Investigating Speech Act and Politeness in Classroom Interaction

This present study focuses on the way of teachers’ communication in learning and teaching in classroom with their student. This study is grounded on speech act theory by Searle and the principle of mutual consideration by Aziz. The aim of this study is to investigate the types and functions of speech act in classroom interaction and to identify the principles of politeness delivered by the teachers. The qualitative approach and descriptive analysis are employed in this research. The data are spontaneous conversation between teacher and student in an elementary school in Karawang, collected through recording and documentation. The findings showed that the dominant type of speech acts used by teachers to their students in conversation is assertive and the main principle is favor principle. These results are consistent with the role of the teacher as a main influencer and educator for students’ psychological development. Keywords—politeness; classroom interaction; speech act; teacher