論中學英語教師課堂用語的有效性(一)

論中學英語教師課堂用語的有效性
廈門外國語學校  呂妹仔
【Abstract】 In secondary schools, English teachers’ classroom language takes an important role in students’ language learning. There is plenty of room for improvement in teachers’ classroom performance, as most of them are suffering from language inadequacy. Ideal teachers are supposed to make good use of their voices to stimulate students to learn as well as have an adequate command of the language they are teaching. Great attention should be attached to the creativity and flexibility in teachers’ language. Besides, English teachers are expected to seize every chance to have natural communication with students in the target language. The quality of English teachers’ classroom language, to a large extent, determines how a lesson can progress and how effectively the students can learn the target language. It can be believed that a pleasant and effective classroom environment will be set up through English teachers’ efforts.
【Key Words】 classroom language; effectiveness; real communication; language learning；Input Hypothesis; classroom environment
 【摘  要】 英語教師的課堂用語對學生的語言習得起着至關重要的作用。因爲目前大多數教師存在着語言能力的.不足，所以教師在課堂用語方面還有很大的空間以待提高。優秀的教師應當很好地利用他們的嗓音去調動學生的學習激情，應當在所教授的語言方面有紮實的功底。語言的創新和多樣性應當爲教師所重視。此外，英語教師應當在課堂上把握任何一次同學生用目標語言交流的機會。英語教師課堂用語的質量高低在很大程度上決定了一堂課的進展情況，決定了學生們能否有效地掌握目標語言。我們有理由相信，透過英語教師的努力，學生們將擁有一個愉悅且有效的課堂語言環境。
 【關鍵詞】 課堂用語; 有效性; 真實交流; 語言習得; 語言輸入假說; 課堂環境
 1. Introduction
 As an English teacher in middle school, the author got to realize the significance of teachers’ outstanding classroom language, which urges the author to have discussion in this essay. Through this thesis, the author mean to give a brief analysis to the existent problems and more significantly, seek to find appropriate ways for improvement in English teaching of secondary schools in China. This essay might be, to some extent, helpful for middle school English teachers to improve the quality of their classroom language. From the point of students’ language learning, teachers are supposed to establish ideal models for students through fluent presentation. Apart from this, the communication between teachers and students is essential because of its emotional impact on students’ motivation to learn a second language. Ideal classroom environment will be set up provided English teachers use classroom language effectively.
 2. Language inadequacy non- native speaker English teachers suffer from
 As a fundamental quality of an English teacher, he must have an adequate command of the language he is teaching. If he suffers from hesitations and uncertainties in his control of the language that are recognized as such by his learners, if he makes errors or is inconsistent in his control of grammar, meaning or usage, then his grasp of the language is inadequate for his job and it becomes an impediment to the learning of his pupils (Strevens, 1977:31). According to the author’s observation and survey, most English teachers in middle schools of China are in an embarrassing situation, suffering from such language inadequacy, which urgently needs transformation.
 The major drawbacks of English teachers’ classroom language are as follows:
 Too much Chinese in class
 Occasionally, mother tongue may still be useful in an English lesson, especially when it would take a long time to explain the meaning or use of a new word in English. However, too much Chinese should not be allowed, as it would undermine the language atmosphere.
 By speaking too much Chinese in class, teachers fail to establish English as the main language of communication between their students and themselves. Because of cultural differences, mother tongue sometimes becomes an obstacle in learning a second language. That is why Chinese students speak and write a lot of Chinglish.
 2.2  Monotony and boredom
 In English class, mere repetition of an expression would bore students. Some teachers give the same feedback, like “good” to students’ answers every day, so that their students fail to learn that there are so many vivid expressions for appreciating something, such as “marvelous”, “fantastic”, “wonderful”, “cool” and “well done”. What’s worse, it will result in students’ loss of interest in English.
 In most classrooms there is very little reason or opportunity for students or teachers to reveal themselves to each other: the relationship is a formal and formalized one for which conventionalities suffice. The teacher is there to teach; the students are there to learn what the teacher or the administration thinks they should learn. The usual greetings are exchanged, conventional questions are asked about materials presented aurally or graphically, and conventional answers arising from the material are expected. Common remarks that may be heard are: “Come to the point, Johnny. We’re not interested in your personal history’, “Don’t ask silly questions’; “That’s nothing to do with it. Didn’t you hear the questions?” As John Holt describes, students may employ mechanisms to defend themselves in class and protect their real selves from the humiliation and embarrassment. The emotional needs of individuals must be understood by teachers if the students are to achieve their maximum potential.
 2.3  Non- real communication
 The real communicative practice between teachers and students are rare. In order to improve students’ oral English, teachers simply ask them to recite a large number of dialogues, without helping them to apply the language in real contexts. Thus, students’ communicative ability is not improved virtually.