Teachers’ and Students’ Perception of Hedges in EFL Classroom

This study investigates teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the role of hedges. By comparing teaching and learning perspectives, the study analyzed their awareness of the functions and teachability of hedges in EFL contexts. To provide rudimentary knowledge of the interpersonal meaning(Halliday, 2014) conveyed by hedges, four to five week series of lectures were provided as part of the courses, and at the end of the semester, surveys were conducted. The questionnaire used for the study was modified from Kot’s(2013,2015) studies on hedges. The results indicated that teachers and students agreed with the functions of hedges, while they differed in their perceptions of EFL contexts. For the function of hedges, the students were more sensitive to hedges associated with fluency, while the teachers were more aware of hedges as a tool for communication. The participants also differed in recognizing the hedges available in teaching materials. These findings have implications for language education calling for explicit instruction.