Teacher Talk In Oral Interaction In TCFL Elementary Classrooms: A Survey And Analysis

Teacher Talk (TT) is the language used by teachers in the classroom. As a language input and the main medium of instruction, TT plays an important role in carrying out the teaching plan. On the one hand, classroom activities are achieved through TT. On the other hand, TT is indispensable in the process of language acquisition and learning, especially in the process of foreign language and second language acquisition, as "the quantity and quality of TT exerts a tremendous influence on the quality of language teaching, even determines the success or failure of classroom instruction".This paper draws on the research of the second language and foreign language teaching in the West and the TCFL circle in China, and synthesizes various theories, such as second language acquisition, constructivism, pragmatics, discourse analysis, input enhancement and so on. This work deals with TT in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) oral classrooms for the beginners, with a view to improving the present state of TT. Eight teachers are chosen from the Overseas Education College of Xiamen University, with four in the experienced and inexperienced groups respectively. Questionnaire, interview, class observation and sound recording are adopted as research methods in this paper to analyze the amount, the forms, and the functions of TT. Moreover, teachers' questions, interactive modification, feedback, etc. are also studied. On the basis of the research, it is possible to discuss the validity of these features for classroom interaction, thereby promoting the language acquisition and learning. Finally, this paper explores the factors that effect the Chinese oral classroom interaction, and accordingly gives some reasonable suggestions for the improvement of the quality of TT.In this paper, the collected data and conclusions, which can reflect the current situation of TT in TCFL class for the beginners, would be of some valuable and practical significance for further research and TCFL teacher training to enhance the quality of TT.