Realization of Speech Acts of Refusals and Pragmatic Competence by Turkish EFL Learners

The purpose of the present study is to examine a) how lower-intermediate and upperintermediate level Turkish learners of English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) realize refusals in English, b) the differences between native and non-native speakers of English in the use of refusals, and c) if L2 proficiency affects possible pragmatic transfer or not. The participants in the study included 18 native speakers of English for control (9 native speakers of Turkish and 9 native speakers of English) and 18 non-native speakers of English for the study group (9 lowerintermediate level and 9 upper-intermediate level Turkish EFL learners), all of whom were undergraduate students. The data were collected through role-plays. The results showed that a) the participants frequently preferred indirect strategies for refusals rather than direct ones, b) Turkish EFL learners performed pragmatic transfers while using refusal strategies, c) L1 pragmatic transfer decreases with an increase in EFL proficiency, and d) EFL learners in both groups gave greater importance to status than native English speakers did. The results of the study may be applied to further research in the field of teaching and learning English as a foreign