Pragmatic Functions Of Classroom Discourse Markers By The Teacher Of English Major

Classroom discourse is defined as “the distinctive type of discourse that occurs in classroom”(Nunan: 1993)and refers to the language that teachers use to organize and teach in the classroom.It plays a vital role in the organization of classroom teaching and process of language acquisition.Three research questions are discussed.(1)How are classroom discourse markers used in terms of distribution and frequency?(2)What are the linguistic features of classroom DMs?(3)What are the main pragmatic functions of classroom DMs? Based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis,this paper analyses classroom DMs within the framework of Schiffrin's discourse markers theory.The data were collected from five classes of the Basic English by Ms.Q who has more than 30-years teaching experience.The data consists of 450 minutes of record and 587886 words of transcription.Through analysis and discussion,it is concluded that:(1)the most frequently used classroom DMs are OK,now,you know.(2)Classroom DMs mainly have three linguistic features: firstly,the one-word DMs are used more frequently than the phrasal DMs;secondly,the classroom DMs are relatively simple and limited;lastly,the DMs are used more frequently in teacher-student dialogue than monologue.(3)The main pragmatic functions of DMs are maintaining local and non-local coherence;indicating semantic meaning;changing orientation;and mitigating face etc.Combining discourse coherence and pragmatic functions,this paper discovered that classroom DMs play an important role on information state,such as managing information and participating information.Based on the findings,it's suggested that English teachers should use DMs accurately and improve their ability of discourse coherence.Moreover,teachers should strengthen their oral practice to avoid using certain DMs too much or too little.