Investigating politeness among IsiZulu mother tongue and non-mother tongue speakers in higher education open distance learning environment

Abstract

This study aims to explore politeness shown by lecturers during tuition and student support conversations with the objective of promoting polite interactions between IsiZulu mother tongue and non-mother tongue speakers in higher education in South Africa. In particular, the study investigates the way in which politeness in email communication influences learning outcomes within an ODL environment, using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, a questionnaire as well as interviews to collect data from a cross-section of students from an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution. All the results drawn from the data sources, namely the questionnaires and interviews, were enumerated according to the data collection tools used. Version 12 of SPSS and Nvivo were used to analyse the quantitative data. The analysis is also based on the politeness strategies of Brown and Levinson (1978) as well as a conceptual framework that links all the variables. Based on the results, the research hypotheses are accepted, thus indicating that politeness in email communication influences learning outcomes within an ODL environment. In particular, the results show that, overall, lecturers who employ politeness contribute positively to student compliance. Accordingly, the study recommends that ODL should recognise both the role of language in communication as well as the power and influence of politeness in communication.