Teacher Talk in Pre-Service English Teachers’ Microteaching and Factors Affecting its Configuration

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate pre-service English teachers’ teacher talk in microteaching and the factors affecting its configuration. To this end, it included ⅰ) more elaborated categorization of teacher talk, ⅱ) more comprehensive research focus unbound by particular types of teacher talk, and ⅲ) more factors beyond English proficiency that may affect the configuration of teacher talk. Thirty pre-service English teachers participated in the study and their microteaching was audiotaped. Based on the analysis of teacher talk using ANOVA, the study confirmed that the configuration of teacher talk varied both in terms of major types and sub-types. Among the major types, ‘Instructing’ was used the most while ‘Cognitive structuring’ was the least used during microteaching. Concerning sub-types, ‘Neutral instructing’ was used most among the ‘Instructing’ and ‘Referential question’ was used most among the ‘Questioning.’ The study using Kendall’s tau-b correlation and a Fisher’s Exact Test confirmed the factors affecting the teacher talk: the pre-service teachers’ oral English proficiency, their experience as a teacher and as a student in an English-medium class. The results suggest that the pre-service teachers with higher oral proficiency, more teaching experience in English, and more learning experience in an English-medium class used the types of teacher talk that can better promote not only instruction but also interactions with their students.