What type of study is this?

This is a Qualitative Research study (also classified as: Discourse Completion Test, Analysis of Refusal Strategies).

September 10, 2025

Apology in Indonesian Refusals Realized by Proficient Efl Learners

Key Points

Proficient EFL learners frequently utilized apology as a strategy in refusals, indicating cultural influences.
The data show that apologies were used primarily in the initial or final positions of refusals, enhancing politeness.
Using a Discourse Completion Test, responses from 18 EFL learners were classified based on established refusal strategies.
The findings support the notion that apology usage in Indonesian reflects cultural norms of communication and politeness.

Abstract

This article is aimed at elaborating a mostly used strategy-regret/ apology in Indonesian refusals realized by proficient English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data were taken from writer's qualitative research data in 2010 on 18 EFL learners whose TOEFL score was 450 above using Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and were analyzed by using combined refusal classification by Wannaruk (2005) and Campillo (2009) by two raters. Proficient EFL learners used regret/ apology in the initial or final position in their refusals to mitigate, to provide support for the interlocutor who was actually or potentially malaffected by a violation, and to humiliate himself or herself to some extent and to admit to fault and responsibility for a violation. This is truly culture specific and partially support Syahri's statement (2007) that Indonesian native speakers get accostumed to using 'sorry' in opening their conversations.

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Cite This Study

Eviliana Eviliana (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68c1bb6354b1d3bfb60ed239 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.64571/ojp.v1i2.127

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