| English teaching is mainly launched and carried forward by a series of discoursesincluding teachers’ initiation (teachers’ asking questions), students’ response (students’answering questions) and teachers’ follow-up (teachers’ feedback). As an important factor inthe process of classroom English teaching and interaction and a kind of language input,teachers’ feedback has increasingly drawn the attention of educators and linguistic researchers.If properly used, teacher feedback can stimulate students’ enthusiasm and encourage theirparticipation, thus create a good classroom interaction and help to improve their languageskills.As there obviously exist differences in the educational ideas, teaching styles andstandards between native English teachers and Chinese English teachers, there are somedifferences in the teaching atmosphere, teaching effects, students’ participation and reactionand the classroom interaction between teacher and students. Thus, how to take advantage ofboth Chinese and native English teachers’ feedback, facilitate students’ learning and improvestudents’ language and communicative competence is a question that shall not be overlooked.This thesis is designed to compare the characteristics and advantages of Chinese andnative English teachers’ feedback in the classroom, and analyze the role teachers’ feedbackplays in the classroom interaction. In specific, the present study is designed to answer thefollowing questions:(1) What are the similarities and differences between Chinese and native Englishteachers’ feedback?(2) What are the possible reasons for the similarities and differences between Chineseand native English teachers in providing feedback?(3) What feedback strategies are considered effective?Through classroom observation, audio-recording analysis, and interviews concerning thecharacteristics of Chinese and native English teachers’ feedback, this thesis aims to figure outhow to make better use of teachers’ feedback which suits students’ characteristics and preferences and form a better classroom interaction, and to provide some suggestions on howto facilitate English teaching and learning, and what should be noted here is that the focus ofcomparison is not to compare and decide which feedback is better or worse, but throughcomparison, to conclude the advantages of each feedback on certain aspects and hence sum upa more appropriate and efficient way of giving feedback to arouse students’ interest, build anactive classroom interaction and facilitate learning.After data analysis, it is noted that although both Chinese and native English teachers usevarious feedback techniques in hope to achieve the goal of encouraging students and promotethe classroom interaction, there exists different characteristics in the aspects of the amount,the type, the time and the focus of teachers’ feedback, and hence these feedbacks have theirrespective influences on classroom interaction. For instance, as for the type, both Chinese andnative teachers provide more positive feedback than negative one, and native teachers’positive feedback is more than that of the Chinese teachers’. And feedback, especially in theform of simple approval,“repeat and praise” and confirmation checks and clarificationrequests encourage the students much and build a relaxing interaction atmosphere.In brief, because of multiple reasons such as cultural, societal and educational, Chineseand native English teachers hold different views on the focus of language teaching andlearning. As a result, teachers’ choices of feedback and teaching activities differ accordingly.Together with students’ preference and opinions expressed in the interview, someimplications and suggestions on teachers’ feedback are given. They are providing positivefeedback and friendly negative feedback with respect for students’ dignity, combining promptand delayed feedback together, combining form-focused and content-focused feedbacktogether and integrating different kinds of teachers’ feedback when providing feedback inclass. |
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