Anahita Bordbar - SAMA Technical and Vocational training college,Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz branch
Azadeh Sharifi Moghadam - Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman

This study attempts to present the enactment of language learners’ speech acts which specifies one type of the recognitions, i.e. the acts of requesting. It describes how the transfer of native-culture norms occurs in their speech act recognitions, especially in request recognitions. It tries to answer the question: How does the pragmatic transfer occur in the acts of requesting in English by the EFL learners? The subjects were 65 advanced level students and the data were collected by means of Discourse Completion Task (DCT)-questionnaires and Role-plays. Results showed that the subjects recognize requests in the form of external modifications more frequently. Most of them embed their requests with supportive moves dominantly. They enfold the acts with the moves before, after or in both positions. Of the three positions, they mostly insert the moves initial position, i.e., through inductive patterns. This is due to pragmatic transfer. The present study is expected to contribute to the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Iranian context, since it describes culture-specific acts of requesting done by Iranian learners of English (ILE

request recognitions, pragmatic transfer, request modifications