On The Major Patterns Of Teacher Code-Switching In College English Classrooms

Teacher talk in the foreign language classroom has caught much attention from scholars at home and abroad,among which the use of the first language and CS have witnessed abundant achievements.In the past the academic circles advocate the full use of foreign language excluding the first language in the classroom,which also takes the leading position in China.However,many researchers affirm the use of first language in foreign language learning and argue that it is rather difficult to exclude first language in the first language classroom.Therefore,this thesis is to explore the major patterns of teacher CS in the classroom and what may influence their use of CS under the domestic environment of China where English is a foreign language that is not used in the daily life.This study aims to find out how CS is used by teachers teaching the course of College English in the classroom,whether there is any significant difference among these patterns that teachers used in college English classroom,and the main factors that lead to the major patterns of teacher CS in college English classrooms.Based on the data of 20 class periods(45 minutes/period)from four teachers giving lectures on the course of College English from Hunan University,and by means of qualitative and quantitative analysis,the study concludes that(1)all three major patterns of teacher CS appear in college English classroom;(2)there is significant difference among these patterns that teachers used in college English classroom,among them,inter-sentential switching and intra-sentential switching are commonly used;(3)generally speaking,teachers use inter-sentential switching because of specific features of College English courses and teacher's role in College English,intra-sentential switching because of linguistic reality and students' linguistic competence as well as tag switching because of teachers' psychological motivation and their language habits in College English classroom.The results can provide some implications for teachers to make CS a useful tool in teaching and make their discourse in the classroom a high-quality input for students.