On the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Directive Speech Acts Preference

Language and emotion are two related systems in use, in that one system (emotions) impacts the performance of the other (language). Both of them share their functionality in communication. Since the nature of foreign language classrooms is ideally interactional, emotional intelligence (EI) gains importance. The aim of this study was to find out whether one's total emotional quotient and its components influence one's preference for a certain type of directive speech act in a given speech event. Two questionnaires, namely, the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory and Directive Speech Acts (DSA) were completed by 120 undergraduate students, at three universities in Iran, and the data were analyzed through chi square. The results revealed that there was statistically significant relationship between interpersonal intelligence and DSA preference for order and request. There was, however, no significant relationship between directive speech act preferences and other components of emotional intelligence.