An Analysis Of Primary School EFL Teachers' Classroom Discourse

With the advancement of the curriculum reform of elementary education in China,primary school English teaching is facing quality requirements that are constantly improving.Teacher's classroom discourse is the main means and medium for primary school EFL teachers to implement classroom teaching.It is also a demonstration of the usage of the target language and an important source of incomprehensible input for English beginners.Therefore,the use of classroom discourse by primary school EFL teachers is closely related to the quality of English courses and deserves the attention of educators and researchers.This study collects the classroom discourse corpus of primary school EFL teachers in Jiang'an District of Wuhan through classroom observation.Based on the theories of discourse analysis and second language acquisition,qualitative and quantitative analysis of the corpus is conducted from the perspectives of linguistics and language teaching.From the four aspects of authenticity,logic,normativeness and interactivity,this study examines the effectiveness of primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse,analyzing whether it can provide students with authentic language input to the maximum extent and whether it can foster students' construction of language knowledge and development of language skills.This study focuses on the problems and deficiencies of teachers' classroom discourse,and puts forward targeted suggestions and countermeasures.The purpose of this study is to understand the current situation of primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse in Jiang'an District,and strive to provide practical reference to the use of classroom discourse for first-line primary school EFL teachers.According to the findings of the study,primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse is not authentic enough,e.g.,paying much attention to language practice and neglecting communication,using discourse that does not exist in authentic communication,or making up insincere words.Primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse is not logic enough,e.g.,lacking logical sequence or coherence.Primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse is not normative enough,e.g.,occurrences of phonetic and grammatical errors,or occurrence of inappropriate discourse due to teacher's lack of pragmatic knowledge.Primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse is not interactive enough,e.g.,the inclination to use the most direct and highly mandatory instructional directives,the large amount of display questions in contrast to few reference questions,the frequent repetition in teachers' feedbacks and the extensive use of simple general praises,etc.In view of the problems in current primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse and the advantages and disadvantages of teachers in their professional development,this study puts forward specific suggestions for teaching improvement.Furthermore,it emphasizes that teachers should be fully aware of the importance of their classroom discourse,and unremittingly learn English knowledge and language teaching theories while they implement teaching practice.Thereby the quality of primary school EFL teachers' classroom discourse and the quality of primary school English teaching will be improved,and teachers' professional development will be promoted.