2.3 Teacher-student Interaction 3

2.3.1 Definition of Teacher-student Interaction 3

2.3.2 Previous Approaches to Teacher-student Interaction Analysis 4

2.4 Theoretical Basis 5

2.4.1 Interaction Hypothesis 5

2.4.2 Krashen’s Input Hypothesis 6

2.4.3 Swain’s Output Hypothesis 6

2.4.4 Swain’s Recent Notion: Output in Dialogue 7

2.4.5 Cooperative Learning 8

3. Characteristics of Classroom Interaction 9

3.1 The Student-centered in Interactive Subjects 9

3.2 The Communicative Tasks in Interactive contents 9

3.3 The Group Activities in Interactive pattern 9

4. Classroom Observation and Analysis 10

4.1 Purpose 10

4.2 Subjects 10

4.3 Instrument 10

4.4 Procedure 10

4.5 Date Analysis 11

5. Conclusion 12

5.1 Findings 12

5.2 Problems 12

5.3 Strategies 13

5.4 Limitations 13

References 14

Appendix 15 

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Traditional grammar-translation method has long occupied China’s English class and teacher’s verbal behaviors play a large part in class. Most students are long used to accepting what teacher said and write knowledge down. Because of too much attention to the results of examination, both teachers and students gradually become test-oriented in terms of classroom practices. Though students may have a good command of grammar, they are unable to express themselves freely in real communication. (Wang, 2006)

As the development of society, the frequent contacts with the foreign countries are very common. People are gradually aware of English’s crucial role in the communicational process. For that reason, our English teaching must gear to the need of communicational tasks. In order to reform teaching concept, to cultivate some English practical abilities, to enhance the efficiency of classroom teaching and to train students’ self-teaching ability, we must take some reforms in the English teaching model aspect. Therefore, a new English Syllabus for junior high school students was developed with a new set of pedagogic principles in China in 2001. 

Both domestic and foreign research shows the importance of interaction in English class. Different definition is given to classroom interaction by many scholars. For example, classroom interaction refers to verbal and nonverbal language occurring in classroom (Richares and Platt, 1992). And classroom interaction is the communication between teacher and students for special purposes in class. What’s more, with the emergence of the interactive theory, linguists found good classroom interaction contributes to language learning and development of students. Teacher also benefits from classroom interaction.

At the present stage of my research, I select the following relationships and factors as some potential research focuses for me to concentrate on in my further study of the issue identified so far: