Decoding Implicatures in Political Speech to Strengthen EFL learners' Reasoning

Decoding Implicatures in Political Speech to Strengthen EFL learners' Reasoning | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Decoding Implicatures in Political Speech to Strengthen EFL learners' Reasoning Martina Mulyani, Iis Herdiah This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081234/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Political discourse, often viewed as complex, provides a valuable context for developing linguistic reasoning skills. This study explores how students engage with implicatures in political texts and assesses how these activities foster their linguistic reasoning abilities. Utilizing a qualitative design and discourse analysis, the research involved third-year English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students who were tasked with identifying implicatures, explaining their meanings, and reflecting on their interpretations of political speeches. Data were collected through observations of student work and interviews. The findings reveal that most students successfully recognized both conventional and conversational implicatures through marking and translation strategies. Those who provided deeper interpretations were able to create connections between different parts of the text and relate the content to personal experiences, which helped them articulate their reasoning logically. Additionally, students drew inferences regarding the speaker's intentions and the deeper implications of their words, encouraging them to interpret underlying meanings and societal implications—essential components of critical thinking. This process is closely linked to evaluating linguistic ideas, as a reflective approach further enhances their ability to interpret context and draw meaningful conclusions. Collectively, these findings highlight the significant role of meaning-making in cultivating robust linguistic reasoning skills Political Discourse Implicature Linguistic Reasoning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files coding.docx consentform.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 19 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9081234","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":621908661,"identity":"791274fc-b974-4a44-b0a0-dc8c9ca7e02e","order_by":0,"name":"Martina Mulyani","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCBBDBDiIMbIAEY+MBAhoYG8BamMFa0sAChLUwwLUwHAaTeLXotp99/uDhDrtog8M8hp8LCs7brW0/DLSlxiYalxazM+mGDYlnknM3HOYxlp5hcDt525lEoJZjabkNuLQcSGNsSGxjBmkxkOYBajE7ANTC2HAYt5bzz0Ba6sG2/OYxOJdsdv4hAS03wLYcBmkxA9pywM7sBiFbbjxjnJHYdjx35mG2Mmseg+QEsxtAWxLw+eV8GsPHn23VuX3Hmzff5vljZ292Pv3hgw81Nji1IAEOAxCZCFaZQFg5CLA/AJH2xCkeBaNgFIyCkQQAGIBmKdlfLJsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"STKIP Pasundan","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Martina","middleName":"","lastName":"Mulyani","suffix":""},{"id":621908666,"identity":"4740f65b-11a0-4358-bacd-732ac20f2707","order_by":1,"name":"Iis Herdiah","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"STKIP Pasundan","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Iis","middleName":"","lastName":"Herdiah","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-10 08:27:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081234/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081234/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107483517,"identity":"509f502d-8274-42db-b660-d25a42dac931","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:28:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":447704,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"implicatureDiscoverrevised3.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9081234/v1_covered_5fd6b700-db9b-42bb-8ba5-5c8470686e45.pdf"},{"id":107017079,"identity":"bd546af2-c515-49a6-9e37-3e8ea5ef6e5a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 20:01:56","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":38127,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"coding.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9081234/v1/a2fb0af70224ea6601976450.docx"},{"id":107480790,"identity":"1ccdbebe-2bf5-4878-a22c-39bb239a5619","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:13:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":524780,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"consentform.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9081234/v1/05793b4b82b441ac9c5f7611.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Decoding Implicatures in Political Speech to Strengthen EFL learners' Reasoning","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-education","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"diedu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Education](https://www.springer.com/journal/44217)","snPcode":"44217","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44217/3","title":"Discover Education","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Political Discourse, Implicature, Linguistic Reasoning","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081234/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081234/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Political discourse, often viewed as complex, provides a valuable context for developing linguistic reasoning skills. 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