Power Of Teacher Talk In College English Classroom

The relationship between teachers and students has been a special attention for many researchers. Traditionally, there is distinctly social and psychological gap between teachers and students. Some writers depict the school as a societal institution which serves in the ongoing reproduction of existing power relations. In classroom teaching, teachers'and students'social actions and linguistic behaviors conform to the positions they hold. Because of highly authoritarian atmosphere and absolute obedience from students, hierarchy exists in classroom. In China, teachers'power status and the power relation between teachers and students have held for thousand years. However, in the new century, humanization and equal rights are emphasized. The teacher-student relationship also mirrors the trends of society. Nowadays, teacher-student relationship has become more amicable and teachers make more allowance for students. We are delighted to sight these progresses, but the asymmetry of verbal communication in classroom has often been neglected.In order to find out the situation in classroom communication, we must study the classroom discourse between teachers and students. Many linguists have done researches in this field, especially the role that teacher talk plays in language teaching. They have specified the characteristics of teacher talk in EFL class from phonological, lexical, syntactical and discourse level. This thesis focuses on some representative aspects of teacher talk in College English class, and the data collected reflect the actual teacher-student relationship. Based on the theories of social properties of discourse, power relations and power talk in sociolinguistics, both quantitative and qualitative analyses on classroom discourse are carried out. Teachers, especially English teachers, are supposed to pay more attention to their power of talk in classroom discourse context. Meanwhile, teachers ought to reflect upon appropriately regulating their power of talk so as to promote students'output and equal communication in class.The subject in this study --- teacher talk in College English classroom communication --- is endorsed, with the help of audio-records and questionnaires, by many case studies from the perspectives of teacher talking time/student talking time, turn taking, question and repair. The results reveal that, in College English classroom, English teachers occupy more talking time and enjoy the control of turn-taking. When it comes to teachers'questions, the imperative and display questions which suggest power have taken a large proportion. Besides, there are more teacher-repairs than student-self-repairs. The study suggests that power of teacher talk is still overabundant in Chinese classroom and the teacher is still the power holder. This is related to the historical and cultural origin, as well as the practical factors in our country. With the development of society, power between teachers and students has decreased and solidarity increased. But, unfortunately, the asymmetry of discourse in classroom communication has never fundamentally changed. On one hand, the necessity of teacher verbal power can not be denied; on the other hand, the inflation of teacher verbal power certainly brings about some negative effects, which should be restricted within an appropriate range. It is particularly true in EFL classroom, for excessive power of teacher talk will definitely suppress students'English output. English teachers should take pains in making proper use of teacher talk to promote language learning, while creating a relatively free and concordant language environment which encourages students to speak. Only in this way can the student's inferior position in classroom discourse be satisfactorily transformed.