Politeness in Intercultural Exchanges: A Case Study of Thai Pre-service Cruise Ship Crew

This study sought to examine the politeness strategies of Thai pre-service cruise ship crew during their intercultural exchanges with foreign cruise passengers. The participants were third-year students majoring in cruise tourism at a university in Thailand. They were purposefully selected since they had been offered to begin their first official employment contract as crew members on foreign cruise lines. Eight participants were instructed to complete an Oral Discourse Completion Task (ODCT) in English, which comprised diverse scenarios validated by five cruise experts. The data collection was video recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed based on the politeness framework proposed by Brown and Levinson (1978). During the analysis, minor grammatical mistakes were discarded. To enhance interpretative triangulation, the researcher collaborated with three other coders, including pragmatics specialists and a native English instructor at the tertiary level. Participants also underwent a Stimulated Recall Interview (SRI) to clarify ambiguous aspects. The study indicated that the predominant strategy was negative politeness, bald on-record, and positive politeness. The study’s findings may aid educational institutions across the nation in equipping their graduates to serve as proficient communicators by integrating suitable politeness strategies in global communication scenarios. This study further advises the Thai government and cruise industry stakeholders to provide present and prospective personnel with suitable politeness strategies for intercultural interactions.