A Study On Teacher Talk In Learner-centered ELT Classroom In Middle School

In English teaching for Chinese students, the language competences are developed mainly in English language teaching (ELT) classroom in middle school. ELT classroom is the main place in which English is involved and used. English teacher talk (TT) determines to some extent whether the teaching to be successful or not. First of all, the organization and control of the classroom take place through language; secondly, language is the actual subject matter that is being taught. The language itself is not just the medium but also the content. Teacher talk is of crucial to ELT and it also has great influence on learner output. However, many teachers have long neglected it. Without the knowledge and awareness of effective TT, most teachers are lack of competence to adjust their speech consciously. Now, the learner-centered approach has become more popular than the traditional teacher-centered approach. In the past, the teachers have only paid attention to the teaching content, which helps the students get good results in the examinations, but never observed what the students really wanted or needed. The learner-centered approach requires the teacher to adjust his/her pedagogy and TT according to the learners' reaction and need. Teachers should pay attention to the forms and techniques of their TT. So a claim for improvement of teachers' language in English class is put forward. Teachers, who only depend on their English proficiency and experience, but lack the study and practice of TT, cannot meet the needs for teaching and learning. The research on English as teacher talk in English class is important for English teaching. So the study on teacher talk in middle school English class in China is urgent and necessary.The study of TT should first mention the nature of TT. It differs from foreigner talk and motherese in their functional intention. Through the investigation and analysis of TT in learner-centered and traditional teacher-centered ELT classroom, this dissertation tries to explore and describe the present state and the distinction ofTT based on these two approaches from the following aspects: (1) the amount of TT; (2) the property of TT (accuracy, fluency, vocabulary range, instruction structure, language planning and comprehensiveness); (3) teacher's questioning; (4) instruction English; (5) interaction modification and negotiation of meaning. The analysis is presented on the basis of Krashen's comprehensible input and Swain's comprehensible output hypothesis, and Long's theory of negotiation of meaning. The theory of constructivism and Rogers' humanistic educational thought provide the theoretic bases for the study of learner-centered topic based approach.The data is collected and analyzed through audio record, field notes, and classroom observation from teacher A (T.A) who adopts the learner-centered approach form No. 1 Middle School Attached to Central China National University (CCNU)and teacher B(T.B) who adopts the traditional teacher-centered approach from Guanshan Middle School in Wuhan. Questionnaire for the students is also made before and after the investigation. It is found that the TT based on learner-centered approach is more effective and superior to the TT based on teacher-centered approach.The author holds that learning is more effective when the learners are actively involved in the learning process so that learner-centered approach should be promoted in ELT classroom. How to improve TT in learner-centered ELT classroom is discussed and jointly conducted through further collaborative action research by T.A and T.B. Action research is simply a form of self-reflective enquire undertaken by participants (T.A & T.B) seeking to improve their understanding and practice of TT so as to increase the effectiveness of ELT. Some hypothesis are made and tested by application of action to the problem? and some specific suggestions are put forwarded to solve the problem and to improve TT: (1) advocating the learner-centered approach, emphasizing learner autonomy; changing the teacher's role in ELT classroom: teacher is less dominated and is not the master of the class, but the manager, the facilitator, the co-communicator, the consultant and the evaluator of the classroom activities; (2) expanding knowledge of foreign language...