Students’ techniques and perspectives in English persuasive communication

Abstract

This article explains the relationship between the persuasive communication and the speaking competence of the students in English learning process especially during pandemic where digital media is preferred choice in education. Digital media is used as an alternative medium for persuasive communication that can be accessed anywhere and anytime. The purpose of this study was to describe the persuasive techniques used by STMIK STIKOM Indonesia students in the assignment of making video presentation.  The assignment which included persuasive aspect was expected to help students in improving their verbal and non-verbal skill. The objects of this research were seventh semester students majoring in Informatics Engineering. The data was in the form of English video presentation uploaded by the student in the Google Classroom application which was analyzed by using descriptive qualitative methods. Here the theory of persuasion from Kenneth E. Andersen was used to identify the patterns and categories of each persuasive technique. The results showed that the persuasive techniques used in students’ video were association technique, integration technique, pay-off technique, icing technique, and red-herring technique. Meanwhile, from the students’ perspectives obtained from online questionnaire (Google Form), it was found that mostly they were not ready for a presentation or speaking practice. This was not only caused by the lack of knowledge of English vocabulary or grammar but also by soft skill like self-confidence which greatly determined their fluency in speaking. Therefore, they thought that persuasive skill is important for their future career and should be added to English language learning.

Keywords: Speaking Competence; Persuasive Communication; Technique; Perspectives