This study investigates the use of politeness strategies in English communication among EFL students at UIN Walisongo, focusing on differences across proficiency levels and their relation to communicative and pragmatic competence. Data were collected through Discourse Completion Tasks (DCT) and interviews. The analysis categorizes students’ responses based on Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory, classifying utterances into Bald on Record, Positive Politeness, Negative Politeness, and Off-Record strategies. Findings indicate that Bald on Record is the most frequently used strategy across all proficiency levels, with Semester 3 students using it the most, while Semester 7 students employ more Positive and Negative Politeness. The study also reveals that students' L1 influences their politeness strategies in English, and their sociopragmatic knowledge affects their ability to use indirect and culturally appropriate politeness strategies. These results highlight the importance of integrating politeness awareness into EFL instruction to enhance students’ communicative competence in cross-cultural interactions.
Keywords: politeness strategies, EFL students, communicative competence, pragmatic competence, sociopragmatics