Beyond please and may I : the intricacies of young second language learners’ views of politeness

Situated within the small but rapidly growing field of young L2 learner (YLL) pragmatics, this study explores the views of politeness held by Norwegian 7th-grade learners of English. The dataset consisted of eleven group interviews with 46 Norwegian learners of English in the final grade of primary school (12–13 years of age). Thematic analysis, unsurprisingly, revealed that all the groups primarily associated politeness with specific language resources, such as please and excuse me . However, a subset of the groups displayed much more dynamic and intricate views, including references to politeness in light of contextual considerations, such as interlocutor characteristics and place of interaction, tone of voice and non-verbal resources. Especially interesting were the views of politeness that related to respect for the interlocutor’s freedom of choice and to the impact of one’s choice of language formulations on the interlocutor regarding the achievement of communicative goals and self-presentation, which, albeit discussed by only two and four groups respectively, transcend what has been identified in previous research with YLLs. The findings thus suggest that instruction about L2 politeness with YLLs can be approached in a more nuanced and learner-centered way that builds on learners’ complex understandings of politeness developed through their lived experiences and that fosters learner agency.