A Research On Teacher's Choice Of Metalanguages In English Classroom Instruction In Junior Middle School

“Metalanguage” is the language used to explain and describe the object language,which is proposed by Polish logician Alfred Tarski.In recent years,with the in-depth study of metalinguistic theory,people begin to pay attention to the application of metalanguage in English classroom instruction.As a tool to explain and describe language,metalanguage exists in every link of English teaching and is an indispensable language teaching tool for teachers.In order to impart language knowledge and organize classroom teaching,metalanguage is widely used by teachers in classroom instruction.Based on the language Output Theory,Input Theory and Interaction Theory,this thesis discusses teachers' choice of metalanguages in junior middle school English teaching from five aspects: expressive forms,techniques,sentence patterns,types of questions and organization models.Through analyzing questionnaires of 48 English teachers and 300 junior middle school students from five middle schools in Shanxi Province,the teachers' perceptions on the use of metalanguage and students' preference for teachers' metalanguage strategies were investigated.Through transcription and analysis of 24 classes of 6 teachers from three schools,the author further analyzed the actual use of metalanguage in junior middle school English teaching.According to the results of classroom observation,the author found out some problems in the process of using metalanguage and the factors affecting the use of metalanguage,and put forward some suggestions for the appropriate use of metalanguage.This research focuses on the following questions:(1)What are the teachers' perceptions on metalanguage use in English teaching in junior middle school?(2)What are the teachers' choice of metalanguages in actual English teaching in junior middle school?(3)What are the students' preference for teachers' metalanguage strategies ?Based on the analysis and discussions,the author came to conclusions as follows:As for the teachers' perceptions,teachers have a positive attitude towards metalanguage use in English classroom teaching.Using English and Chinese is generally supported by teachers;translation and example illustration are the most popular ways in terms of techniques;declarative sentences and interrogative sentences are the most popular sentence patterns;display questions are the main type of questions;IRF model is generally supported by teachers,while monologue and IR model have a low degree of identity.As for the actual use of metalanguage,metalanguage is mainly used to explain vocabulary and grammar;Chinese is used as the leading language and English as the auxiliary language;metalanguage is used differently in different language knowledge teaching,but translation,example illustration,situation simulation,paraphrase and substitution are generally adopted;declarative sentences and interrogative sentences as the main sentence patterns;using more display questions than referential questions;monologue and IRF model are most commonly used and there are some variants of IRF,such as IR,monologue,I-R-F1-R Fn-R-F and I-R1-R2 R1-Rn-F appear in the interaction between teachers and students.As for the students' preference for teachers' metalanguage strategies,it is influenced by students' cognitive level and English proficiency.Students generally expect teachers to use Chinese to explain and describe abstract words,terms and grammar rules;to use more translation and examples to explain language knowledge;to ask more display questions in teaching procedures;monologue and IRF model are more popular with students in the learning of language knowledge.According to the research results,the author proposes some suggestions to improve the quality of metalanguage use in junior middle school English teaching and further promote junior middle school English teaching as well as cultivate students' metalinguistic awareness and metalinguistic competence.