A Review of Research in Teacher Talk of English Classroom Instruction: Summary and the Way Forward

Abstract

Studies on teacher talk have received much emphasis in foreign language teaching. It is irreplaceable in language classroom teaching and the process of language acquisition. This research takes literature review in chronological order, which is based on the studies on teacher talk at home and abroad in order to make a summary and outlook on teacher talk in English classroom instruction. The research finds that scholars at home and abroad tend to use IRE model, input hypothesis, interactive theory to explore teacher talk. The research methods and research objects tend to be diverse. However, scholars at home and abroad have their own opinions on teacher talk in terms of questioning, meaning negotiation and so on. The research objects of teacher talk are more specific in China than that in western countries. For example, Chinese scholars made a comparison to investigate the effects on pronunciation of different teachers in English classroom instruction. Last but not least, the future studies on teacher talk can be done in four aspects: constructing our own native theories, exploring interdisciplinary studies on teacher talk, improving research methods and completing studies on teacher talk in primary and secondary schools.