Gender-related Differences Of Teacher Talk In Senior High School English Classrooms

English teacher’ talk is of great importance in the process of students’ English learning. It is not only the tool for teachers to carry out teaching plans, but also the important source of learners’ language input. At the same time, there are differences in teachers’ speech style between male teachers and female teachers. So it is significant to explore the features of English teacher talk of different different genders and the effects of teacher talk on students’ learning. The study of teacher talk plays an important role in improving the quality of teacher talk, eliminating the negative effects caused by gender differences and improving teaching quality. This thesis studies teacher talk from the following four aspects: male and female teachers’ differences in the amount of teacher talk, questioning, feedback and these factors influence on students’ English learning.Based on the Input and Output Hypothesis, the Interactive Hypothesis and the IRF discourse analysis’ Theory, the present paper conducted an investigation on gender-related teacher talk. The researcher chose 4 English teachers(2 women and 2 men) in Hui NO.2Middle School of Guanghe County, by classroom observation and recording, then transcribed.After class, the researcher conducted a questionnaire survey and interviews by 212 students of the four teachers. Then analyze the data and result, draw the conclusion at last.The results of the collected data prove that there indeed exist gender differences of teacher talk between male teachers and female teachers:(1) Amount of teacher talk: both male and female teacher talk 50%of the time in the classroom account for female teachers talk more than male teachers;(2) Teacher questioning: both male and female teachers tend to ask display questions rather than referential questions, however, female teacher ask more than male teachers;(3) Teacher feedback: both male and female teachers tend to use positive feedback, however, female teachers’ feedback are more than male teacher’s.(4) Female teachers affect students’ learning style and behavior by their careful and gentle manners.However, male teachers enlighten students’ thinking style with their extensive knowledge.Although this research has many limitations and disadvantages, It is still expected thatthis research could trigger the thinking of difference of different genders’ teacher talk, alsoprovide a guideline for teachers to improve teaching methods and strategies to better fulfill teaching tasks. Besides, it is a meaningful attempt in in the fields of education and linguistics.