摘要
随着中国进入世贸组织和经济全球化,我国对英语人才的需求量越来越大。小学英语教学的重要性也因此得到了越来越多的关注。对大数中国的英语学习者而言,英语学习通常都是在课堂环境中进行的,所以教师话语是目的语输入的主要来源。作为信息传递媒介和学生模仿对象的教师话语在语言课堂上,尤其是小学英语课堂上,起着至关重要的作用。本文旨在对小学英语教师语言使用的现实情况进行深入的调查。
在收集代表当前上海小学英语教学水平的课堂实录的基础上,从输入和互动两个角度对教师话语进行量化和描述性分析。具体研究:教师话语量、话语速度、词汇和句法方面的调整、教师提问的类型、反馈的类型以及纠错的方式。其研究结果如下:
1.在本研究中教师话语量多于学生话语量的情况有所改变。教师给予了学生更多的机会进行话语输出。另外,教师倾向于放慢语速来帮助学生理解,但是其语速对于初学英语的小学生来说还是有些偏快。
2.教师在词汇和句法方面对其语言进行调整。他们倾向于通过使用基本但种类单一的词汇和长度较短的句子来简化语言。但是他们在根据学生语言水平控制自身语言调整方面做得并不成功,倾向于使用大量超出学生理解水平的词汇和句型。
3.教师所提的问题大多是展示性问题,参考性问题较少。对学生课堂表现的反馈趋向于使用积极反馈,很少使用消极反馈。对待学生的错误,大多立即给予明确的纠正。
以上分析结果不仅可以为英语教学提供实证性的参考材料,也可以作为一面镜子,语言教师可以借此对自身课堂话语进行反思,增强语言教师对课堂话语重要性的认识。
Along with entry into the WTO and the globalization of economy, China faces a growing demand for trained talents with a good command of English. The importance of English teaching in primary school has received more and more attention accordingly. For most English language learners in China, teacher talk is the main source of target language input as English learning usually takes place in classroom environment. Teacher talk, the medium of information delivery and the model for students to imitate, carries great weight in language teaching class, especially in primary schools. The present study aims to explore how teachers actually use their language in primary school English classes.
The present study is based on a large body of data which comes directly from classes and which are representative of the present condition of language teaching and learning in Shanghai primary schools. The author of the present thesis makes a quantitative and descriptive analysis of teacher talk in primary school English classes from two perspectives: input and interaction. To put it more specifically, the amount of teacher talk; speech rate; adjustments on the level of vocabulary and syntactic structure; frequency and types of teacher questions, feedback on learner’s performance and ways of error treatment. The major findings are summarized as follows:
1. The results of the study reveal that the situation in which teacher talk takes more class time is changed. Students are given more opportunities for language production. In addition, rate of speech tends to be slowed down in order to facilitate learners’comprehension, but it still appears to be a little fast for the beginning learners.
2. Adjustments occur at vocabulary level and sentence level. Teachers tend to simplify their language through using more basic but less varied vocabulary and shorter sentences. However, teachers do not succeed in varying their adjustments to suit the linguistic competence of the classes they are teaching. They prefer to use a considerable number of words and syntax that are far beyond students’proficiency limits.
3. Most of the questions asked by teachers are display questions rather than referential questions. As for the feedback provided by the teachers, teachers seldom resort to negative feedback. They prefer positive feedback than negative feedback. The result concerning error treatment demonstrates that teachers always give explicit correction immediately.
Findings of the present study may be taken as references in English teaching and a mirror which may help language teachers to reflect on their own teaching and enhance their understanding of the important role teacher talk plays.
引文
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