Abstract

This study investigated the different primary and secondary strategies the Iranian EFL students use in different situations and the effect of gender on this. A questionnaire was developed based on Sugimoto’s (1995) to compare the apology strategies used by male and female students, only gender was examined as a variable. The results showed that the Statement of remorse was the strategy most frequently used by male and female respondents across the sample and female participants used this strategy more frequently than male participants. Moreover The four primary strategies used by the male respondents were accounts, compensation reparation, negative assessment of responsibility (30%, 20%, 15%, 15%, respectively), while those used by female respondents were compensation, Showing lack of intent to do harm, accounts, reparation (20%, 20%, 15%, 10%, respectively). Male respondents tended to use negative assessment of responsibility more than their females, counterparts (15% and 5%, respectively). Female respondents used the strategy of promise not to repeat offense in 10% of the situations, while their male counterparts did not use this strategy at all.

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