A pragmatic analysis of students' complaints and professors' responses to complaints: A case study of an Egyptian private university

The current study aimed to examine how university students complain and how professors respond to their complaints. Data were collected from 40 undergraduate students and 40 university professors at a private Egyptian university using role-plays. Students' complaints were coded with the use of an adapted version of Trosborg's (1995) coding scheme for complaint strategies while professors' responses were coded based on an adapted version of Laforest's (2002) model for complaint-response strategies. The results showed that half of the students' complaints came in the form of requests for repair. This was followed by expressing disapproval, making accusations and casting blame. As for professors, they mostly partially accepted the students' complaints through justifying themselves, suggesting alternatives and setting conditions for future acceptance. Interestingly, the social variables of gender and age did not generally have an influence on the realization of the speech acts of complaint and responding to complaints.

Automated summary

This study examined how university students complain and how professors respond to their complaints. The results showed that half of the students' complaints were requests for repair, and professors mostly partially accepted the complaints by justifying themselves, suggesting alternatives, and setting conditions for future acceptance. Gender and age did not generally have an influence on the realization of complaint speech acts and responding to complaints.