Influence Of Teacher Traits, Student Traits And Cultural Traits On College Students' Participation In Classroom Interaction

Classroom interaction refers to the oral interaction that occurs between teachers and students and among students. Research has proved that classroom interaction plays an important part in improving students' English proficiency and its impact upon the evaluation of teaching effectiveness has been fully recognized. In recent years, English language teachers in China have begun to realize the importance of classroom interaction in English learning. They are turning their previous "telling" teaching model to a collaborative learning approach, which fosters students' classroom interaction. However, students often keep quiet in classroom interaction. Classroom silence has become a very striking feature in our classroom teaching and learning.There are many factors that influence students' participation in classroom interaction. This thesis attempts to use a survey study to explore what and how teacher traits, student traits and cultural traits influence classroom interaction. Results of the survey show that teacher traits such as communication style, attention to male and female students, student traits such as gender and self-concept, and cultural traits such as face saving, concept of silence, power, the examination system and gender role expectations, etc all affect students' participation in classroom interaction. These influencing factors interact with each other and they do not function separably.With a clear understanding of influencing factors of students' participation in classroom interaction, language teachers can promote classroom interaction and improve their English teaching efficiency.