Influences of Teacher Talk in College English Classroom Interaction

【Abstract】Teacher talk plays a great role in the success of human communication. It also works effectively in the communication between teachers and students in the classroom. Based on the Grace’s Cooperative Principle， this paper discusses the important influences of teacher talk on college English classroom interaction.

【Key words】teacher talk； college English； classroom interaction

【作者簡介】樊海怡，云南省文山學院。

1. Teacher Talk

Ellis defines teacher talk as “Teachers address classroom language learners differently from the way they address other kinds of classroom learners. They make adjustments to both language form and language function in order to facilitate communication. These adjustments are referred to as teacher talk. ” （Ellis 1985： 304） Teacher-talk is the classroom language that accompanies exercises， explanations and management in language teaching. However， teacher talk in language class has its own features because both the content and the medium are target language. The features reveal in its structures and characteristics.

2. Types of Teacher Talk

English teacher talk can be divided into four categories. The first category is classroom English. It refers to the particular language used by teachers to organize teaching. The use of classroom English is very helpful to activate the English atmosphere in class. The second one is instruction English. It is the language used by English teachers when imparting knowledge， including vocabulary， grammar and text. The third one is teacher-student interaction. It refers to the language used in class between the teacher and the students when they talk， discusses， ask and answer questions. The last category is teacher feedback English. It is the comments or information that students receive on their pragmatic performance in class from the teacher.

3. Grace’s Cooperative Principle

Grice （1975：47） proposed four maxims as follows：

（1） Quantity： i） make your contribution as informative as is required； ii） do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

（2） Quality： i） do not say what you believe to be 1； ii） Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

（3） Relation： i） be relevant.

（4） Manner： i） avoid obscurity of expression； ii） avoid ambiguity； iii） be brief； iv） be orderly.

（Grice 1975：45-46）

4. Influences of Teacher Talk on classroom interaction

Grice’s theory of conversational implicature and the framework of maxims that give rise to such implicature are essentially correct. Naturally， such important theory has been subject to a number of attempts at revision. He formulated his four maxims of the Cooperative Principle to explain how “maximally effective exchange of information” takes place. He states that people cooperate with each other when communicating， and will attempt to do so in an informative， truthful， relevant and clear way.

Teacher talk in large quantity and different types of teacher talk functions greatly in classroom. In order for lessons to take place at all， classroom interaction has to be managed. Students learn by communicating， especially in language learning， where it is by using the means of communication， in solving communication problems， that we not merely practice communicating but also extend our command of the means of communication， the language itself. Inevitably， interaction can accelerate classroom activities and communication. Meanwhile， no one will deny that it is the teacher who directs and orients the classroom interaction. Then， teachers’ talk to students will definitely influence their participation in classroom activities. When the relationship between teacher and students is on friendly and harmonious talk， classroom interaction will be much livelier， and the students’ communicative competence will be improved.

References：

[1]Ellis，R.1985.Classroom Second language development–A study of classroom interaction and language acquisition.Rergamon Press.

[2]Grice，H.P.1975.Logic and conversation.In Cole，P.Morgan，J.（eds.）Syntax and semantics.Vol.3：Speech acts，New York：Academic Press.