A Study Of The Interpersonal Functions Of Teacher Talk In Senior High School English Class

Being a teacher does not merely refer to an identity, but an occupation related to speaking as well, in other words, Teacher Talk (TT). Teacher Talk plays an important role in teaching, especially in language teaching. It is not only a tool for teachers to implement their teaching plans, but also an important source of language input for learners.This study is designed to explore the impersonal functions of TT within the theoretical framework of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG), specifically from the aspects of mood, modality and discourse markers, adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This research is aimed at answering the following questions:1. What are the teacher’s roles in the New Curriculum Standard?2. How to build a good and harmonious teacher-student relationship in the new era?The research subjects are Teacherl (T1) and Teacher2(T2), both winners of the Seventh National High School English Teaching Contest in2010and T3and T4, both teachers from Wenling City (county level), Zhejiang Province. Based on the transcripts of TTs in the videos, a comparison is made between these two groups of teachers regarding the use of mood, modality and discourse markers.The study reveals that when it comes to mood, both national prize-winning teachers (T1,T2) and municipal prize-winning teachers (T3,T4) employ a larger number of declaratives and a smaller number of imperatives in TT. In comparison with T3and T4, T1and T2use more declaratives and interrogatives but fewer imperatives. T1and T2use more declaratives and interrogatives or imperatives with a tag to give orders to sound more polite and negotiable. Regarding modality, all the four teachers employ more median and low value modality to give instructions and offer information. However, T1and T2use a larger number and a wider variety of modal expressions to achieve that purpose. In addition, a higher rate of high value modality means that T1and T2are more confident in themselves. In terms of discourse markers, T1and T2employ a larger number and a wider variety of discourse markers than T3and T4.The findings show that compared with T3and T4, T1and T2are weakening their traditional role as an authority and highlighting an equal and harmonious teacher-student relationship in class. T1and T2exchange feelings and opinions with their students, encourage them and offer them help when they meet trouble in fulfilling their tasks instead of offering only book knowledge, or giving them answers immediately as T3and T4usually do and their classes are student-centered. T1and T2seem more democratic and their classes tend to be more open, which make their students" thinking more divergent and active on the one hand, but a greater challenge may come from their students on the other hand. T1and T2are not only an information provider, an organizer, a guide, but also a facilitator, a helper, a participant and a partner in class. They create an equal, harmonious, relaxing and pleasant relationship with their students by adopting negotiable and softened tone, the median and low value modality, rich discourse markers, natural emotional communication and offering students timely help.The current study aims to arouse teachers’and educators’awareness of TT in the classroom. It aims to help new and ordinary teachers to improve their teaching language and teaching efficiency, to promote their professional development as well, thus helping teachers adapt to the requirements of a new round of education reform.