A Dissertation by GRACE HUI-CHIN LIN Submitted to the Office of ...

of their clearly marked foreigner roles, their need for face-saving is often greater than
is the case with less advanced learners. Covertly used communication strategies
ideally are suited for such learners” (p. 61).
In this study, although the students did not particularly point out that their
face-problem accompanied their use of interlanguage that caused active
communication, they designated their different face-saving needs related to two
issues: competition in the job field and the traditional concepts in the society. The
respondents pointed out that, in their learning experience of communication strategy,
their face-saving problems noticeably appeared when they were practicing the
abandonment strategy and cooperation strategy.
Sung Ru, Jiun Sheng, and Ling Mei in this study mentioned the issues of
face-saving that were interrelated to the strategy application by revealing their
psychological status. Sung Ru believed abandoning some simple words might save
her from losing face. Jiun Sheng believed a male should not be appealing readily for
help from others. Also, Ling Mei believed a low-level proficiency impression can not
appear in the working situation.
Actually, Jiun Sheng’s perceptions about the different communication
patterns between males and females are reflected in Wetzel’s (1988) and Siennicki’s
(2000) findings. In Wetzel’s “Are ‘powerless’ communication strategies the Japanese
norm”, she addressed that different characteristics exist between Japanese male and
female communication strategies. Women tended to ask more questions, respond
with more positive answers, adopt more “silent protest” strategy, and use more “we”
and “you” to acknowledge the existence of the other speaker. In contrast, men tended
to interrupt the ongoing conversation more frequently, challenge or dispute their
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