A Study Of Gender Differences In Classroom English Discourses Of Non-English Major Undergraduates

Different from previous studies of language and gender, this paper is to investigate gender differences in English classroom discourse on Chinese campus, with focus on conversational patterns and communication strategies, with the ultimate aim of proposing suggestions on improving the learning effects of English oral practice for university non-English majors.Based on the theories of Conversational Analysis and communication strategies, within the framework of Politeness Principle, this thesis proposes three questions to be resolved:1. Are there gender differences in conversational patterns and communication strategies in classroom English discourses of non-English major undergraduates? In which aspects are they manifested?2. What are the influences from these differences?3. How to make use of the differences for enhancing the learning and teaching effects of English speaking competency?Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed in this study, with empirical study being dominantly used and descriptive one serving as additional explanations for analysis.120 non-English major sophomores (62 males and 58 females) in Shandong University were selected as targeted subjects to finish a questionnaire about Gender Differences in Classroom English discourses with 104 valid copies (53 from males and 51 from females) collected back, and 16 subjects (8 males and females respectively) were randomly chosen to attend an informal interview with the author and Professor Wang to provide supplementary information needed for this study. After that a data collection is followed and SPSS 17.0 is adopted for data analysis.Eventually, the study arrives at some useful findings:significant differences do exist in the conversational patterns, such as topics, interruption, turns and floors, and adoption of Code-switching and Substitution. This research ends with some implications for English classroom teaching and learning, in the hope of shedding light on improving English speaking competence of university undergraduates.