THE VIOLATION OF COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLES

ON STUDENTS’ RESPONSES TOWARD TEACHER

QUESTIONS IN TEFL CLASS

Winantu Kurnianingtyas Sri Agung*

ABSTRACT
Questioning is mostly conducted in learning process. As the reasons,
by giving questions, teacher engages communicative interaction with
students in classroom. But sometimes the communication can run
effectively. The participants ordinary, broke the communication roles.
This research investigates violation of maxims on students’ responses
toward teacher question and determines the dominant type of maxim
which is violated on students’ responses. This research was conducted
qualitative research. And the research found that there were three
types of maxim that were violated on students maxim of quantity,
maxim of quality and maxim of manner. Then, maxim of quantity
was mostly violated on students’ responses.

Key words: Violation, Cooperative Principles, Students’ response,

Teacher Questions, TEFL

INTRODUCTION
Common problem that is faced up English Foreign Language teacher
is passive students in teaching and learning process. That condition
can be described in which students’ acts are inactive, unresponsive
and avoid interaction with their teacher. To keep that situation away
and gain the interaction proposes communicatively, teacher should
apply a communicative language such teacher talk. Through teacher
talk, for particular purpose of teacher questions, EFL teacher tries to
explore students understanding.
On the other hand, in point of fact, interaction between teacher
and students does not always run effectively because not all students
order related answers toward teacher questions and periodically
*
Dosen Program Studi Tadris Inggris, STAIN Ponorogo
34 | Winantu Kurnianingtyas Sri Agung

that make them misunderstanding. In this sense, there is violation

between students and teacher in gaining interaction.
Here, this study is focused on the violation of cooperative
principles on students’ responses to teacher talk in TEFL Class. To
improve the information of the topic, this chapter tells background
of the study, research focus, statement of the problems, objectives of
the study, significances of the study, and organization of the research.
Classroom is a convenient place where English foreign language
learners explore their ability in expressing target language. Actually,
learners avoid interaction and unresponsive to learner. In order to
hold interaction in classroom between students and teacher, teacher
actively uses various teaching techniques or strategies and combines
with appropriate level of languages for EFL learners to offer coming
inactive learners.
By elaborating such communicative language, teacher gains
interaction effectively and students develop their language
competence. In this sense, that condition shows learning process
runs effectively. In hence, the interaction proposes communicatively
and students have higher willing to practice their English skill each
other as well as improve their learning achievement.
That interaction is well known as teacher talk. Teacher talk as
well as communication-based on interaction-based talk indicates a
crucial activity in classroom because teacher does not only manage
the class but also measure the students acquisition.1 In sum, teacher
talk is regarded as factors which determine teaching and learning
process become successful or failure.
Teacher talk serves the major target language, in this case is
English. As the reason, teacher talk allows the students using target
language more often. Shortly, teacher has to explore his/her talk
in order to maximize the students’ performances in interaction.
To optimize its talk, teacher sometime uses various languages in
teaching process; teacher often simplify speech, giving it many of
the characteristics of foreigner talk and other simplified styles speech
addressed to language learners.2 In line, teacher can use its talk in
1
David Nunan, Language Teaching Methodology: A Text Book for Teacher (Cambridge:
CUP, 1991), 28.
2
J. C. Richard, Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics (Beijing:
Foreign Language Teaching and Reseach Press, 1992), 471.

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 The Violation of Cooperative Principles | 35

various ways namely questions, feedback, speech modification and

negotiation meaning.3
In this research, the several communicative language of teacher talk
that mention above, all is not as subject. It refers to the communicative
language that teacher used in classroom is question. Question is commonly
used in teaching process to measure students’ comprehension. Mostly
teacher spend over half of class time by delivering questions – and - answer
exchange.4 Furthermore, teacher question is considered to investigate
students’ intention and gain interaction effectively in classroom.
On the other hand, in conducting one of teacher talk strategy
above, in this case, questioning, there involves students and teacher
as the participants. Both play a crucial role to enrich interaction.
However, in fact, there is no absolute communicatively if one of the
participants breaks the rule. For instance, the following conversation
defines in teaching and learning process in TEFL class
Teacher : What language skills or components were your
English teachers used to teach?
Student : What teacher I meant in junior high school or senior?
In the exchange above, the student’s answer is by no means relevant
to the teacher’s question. The teacher asks the students to explore the
components that English teachers used. However, what teacher receives
from student’s answer is an asserted question for ensuring her succeeding
answer. It means that the student violates maxim of reference.
Violation means speakers intentionally refrain to apply certain
maxims in their conversation to cause misunderstanding on their
participants’ part or to achieve some other purposes.5 To avoid
misunderstanding and misinterpreting among the participants,
consequently, neither speakers nor listeners ought to obey the
cooperative principles which maintained four maxims as maxim of
quality, quantity, manner, and reference.6

3
Thornbury, S. (1996), “Teachers Research Teacher Talk.” ELT Journal Volume 50/4:
279-289. Retrieved from eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/4/279.abstract
4
J. C. Richard & Lockhart C., Reflective Teaching in Second Language Class Room
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
5
Peter Cole and J. Morgan, Syntax and Semantics: Speech Acts (New York: Academic
Press, 1975). 55.
6
George Yule, Pragmatics, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 35-37.

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Such the following example also shows the violation that made
by the student:
Teacher : By the way do you read my hand out tonight?
Students : We don’t understand yet sir
The conversation shows that maxim of quantity is violated by
the students. The teacher gives a simple question before continuing
his subject lesson. He convinces himself that his students had read
the lesson at home. Unfortunately, the students pose their answer as
informative as required. While the teacher only needs yes/no answer.
According to the exchanges above, it can be underlined that in
applying teacher talk is not only deliveringrelated questions, feedback,
speech modification, and negotiation meaning but teacher also uses
those kinds of language effectively. In delivering questioning and
creating class effectively, cooperative principles should be regarded
by teacher. However, sometime, teacher and students violate one
and or more maxims in cooperative principles when interact each
others. As the result, the communicative purpose during teaching
and learning process cannot reach successfully.
According to the explanation above, it is necessary to conduct
the research on violation in order to find out four maxims which
violated by teacher and students. This research investigates TEFL
(Teaching English as Foreign Language) class. As the reason, its
class elaborates teaching approach, method, technique, and strategy
especially for foreign language learners.
Moreover, teacher talk is one of strategy that is taught in TEFL
class. It means that in this class, foreign language students learn how
to elaborate teacher talk, occasionally, teacher question, effectively
then apply its talk to teach English foreign learners in senior or
junior high school students. In one line, the students learn to deliver
effective language so the interaction between students and teacher
get communicatively while the learning aims totally reach.
Based on background of the study above, the problems are
formulated as the following statements: 1) What types of maxims
are violated in TEFL Class? 2) What is the dominant type of maxims
that is violated in TEFL Class? In accordance with the statements of
the problems, the purposes of the study are as follows: 1) To identify

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the types of maxims which are violated on students’ responses in

TEFL Class 2)To determine the dominant type of maxim which is
violated on students’ responses in TEFL Class. This study can be used
to enrich the studies of pragmatics and sociolinguistics especially for:
1) The goal of this research is to explore and describe the violating
of cooperative principles in TEFL Class. 2) This study hopefully
can give more contribution to English lecturers, students, and the
other researchers. For the lecturers, this research can be enrich their
understanding and their knowledge especially pragmatics in the case
of cooperative principles in communication. A) This research can
give contribution to the students hence they have critical thinking
in answering questions. B) Furthermore, this research can give
more contribution for the other researchers to analyze cooperative
principles deeply for the crucial variables.

RESEARCH FINDINGS
Based on the problems of the research, this chapter explains the
underlying theory of the research. This chapter also clarifies some
theories dealing with the violation of cooperative principles that
occur on students’ responses toward teacher questions in TEFL Class.
It is important to discuss teacher questions, cooperative principles,
maxim of cooperative principles, violation of maxim, and previous
study. They explain as follow detail
In this occasion, some related theories are presented to promote
this research dealing with the violation of cooperative principles that
occur on students’ responses toward teacher questions in TEFL Class
as follow in –depth explanation

1. The Function of Teacher Questions

Questioning is mostly conducted in learning process. As the reasons,
by giving questions, teacher engages communicative interaction with
students in classroom. Teacher questions in the classroom can be
explained by specific functions they perform. Those functions can be
grouped into three areas as follow7

Donald K & Paul D. Eggen, Learning and Teaching: Research based Methods (Allyn
7

and Bacon, 1989).

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a) Diagnostic
As diagnostic tool, classroom questions allow the teacher to
glimpse into the minds of students to find out not only what they
know or do not know but also they think about a topic. Through
strategic questioning, teacher can assess the current state of
student thinking, identifying not only what students know but
also gaps and misconceptions.
b) Instructional
The instructional function focuses on the role that the questions
play in helping students learns new material and integrate it
with the old one. Questions provide the practice and feedback
essential for the development. Questions alert students to the
information in a lesson. Questions are also valuable in the
learning of integrated bodies of knowledge. Toward this goal,
questions can be used to review previously learned material to
establish a knowledge base for the new material to be learned. In
addition, as the new material is being developed, questions can
be used to clarify relationship within the content being discussed.
c) Motivational
Through questions, teacher can engage students actively in the
lessons at hand, challenging their thinking and posing problems
for them to consider. From a lesson perspective, a question at
the beginning can be used to capture students’ attention and
provide a focus for the lesson. In addition, frequent and periodic
questions can encourage active participation and provide
opportunities in the lessons for continued student involvement.
Questions also can be used to draw wandering student back into
the lesson or to provide an opportunity for one student to shine.
Moreover, Questioning also provides students response
through elicitation. In line, Tsui in Jafari classified elicitation into 6
subcategories such as follow8
1) Elicited Informing
The first subcategory refers to elicitations which function to
elicit a piece of missing information. This subcategory may be
realized in the form of yes/no questions, wh-questions, alternative
8
Janin Jafari, The Role of Elicitation Questions in Language Learning: A Function-Based
Framework, (Hamburg: Anchor Academic Publishing, 2014), 28-29.

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questions, declarative questions or indirect questions. For

examples
Do you prefer drinking coffee or tea?
Where is your hometown?
2) Elicited Confirming
The second subcategory is elicitations which invite the addressee
to confirm what the speaker assumes to be true. This subcategory
may be realized in the form of tag questions, and negative and
positive polarity interrogatives. For example such
Don’t you write the instruction, do you?
3) Elicited Agreeing
The third subcategory consists of elicitations which invite
the addressee to agree with the speaker’s assumption that
the expressed proposition is self-evidently true. This kind of
elicitation is often used to start a conversation, especially between
strangers, to make conditions ready for further interaction. This
subcategory may be realized by tag interrogatives and negative
polar interrogatives. For example
Let’s join her party
4) Elicited Committing
The fourth subcategory is elicited committing. It means elicits a
verbal response and some sort of commitment on the part of the
addressee. This subcategory may be realized by yes/no questions
or wh-interrogatives. The interrogatives in this subcategory are
similar to requests in the sense that if responded to positively,
they will involve some sort of commitment to further action.
However, they differ from requests because they obligatorily
elicit a verbal response while it is optional in request such
May I borrow you rubber?
5) Elicited Repeating
The fifth subcategory may be realized by wh-interrogatives such
as “Who/When!Where/What did you say?”, “Say that again.”
Or words such as “Sorry?”, “Pardon?” or “Huh.”?
6) Elicited Clarifying
The sixth subcategory is elicited clarifying. It can be realized
by wh-interrogatives such as “What do you mean?”, “Which
room?” or “What?”

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2. Types of Teacher Questions

According to Jack C Richard and Charles Lockhart classify the
questions into three categories as follow9
a) Procedural
Procedural questions have to do with classroom procedures and
routines and classroom management. They are used to ensure
the smooth flow of the teaching process.
b) Convergent
Convergent questions encourage similar student responses, or
responses which focus on central theme. These responses are
often short answers, such as “yes” or “no” or short statements.
They do not usually require students to engage in high level
thinking in order to come up with a response but often focus on
the recall of previously presented information.
c) Divergent
Divergent questions are quite different from convergent
questions. These questions encourage diverse student responses
which are not short answers and which require students to
engage in higher-level thinking. They encourage students to
provide their own information rather than recall previously
presented information.
Furthermore, Long and Sato distinct questions into two
categories such in greater discussion bellow10
1) Display
Display questions refer to ones that teachers know the answer
and in which are designed to elicit or display particular structures
for instance such the following teacher’s question do you come
late? In point the fact that the teacher knows student joint the
class too late
2) Referential
On the contrary, referential questions mean the questions
that teachers do not know the answers to, and can gain vary
subjective information such the following example where do you
spend your holiday?
9
Richards, J., & Lockhart, C, Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms.
Long, M. & C. Sato, “Classroom Foreigner Talk Discourse: Forms and Functions of
10

Teachers’ Questions.” (In Seliger & Long: 1983), 268-85.

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3. Cooperative Principles
In communication, the way people interact each others can be
defined as cooperative principle. In line, Grice state in Yule to make
your contribution such as it is required, at the stage at which it
occurs, by the accepted purposed or direction of the talk exchange
in which you are engaged.11
According to that statement, it can be concluded that a
communication runs effectively if both speaker(s) and listener(s)
achieve the same massage of the utterances and reduce ambiguous
meaning.
Without cooperative principle, the communicative purpose
cannot be reach. Both listener(s) and speaker(s) loose the concept of
communication since meaningless utterances. In short, cooperative
principle is a crucial role in determining communication effectively
and informative as is required.

4. Maxims of Cooperative Principles

Maxim is an important part in determining communication run
effectively. It is elaborated into four maxims. Then they will be
explained as follow
a. Maxim of Quantity
Maxim of quantity is concerned with the amount of information
from the utterance conveys. The purposes of its maxim are to
make your contribution as informative as required (for the current
purposes of the exchange) and do not make your contribution more
informative than is required.12 Maxim of quantity leads the speaker
to make the contribution as informative as is required that there will
be cooperative principle in the conversation. It should be neither too
much nor too little, just say as much as is necessary. As the following
example
Mother : What do you have for breakfast?
Izza : Eggs and toast
Mother : Do you want milk?
Izza : No, thank.
11
George Yule. Pragmatics
12
Ibid., 35-37.

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From the example above, it is clear that Izza is able to give the
information as informative as required about her breakfast menu.
b. Maxim of Quality
The maxim of quality is a conversation in which speaker should
truthful and give a true and provable information or that is supported
by evidence. The following are the definitions of maxim of quality do
not say what you believe to false and do not say for which you lack
adequate evidence.13 For example:
Teacher : Why do you come late?
Student : I got traffic jam
The example above shows that the student gives an informative
answer related to his coming late. Even though, the teacher does not
know well about the accident.
c. Maxim of Manner
The maxim of manner is concerned with how the speaker deliver
his/her intention to the hearer or listener. Yule concluded the
explanation of maxim of manner as following:
1) Avoid obscurity
You should not use words you know, but is unfamiliar with
listeners. They would not understand.
2) Avoid ambiguity
Try to make your words have just one meaning, depends on the
context.
3) Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)
You should not state something in a long, drawn-out way if you
could say it in a much simpler manner.
4) Be orderly (following the natural order or events)14
The following exchange between daughter and mother who have
conversation in bed room indicates maxim of manner
Daughter : May I get my doll now
Mother : Absolutely dear, but it’s not time for playing, gonna
your bed darling

13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.

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By using conjunction but and negative mark not, mother tries to

make her statement clearly and straightforward.
d. Maxim of Reference
In every conversation, speaker needs to give contribution relevant
with the topic and stick to the point of conversation and says thing
related clearly to the purpose of the exchange an appropriate in a
certain context. That is the definition of maxim of reference. The
point is. Be relevant.15
Jack : with whom do you go to Ana’s birthday?
Sansan : my nephew with me
The example above is relevant between speaker and listener
since Sansan’s answer is person who will accompany her. The point
of the relation maxim is the contribution must be informative which
is indicated by the relevance of information. For example, when the
question is about hobby, so the answer must be about hobby, when
the question is about vacation, the answer cannot be about cooking
class, and so forth.

5. Violation of Maxims
Violation takes place when speakers intentionally refrain to apply
certain maxims in their conversation to cause misunderstanding
on their participants’ part or to achieve some other purposes.16 The
following are examples of violation in the four maxims:
a. Maxim of Quality
Teacher : Have you read at home?
Students : We did
In this exchange, the students are not truthful, absolutely, not all
students subject lesson before entering in classroom. In this case, the
students violate maxim of quality. They are lay to avoid unpleasant
consequences.

Ibid.
15

Peter Cole and J. Morgan, Syntax and Semantics: Speech Acts, 55.
16

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b. Maxim of Quantity
The following is related example of violation that occur in class
during teaching and learning process
Teacher : Not long to see you, are you so busy?
Student : Not really. Would you mind if I join your class mom?
Teacher poses a question, which he needs to be answer by his
student. What the student answer in return does not lack the truth
however is still insufficient. This can be due to the fact that the
student prefers to refrain from providing his teacher with the answer.
In point of fact, maxim of quantity is violated on that exchange.
c. Maxim of Reference
Moreover, the next exchange between student and teacher also
indicates violation
Teacher : Why don’t you join your group discussion?
Student : May I wash my hand? I am sleepy
In the exchange above, the student’s answer is by no means relevant
to the teacher’s question. One reason for this answer can be the fact that
the student is trying to evade the interrogation posed by the teacher.
d. Maxim of Manner
Teacher : Do you submit your assignment due to the submitting
date?
Student : at that time, I attend to my sister’s party and none
stayed around the house
The teacher asked very simple question, however what she receives
from his student is a protracted description of his reasons not submitting
assignments. In addition, the student violates maxim of manner.
The previous study taken from Open Journal of Modern
Linguistics written by Arezou Sobhani and Ali Saghebi entitled The
Violating of Cooperative Principles and Four Maxims in Iranian
PsychologicalConsultation.17Theyunderlinedthatingainingaccurate
17
Arezou Sobhani and Ali Saghebi. The Violation Of Cooperative Principles and Four
Maxims in Iranian Phychological Consultation. Open Jurnal of Modern Linguistics (2014), 4,
91-99 retrieved from http://www.script.org/journal/ojml.

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 The Violation of Cooperative Principles | 45

comprehension of the non-cooperative attitudes of interlocutors

in psychological consulting context, it is necessary to have prior
knowledge of interwoven relationship between conversational
implicature and the violation of cooperative principles. This is
because understanding the nature of conversational implicature and
its potential hidden meanings sheds a new light on the violation of
one or more cooperative principles maxims.
Furthermore, the reasons and the types of violation of the
interlocutors make them depend on the sophisticated nature of
each psychological consulting case. Moreover, by pondering over
psychiatrist-patient conversations, it was revealed that there was a
rationale behind human conversations and spoken exchange within
the psychological context since even when interlocutors purposefully
adopt a non-cooperative attitude and violate one or more maxims,
they still imply pivotal points, vital reasons and importantinformation,
all of which are tremendously helpful for accurate diagnosis.
Moreover, the researcher also takes Alham Fadhl Muslah’s
paper entitled Violating and Flouting the Cooperative Principle in
Some Selected Short Stories.18 In his paper, he concluded that the
reasons of CP used in short story are to make easy in understanding
the dialogue or conversation in literary texts in addition that this aim
at minimizing mis-understanding among the readers and characters.
Then the violation of maxims in stories causes the conversation not
to go smoothly.
A descriptive qualitative method is applied to answer the research
problems. This chapter consists of research design, researcher role,
research location, data and datasources, techniques of datacollection,
technique of data analysis and research procedure. Research designs
are plans and the procedures for research that span the decisions
from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection and
analysis.19 The researcher made planning and procedures to conduct
the research to get data from some sources. This research is case
study that focused on Violation of Cooperative Principles on Students
18
Alham Fadhl Muslahl, Violating and Flouting the Cooperative Principle in Some Selected
Stories. 2015. College of Physical Education. Diyala University. retrieved from www.
uobjournal.com/papers/oubj_paper_2015_72335510.pdf
19
John W Creswell Research Desaign: Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods
Approches (California: SAGE Publications Inc 2009) 3.

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Responses toward Teacher Talk in TEFL Class. Because of that reason,

this research tried to observe some variables such violating maxims,
students’ responses, and teacher questions. Hence, this research is
categorized into descriptive qualitative research.
Descriptive-qualitative method is applied to conduct the study.
Based on Creswell qualitative research is a means for exploring and
understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social
or human problem.20 In this case, qualitative is used to investigate
the phenomena that occur on social relationship either in term of
one and one communication or group of communication. Qualitative
research is an umbrella term for a wide variety of approaches to
and methods for the study of natural social life.21 This means that
qualitative is an appropriate approach toward social research.
Indeed, qualitative research is research that used collecting data
from sources such as people’s experiences and individual’s life. As
Latief stated, that qualitative research is a process of inquiry aimed at
understanding human behavior by building complex, holistic pictures
of the social and cultural settings in which such behavior occurs. It
does so by analyzing words rather than numbers, and by reporting the
detailed view of the people who have been studied.22
Moreover, qualitative used interview, observational, and deep
interaction between the researcher and informant to get the data.
On the other hand, qualitative research is a kind of research which
is conducted to describe something detail than quantify the data and
it emphasized on the direct communication between the researcher
and research object in the process of collecting data.
According to the explanations, the data in this research are
described in the form of conversations between students and teacher
in delivering questions – and – answers at TEFL Class
From the definition of qualitative research in the previous session,
it can be underline that the characteristic of qualitative research is
intent and prolonged research content with a field or situation. As
the reason, researcher role is a crucial factor. Its role or purpose to
20
Ibid. 4.
21
John Saldana, Fundamentals of Qualitative Research: Understanding Qualitative
Research, (ew York:Oxford University Press, 2011), 3.
22
Mohammad Adnan Latief, Research Method on Language learning 2nd Ed (Malang:
UM Press, 2013), 75-76.

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obtain a systematic and integrated overview of data under study, its

research function as the key research instrument and its analyses
those are in the form of words.23
In this research, the researcher placed herself as nonparticipant
observation but the researcher focused on merely being data
collector. To get information from the lecturer and students, the
researcher collected the data about students’ responses toward
teacher questions of fourth semester students in TEFL Class at
STAIN Ponorogo in academic year 2015/2016 and organized it
specifically. The data which had been collected and organized would
be analyzed, interpreted, and reported by the researcher as a result.
In this part, the researcher clarify the location in which the
research took place and timeline in gaining the data. The research
was conducted in TEFL Class of fourth semester students (C Class)
at State Collage of Ponorogo (STAIN Ponorogo). It is located on
Pramuka Street no.156 Ponorogo. The reasons of conducting this
research were:
a. The researcher teaches in this college, so that it enables for the
researcher to conduct the research.
b. Teacher talk is taught in TEFL Class as the result, the students
and lecturer, there, evolve its talk in class.
c. Lecturer spent over a half of time to take up questions and
answers section in exploring students’ comprehension.
d. The object of this research is C class. Since, mostly the students
show great intention in class and face two face interactions
between lecturer and students run effectively.
This research was conducted on May 9th-27th, 2016 in TEFL
Class. The data sources are the subject from the data are obtained.
Data refer to the rough materials researchers collect from the world
they are studying.24 Data sources include primary and secondary data
sources. The primary data of this research is transcript of students
and lecturer during speaking class. According to Sutopo data could
be in form of text, interview, field note, photo, videotape, personal

23
Mathew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman, Qualitative Data Analysis: A Source
book of New Method (Thoasand Oak: Sage Publication, 1994), 6-7.
24
Bogdan and Biklen, Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and
Methods (USA: Pearson International,2007),117.

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documentation, note, and other official documents.25 The data of

this research were words, sentences, and phrases, which are obtained
from the conversation. The data were the result or recording of
students and lecturer conversation related to students’ responses
toward teacher questions. These subjects were chosen to obtain the
information about violation of cooperative principles. Those terms
are those which have already been collected by the researcher and
which have already been passed through the statistical process.26
Secondary data may be published or unpublished data. In secondary
data source may included books, magazines, newspaper, historical
documents. Indeed, the sources of unpublished data are diaries,
letters, unpublished biographies and autobiographis.27 The researcher
got other sources relating to the violation of cooperative principles
theories such books, articles, and also journals. After arranging the
research design, the researcher must collect data which found in
students’ responses toward teacher questions in TEFL Class. Data
collection is used to collect the information needed then to get the
valid data. Stake divided the technique into four categories; they are
observation, interview, quizzes, and directly measurement.28
Data analysis is an integral part of qualitative research and
constitutes an essential stepping-stone toward both gathering data
and linking one’s findings with higher order concepts.29 Data analysis
can be defined as consisting of three concurrent flows of actions data
reduction, data display, and drawing conclusion. Validity described
the extent to which the researcher measures what she purport to
measure. An instrument is or is not intrinsically valid, as validity is
a characteristic of the responses. Consequently, it is important to
pre-test the instrument to obtain preliminary data that can be used
to assess validity.30 Shortly, the data were valid if suitable with the
related theories that applied in this research. The researcher checked
25
H. B. Sutopo, Metode Penelitian Kualitatif (Surakarta: UNS Press, 2006), 25.
26
C. R. Khotari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 95.
27
Ibid.
28
Robert E Stake, Qualitative Research: Studying How Things Work. (New York: The
Guilford Press, 2010), 85.
29
Ibid., 186.
30
David Colton and Robert W. Covert, Designing and Constructing Instruments for
Social Research and Evaluation (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007), 65.

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the data with the types of maxim that violated by students on their
responses toward teacher questions and the dominant maxim that
was violated by using Peter Cole and Morgan’s theory.

DISCUSSIONS
The following presents research finding which have been collected
during this research. This study analyses the data, which have been
collected in the documentation. Furthermore, the data are classified
into two sections. The first, data must define maxims that violated
on students responses toward teacher questions. Afterward, the data
are analyzed according to Peter Cole and J. Morgan. Second, decide
the data that is dominantly violated on students’ responses toward
teacher questions. Later on, the further analyzing are explained as
follow:

1. Type of Maxims That Are Violated on Students Responses

Toward Teacher Question
According to the data that taken on May 9th-27th, 2016 in TEFL
Class, by means C class, the researcher defines some exchanges
between students and lecturer. The exchanges describe how the
students’ responses are violated on teacher questions. They are 13
exchanges that indicate students’ responses are violated toward
teacher questions. In addition, those exchanges are classified into
four maxims. They are maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, maxim
of manner, and maxim of relevance. The classifications are analyzed
greater in depth in the following discussions
a. Maxim of Quantity
The goal of Maxim of quantity is to make your contribution as
informative as required (for the current purposes of the exchange) and
do not make your contribution more informative than is required.31
It means that speaker(s) should deliver the information as listener(s)
needed without addition or omission. Eventhough, sometime, that
conditions are needed to explain the information clearly and avoid
ambiguity. The following conversation between student and lecturer
shows maxim of quantity that is violated

31
George Yule, Pragmatics, 35-37.

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Teacher : By the way, do you read my hand out tonight?

Students : We don’t understand yet, sir
The conversation shows that maxim of quantity is violated by
the students. In the beginning of the lesson, lecturer gives a simple
question, which is convergent question to the students. Convergent
question does not usually require students to engage in high level
thinking in order to come up with a response but often focus on
the recall of previously presented information.32 Those responses
are often in term of polar answers, such as yes/no answer or short
statements.
Through that question, the lecturer convinces that the students
had already read the lessonbeforeentering TEFL Class. Unfortunately,
the students pose their answer as informative as required by stating
we don’t understand yet, sir. That expression shows that elicited
confirming occurs on students’ response. The goal of that elicitation
is to confirm what the speaker assumes to be true.33 In short, the
students inform that they had already read the material and the fact
is none understand what they read. While the teacher only needs yes
/ no answer towards his question without adding related answer. On
the other hand, according to the explanation above, the students’
response on that exchange is violated maxim of quantity because
they utter elicited confirming answer to confirm their statement to
be true.
b. Maxim of Quality
The goals of maxim of quantity are a conversation in which speaker
should be truthful and give a true and provable information or that
is supported by evidence. The characteristics of maxim of quality
are first, do not say what you believe to false and second, do not
say for which you lack adequate evidence.34 The followings explain
how maxim of quality is violated on students and lecturer exchanges
in classroom, such one of the conversation between student and
teacher below
32
Richards, J., & Lockhart, C. Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms.
Janin Jafari, The Role of Elicitation Questions in Language Learning: A Function-Based
33

Framework (Hamburg: Anchor Academic Publishing, 2014), 28-29.

34
George Yule. Pragmatics. 35-37.

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Teacher : How does he or she teach grammar?

Student : Firstly usually write a…rumus… emmm… formula
and then example…pokoknya ngasi rumus kemudian
ngasi contoh-contoh lalu latian. Truz biasanya habis
grammar baru belajar lainnya.
In this case, the TEFL class discusses about technique, method
and approach in teaching foreign language (EFL). Then to measure
students understanding, the lecturer delivers divergent questions.
It means that the student has to engage the answer in higher-level
thinking. It encourages student to provide own information rather
than recall previously presented information.35
In digging the students’ understating about the topic being discussed;
the lecture gives a question by asking the student to clarify technique in
teaching grammar to second language learners in Indonesia generally.
In the point of fact, the student’s answer is lack of evidences. Though,
she mentions the procedure in teaching grammar step by step. However,
what teacher receives from student’s answer is the real condition of
grammar class mostly in Indonesia but she describes the evidence in
teaching grammar yet. Based on the explanation above, thus shows that
the student violates maxim of quality.
c. Maxim of Relevance
Maxim of reference means speaker needs to give contribution relevant
with the topic and stick to the point of conversation and says thing
related clearly to the purpose of the exchange an appropriate in a
certain context.36 It means that the addressee should give appropriate
information as clearly as possible with the context of communication.
They are some exchanges between students and lecturer that occur
on TEFL class. But in fact, those exchanges are violated when the
students answer some questions, such the following example
Teacher : What language skills or components were your
English teachers used to teach?
Student : What teacher I meant in junior high school or senior?

35
Richards, J., & Lockhart, C. Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, 187.
36
George Yule, Pragmatics, 35-37.

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In the exchange above, the lecturer delivers divergent questions.

It means that the student has to engage the answer in higher-level
thinking. It encourages student to provide own information rather
than recall previously presented information.37 In this case, the
lecture gives an elicited informing question by asking the student
with wh question. The aim in delivering this question is to explore
the general components of language skills that English teachers used
in teaching and learning process.
The student’s answer should explain the components of language
skills in teaching English in general. In the point of fact, the student’s
answer is by no means relevant to the teacher’s question. However,
what teacher receives from student’s answer is an asserted question
for ensuring her succeeding answer by giving choices junior school
or senior?. Based on the explanation above, thus shows that the
student violates maxim of relevance.
d. Maxim of Manner
According to the findings and discussions above, it can be summed
up that there are three types of maxim that are violated on the
students’ responses toward teacher questions. They are maxim of
quality, maxim of quantity and maxim of reference. Moreover, the
violation of maxim of manner is not found on students’ responses.
Furthermore, the next point discusses the type of maxim that is
violated dominantly on students’ responses toward teacher questions.
Thus clearly explains greater depth as follows

2. Type of Maxim That is Violated Dominantly on Students

Responses Toward Teacher Questions
According to the data taken during the research and drawn in the
previous session, the researcher analyzed those in-depth. In the
ordinary, the researcher found a maxim that was dominantly violated
on students’ responses toward teacher questions. The following were
the calculation of each maxim that occurred on students and lecturer
exchanges in TEFL Class

37
Richards, J., & Lockhart, C. Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, 187.

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Table 1.1 The Calculation of Maxims

No Types of Maxim Calculation Percentages
1. Quantity 6 46%
2. Quality 2 15%
3. Manner 0 0%
4. Relevance 5 39%
Total 13 100%

The table above shown that there were 13 students’ responses

that were violated the maxim. Those exchanges divided into three
categories; maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, and maxim of
reference.
First, there were 6 utterances that violated maxim of quantity.
Second, the data that violated maxim of quality were 2 utterances.
And the last is the violation of maxim of reference. Those were 5
utterances. In short, maxim of manner was not violated on students’
response. As the reason, none data indicated that violation. Three
and four students answer the lecturer questions in brief, less of
ambiguity, and avoid obscurity.
According to the calculation above, it can be underlined that
maxim of quantity is dominantly occurred on students’ responses
toward teacher questions. The indicator is can be seen through
the way in which the students delivered their answers during
teaching and learning process in TEFL Class. Mostly, the students
exposed embedded answers. As the result, their answers are as more
informative than lecturer required.

CLOSING
Congclution and Suggestions
This chapter presents the finding of the study. It concludes the
discussion in the previous chapter. The suggestion is also given
in this chapter to be used in the next research. After completing
the research findings and discussions in the previous chapter, the
researcher concludes that
1. There are three types of maxim that are violated on students’
responses toward teacher questions. The violations occur on

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maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, and maxim of reference.

First, there are 6 utterances on students’ responses that violated
maxim of quantity. Second, students’ responses that violated
maxim of quality are 2 utterances. And the last is 5 utterances on
students’ response that indicate violation of maxim of reference.
2. Maxim of quantity is dominantly occurred on students’ responses
toward teacher questions. They are 6 utterances of students’
answers.
Based on the result of this research, the researcher recommends
some suggestions as follows
1. For Lecturers
The lecturers, especially English lecturers are suggested to use
communicative language in delivering questions. As the result,
the students are able to answer clearly and briefly as much
informative as required on teacher questions.
2. For Students
The students, especially students of Tadris Inggris Department
at IAIN Ponorogo, are suggested to analyze the type of questions
that are delivered by the teacher in higher level thinking.
3. For Readers
The readers in general are suggested to learn more about violation
and cooperative principles.
4. For Other Researchers
The others researches is suggested to define others researches
deeply related to the violation of cooperative principles.

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