A Survey Of Senior High School English Teacher’s Classroom Discourse Based On Educational Ecology

Teacher’s classroom discourse in English classroom has its particularity.It is not only the main medium for teachers to transmit information to students,but also an important means for teachers to regulate students’ classroom behavior.At present,in China,many scholars have conducted exploratory researches on teacher’s classroom discourse,especially in the college classroom,while English classroom teaching in senior high school has attracted little attention.It is rare for researchers to study teacher’s classroom discourse in English classroom from the educational ecology perspective.In view of this,this study took classroom observation and questionnaire survey as the main inquiries and interviews as supplementary inquiry to carry out investigation and research in four high schools in Huaibei,namely Huaibei No.1 middle school,Huaibei Kaiqu middle school,Experimental Middle School Affiliated to Huaibei Normal University and Huaibei Tianyi middle school.Specifically,it included 8 teacher classroom videos,348 valid student questionnaires,24 valid teacher questionnaires,8 teacher interviews and 24 student interviews.This study analyzed the data obtained from the amount of teachers’ classroom discourse,the quality of teachers’ classroom discourse,teachers’ questioning,teachers’ feedback and teachers’ interaction modification,mainly discussing the following two questions:（1）what is the current situation of teachers’ classroom discourse in senior high school English classroom from the perspective of educational ecology?（2）what are the factors that affect teachers’ classroom discourse in senior high school English classroom from the perspective of educational ecology? Based on the research results,this study put forward some measures to improve the discourse level of senior high school English classroom teachers from the educational ecology’s point of view.The research findings were as follows: 1)the amount of teachers’ discourse was too much and students’ output was insufficient in English classroom.Secondly,the quality of teachers’ discourse was generally high,with smooth pronunciation and intonation as well as more use of target language.In addition,teachers asked more display questions and fewer referential questions and also preferred to use chorus answering,but it would also make some students not think actively.Moreover,teachers’ feedback was mainly positive reinforcement,but the way of feedback was a little simple.What’s more,teachers used comprehension checks far more than confirmation checks and clarification requests in class.Apart from these,the teachers and students identified with the role of group discussion.The language style of teachers in class was also kind and gentle,which was in line with students’ expectations.Finally,some front-line English teachers lacked classroom “ecological consciousness” as well as they were short of scientific theoretical guidance.2)Among the factors affecting the use of teachers’ classroom discourse,the educational concept of middle school leaders,teachers’ personal quality and knowledge reserve,teachers’ oral expression habits would affect the adjustment and use of teachers’ classroom discourse.Furthermore,students’ foundation and level,teachers’ cognition of ecological concept,classroom atmosphere and curriculum schedule,limited class time and different class types also played the same role.Finally,according to the research results,based on the principles of educational ecology and constructivism,this study came up with some suggestions for teachers.For example,the teacher should follow the niche principle and respect students’ individual differences,break the flowerpot effect and improve the proportion of target language,following the principle of diversity and enhancing the diversity of questioning and feedback so as to improve the level of teachers’ discourse of English classroom in senior high schools.