Assertive Speech Acts Performed by Teacher in EFL Classes

Ahmad Dzoul Milal,Wahju Kusumajanti

doi:10.15642/nobel.2020.11.1.83-100

Ahmad Dzoul Milal, Wahju Kusumajanti

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15642/nobel.2020.11.1.83-100

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Abstract

One of the factors affecting language teaching and learning is the way how the communication process between teacher and learners takes place in the classroom. In a language instructional context, the teacher’s language serves several functions: transactional, interactional, regulatory, as a language model, and linguistic input. These multiple functions give rise to the performance of varied speech acts. This paper tries to reveal the variety of assertive acts and how they are performed by the teachers. After the data were collected by observation and recording and analyzed using a qualitative technique, it was revealed that the assertive speech acts are realized in terms of informing, describing, exemplifying, explaining, concluding, summarizing, commenting, responding, extending, giving feedbacks, giving clues, announcing a topic, announcing a task, and controlling/shifting a topic. The performance of those acts is always consistent with the main purpose of EFL, i.e., elevating the learners’ competence (knowledge and ability) of the target language.

Highlights

The role of teachers and learners in communication is asymmetrical (Stubbs, 1983:43) in the sense that it is the teacher who has the power, authority, and control over the learners
Assertive acts are utterances that describe some state of affairs
These are the kinds of speech acts which state what the speaker believes to be the case or not

Summary

Introduction

The role of teachers and learners in communication is asymmetrical (Stubbs, 1983:43) in the sense that it is the teacher who has the power, authority, and control over the learners. Teachers do much of the classroom talking, such as opening the class, motivating the learners, presenting materials, explaining concepts, managing the class, advising, providing assignments, and closing the class. Teachers use language to serve several functions. Referring to Brown and Yule’s categories (1983:1), teachers’ language serves transactional function because communicants–teacher and learners–focus on the conveyance and/or perception of ideas. The teacher presents instructional materials, explains concepts, and provides information to make learners perceive and comprehend the points. Teachers should establish and maintain social relationships with the learners to lower the affective filter of the learners (Krashen, 1985), creating a conducive learning environment. Language is used to serve the interactional function

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