A Case Study Of The Attitudinal Resources In Teacher Feedback Of Excellent English Teachers In Junior High School

Teacher feedback of English teachers in junior high school are currently needed to be enhanced,as teacher feedback of English teachers in junior high school are found to be rigid and ineffective,exerting adverse effects on student’s learning,classroom interaction..Moreover,the Compulsory English Curriculum Standard for General High School advocates more diversified evaluation approaches which are core competence-oriented and student-centered.Therefore,enhancement of the quality of teacher feedback of junior school English teachers is critical and indispensable.So far,blooming studies have focused on the attitudinal resources in teacher’s talk in the English classroom,but few of them examine the attitudinal resources in teacher feedback of excellent English teachers in junior high school.Therefore,the current study aimed at dealing with the following questions:(1)What are the distribution features of attitudinal resources in teacher feedback of excellent English teachers in junior high school?(2)What are the functions of attitudinal resources in teacher feedback of excellent English teachers in junior high school?With reference to Attitude System of Appraisal Theory,this study adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative method.Data sources include classroom observation of teacher feedback in two excellent English teachers in junior high school,interviews with two excellent teachers and four students.Based on the analysis of these data,The major findings of this study are as follows:In terms of the first research question,first of all,there are abundant attitudinal resources in teacher feedback of excellent English teachers in junior high school,covering affect resources,judgement resources and appreciation resources.In addition,two excellent teachers exploit more positive attitudinal resources instead of negative attitudinal resources in their feedback.In teacher K’s feedback,positive resources hold 83.2%,while negative resources occupies 16.8%.In teacher F’s feedback,positive resources take up 54.9%,while negative resources account for 45.1%.Meanwhile,these attitudinal resources are conveyed in a more explicit way than an implicit way.In teacher K’s feedback,explicit resources occupy 64.1%,and implicit resources take up 35.9%.In teacher F’s feedback,explicit resources account for 80%,while implicit resources take up 20%.Regarding the second research question,different attitudinal resources in teacher feedback of excellent English teachers in junior high school have served the following functions.To begin with,affect resources used in teacher feedback of the two English teachers could contribute to the following functions:providing opportunities to express feelings of teacher and student;arousing student’s empathy and showing teacher’s empathy;providing a sense of security and creating a safe classroom atmosphere;increasing a sense of pride through peer review.Secondly,judgement resources applied in teacher feedback of the two English teachers could contribute to the following functions:facilitating face-saving;promoting student engagement with feedback;fostering character education.Thirdly,appreciation resources used in teacher feedback of the two English teachers could contribute to the following functions:increasing student’s confidence through praise;developing student’s critical thinking.According to the research findings,this study puts forward several fruitful suggestions for English teachers in junior high school,schools and teacher educator.It is hoped to to raise feedback quality of English teachers in junior high school,ultimately establishing desirable classroom atmosphere,facilitating students’ learning.