A Study On Gender Difference Of Teacher Talk In College EFL Classroom

As the main medium of communication between teachers and students, teachertalk plays a vital role in the classroom. While males and females are different inlanguage use and have different communication styles, the study of gender differenceof teacher talk is highly worth pursuing.This study was undertaken to find out how gender difference exerts impact onteacher talk in college English teaching. It also aimed at drawing implications andarousing contemplation among college English teachers. Class observations wereconducted to examine gender difference of teacher talk in practical context, and aquestionnaire was given to explore students’ reflection on it. Data collected fromobservation have showed that gender difference has greatly influenced teacher talk,including the amount of teacher talk, teachers’ questions, interactional modificationsand their feedback. The questionnaire has revealed that most students are aware ofgender difference of teacher talk; they have preference and suggestions for teachers ofdifferent gender in certain aspects.The overall result has showed that teacher talk of different gender has greatimpact on teaching and learning process, therefore learning from other’s strengths tooffset one’s own weakness is important for English teachers in college. It is expectedthat this research could provide a guideline for teachers improving teaching methodsand strategies to better fulfill teaching tasks.