Dooka Oshiete Kudasai! ‘Please, Please tell us!’: Politeness, Requests, And Learning in A Japanese Language Immersion Program

This study uses interactional sociolinguistics to analyze requests produced by American learners of Japanese during mealtime conversations in a Foreign Language Housing immersion program. Attention is given to the use of politeness strategies and honorifics during requests and to how their use may or may not encourage learning through unstructured social conversations. The analysis illustrates how honorifics are used for social activities, such as doing humor, and how a tendency to focus on accomplishing transactional goals can encourage the use of a variety of request formulations but may also lead to missed opportunities for correction and feedback. One reason for this is that participants are largely concerned with socializing with other residents and accomplishing low-risk transactions, and as such unstructured immersion environments are not natural settings for doing requests that involve more serious use of honorifics and politeness. Some implications for structuring immersion programs are discussed, including role play, one-on-one interaction, and balancing the use of participants’ base language.