Pragmatic Forces in The Speech Acts of EFL Speakers at Kampung Inggris, Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines the kinds of speech acts and the reasons why they are performed by EFL learners at Kampung Inggris, Kediri, Indonesia.  The Speech Act Theory put forward by Austin (1962) and Searle (1969) emphasizes locutionary acts, and five categories of speech acts (i.e., directive, expressive, declarative, assertive, and commissive) are used to analyze data.  This study comprised 75 students and 12 teachers as its respondents.  Advanced-level proficiency students were assigned to four classes for observation in four settings: a classroom, a café, the social environment, and an English base camp. The results show how pragmatic forces manifest in directives (e.g., questions, requests, suggestions, hopes, instructions, invitations, and orders) at 35.3%, expressives (e.g., greetings,  thanks,  and  compliments) at 25.9%, declaratives (e.g., thanks, apologies, welcoming, congratulations) at 13.9%, assertives (e.g., informing, concluding, assuming, confirming, accepting) at 12.9%, and commissives (e.g., promises, suggestions, and agreements) at 12%.  Students’ problems with speech acts included the modeling of speech acts, a lack of competence with performing various speech acts, poor strategies to select and use a certain speech act, and less exposure and awareness to using pragmatic competence.