Analyzing Language Use in Graduate English Classrooms at Kohat University of Science and Technology through Pragmatic Speech Act Theory

Abstract

The research study was basically conducted to investigate and analyze various speech acts: locutionary, illocutionary (declarative, assertive, directive, expressive and commissive speech acts) and perlocutionary speech acts, as proposed by John Lang Shaw Austin and John Searle by the teachers and the students in the context of graduate M.Phil. English classrooms at Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST). Besides, the researcher analyzed various functions of different speech acts performed. Taking three teachers of English, teaching to graduate classes, and students of the first three semesters of graduate studies were selected as sample for the study, the researcher attended five different classes of each teacher and attended 15 classroom interactions held between teachers and students using the technique of observation and note taking for collection of data. The qualitative research method was used for the conduction of the research study and descriptive analysis (discourse –pragmatic analysis) as a data analysis technique was employed by the researcher for the analysis of data. Based on the study, the researcher analyzed different speech acts used by the teachers and the students, along with the functions and forces carried by the speech acts. It was found that a total of 353 different illocutionary speech acts were performed with various functions by the teachers and the students. It was observed after deep analysis and investigation that directive speech acts were most dominantly performed by the teachers and the students, while commissive speech acts were less dominantly performed.

Keywords: Language use, English as Foreign language; English Classrooms; KUST; Speech Act.