A Study On The Effects Of Teachers' Classroom Feedback On Senior High Students' English Learning Anxiety

With the rise and development of humanistic educational theory,learner's affective factors in language teaching have drawn more and more attention.Lots of researches show that anxiety is the main affective disorder that affects language learning,and the phenomenon of English learning anxiety among Chinese high school students is quite common.It can't be denied that in senior high school English teaching,teachers' classroom feedback plays a key role and is the core factor to maintain and improve the interaction between teachers and students.Teachers' classroom feedback not only affects students' language output and language development,but also affects their emotion in English learning.And teachers' ability to present tactful and qualified feedback in classroom teaching can indicate their accomplishment,professional quality and teaching ability.However,until now,there is still few deep research and discussions on how to use appropriate feedback to promote learners' emotional development and language learning.Therefore,it is not only necessary but also practically significant to explore the effects of teachers' classroom feedback on students' English learning anxiety.Based on Krashen's Affective-filter Hypothesis,Humanistic Educational Theory and the study of follow-up move in Birmingham Model,this study attempts to investigate and analyze the present situation of types and characteristics of teachers' verbal and non-verbal feedback used in English classrooms in senior high school,to have a better understanding of high school students' English learning anxiety,and to explore the effects of teachers' different types of classroom feedback on students' English learning anxiety.The purpose of this study is to promote senior high school English teachers to pay more attention to students' English learning anxiety,to be aware of the impact of classroom feedback on students' emotion in English learning,and the effects of classroom feedback in English teaching.It aims to encourage English teachers to promote their professional qualities and have a good command of scientific and effective classroom feedback,so as to alleviate or eliminate learners' English learning anxiety,thereby,improving English classroom teaching and achieving the goal of English teaching of senior high schools.Specifically,this study aims to address the following three questions:(1)What kinds of classroom feedback do teachers have in senior high school English teaching? What are their characteristics and forms?(2)What's the present situation of senior high school students' English learning anxiety?(3)What are the effects of teachers' verbal and non-verbal feedback on students' English learning anxiety?Four English teachers and 219 students of a senior high school in Shandong Province are selected as the research subjects and the quantitative and qualitative research methods are adopted for this study.Using the English learning anxiety scale,the questionnaire of the effects of teachers' classroom feedback on students' English learning anxiety and the questionnaire of students' attitudes and preferences on English teachers' classroom feedback,this study collects the research data for quantitative analysis.And classroom observations and the interviews with four English teachers and 12 students are also used for qualitative analysis.Through data collection,data analysis and discussion,this study has found that:(1)In senior high English class,teachers employ various feedback,while more verbal feedback than non-verbal feedback are used.And teachers pay less attention to the use of non-verbal feedback.And the usage frequency of positive feedback is higher than the negative feedback,among which the implicit negative feedback is more often used.(2)Most high school students have moderate English learning anxiety and there is no significant difference between boys and girls.Among the four dimensions that cause students' English learning anxiety,the anxiety level from high to low is the fear of negative evaluation,examination anxiety,communication fear and anxiety about English class.(3)Different types of teachers' feedback have different effects on students' English learning anxiety.Teachers' positive verbal feedback and non-verbal feedback have a positive effect on alleviating students' English learning anxiety.However,teachers' negative feedback can cause or aggravate students' English learning anxiety,among which the clarification request and explicit correction in verbal feedback and the frown and silence in non-verbal feedback can easily bring about students' English learning anxiety.According to the findings of present study and in combination with the practice of senior high school English teaching,some suggestions are put forward.English teachers in senior high schools should take actions to enhance their professional qualities and recognize the important role of classroom feedback in classroom teaching,thereby,consciously adjust and improve their classroom feedback.They are also supposed to use different types of feedback to reduce students' anxiety in English learning and create a relaxed and harmonious classroom atmosphere so as to enhance students' English learning and improve senior high school English teaching.It is expected that this research can arouse the concern of scholars and front-line teachers on the effects of classroom feedback of high school English teachers on students' English learning anxiety.Sincerely hope that this study can enrich the research and development of this field.