Teacher’s Directive Utterances in English Classes

Abstract

This research  aimed at finding out and describing (1) teachers’ use of the variability of directive utterances in English classes in Government Senior High Schools of Surakarta Municipality, (2) the reasons motivating the teachers’ using the varieties of directive utterances and (3) realisations of implementation of politeness principles in the use of directive utterances. The data of this research are teachers’ directive utterances produced in English classes and statements showing their knowledge, beliefs and experiences as English teachers. The sources of data of this research are English teachers of Government Senior High Schools of Surakarta Municipality. The primary methods of data collection are observation and interview. The findings of this research are that the English teachers (1) make use of directive utterances varying in linguistic forms and illocutionary forces, (2) use varying directive utterances to respect the students, to facilitate the students’ learning, to assure quality and to assure teachers’ authority, and (3) realize politeness principles in using directive utterances by means of (a) offers and requests to maximize students’ benefit, (b)  invitation and requests to minimize teachers’ benefit, (c) compliments to maximize students’ praises, (d) praises students to minimize teachers’ praise, (e) solidarity expressions to maximize student-teacher agreement and (f) friendly addresses to maximize students’ sympathy. The research findings may function as indicators of the teachers’ professional, pedagogic, social and personal competencies.

Keywords: directive utterances, ethnographic research, English classes