Contrastive Study Of Vague Language Used By Chinese And Native English Teachers In EFL Classroom

As an important instrument of social life, language is not always precise and accurate. Vagueness is an intrinsic and important feature of language, and it may sometimes convey intended meanings more appropriately. Using vague language properly is widely regarded as an important element of social communication competence, thus it should also be valued in the EFL pedagogical field. Since 1965, when the concept of“fuzzy set” was put forward by L.A.Zadeh for the first time, it has drawn wide attentions in the fields of mathematics, philosophy, sociology and linguistics both abroad and at home. Recently, the researches of vague language in linguistic field have gradually been developed on a multiple-view trend, in which linguists pay more attention to the pragmatic functions of vague language instead of merely focusing on researches of vague words, vague semantics or vague rhetoric. However, the previous studies have mostly been focusing on pragmatic studies of vague language in natural conversations, and few of the studies focusing on EFL field has concerned the EFL classroom context. In EFL classroom, the acquisition of target language is the ultimate goal, and the main medium of teaching interaction is teacher language. Vague language by teachers acting as effective examples can be valuable guidance for vague language acquisition by the students. Due to different language backgrounds and language habits, different usages of vague language by Chinese and native English teachers can apply different impacts on EFL classroom interaction and vague language acquisition by the students.This study was carried out mainly by qualitative method with the assist of quantitative research. By collecting EFL classroom data with field research instruments such as classroom observation, audio-recording and field notes, and comparing the similarities and differences of the usages and effects of vague language by Chinese and native English teachers in EFL classroom, this study tends to elaborate different applications and classroom effects of vague language by Chinese and native English teachers, and put forward some preliminary vague language teaching suggestions. It is hoped that this study would be beneficial to the innovation of EFL teacher language and students who are aiming to master English in a more native manner. The study aims to explore the following questions:(1) What kinds of vague language do the Chinese and native English teachers respectively use in EFL classroom?(2) What are the pragmatic effects of those expressions of vague language?(3) By different usages of vague languagefrom Chinese and native English teachers, what differences does it make to affect classroom interaction, especially to the student response?According to the research result, both Chinese and native EFL teachers employed vague language in their teaching, yet there are both similarities and differences in the vague language categories, the effects of classroom interaction and response from the students. The vague language usage and classroom interaction mode of Chinese EFL teachers are rather stiff, while those of native English teachers are more active, which results in better imitations of vague language employment from the students. In the end,some preliminary suggestions on vague language teaching are proposed, hoping to provide reference to the classroom language improvement and professional development for Chinese EFL teachers.