This study describes and exploies pragrnatic competence and development ofjunior high schoo] students in the case of requests, with a specific focus on request stiategies such as l) indirectness level, 2) syntactic/ lexical downgraders, and 3) supponive moves (e.g., Blum-Kulka et al" 19g9). The data en those request strategies in this study were eolleeted from a laige body of students with a discouise completion test, and quantitatively analyzed using various statistical proceclures, IIhe

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... s obtained show thatL whereas the students improved the use ofsupportive moves as to the grade, their developrnerrt in indirectness levei and the use of downgraders regressed to a certain degree. Various causes of this regression wi11 be discussed from