Abstract

Students of English as a foreign language find it difficult to initiate a talk and exchange meanings in an interaction. They find it hard to break the iceberg and act by asking, commanding and answering to make the speakers or listeners’ intention fulfilled. As such they do not have medium to exchange experiences. The present study aims to explain the way meanings are negotiated and exchanged in the implementation of communication strategies in a simulation of a job interview. The subjects of this qualitative study are students of Indonesian Vocational College. The object of the study is the students’ utterances in the interview. Functional semantic reinterpretation of turn-constructional units of conversation analysis is implemented to explain how the students exchange and negotiate meanings. The findings suggest that the realization of exchange and negotiation of meanings is influenced by moves assigned to speech functions classes and the types of meanings implemented in the act of production and comprehension of the whole communication. The subjects of the present study can be categorized into productive speakers. The students negotiate feelings and attitudes more than that of the content of the proposition.

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