A Study Of The Application Of Interaction Hypothesis To Teacher Talk In Primary School

Along with the promotion of information technology of social life and the globalization of economy, as the most widely used tool to communicate, English is becoming more and more important. But in China, seldom people speak English in their daily life, so English class has been the most important place for the majority of learners to learn English. In English class, Teacher Talk is the main language input for English learners. So Teacher Talk should be paid more attention to. As to primary school students, they have fewer opportunities to be exposed to English. Primary school stage is the crucial period for them to lay foundation for their further study. As a result, the significance of English teachers’ Teacher Talk in primary school is undeniable. But both in China and other countries, the majority of researches of Teacher Talk mainly focus on universities or high schools. Seldom of them relate to primary school. So, by the research of Teacher Talk of the English teachers in primary school, the author aims at providing some advice for English teachers in primary school.The thesis aims to prove that the Teacher Talk guided by Interaction Hypothesis contributes to the positive influence on students’ attitude towards English and their English scores. By means of classroom observation, questionnaires and tests, the author conducts a research on one hundred students from Class Eleven Grade Six and Class Twelve Grade Six in No.5 Primary School of Pearl River. The English teacher of Class Eleven adopts the traditional Teacher Talk and the English teacher of Class Twelve adopts the Teacher Talk guided by Interaction Hypothesis. After the four-month experiment, the English scores of the students in Class Twelve have improved greatly and the students are more interested in English learning than before. As a result, the Teacher Talk guided by Interaction Hypothesis contributes to both attitude towards English and scores.The thesis is composed of introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion and conclusion. Chapter 1 contains the background of the study, the purpose and significance of the study and the organization of the thesis. And the second chapter gives some introduction about Teacher Talk and Interaction Hypothesis. Chapter 3 talks about not only research questions, subjects but also instruments and research procedures. Chapter 4 analyzes the data by SPSS19.0 and goes on some dissussion. Chapter 5 is made up of major findings, limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further researchers.