Perceptions of impolite behavior in study abroad contexts and the teaching of impoliteness in L2 Spanish

The present study investigates the way in which second-language Spanish learners conceptualize impolite behavior in intercultural interactions while abroad. The data were collected through a prompt that asks participants to write a narration of an impolite situation that occurred while they were studying abroad in Spain or Latin America. Fifty impoliteness events were analyzed for perceived offense type. The results show that learners perceived greater offense to their "quality face" and "social identity face." Sociocultural and linguistic competence characteristics with respect to the perceived offenses are then discussed. As a result of the analysis, this study concludes with pedagogical recommendations for the teaching of impoliteness in the classroom.