A Study On The Influence Of Teacher Talk On Students' English Learning Motivation In Primary Schools

Teacher talk(TT)plays a crucial role in English classroom teaching.It is not only a tool for English teachers to manage and organize the classroom,implement the teaching plans,but also an important source of the target language input for the students.Motivation is considered as one of the main factors in successful English learning.Many researchers have discussed the impact of learning motivation on second language acquisition and proved that it is one of the important variables affecting learning outcomes.In recent years,some scholars have conducted relevant research on the TT and learning motivation.However,few studies have been done on the impact of TT on the students' English learning motivation in primary schools.Therefore,this thesis tries to explore the influence of TT to the students' English learning motivation in primary schools on the basis of other researchers.The research subjects of this research are 197 students in four classes and their English teachers in Grade Four in Weifang Foreign Language School.The data are collected by class observation and questionnaires,and then the data are analyzed in terms of the amount of TT,types of questioning and teacher's feedback.The research shows that TT has an important impact on students' English learning motivation.The high-quality as well as appropriate amount of TT,referential questions,and positive feedback can promote students' interest in learning English,and improve students' activeness and initiative in English learning.Through classroom observation and questionnaires,whether the students have the same preference toward the TT is an important factor in improving the qualities of TT.According to the deficiency of TT in primary school English classroom,this thesis proposes three strategies to help teachers improve TT in order to improve the students' English learning motivation:(1)Controlling the amount of TT and focusing on the quality of it;(2)Improving questioning techniques and asking more referential questions as well as extending the waiting time;(3)Using more positive feedback,giving students' opportunities for self-correction.