EFL Classroom Interaction: Discourse Analysis

Interest in the language of the classroom has been motivated by the recognition that whether it is a subject lesson or a language lesson, successful outcomes may depend on the type of language used by the teacher and the type of interactions occurring in the classroom. Classroom process research, also called the study of communication in the classroom has taken different forms. Discourse analysis is just one kind. It considers both the teacher's and the learner's contribution.This thesis attempts to explore teacher's and students' language in EFL classroom interaction, arguing that the effective classroom discourse facilitates EFL classroom teaching and learning. It aims to achieve a new insight into improving EFL teaching and learning effectively.Based on detailed analysis and discussion, the author suggests that the IRF discourse structure, in which the teacher initiates, the pupil responds and the teacher supplies feedback, should not dominate EFL classroom all the time, EFL classroom teaching and learning should be constructed by the communication between teacher and students as well as among students themselves. This suggestion is further backed up by the proposition of fostering communicative competence in EFL classroom setting. Through the study of teacher's questions, feedback move, learners' initiation and repair in EFL classroom interaction, the author tries to see the linguistic actions of the English teacher in promoting particular conditions on the conversational floor of the classroom; how the input is shaped to the requirement of the learners; how meaning is negotiated in a classroom context and the need of a participatory style for the co-construction of EFL classroom teaching and learning. The finding has shown that communication in EFL classroom setting facilitates students' learning. It enables students to develop proper learning attitude, enhance motivation and increase their confidence. This finding is of some pedagogical significance for both EFL learners and teachers. For learners, on one hand, the knowledge, mastery as well as application of communicative competence in classroom setting can enable them to develop autonomy and responsibility in the process of learning and thus lead to a better achievement. For teachers, mastering communicative competence in classroom setting can urge them to play a new role in their EFL teaching and thus improve the effectiveness in their efforts to raise EFL teaching qualities.