英语--中学英语教学教师口语策略探讨.doc

TeacherTalkdiscourseanalysisAbstract：TeacherTalk(TTforshort)referstothespeechesthattheteacherusestospeaktostudentswhentheteacherundertakesthetaskintheforeignlanguageteaching.TTcanbeprimarilydividedintotwotypes:contentlanguage(CLforshort)andmediumlanguage(MLforshort).CLreferstothelanguageofteachingtasksasprescribedintextbooks.MLconsistsofexplanatorymediumlanguage(EML)andcoordinativemediumlanguage(CML)EMLreferstothelanguagetheteacherusestoperformsuchteachingtasksasparagraphingwordsorsentencesorillustratinggrammarrules.CMLreferstospeechesusedbytheteacherforgreeting,comments,taskswitching,disciplineregulation,etc.WhatmeritsmyattentioninthispaperisML.TTastheessentialmediuminlanguageteachingisfirstlystudiedinthefieldofTeachingMethodology.DifferentteachingapproachescanbringaboutdifferentstylesofTT;anddifferentTTappliesdifferentteachingapproachestoteachingactivities.However,limitingtheanalysisofTTinthefieldofTeachingMethodologymaynarrowtheresearchspaceofTTandcanbefairlydisadvantageousinlanguageteaching.Thispaperadoptsanopeningviewtheperspectiveofdiscourseanalysistoanalyzelinguisticformsandtheirfunctionsaswellaseffectsonlearnerslearning,anditfirstlysumsupseveralcommunicativefeaturesofTT.ThenintroducestheresearchescloselyrelatedtothestudyofTT,andenquirestheTTstrategiesbasingontheanalysisofthemiddleschoolsEnglishteaching.Finally,triestoofferfurtherrefectiononTT.中文题目：中学英语教学教师口语策略探讨Thekeywords:TeacherTalk;discourseanalysis;context;classroominteraction;communicativefeatures.1.IntroductionThefirstchapterservesasanintroductionwithabriefoverviewofthepreviousstudyofTeacherTalk.IthasputforwardthenewscopeofthispaperthatitwillbequitecontributivetoinvestigateTeacherTalkfromtheperspectiveofthediscourseanalysisratherthanlimitingtheresearchofTeacherTalkintheonlyfieldofForeignLanguageTeachingMethodologies.1.1.PresentResearchonTeacherTalkWiththedevelopmentofthesecondlanguageacquisition,scholarsbegintostudylanguageteachingclassroominpsychologicalandsociologicalperspectivesinordertoimprovestudentsacquisitionofasecondlanguage.Mantero(2002)studiesdiscourseinsecondlanguageclassroominapsychologicalperspective.Hisstudybringsus“closertounderstandingtheroleofcognition,discourse,andliteratureinaforeignlanguageclassroom”.Thosewhostudiesinthesociologicalperspectiveareinterestedintheclassroominteraction.Christie(2002)hassaid“therehasbeenagrowinginterestinthestudyofinteractionpatternsfoundinforeignlanguageclassroomsduringthelast20years.Thisisaresultoftherealizationthatsuccessfullanguageteachingprobablydependsmoreonthetypeofinteractionthattakesplaceintheclassroomthanontheactualteachingmethodused.”Therefore,thediscoursebetweentheteacherandstudentsbecomesthesubject.Thestructureandthenatureofclassroomdiscoursearestudiedtoshowhowtheteacherandthestudentstogethercreatechancestolearninsteadofonlyhowtheteacherteaches.Meanwhile,therearealsomicrostudiesofthediscourseinclassrooms.Barnes(1969,quotedinEllis,1994)hasstudiedoneaspectofthediscourseinitiating.Mchoul(1978,quotedinEllis,1994)hasshownthatclassroomdiscourseisoftenorganizedsothatthereisastrictallocationofturnsandwhospeakstowhomatwhattimeisfirmlycontrolled.Asaresult,thereislessturn-by-turnnegotiationandcompetition,andindividualstudentinitiativesarediscouraged.InChina,althoughoursocietyhasaconsiderabledemandofforeignlanguageteaching,anditneverfunctionswellintermsofexplorationsofTeacherTalk.Therefore,researchofTeacherTalkinChinaseemquiteinadequateandmaynotmeettheactualdemandsofforeignlanguageteaching.AcaseinpointistheinvestigationmadebyYangXueyanin2003.SheexaminedtheIndextoPapersonForeignLanguageResearcheditedbyHighberEducationInstituteandcollectedthestatisticsabouttheresearchpaperspublishedbyforeignlanguageteachersinChinain1999.Table:StatisticsofPapersonForeignLanguageTeachingin1999NumberRatioForeignlanguageteaching(extensively)6324.7%Reformineducation4116%Languagelearningandacquisition4116%Teachingmethodology2811%Languageskillsandteaching259.8%Culturalfactors197.5%Multimediaandelectric-formteaching197.5%Teachingresearch93.5%Foreignlanguageclassroomsperformance52%Foreignlanguageteachers52%FromtheabovetablewemayrealizethatChineseforeignlanguageteachersdoconcernmostabouttheresearchofthesecondlanguageacquisition,teachingmethodologiesandcross-culturalcommunication,butcaretheleastaboutlanguageclassroomandlanguageteachers.Furthermore,theresearchaboutteachersinforeignlanguageteachingiscentralizedonteachersqualities,teachersrolesandrelationshipbetweenteachersandstudents(YangXueyan,2003).Eitherindomesticorforeigncountries,linguisticsandlanguageteachershaveattachedmoreimportancetoteachingmethodologiesandusuallyresorttomethodologicalapproachtoTeacherTalk(LiuRunqing,1999);andthediscoursedperspectiveofinteractiveTeacherTalkinthispaperisobviouslyunusualandneedstobeencouraged.SofromoverviewofthepresentstudyonTeacherTalk,itnecessitatesthetrendsthatTeacherTalkshouldbeinvestigatedinvariousrespects(LiuRunqing,1999).1.2DefinitionandClassificationofTeacherTalkAccordingtothelinguistsSinclairBrazilwhopublishedTeacherTalkin1982,teachertalk(TTforshort)referstothespeechesthattheteacherusestospeaktostudentswhentheteacherundertakesteachingtasksintheforeignlanguageteaching(SinclairBrazil,1982).TTcanbeprimarilydividedintotwotypes:contentlanguage(CLforshort)andmediumlanguage(MLforshort)(SinclairBrazil,1982).CLreferstothelanguageofteachingtasksasprescribedintextbooks.Teachersreadthemaloudintheorderofsentenceorparagraph.MLconsistsofexplanatorymediumlanguage(EML)andcoordinativemediumlanguage(CML).EMLmeansthelanguagethatteachersusetoparaphrasewordsorsentencesoftexts,toillustrategrammar,andtoprovidefurtherinformationrelatingtotexts;CMLreferstospeechesusedbytheteacherforgreeting,revision,questiondelivery,comments,taskswitching,disciplineregulation,homework,etc.WhatmeritsmyattentioninthispaperisML1.3.LinguisticPropertiesofTeacherTalkCalaudron(1988)investigatesandstudiesTTfromalllinguisticaspectsandhedrawsthefollowingconclusions:(1)Pronunciations:Sonorous,articulate,abitexaggerated;underlyingthevowelsandconsonantclusters,withoutanemphasissomuchontheRP(ReceivedPronunciation)asthesocalledstandardpronunciationtypicalofthewrittenEnglish;(2)Vocabulary:Asfewaspossiblemodifierstothevocabulary,abbreviationsorcolloquialexpression,butmanybasicwordsofneutralcolorareused;(3)Syntax:Shortsentencesareusedtothelessadvancedstudentsasmanyaspossibleinsteadofthecomplexonesandagreatamountofstructuresratherthantheirregular,notsomuchinthepasttenseasinthepresenttense;(4)Discourse:Thefirstpersonismostlyused,andrepetitionresortedforexplainingthingstothelessadvancedstudents;(5)Otherrespectstake60%ofaperiodofclass,andtheyarestandardized,anddemonstrative.TTseemstobelikemothertongue,which,inthesecondlanguageclassrooms,isusuallyadjusted(inpronunciation,vocabulary,syntaxanddiscourse)todifferentneedsofstudents;andstillneedstobeillustratedwithaccuracy,normsanddemonstration.1.4.FunctionandValuesofTeacherTalkForabouttwentyyears,linguistshavepaidmoreandmoreattentiontothefactthatinclassroomsstudentssuccessfuloutcomeislargelyrelatedtothespeechestheteacherusesandinteractionbetweentheteachersandstudents.JustasDulystates:“Teachingasecondlanguagemeanscreatingforstudentsapartoralltheirnewlanguageenvironment.Theentireresponsibilityforcreatingthelanguageenvironmentfallsontheteacherwhoisteachingalanguagethatisnotusedinthecommunity”(1989).Itisobviousthatteachertalkplaysaveryimportantpartasfarasstudentsacquisitionofthesecondlanguageisconcerned.SevenWalshhasalsopointedoutthatEFTclassroomteachingisverydifferentfromotherclassroomteaching,andinEFTclassrooms,languageisnotonlytheaimoflearningbutalsotheteachingmedium.Inotherwords,bothteachersandstudentsareusingthelanguagewhiletheyareteachingandlearningthelanguage.TTcanbethelargestandmostliablesourceofstudentssecondlanguageacquisition.Consequently,thepresentationofTThasbothpositiveandpassiveeffectsonstudentsoutcome(WangYinquan,1999).TTisfunctionalandofgreatvalueasfarasalltherespectsofclassroomteachingisconcerned.BelowaredemonstrationstoshowtwoofTTsfunctions:tocreateharmoniousatmosphereandtoencouragestudents.Firstly,ateachercanimprovehisTTtocreateharmoniousatmosphereinforeignlanguageteaching.Secondly,agoodteacherneedstomakesurethatallstudentsgetthefeelingofbeingencouragedfromhisTT“Encouraging”beingalanguagefunction;itisthebestwayforteachertousethelinguistictoolstoverballyencouragestudents,notbypointingoutthatstudentsweaknessesdonotmatter,butbyhighlightingtheirstrengths.Besidesitsworthandfunctioninteachingandlearning,TTservesasthemajorsourceofstudentsforeignlanguageinput,anditisofgreatsignificanceforTTtobepaidacloseandfurtherattentionto.AnotherreasonmaybethateversinceHymes(1972)raisedtheissueofcommunicativecompetence(CC)inthe1970s,ithasbeenwidelyadvocatedasthetargetofTESOLandSecondLanguageAcquisition(SLA).Muchresearchonmakingstudentsspeakappropriatelyhasbeendone,withtheoriessuchaslearner-centeredlearning,learners#39;awarenessofCC,learners#39;autonomyinclassbeingestablished2.RationalesRelevanttoTeacherTalkThefirstchapterintroducestherationaleswhicharecloselyrelatedtothestudyofTeacherTalk,andtheyare:(1)ForeignLanguageTeachingMethodology;(2)Sociolinguistics;(3)AppliedLinguistics;(4)SecondLanguageAcquisition;(5)DiscourseAnalysis.InsteadofpursuingthetraditionalapproachinwhichTeacherTalkisusuallyinvolvedinthefieldofForeignLanguageTeachingMethodology,thispapertakesquiteanewperspective:discoursedanalysistostudythelanguageinuseonthepartoftheteacherinforeignlanguageteaching.2.1.MethodologicalAccountanditsRelatedSubjectsItisquitecertainthatmethodologicaltheorieshaveeverbeenthebiggestsourceoflinguisticstructuresandspeechstrategiesinTT.ResearchonteachingmethodologiescanserveasthestartingpointtoanalyzeTT.ScholarslikeBenseler(1980),Schulz(1980),Johnson(1979),Brumfit(1979),Brown(1980),Littlewood(1981),etc.,whohavebeeninvolvedintheresearchofteachingmethodologies,havealsobeenconcernedwithmanyrespectsofTT.DifferentmethodologiescontributetodifferentconversationalstylesofTT.2.1.1.ForeignLanguageTeachingMethodologyandTeacherTalkVariousteachingmethodologiesprovideteacherswithawidervarietyofteachingstrategiesandskillsratherthandetailedanalysisofteachertalkfrommodernlinguisticperspectives.ForeignLanguageTeachingMethodologycoversalltheimportantaspectsoflanguageteaching,includingteachingofthelanguageskills:reading,listening,speakingandwriting(Benseler&Schulz,1980).Teachingofpronunciation,grammar,andvocabularyisalsocoveredinmanyteachingmethodologicalbooks.Thepracticaldetailsoftheroleoflessonplanning,classroommanagementandlanguagetestingarealsoincludedinteachingmethodologies.Althoughtherearesometheorieswhichareconcernedwiththepeopleinclassrooms-theteacherandthestudents,TThasnotyetbecomethefocusoftheresearchinthefieldofForeignLanguageTeachingMethodology.However,learningfromtheresearchaboutteachingmethodologiescanbebeneficialtotheanalysisofTTbecausedifferentmethodologiesneeddifferentstylesofTTandacertaintypeofTTneedstosuititscorrespondingteachingmaindevelopmentandstructureofForeignLanguagemethodology.BelowistheTeachingMethodology,whichwillbethebasisandstartingpointoftheanalysisofthispaper.A.Grammar-TranslationMethodandTeacherTalkTheGrammar-TranslationMethodisalanguageteachingmethodbasedonthestudyoftextsinthetargetlanguagewhichhastobeexplainedandanalyzedandthentranslatedinmothertongue.TTcoverssentencepatternsanddrillsinsteadofrealcommunicationwithstudentsandthuslosesitscommunicativenature.ThisteachingmethodlimitsthedevelopmentofTTtoaverylargeextent.B.Functional-NotionalApproachandTeacherTalkAsabigbreakthroughoutoftheGrammar-TranslationMethod,Functional-NotionalApproachappearstofocusonlanguagefunctions:thethingswedoinreallifeormoretechnicallyspeaking:speechactsC.HumanistTeachingApproachandTeacherTalkVariouslanguageteachingmethodsarisingin1970sconcernthelearnerasawholeperson.Theyareconcernedwithtreatingalearnernotjustastudentintheclassroom,butasahumanbeingwithfeelingsandemotions.InordertoperformthisHumanistTeachingApproach,thetaskofTTishowtofreestudentsfromthefrighteningandstressfulsituationsandputthemintothesituationsinwhichstudentsfeelcompletelyrelaxed,happyandnotworriedbyanyerrors(Brumfit,1979).Thus,TThastoputemphasisonacceptanceandencouragementwithproperconversationalstrategies.D.CommunicativeTeachingApproachandTTItisnotastrictlyprescriptivemethod,asitisunderstoodthateveryteacher,everylearner,andeveryclassisdifferent,andtheweaknessesandstrengthsofeveryoneconcernedinthelanguagelearningprocessesneedtobeconsideredandworkedon.Itisalsobasedontheviewthatthefullcommunicativecompetencecanonlybereachedifthelearnerhasadequateopportunitiestomeetthelanguageusedinitsauthenticform(Lynch,19