A Descriptive Qualitative Analysis of Politeness Strategies in the Classroom Discourse of Pakistani undergraduate Business Students

Abstract

Politeness remains a fundamental aspect of English language teaching, serving as a crucial mechanism for fostering effective classroom interactions. Both teachers and students, as key participants in the educational process, must actively employ politeness strategies to cultivate a respectful and conducive learning environment. This study aims to explore politeness strategies in the classroom discourse of undergraduate Business students in a public-sector university in Karachi, Pakistan. A descriptive qualitative research method was employed for the study. Subsequently, 42 undergraduate Business student participants were purposively selected. The primary data sources were individual student presentations, each recorded and transcribed. The transcriptions were analyzed using Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory. Unlike previous Pakistani studies that focused on written business correspondence (Gillani & Mahmood, 2011) or isolated speech acts such as requests and apologies, this research examines live oral discourse in professional academic settings. Through qualitative content analysis of 42 recorded presentations (ranging from 5 to 8 minutes each), the study categorizes politeness strategies and assesses their frequency in peer-directed speech. The findings reveal a predominant use of positive politeness strategies by undergraduate business students.  The students employ politeness strategies in presentations deliberately and contextually, using greetings, thanks, apologies, address terms, and fillers to manage relationships, preserve face, and enhance communication.