The Role Of Teachers As Mediators In Teaching English As A Foreign Language

In the context of the recent education reform in China, more attention is focused on students' learning and problem solving abilities. The theories of ZPD, the zoon of proximal development (最近发展区) , and Mediation (中介) have exciting implications for the foreign language teachers in their effort to produce not only successful FL learners but also independent, effective, and creative thinkers in their life-long pursuit of knowledge. Mainly based on these two theories, this thesis discusses a study of the teacher-as-mediator in language classroom practice. It also introduces and analyzes Reuven's 12 mediation tools, discusses the results of a small scale research (by means of questionnaires, interviews, and classroom investigation) on teacher and student perceptions of these 12 mediation tools. The result shows that although teachers do perceive that the mediation tools are important , they do not always implement them in their classroom . This leads to a fact that teachers need training in operating as mediators in the classroom. The findings provide some interesting and potentially useful insights on the role of the teacher-as-mediator and may have strong implications for foreign language teacher education. If the concept of teacher-as-mediator prevails in the design of teacher education courses, teachers will be more likely to meet the requirements imposed by educational reforms in China with the fundamental aim of enabling students to become lifelong learners, independent thinkers and problem solvers.