Epistemic Values in Indonesian Language Classroom Interactions: An Analysis of Lecturer Speech Acts at a Politeknik Ganesha Medan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47709/ijmdsa.v5i1.7125Keywords:
epistemic values, speech acts, classroom interaction, lecturer discourse, Indonesian language teachingAbstract
This study investigates the realization of epistemic values in Indonesian language classroom interactions, focusing on how lecturers at Politeknik Ganesha Medan employ speech acts to construct and negotiate knowledge during the teaching process. Adopting a qualitative descriptive approach, the research collected naturally occurring classroom data through observation, recording, and transcription. The analysis draws on Searle’s (1979) speech act theory integrated with an epistemic stance framework to explore how linguistic choices reflect epistemic positioning. The findings reveal that lecturers predominantly use assertive and directive speech acts to deliver information, guide reasoning, and confirm students’ understanding. These speech acts embody epistemic values such as authority, justification, evidence, and shared knowledge construction. Furthermore, the study identifies the use of evidential markers, modal verbs, and hedging devices that indicate varying degrees of certainty and epistemic responsibility. Such linguistic strategies help lecturers manage interpersonal relations, sustain engagement, and promote dialogic learning environments. The study concludes that epistemic values play a crucial role in shaping the quality of interaction and meaning-making in the classroom. Overall, this research contributes to educational linguistics and discourse analysis by demonstrating how epistemic meaning is enacted and negotiated in lecturer discourse within Indonesian tertiary education contexts.
References
Ate, D., Kusumah, Y. S., & Cohors-Fresenborg, E. (2025). Metacognitive-discursive activities in Indonesian mathematics classrooms: A two-stage comparative case study. Journal on Mathematics Education, 16(3), 1023–1042. https://doi.org/10.22342/jme.v16i3.pp1023-1042
Cahyono, B. T., Qodr, T. S., & Budiarto, M. K. (2024). Improving the Critical Thinking Ability of Vocational High School Students through Digital Teaching Material. Journal of Education Research and Evaluation, 8(1), 143–153. https://doi.org/10.23887/jere.v8i1.61457
Corvi, E., Washington, H., Reed, S., Atalla, C., Chouldechova, A., Dow, P. A., Garcia-Gathright, J., Pangakis, N. J., Sheng, E., Vann, D., Vogel, M., & Wallach, H. (2025). Taxonomizing Representational Harms using Speech Act Theory. 3907–3932. https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2025.findings-acl.202
Cui, R., & Teo, P. (2023). Thinking through talk: Using dialogue to develop students’ critical thinking. Teaching and Teacher Education, 125, 104068.
Esmaeil, A. A. A. H., Dzulkifli, D. N. B. A. K., Maakip, I., Halik, M., & Marshall, S. (2024). Psychosocial barriers to promoting self-directed and autonomous learning: The perception of students and lecturers in Malaysia. Journal of Education and E-Learning Research, 11(3), 464–472. https://doi.org/10.20448/jeelr.v11i3.5828
Gulo, S. G., Harefa, A. T., & Telaumbanua, K. M. E. (2023). Initiation-Response-Feedback (Irf) Analysis in English Classroom Interaction At the Eighth Grade of Uptd Smp Negeri 4 Mandrehe in 2022/2023. Dharmas Education Journal (DE_Journal), 4(2), 675–683. https://doi.org/10.56667/dejournal.v4i2.1137
Herdiawan, R. D., & Rofi’i, A. (2023). Pre-Service Teachers’ Power Dominance and Interaction Strategies in Efl Classroom Discourse. Visipena, 14(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.46244/visipena.v14i1.2062
Kerfoot, C., & Bello-Nonjengele, B. O. (2023). Towards Epistemic Justice: Constructing Knowers in Multilingual Classrooms. Applied Linguistics, 44(3), 462–484. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amac049
Kirk, M., Tytler, R., White, P. J., Ferguson, J. P., & Raphael, J. (2025). Fostering Epistemic Space for Collaborative Solutions in Primary Science Through a Socratic Seminar Inquiry Approach. Research in Science Education, 55(3), 619–640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-024-10209-x
Lai, Y., & Holliman, A. J. (2025). The impact of education trajectory, epistemological beliefs, and cultural beliefs on critical thinking disposition for East Asian learners. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1515/mlt-2024-0004
Lam, C. M. (2023). A Confucian approach to teaching humility. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(2), 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2112032
Langen, I., & Stamov Roßnagel, C. (2023). East is East: Socratic classroom communication is linked to higher stress in students from confucian heritage cultures. Heliyon, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15748
Lo, N. P. K. (2024). Cross-cultural comparative analysis of student motivation and autonomy in learning: perspectives from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Frontiers in Education, 9(July), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1393968
Maghfur, B. (2021). A classroom discourse analysis of teacher-students interaction?: A case study on Sinclair and Coulthard’s model at Madrasah Tsanawiyah NU 15 Jurangagung. Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 4(1), 40–47. https://jurnal.ustjogja.ac.id/index.php/ELP/article/download/9272/4662
Mariam, A. (2022). Language and Discourse of the Returnees during Covid -19 Pandemic. Language, Discourse and Society, 11(2), 118–134. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10291315
Ningrum, D. W., & Santoso, D. (2021). the Lecturer-Student Conversational Structure in Pragmatics Learning Interaction. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching, 5(2), 298–305. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v5i2.3994
Noguera, I., Barrientos, D., Torres-Sánchez, M., & Pineda-Herrero, P. (2024). Exploring Pedagogical and Digital Practices in Vocational Education and Training: Comparing Teacher and Student Perspectives. Education Sciences, 14(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070734
Putri, P. P., Rasuki, M., & Astutik, I. (2024). Questioning Practices in Indonesian English Language Classrooms: An Analysis of Question Types and Student Engagement. ENJEL: English Journal of Education and Literature, 3(1), 158–161. https://doi.org/10.30599/enjel.v3i1.504
Rahmi Nopriani, Rini Afrilesa, D. O., & English. (2023). A CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS OF TURN-TAKING STRATEGIES USED IN BROWNIS TALK SHOW Rahmi Nopriani, Rini Afrilesa, Dodi Oktariza English Literature Faculty of Language University of Muara Bungo. 7(2), 123–131. https://ojs.umb-bungo.ac.id/index.php/Krinok/article/view/1276
Santoso, W., & Dito Mangkuluhur, B. (2024). Pre-Service English Teachers’ Perceptions Towards The Use of Dialogical Learning as Reflective Practice: A Case Study. SALEE: Study of Applied Linguistics and English Education, 5(2), 493–507. https://doi.org/10.35961/salee.v5i2.1401
Saputro, I. N., Soenarto, S., Sofyan, H., Riyanita, M. C., Rebia, P. S., & Listiana, A. (2021). The Effectiveness of Teaching Factory Implementation in Vocational Education: Case Studies in Indonesia. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 9(11), 1841–1856. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2021.091104
Setiawan Toedje, C. (2024). Teacher’s Speech Act in Classroom Learning Process at SMA Negeri 2 Poso. Sintuwu Maroso Journal of Eanglish Teaching (SintuwumarosoJET), 10(2).
Simaremare, A., Wau, Y., Hutagalung, T., & Husna, P. (2024). North Sumatera Ethnic-Based Decision-Making Model to Develop Leadership Abilities for Student Communities. 26(August), 778–786.
Suryadinata, L. (2022). 2022/100 “Can an International State University of Confucianism be Established in Indonesia?” by Leo Suryadinata. 100, 1–10. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/category/media/op-eds/page/100/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/page/7/
Svanes, I. K., & Andersson-Bakken, E. (2023). Teachers’ use of open questions: investigating the various functions of open questions as a mediating tool in early literacy education. Education Inquiry, 14(2), 231–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2021.1985247
Wang, H. H. (2020). Examining Patterns in Teacher-Student Classroom Conversations during STEM Lessons. Journal for STEM Education Research, 3(1), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-019-00022-x
Yang, X., & Jansem, A. (2025). Cross-disciplinary analysis of modern Chinese classroom interaction discourse patterns: an empirical study grounded in an experienced Chinese teacher. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-025-00323-2
Zainudin, M. I. Z., Subari, K., Aripin, M. A., & Mohd Hisham, M. H. (2024). Understanding Employer’s Perception of Employability Skills of Polytechnic Graduates in Malaysia: A Case Study. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 13(1), 1441–1455. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarped/v13-i1/20878
Zhao, Y., Kleinknecht, M., & Ko, J. (2023). Dialogic interactions in higher vocational learning environments in mainland China: Evidence relating to the effectiveness of varied teaching strategies and students’ learning engagement. In Effective Teaching Around the World: Theoretical, Empirical, Methodological and Practical Insights. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31678-4_9
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Evan Afri, M. Manugeren, Efendi Barus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
info@itscience.org, web: 
