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discussion with the teacher after I got the recorded data, I then processed the data. By this way, the naturalness of the data can be guaranteed.
This study is also classified into a case study since the result of this study reveals the characteristics of specific objects; it cannot be used as generalization.
In the case of this research, the result shows the acquisition of speech functions by 5 young children learning English a foreign language at MONDIAL School. The
result cannot be used as an over generalization that young children learning English as a foreign language at any schools might have the same acquisition of
speech functions.
3.1 Unit of Analysis
This study is aimed at identifying the speech functions performed by young children in spoken interaction and the linguistics features used to realize
the speech functions. Halliday Eggins and Slade, 1997:185 suggests that the
discourse patterns of speech function are expressed through moves. So, the unit of analysis of this study is moves.
3.2 Object of the Study
The corpus of the data of this research is a stretch of approximately sixty- minute classroom interaction between the second year students and their teacher.
The students were doing the project given by the teacher to cut and stick paper. The utterances under analysis are those performed by the participants
students and the teacher. However, since this research wants to describe the
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speech function acquisition by students, analysis is focused more on the students’ utterances; while teacher’s utterances are analyzed when they have relation with
students’. Transcription of the data is referred to the model of Eggins and Slade 1997:1-5.
The young children studied in this research are: 1
Bella B; she was 7 years old at the time the data taken. Her parents are Indonesian Javanese. She started learning English when she joined pre-
school. She speaks English with her friends and teachers at school. At the time the data were taken, she was studying at Mondial Education Semarang,
year 2 of bilingual primary class; 2
Satria S, 7 years old at the time the data taken. His parents are Chinese. He speaks English with his friends and teachers at school; he was on the second
year of bilingual primary class of Mondial Education Semarang: 3
Albert Al, 7 years old at the time the data taken. His parents are Chinese. He speaks English with his friends and teachers at school; he was on the
second year of bilingual primary class of Mondial Education Semarang; 4
Ken-ken K. He was 7;8 years old at the time the data taken. His parents are Chinese. He speaks English with his friends and teachers at school. He
was on the second year of bilingual primary class of Mondial Education Semarang;
5 Anthony An, 7 years old at the time the data taken. His parents are
Chinese. He can speak Indonesian. He speaks English with his friends and
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teachers at school; he was on the second year of bilingual primary class of Mondial Education Semarang.
3.3 Procedure of Data Collection