A Study On English Teachers' Reformulation In Middle School English Class

Reformulation,as a discourse organization strategy,plays a critical role in communication.However,few studies have given a full description of this common phenomenon in English teaching field,and few scholars have discussed how English teachers in China use this strategy in their teaching practice to improve their teaching.This study aims to investigate how English teachers use reformulation markers in their teaching process to help students understand the given information to better achieve their teaching goals.There are mainly three research questions to be answered in this study:(1)What are English teachers'perception of reformulation?(2)What are the categories of reformulation that are used in English teachers'classroom?(3)What are the teaching significance of reformulation in English teachers' classroom?To answer the three questions,two sources of data were collected.One is the interview of in-service teachers and intern teachers in Wuhan Foreign Language School and other schools,the other is the author's observation of other teachers' classes and recorded classes,including in-service teachers and intern teachers in middle schools.This study first defines reformulation by proposing that reformulation marker(RM for short)is a necessary part of a reformulation,that is,S1+RM+S2.The conceptual framework is necessary to analyze the linguistic environments where reformulation occur.Within the established conceptual framework,this study aims to give a detailed discussion of how English teachers use reformulation in their classes to give clearer information to help students better understand new knowledge and construct meaning of new knowledge in their minds.Based on the collected data,the author clarified those reformulation materials according to their functions.The correspondence between each reformulation marker and its teaching significance is closely investigated.In addition,a general conclusion of different reformulation markers performing different functions is also made.Furthermore,a discussion of different reformulation markers working in different types of English classes is also included in the analysis.At the end of the thesis,a summary of major findings is made from the detailed analysis.Together with it are some implications on English teaching practice,that is,to use reformulation markers as a method to guide students' attention to the information in the first and second segment and the relation between them.The analysis of collected data yields the following results:(1)Teachers have a very vague and imaginary understanding of reformulation yet they use it a lot in their daily teaching practice.Besides,they firmly believe the positive effects of reformulation.(2)Based on the clarification of Del Saz(2003)and the environment where reformulation occurs,there are mainly three types of reformulation happen in the English classes,namely,expansion,compression and modification.(3)By providing comprehensible input and leading students to realize the relation between existed knowledge and new knowledge,teachers' reformulation serves as facilitators to promote the development of students' language competence,cognition ability and metalanguage ability.Theoretically,reformulation is defined by arguing that a reformulation marker is a necessary part of a reformulation.It is helpful to identify what is a reformulation and what isn't.This provides theoretical reference for future studies on reformulation.In addition,this study classifies teachers' classroom reformulation into three types,namely,expansion,compression and modification.This provides a theoretical reference for future studies on teachers' reformulation,and also provides a theoretical basis for English teachers' using reformulation as a teaching strategy and teaching tool in their teaching process.Practically,this study explores the teaching significance of teachers' reformulation in different types of English classes.These conclusions can guide English teachers to consciously use reformulation in different types of English classes to provide more authentic and comprehensible input to students,guide students to find the connection between new knowledge and old knowledge,and better understand teachers' intention so as to better understand new knowledge.As a result,it helps promote the development of students'language ability,cognition abilities and the metalanguage abilities.