Abdul Latif @ Bapoo, Lilisuriani
(2023)
Can proficient tertiary learners of English speak persuasively? A discovery of skills, mistakes and problems.
In: International Conference on Integration of Knowledge In Higher Education (ICIOK 2022), 18-19 May 2022, IIUM Gombak.
Abstract
Speaking persuasively is a skill needed in social and workplace communication contexts. Even
though the importance of using appropriate language discourse in persuasion has been
acknowledged since the time of ancient Greek, persuasive speaking strategies are not
commonly taught to students who speak English as their second language. Information on the
metadiscourse used by proficient second language speakers of English when speaking to
persuade, also needs to be obtained. Hence, the persuasive strategies of 30 proficient
undergraduates who were studying English for International Communication at an English
medium university in Malaysia were investigated using Hyland’s (2005) interpersonal model
of metadiscourse. The students’ short persuasive speeches were recorded and their use of
interactive and interactional metadiscourse to show the Aristotelian rhetorical appeals of
logos, ethos and pathos were analyzed. Interview sessions were also conducted after a 14-
week persuasive speech course to gather information on the students’ thoughts about their
own abilities to speak persuasively before they attended the course. Findings show that the
students could speak with appeals to emotion, but improvements are needed to build well
supported arguments and to display credibility of the speaker. In the interviews, the students
mentioned that prior to the course, they were not mindful of word choice, politeness, and
ethics. They also felt that they had failed to focus on the audience. Moreover, they highlighted their initial problems in differentiating informative from persuasive speeches, applying good presentation skills, using appropriate persuasive appeals; and displaying confidence. These findings imply that due to the complex relationship between language and psychological factors in persuasion, speaking persuasively can be difficult even for proficient second language learners of English. Hence, instructors for language, communication and psychology courses should collaborate to come up with a persuasive speech course for tertiary learners to enhance their speaking skills
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