in (a) synchronous collaborative groups. Cyberpsychology &Behaviour, 7 (2), 156). Nevertheless, its presence in these exchanges should not be taken for granted, since there are certain barriers which may impede interaction; for example, students may not know each other previously (high social distance) and requests and offers which appear recurrently in collaborative learning messages can threaten the participants’ negative face (). In order to explore how participants overcome these barriers, we have analysed the linguistic features of politeness strategies used in the introductory e-mails exchanged between eleven students and their partners, who are students of English and Spanish, respectively. Our findings show that partners in collaborative e-mail exchanges do not use negative politeness strategies as often as we might expect in encounters where the social distance between participants is high, but they rely heavily on positive politeness strategies, especially those relating to ‘claiming common ground’, ‘assuming or asserting reciprocity’ and ‘conveying cooperation’. The presence of these strategies would indicate that fostering closeness, solidarity and cohesion becomes the priority to be achieved between the partners, instead of the expected negative politeness mechanisms whose aim is to demonstrate high social distance and, therefore, formality and impersonality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] |
| Copyright of Computers & Education is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 28800278 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Politeness strategies in collaborative e-mail exchanges – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vinagre%2C+Margarita%22">Vinagre, Margarita</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> mvinagre@nebrija.es</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Computers+%26+Education%22">Computers & Education</searchLink>. Apr2008, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p1022-1036. 15p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Collaborative+learning%22">Collaborative learning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Internet+users%22">Internet users</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Online+etiquette%22">Online etiquette</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Email+%26+ethics%22">Email & ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Knowledge+transfer%22">Knowledge transfer</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+distance%22">Social distance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+history%22">Social history</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Abstract: Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been the subject of a wide range of studies over the last twenty years. Previous research suggests that CSCL exchanges can facilitate group-based learning and knowledge construction among learners who are in different geographical locations (. Guiding the creation of knowledge and understanding in a virtual learning environment. Cyberpsychology &Behaviour, 7(2), 173). A less known fact, however, is that successful CSCL exchanges depend on the social interaction that takes place among participants. This social interaction is crucial, since it affects both cognitive and socio-emotional processes that take place during learning (Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P., Jochems, W. & Van Buuren, H. (2004). Determining sociability, social space, and social presence in (a) synchronous collaborative groups. Cyberpsychology &Behaviour, 7 (2), 156). Nevertheless, its presence in these exchanges should not be taken for granted, since there are certain barriers which may impede interaction; for example, students may not know each other previously (high social distance) and requests and offers which appear recurrently in collaborative learning messages can threaten the participants’ negative face (). In order to explore how participants overcome these barriers, we have analysed the linguistic features of politeness strategies used in the introductory e-mails exchanged between eleven students and their partners, who are students of English and Spanish, respectively. Our findings show that partners in collaborative e-mail exchanges do not use negative politeness strategies as often as we might expect in encounters where the social distance between participants is high, but they rely heavily on positive politeness strategies, especially those relating to ‘claiming common ground’, ‘assuming or asserting reciprocity’ and ‘conveying cooperation’. The presence of these strategies would indicate that fostering closeness, solidarity and cohesion becomes the priority to be achieved between the partners, instead of the expected negative politeness mechanisms whose aim is to demonstrate high social distance and, therefore, formality and impersonality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Computers & Education is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.compedu.2006.10.002 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 15 StartPage: 1022 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Collaborative learning Type: general – SubjectFull: Internet users Type: general – SubjectFull: Online etiquette Type: general – SubjectFull: Email & ethics Type: general – SubjectFull: Knowledge transfer Type: general – SubjectFull: Social distance Type: general – SubjectFull: Social history Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Politeness strategies in collaborative e-mail exchanges Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Vinagre, Margarita IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2008 Type: published Y: 2008 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 03601315 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 50 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Computers & Education Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
