Speech Act Strategies of Twelfth-Grade Students at Bunda Kandung Senior High School in Communicating Choices Between College or Work

Abstract

This study is motivated by the crucial role of language as the primary means of communication in social interactions, particularly in the high school environment. The focus of this study is on twelfth-grade students in their final semester, who are in a critical transitional phase of deciding whether to pursue higher education or enter the workforce. This study aims to describe the functions and strategies of speech acts used by students in class XII.2 at Bunda Kandung High School in communicating these future choices. The method used is qualitative descriptive. The results of the study indicate the presence of various illocutionary speech act functions, including: the assertive function (stating and concluding), the directive function (giving advice), the commissive function (promising), and the expressive function (complaining and expressing gratitude). In addition, four types of speech act strategies were found to be applied by the students, namely: direct speech act strategies, positive politeness strategies, negative politeness strategies, and indirect or ambiguous speech act strategies. The use of these varied functions and strategies reflects the students’ efforts to assert their personal choices while maintaining harmony in peer interactions.