%0 Journal Article
%A Mazlin, Azizan
%A Albukhary International University, Malaysia,
%D 2015
%F iab_repo:482
%I Institut Aminuddin Baki
%J PROCEEDINGS 3rd REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
%K linguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, negations, classroom interactions, education, leadership
%P 232-247
%T POSITIVE REINFORCEMENTS AS EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP  SKILLS: USING NEGATIONS IN CLASSROOM INTERACTIONS
%U http://eprints.iab.edu.my/v2/482/
%X The role of positive reinforcements in educational contexts is undeniably crucial in  any academic institution. It is perceived to have a significant role in shaping a  promising classroom scenario that will help create positive outcomes in both  academic and disciplinary purposes. In this paper, discourse analysis (DA) is used to  enfold this pedagogical issue at the tertiary level. Pregnant with contexts, DA could  provide vital information pertaining to the pedagogical approach used by  instructors; the social positions of the people involved in a particular classroom  event, and the roles that the instructors play in it. In this study, primary focus was  given to teacher talk particularly the use of negations during classroom interactions.  The functions of negations observed were then examined from discourse analysis  point of view. After analysing the transcripts from the classroom observations, the  findings suggest that the authoritative role of an instructor is pertinent towards  actualising the positive reinforcements intended. The meaning of negations used was  also found to be much more complex than normally perceived, and what is actually  conveyed could be exclusively understood from the shared background knowledge  that exists between the teachers and the students. These meanings could then be  translated into some kind of positive reinforcements depending on the contexts of the  speech events. This study will suggest ways in which negations could be properly  used in achieving positive atmosphere in tertiary classrooms and most importantly, it  implies that the leadership role of an instructor should not be taken lightly.