Analysis of the Interpersonal Meaning on Teacher Talk: Take the 16th National Junior High School English Teaching Seminar as an Example

Abstract

In English classroom instruction, teacher talk is a critical role to impart comprehensible language to students and serves as a medium for the application of pedagogical strategies. The implementation of the English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education requires junior high school English teachers to be more conscious of the ways in which their teaching incorporate emotional attitudes and values. Consequently, the analysis of excellent junior high school English teacher talk in terms of interpersonal function theory, proves instrumental for front-line teachers to reflect on their discourse regarding student emotion, teacher role, and the teacher-student relationships. This study endeavors to unravel the interpersonal significance embedded in teacher talk based on the mood system of the Systemic Functional Grammar model advanced by Halliday. And the research data are carefully collected through observing and recording classroom discourse of 5 distinguished junior high school English teachers in the 16th National Junior High School English Teaching Seminar. Based on the research findings, the study proposes pragmatic strategies aimed at refining teacher talk in order to foster an equitable and harmonious classroom atmosphere.