ABSTRACT
There is a continual increase of research in the field of linguistic (im)politeness, but classroom discourse has been overlooked as a source of data. The present chapter addresses this gap in the research by providing an exploration of linguistic (im)politeness in classroom discourse, based on linguistic (im)politeness theory as its theoretical underpinning and Conversation Analysis as its analytical framework. It demonstrates how both male and female lower-secondary English as a foreign language teachers use stereotypically feminine negative politeness strategies in the form of pre-reproach questions to establish and maintain classroom order while simultaneously developing and protecting interpersonal relationships (in a “context of care”) with their pupils. This is of particular interest in the context of degendering professional workplaces because gendered beliefs do still appear to be an overriding variable which influences teachers’ classroom management practices. Findings raise awareness of underlying mechanisms of gender and (im)politeness in classrooms by showing how participants’ linguistic, multimodal, and sequential resources function in the interaction. It is argued that the current debate on teacher gender should include not only primary but also secondary school teaching and aim at challenging gender stereotypes to attract more prospective teachers and guarantee best practices at all educational levels.
