Bagus Dwi Pambudi, 0203516014 (2021) CONSTRUCTION OF INTERPERSONAL MEANING IN AN ENGLISH CONVERSATION BETWEEN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF UNNES. Masters thesis, UNNES.

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Abstract

From the systemic functional perspective, interpersonal meanings are essential in making a conversation possible. It enables speakers to take roles and establish relationships with others. This study primarily aims to explain the construction of interpersonal meanings in a conversation between EFL students. This study entails three research problems concerning (1) how the students take up roles, (2) how the students established relationships, and (3) how roles and relationships are negotiated. This qualitative study involved three university students participating in an English conversation within an informal context. The conversation was collected using audio recording and field notes. The recording was further transcribed to encode clauses, moves, and exchanges. This study drew mainly on mood analysis and speech function analysis to explain the roles and relationships in the conversation. This study also examined exchange structures to reveal the negotiation of roles and relationships. These analyses were based on the theory developed by Eggins and Slade (1997). The results show that moods enabled the students to take up various roles, such as initiator and supporter. The initiating role was primarily realized in full declaratives, indicating that the students preferred to initiate exchanges by providing information. At other times, the students managed to open up exchanges through polar interrogatives and wh-interrogatives. The supporting role was achieved by providing encouragement through minor clauses, developing ideas through full declaratives, providing responses through elliptical clauses, and giving opportunities and assistance to the others to deal with incomplete clauses. The speech function analysis shows that the students tended to establish harmonious relationships, mainly by sustaining their talks and providing support. The fact that the supporting moves outnumbered the confronting ones may not represent a good- quality conversation because the supporting moves tended to create alignment rather than to explore differences. In addition, the roles and relationships were negotiated dynamically. The findings indicate that the students, in turn, established dominance. Their personal experiences underlay their dominance because the conversation provided the students with equal rights to speak. The high proportion of a particular move made by a student implies that another student dominantly produced related moves. Concerning these results, some pedagogical implications can be grasped to improve EFL students’ ability to engage in conversation.

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