This study emphasizes it is important and necessary that an English as a foreign language (EFL) speaker should develop their knowledge in pragmatic and sociolinguistic rules in order to avoid failure and misunderstanding in intercultural communication. This paper proposes to raise the EFL speakers' pragmatic awareness in cross-cultural communication and to investigate and appreciate the rich diversity in language productions of giving and accepting gifts among different cultures. Based on the various expressions in polite discourses produced by American, Chinese, Taiwanese and Indian students at Texas A&M University, this study reveals the typical patterns of polite discourses in the Eastern and Western World. (Contains 3 tables.)