Impoliteness in the narratives of ELT students during their teaching practicum

Abstract

This research aims to analyze how future teachers’ identities are affected by impoliteness during their compulsory teaching practicum and how these experiences shape their perceptions of their careers. The participants answered a Google Forms questionnaire, describing a situation involving impoliteness that caused discomfort, embarrassment, or other negative feelings. The reports were analyzed using Spencer-Oatey’s face components and Culpeper and Hardaker’s work on intentionality and emotions to observe how respondents viewed impolite behavior and how it affected their professional choice. It was concluded that most of the participants had at least one negative experience to share, which implies that their expectations of how an educational environment should be were frustrated; and the most common face attacks were on their social face and on their quality faces, which may cause the feeling of inadequacy and vulnerability, as well as a demotivating factor.