Student-initiated email communication: An analysis of openings and closings by Spanish EFL learners

• Main Author: Patricia Salazar Campillo
• Format: Article
• Language: Catalan
• Published: Universitat de LLeida 2018-11-01
• Series: Sintagma
• Subjects: openings; closings; email; power distance.
• Online Access: http://www.sintagma.udl.cat/export/sites/Sintagma/documents/Articles_30/Sintagma-30-5.pdf

Emails are one of the most widely-used forms of communication in the institutional context since they are pervasive in lecturer student exchanges. This study analyzes opening and closing sequences in first-contact emails written by two groups of students with similar characteristics: one group employed their mother tongue (Spanish) and the second their foreign language (English) when making a request to one of their lecturers. Results show that regardless of language, openings did not show the degree of formality expected in this type of emails. In contrast, closings revealed deference and respect to the lecturer in both kinds of emails.