TEACHERS’ DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS IN INDONESIAN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Abstract

Teachers’ language in the learning process plays an important role as a medium of interaction, guidance, and the creation of a conducive classroom atmosphere. One of the dominant forms of language use is directive speech acts, as through these acts teachers can provide instructions, ask questions, and give directions directly related to learning activities. Variations in speaking styles and politeness strategies employed by teachers often influence the effectiveness of communication and students’ participation in learning. This study aims to analyze the use of directive speech acts by teachers in Indonesian language instruction at SMP Al-Madinah Islamic Boarding School. The study employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive method. The research subjects consisted of two Indonesian language teachers, Anggi Nofrizon and Yasmin Delta Kori, who were selected based on differences in teaching styles to obtain varied data. Data were collected using the listening without participation method (simak bebas libat cakap), recording, and note-taking, with the researcher as the main instrument supported by a recording device (Redmi 12) and field notes. The data, in the form of teachers’ utterances, were classified into types of directive speech acts (requesting, commanding, questioning, prohibiting, pleading, and advising), speaking strategies (direct speech, positive politeness, negative politeness, indirect speech, and silent speech), and were analyzed using politeness principles (tact maxim, modesty maxim, approbation maxim, agreement maxim, and sympathy maxim). The results show that the most dominant type of directive speech act is questioning (98 data), the most frequently used speaking strategy is direct speech (170 data), and the most dominant politeness principle is the approbation maxim (145 data). These findings indicate that teachers tend to use direct communication and open-ended questions to enhance student participation. However, politeness aspects still need to be considered in order to create a supportive and humanistic learning environment.