A Case Study Of Teacher Talk In Autonomous Learning Classroom

As indicated in The New English Curriculum Standard for English Teaching, cultivating students’autonomous learning ability is one of the primary purposes of English teaching. This suggests that autonomous learning has attracted more and more attention in our country. The discussion of autonomous learning has received attentions in the field of foreign language learning and teaching since the1970s abroad and the1990s at home. But the problem lies in that most of the researches are focused on the introduction of overseas studies on autonomous learning, or the importance of cultivating university students’autonomous leaning ability and strategy. Studies on autonomous learning taken in autonomous learning class in senior high school are limited.With Tianjin Middle School as the field school, this study focuses on teacher talk in autonomous learning class, with an English teacher of Grade One in Senior Section and her46students participating in this research as the subject. This study is conducted through classroom observation, recording and transcription, and interview, aiming at exploring requirements for teachers in autonomous learning classrooms and making workable suggestions on teaching in autonomous learning classrooms.This study probes into teacher talk in autonomous learning from three aspects: the amount of teacher talk, teacher question and teacher feedback, and yields the following findings:(1) The percentage of teacher talk in autonomous learning classrooms is twice of that of student talk; however, it decreases compared with that in traditional teacher-centered classrooms. And time of other activities in autonomous class is much more than that in traditional classes.(2) Teacher’s display questions far exceed referential questions, and the function of referential questions is performed by using descriptive talk.(3) After students’discussion, the teacher gives detailed feedback with individuals as the top target and then the group. Positive feedback is more employed than negative feedback to enhance students’ confidence.Since this study is a case study on autonomous learning conducted in Tianjin Middle School, it still needs to be further researched whether the results are appropriate in autonomous learning of other schools.