Teaching politeness in English using Lexical Chunks

Abstract

This study illustrates the theory of politeness and serves the importance of politeness in our life. Politeness has been practiced as etiquettes and a better way to show manners in society. It is a very important gesture in interaction and communication. A polite and well-mannered person are likely to be appreciated and chosen by others. So, in order to get ample benefit in personal as well as professional front, one has to know the norms of politeness. In this paper, different situations of politeness are shown, strategies are there to reduce face threatening effect. The study stresses on to teach politeness by using the lexical chunks. The six maxims of Leech can be learned through chunks, each maxim identified with its related lexical chunks so that learners can easily understand the maxim and after that they can form the sentences as well. Further, the study elaborates how chunking can be a beautiful combination of ELT and Pragmatic Studies.