The weekly column
Article 83, December 2001
How Much Should We Say
By Ji Shaobin
Wenzhou College of Profession and Technology
Traditionally, Chinese English teachers are always dominating
English classes. Meanwhile, the students are often led by their teachers
passively. However, the more a teacher speaks, the less students are involved
in the learning experience. This paper tries to find some possible factors
that affect teacher talk and suggests some improvements of teacher talk
which plays such an important role in the classroom.
1. Introduction
It is not unusual to hear Chinese English students complain about the lack of chance in practicing English in the classroom. It has been reported that the Chinese English teachers normally spend more than 70 percent of class time in talking while students demand more active involvement in the course of class time. On one hand, we can safely say English teacher talk determines to some extent whether his/her teaching is successful or not. On the other hand, it is a well-known fact that getting students to practice their learning language is a vital part of a teacher's job. Therefore, it is necessary for EFL teachers to allocate enough time for students to plan their language activity and try to improve the quality of teacher talk as well.
2. Rationale and Status Quo
English teacher talk is sometimes treated as a register, with its own specific formal and interactive properties, which includes classroom English, instruction English, teacher-student interaction and teacher feedback English. English teacher talk can be used to instruct language knowledge, communicate and organize classroom activities. It can be carried out through repetition, exemplification. The importance of English teacher talk is not only perceived for the whole class organization but also for the processes of students’ acquisition of the target language. From this point of view, English teacher talk can be like a thread linking the input a student is likely to receive and the output and ability to communicate of a student. The current situation in China, however, is that most English teachers themselves are lacking experience of living in those countries where English is the native language. As a matter of fact, they are English learners as well. It is naturally not surprising even for a Chinese English teacher who has inadequate knowledge about the culture and history of English countries. As a result, they teach their students mainly with standardized English from books and other available sources. They normally use caretaker language, articulating clearly and slowly, simplifying structure and avoiding difficult verb phrases. They prefer using content-based words and easy words rather than complicated, functional words. Constant writing on blackboard will be their main teaching activity for students to understand the difficult and unfamiliar words and phrases. What is worse is that the teachers themselves speak Chinglish (a kind of Chinese style of English) from time to time, which affects the students' thinking in the right way in English. During their talk, bilingual language often appears when they are not sure to find a proper English word. What's more, English teacher talk in general is framed by question-answer, most of which are closed questions leaving no time for students to think their answers over.
3. Difficulties
The most important factor in influencing the quality of teacher talk in the Chinese English classroom is the teacher's oral English proficiency and his way of presentation. It is self-evident that a teacher's spoken English skill and the language ability are one of decisive factors in the success or failure in the English classroom. A survey shows that an English teacher, who has formal language training and is good at speaking English, can properly divide his class time and will constantly receive positive feedback from his students. On the other hand, an unqualified teacher is always boring to his students by the poor manner of his presentation. So it is quite common to find that some "disagreeable" Chinese English teachers are busy most of the time writing broken English expression on the blackboard with native language explanations once in a while. It is impossible for students to understand the exact message from the poor teacher. Another important factor is teachers' misconception about teacher talk. Some of them take it for granted that their talk in the classroom is spontaneous for the sake of speaking English. Consequently they deliberately modify phonology, lexis, syntax and discourse.
3. Solutions
- Students' participation is urgently needed
In a typical Chinese English class, an English teacher is regarded as not only an instructor but also a sole source of knowledge. He/She does most of the talking and the students are listening in silence. Modern teaching theory, however, holds that both teachers and students should participate jointly in the teaching and learning processes in which there is constant transmission and feedback. The teacher is required to play the role of an initiator, a promoter and a learner as well in connection with the students who are allowed to speak up in the classroom. It is illustrated by a student's diary: "I wish the teacher had given me more opportunities to use the language in class. It would have been more fun and meaningful to use the language in more creative ways in the end." In view of this, teacher talk should point the direction in which students are encouraged to practice, to experiment and then to acquire learned language. In the mean time, the teacher should tell students how to learn and how to use the language instead of explaining everything to them.
- Well-planned teacher talk in the classroom
To our understanding, too much teacher talk comes out of certain harmful aspects: Habit and the teachers' methodology, fear of students' incomprehension, and passive students' expecting to listen more than speak and so on. Unfortunately, few teachers have realized that it is their excessive talking which leads to distraction and is boring and tiring to students and which spoils the unity of the classroom activity. So what should we say and how much should we say in the classroom? Before entering the classroom, the foreign language teacher has to bear in mind today's objective, and pitch his talk according to the final objective. Therefore, a smart teacher talk may have the following features:
Standard, clarity, conciseness, preciseness, purposefulness, relevance and its level of difficulty being slightly above the students' English competence. The teacher talk should represent the activity procedures such as opening the class, switching topic(s) or ending of the class, etc. It should show the functions of instruction, interaction and feedback with some remarks such as "now let's talk about", "let's find out the topic sentence of the following paragraph", "I'll explain the structure or verb phrase", "let's discuss", "we can conclude that ", "your answer is quite satisfactory", etc. Then let the students do the rest because the students are the receiver of learning. As a qualified teacher, he/she must be wary of the level of difficulty or easiness. Make sure teacher talk is challenging but also understandable to the students. So try to limit new words and avoid too complicated structures, increasing difficulty gradually. Of course the teacher talk is allowed to be beyond the students' reach occasionally but try to use examples to help students, repeat and paraphrase difficult words or sentences and simplify complicated structures. If possible, avoid speaking Chinese, which may cultivate dependence on Chinese in comprehension and thinking. Last but not least, keep teacher talk relevant to the content being learned, creating a context to facilitate students' comprehension. As a rule, the plan for the teacher talk in the classroom should be carried out one by one.
- Questions and feedback
Investigation shows that a typical Chinese English teacher talk usually focuses on explanation by means of asking questions. These questions are mostly in the form of Yes/No questions, or "Wh-" questions and eliciting questions. Teachers themselves are often eager to answer the raised questions by themselves, depriving students' thinking time for the apparent reason of limited time spent in the classroom and most students are also used to being silent learners. According to theory on second language acquisition, question-answer is positive communication. Teacher-student communication can lead to negotiation of meaning, while good students understand what they are confused about and know what is the most important part of their learning language. In this way, the teacher can learn the extent of the students' comprehension in the class. Considering the traditional practice of Chinese English teachers who are inclined to dominate the set topic(s), content and process, the students cannot involve themselves in active learning and these unequal roles played by both the teacher and his students hinder the smooth communication between learners and their instructor. Therefore, teachers should reduce close-ended questions in favor of open-ended questions to keep students thinking. The questions should encourage the students to reflect on their acquired knowledge, attitudes and beliefs to follow through and justify particular lines of reasoning. These questions raised by the teacher should be motivating, giving chances to some students with easier English by asking some factual questions. Then long enough for students to answer. Try not to interrupt the students' inappropriate answers immediately, because in the course of their presentation, they may correct themselves consciously. If not, the teacher can ask their classmates to help. After the students answer the question(s), make a proper and timely comment. Students are likely to lose their confidence from negative criticism (oral) and punishment from their teacher. However, positive feedback from their teacher can always encourage and stimulate students to think hard in their own way. Even if a student's answer is incomplete or unsatisfactory, the teacher should correct it in an appreciative manner. E.g. "That's all right, can you expand on that?" Or "I appreciate your ideas, but...". To conclude, we as teachers must be fully aware of the role of questions and feedback in English teacher talk.
4. Conclusion
Since an English teacher plays a major role in the traditional Chinese English classroom, teacher talk must be paid enough attention as well as the teaching itself. If a foreign language teacher knows know to make the best use of his talk to his students, the latter can learn the language in a productive way. In general, Chinese English teachers should first improve their own English and teaching methodology, then they can record their own teaching talk and find their own mistakes and adjust accordingly, based on clarity, conciseness, preciseness, relevance and its level of difficulty. In addition, Chinese English teachers should cultivate their linguistic awareness and cultural awareness, even learn some psychology to work with their students in better communication.
About the author
I am a college English teacher in Wenzhou, China. I have had more than ten articles published in some well-known Chinese universities' journals and foreign language newspapers. I am presently involved in setting up a pan-pal network for English learning to my students in China.
Questions or comments about this week's article? Why not post them on our Discussion Forum
