Ways of Follow-up to Correct Answer
Rationale of the study
Language teaching is a complex process involving many interrelated factors Larsen- Freeman (2000) points out: language teaching can be summarized into three fields: language learner/learning (How to learn); language/culture (What to Learn); teacher/teaching (How to teach) Since the 1960s, the research on classroom discourse has grown rapidly Before that, teaching methodology has been explored and an effective teaching method is tried to be found Since teaching methods don‟t play a decisive role in language classrooms (Long, 1981a), the focus has shifted from teaching methods to teacher talk in classroom process Just as Ellis (1985:143) points out: “Classroom process research, as Gaies calls the study of communication in the classroom, has taken a different form The earliest was interaction analysis … An alternative approach focused only on the language used by the teacher when addressing second language learners It sought to tabulate the adjustments which occur in teacher talk ”
Teacher talk is an indispensable part of foreign language teaching in organizing activities, and the way teachers talk not only determines how well they make their lectures, but also guarantees how well students will learn (Cook, 2000: 144) According to pedagogical theory (Cook, 2000; Chaudron, 1988; Zhao, 1998), the language that teachers use in classrooms determines to a larger degree whether a class will succeed or not In English classrooms, teachers‟ language is not only the object of the course, but also the medium to achieve the teaching objective Both the organization of the classroom and the goal of teaching are achieved through teacher talk Appropriate teacher talk can create harmonious atmosphere and, at the same time, promotes a more friendly relationship between teachers and students and, consequently, creates more opportunities for interactions between teachers and students
Learning English in Vietnam takes place mainly in classrooms and is usually done under the guidance and supervision of teachers Classroom language is the chief source of foreign language learning and, in some places, the only source It functions not only as a major source of language learning but also as a tool by which a foreign language is taught Until recently, teacher talk in the EFL classroom was considered to be a problematic area for language teachers For one time, it was thought that “good” teacher talk meant “little” teacher talk, since too much teacher talk deprived students of opportunities to speak
However, it should be the “quality” rather than the “quantity” that counts “Good teacher talk” should be judged by how effectively it was able to facilitate learning and promote communicative interactions in the classroom Since a better understanding of the use of teachers‟ language can undoubtedly help students improve their learning, and students can make a better use of teacher talk to learn the target language, it is necessary to do some research on teacher talk from both theoretical and practical perspective
Personally, the researcher always thinks that teacher talk is one of the most important keys to success in the teaching and learning of a foreign language, so she devoted her time researching for the thesis: “Teacher Talk at Ly Tu Tan High School, Hanoi and its implications for effective classroom interactions” with its application to her and her colleagues‟ teaching of English at Ly Tu Tan High School, where she is working.
Purpose of the study
The aim of the research is to investigate the nature of teacher-student interaction in English classes at Ly Tu Tan High School In general, it has three purposes First of all, it is to investigate the current situation of the teacher talk amount at Ly Tu Tan High School, Hanoi Secondly, it aims at finding ways of teacher talk preferred respectively by teachers and students Finally, it is to provide teachers with some implications for effective teaching
The study aims at answering the following research questions:
1 What is the amount of teacher talk time (TTT) of the total class time in English classes at
Ly Tu Tan High School?
2 What are the ways of teacher talk preferred respectively by teachers and students?
3 What should be done to improve classroom interactions?
Scope of the study
Teacher talk is such a broad and interesting theme that it requires the work of generations of scholars and researchers if it is to be thoroughly investigated Therefore, within the framework of this paper, the researcher has no ambition of touching upon all aspects of this fascinating segment of FLT In this thesis, an attempt was made to study teacher talk in speaking classes, especially a speaking period of Unit 15: CITIES in the English 10 textbook to investigate the amount of teacher talk in the process of interactions between teachers and students and to discuss ways of teacher talk in initiating an interaction and following up a student‟s response preferred respectively by English teachers and 10 th -form students at Ly Tu Tan High School.
Method of the study
Both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed to carry out the study That is, the data serving analysis and discussion were collected by means of:
- Reviewing the related document on interactions in language classes, structure of classroom discourse, amount of teacher talk and features of teacher talk
- Observing classrooms and audio-recording
Significance of the study
Teacher talk has always been given a significant position in language teaching
Nevertheless, how to make teacher talk enhance foreign language teaching and learning effectively often poses great problems to both teachers and students
This study is important in some aspects First, it may serve as an empirical study to investigate teacher talk Then, it can also be taken as a reference for teachers to get a better understanding of classroom interactions Finally, some suggestions for making the classroom interactions more communicative are provided.
Organization of the study
This study is composed of three parts:
Part One : The Introduction presents the rationale, purpose, scope, method, significance and the organization of the study
Part Two : The Development consists of four chapters
- Chapter One: Literature Review establishes the basic theoretical background from the literature on classroom research and teacher talk
- Chapter Two: Methodology describes the overall picture of how the research was carried out from the first step of determining the research design to the last step of gathering the results Specifically, this chapter contains details of the setting, the collection of the data for the research and methods of data analysis
- Chapter Three: Data Analysis and Findings interprets the results of the study This chapter attempts to provide answers to the posed research questions and present the findings with some comments as well
- Chapter Four: Implications suggests some ideas for educational administrators, teachers and students so that teacher talk in class can be improved
Part Three : The Conclusion summarizes the main findings in the study, emphasizes implications for more communicative teacher talk and points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further study on the field
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Theoretical background of classroom research 1.1.1 Interactions in EFL classes
It is acknowledged that the FL classroom differs from other subject classrooms in that the target language is both what is being taught and the means by which it is being taught (Allwright & Bailey, 1991) Taking the language as the learning target, competent learners are expected not only to be good at the linguistic knowledge, but also to be competent in language use, which requires adequate exposure to the language “In situations where the target language is seldom used outside the classroom, the students exposure to the target language is therefore mainly in the classroom” (Tsui, 1995:12) It is, therefore, crucial to have a communicative FL classroom
A common theme underlying different methods of language teaching is that second language learning is a highly interactive process (Richards & Lockhart, 1994: 138) In language classroom settings, the teacher-learner interactive pattern is the most traditional pattern In this pattern of interaction, the teacher plays the role of an expert, providing learners with direction and doing most of the talking and commenting (Lemke, 1990) In consequence, such communication in the classroom influences students‟ perception of and participation in classroom activities (Farrell, 2002) Through their interactions with each other, the teacher and students construct a common body of knowledge They also create mutual understandings of their roles and relationships, the norms and expectations of their involvement as members in their classrooms
Malamah-Thomas (1987) points out that classroom interaction is not a one-way action and reaction but a reciprocal process Only when the participants constantly adjust their reactions to each other‟s previous actions can communication go on He illustrates the mutual reactions between the teacher and the student(s) in the following figure:
1.1.2 The structure of classroom discourse
In their research, Sinclair and Coulthard (1975) find that most interactions that take place in the classroom follow a three-part pattern, i.e the question (Initiation), the answer (Response) and the feedback (Follow-up), and later widely referred to as the IRF model by
Mc Carthy and Walsh (2002) This exchange model is typically initiated by the teacher, followed by a response from the student, and then followed by the teacher‟s feedback The interaction for one topic may involve more than one IRF cycle For example, in a class after the students discussed an essay written by one of them, the teacher tried to pull the students back to the teacher-class format so as to allow students to “share” the fruits of their labours in groups (Katz, 1996: 68)
Although classroom interactions may emerge in a variety of ways, IRF seems to be a most common exchange pattern in classroom discourse This tends to be a teacher‟s “default option” unless the teacher makes a deliberate change and uses some other interactional patterns Van Lier (1996) commented that the IRF sequence was effective in enabling the teacher to lead students in carefully designed direction and progression, to provide students with immediate feedback on their performances and to maintain an orderly lesson
However, IRF sequence is not without its criticism It is thought to limit meaningful student participation because teachers have the rights to initiate speech, to distribute turns and evaluate students‟ utterances, whereas students have much more restricted participation rights, opportunities to ask questions and negotiate meaning (Cullen, 2002;
In a word, the IRF model has its place in language classrooms; however, it should not be made the norm of classroom interaction A less controlling discourse mode has to be used if teachers desire to raise the quality of teacher-student interaction It may be appropriate to engage in typical teacher talk at one time and it may be advisable to get students to exchange real information about themselves and their words at some other time
Appropriateness in the classroom lies in a balance between language as “display” and language as genuine communication (Mc Carthy and Walsh, 2002)
1.2 Theoretical background of Teacher talk
1.2.1 The definition of teacher talk
Many definitions of teacher talk have been given from different perspectives Sinclair＆
Brazil (1982) says that teacher talk is the language in the classroom that takes up a major portion of class time employed to give directions, explain activities and check students‟ understanding According to Ellis (1985), teacher talk means the language teachers address language learners that are different from the way they address other kinds of classroom learners They make adjustments to both language form and language function in order to facilitate classroom communication These adjustments are referred to as “teacher talk”
Cook (1989) thinks that teacher talk refers to the amount of speech supplied by the teacher rather than students Sometimes teacher talk can be called teachers‟ language, teachers‟ speech or teachers‟ utterances
In all the above linguists‟ opinion, teacher talk share the same characteristic, that is, the words spoken by the teachers in class As an indispensable part of foreign language teaching, teacher talk has its own features in that both the content and the medium are the target language The language employed by teachers in language classes is served as the source of input of language knowledge, and also used to instruct language communication and organize classroom activities Moreover, teacher talk plays a very important role in the teaching process as an interactive device which would be evoking more interactions between teachers and students
1.2.2 The role of teacher talk in foreign language learning
Classroom research in recent years has proved that teacher talk has positive effects that could be exploited As Nunan (1991) points out: “Teacher talk is of crucial importance, not only for the organization of the classroom but also for the processes of acquisition”
Similarly, Cullen (1998: 179-180) highlights some of the advantages of teacher talk are