Exchange roles in reviewer-student’s virtual interaction: A case study on English department students’ presentation in Indonesia

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID-19 that hit the world brought many changes in interaction and how exchanges are realized. Previous studies do not explore more about interaction during the pandemic by using systemic functional linguistics (SFL) theory. Therefore, this study explores how exchange roles are realized in students’ presentation during proposal seminar held by the English department of Universitas Sumatera Utara. This study employed qualitative content analysis method. The source of the data was from recorded Zoom video of students’ presentation during proposal seminar examination. The data were in the form of utterances uttered by students and proposal reviewers (lecturer) and were generated by Sonix.ai and double-checked manually to maintain the reliability of the data. The findings reveal that variations found in speech function include the pattern of statement (S)-acknowledge statement (AS), question (Q)-response statement to questions (RSQ), command (C)-response offer to command (ROC), and offer (O). In terms of Mood system, the declarative Mood occurred in some speech functions such as statement (S), acknowledge statement (AS), respond Statement to question (RSQ), respond offer to command (ROC), and offer (O). The interrogative Mood was also found in the form of yes/no interrogative type and the second is WH-type. Imperative Mood was also found in the form of command (C). These variations in speech function and Mood occur as a result of the communicative purpose of the speakers in a given context. This study has the implication that other disciplines could find parallels and takeaways that could be applied to their own student presentation scenarios, fostering interdisciplinary learning and collaboration. Then, this study also offers a deeper understanding of the dynamics of reviewer-student interactions during presentations. This understanding can lead to the development of more effective pedagogical strategies for teaching presentation skills and fostering constructive feedback.