This presentation explores Indonesian adult EFL students’ use of speech acts in four phases of argumentation (confrontation, opening, argumentation, and conclusion) by using a pragmatic-dialectical approach and speech act theories. The data were obtained from recorded speeches produced by Indonesian undergraduate EFL students enrolled in an advanced English speaking class who learned debates using Australian-Asian Parliamentary System (APS) model. Two opposite teams (an affirmative team that supports the debate motion and a negative team that opposes it) were recorded while performing the debate. The data were qualitatively analyzed using a content analysis technique. The findings indicate that the affirmative and negative teams utilize different speech act strategies in four stages of argumentation. The results offer insight on the complexities of argumentation strategies within tertiary language education framework by illuminating interesting discrepancies in students' use of speech acts and sensitivity toward different argumentation roles.

Keywords: argumentation stages, debate, EFL students, speech act