The Characteristics and Choice of Teaching Language Introduction

陳小英

A successful class may be determined by many factors，such as teaching materials，teaching purpose，teaching aids，the interest of the students，the organization of the class，the kind of methods and language the teacher always uses in class，and so on.Teaching language is so important that we cannot ignore.Why is teaching language so important？ Even if teaching content and teaching purpose are the same，even if teaching aids and teaching demands are the same.When different teachers use different languages to conduct their lessons，they may get different results.Simple words，sentences and structures are easily understood by the students，but complicated sentences and structures which contain too many formal terms or phrases are difficult to understand；vivid and humorous language can make students interested in the lesson，but repetitious and flat words will make the lesson dry and dull.

This paper examines the characteristics of teaching language and puts forward some constructive proposals on the choice of teaching language on the basis of a lot of teaching activities and personal experiences.

ChapterⅠ

The characteristics of teaching language

1.1 Every trade or profession has its own language

A farmers language may be very simple and plain，and it may contain many slang words.A generals language contains many orders that are succinct，strict and sharp.The language of a teacher，who passes on knowledge in class，can neither be as casual as a farmer nor be as strict and sharp as a general.Compared with other languages，teaching language has its own characteristics.

1.2 The characteristics of teaching language

As a kind of professional language，teaching language is colloquial and standard，educational and scientific，colorful and simple.Its also the combination of oration and dialogue.（LiOu，1997，P48）

The attractiveness of a teachers language comes from two aspects.The first is its accuracy，exactness，vividness and flexibility.Accuracy means language input should be scientific，which can help the students obtain a pleasant sensation of seeking knowledge quickly.Exactness means organizing the language properly；the key to this is mastering the “quantity” and “quality” of the language.In order to achieve vividness，you should know that each word is not only the reference of the object but also permeated with rich tones and temperament；each word twinkles with humor and wisdom.Flexibility must be adapted to different students and contents.（LiOu，1997，P48）

The second is the attractiveness of speech sound，which is formed of pitch，volume，timbre and speech of sound.Pitch and volume should be controlled in some range，and can rise and fall with rhyme scheme.The speed of sound should be well coordinated with teaching contents.（LiOu，1997，P48）

In addition to all the above，students hope that the teachers language can be filled with content，feeling，freshness，logic and imagination.Since teaching language has so many characteristics，teachers have to pay attention to the choice of it.

Chapter Ⅱ

The Choice of Teaching Language

2. The Choice of Teaching Language

As a teacher，you are not only a knowledge propagator，but also a director and an actor.Then a class is your program，teaching language is an important method you use to produce your program.How to choose proper and helpful language to hold your class is a kind of art.

2.1 I Choose simple，vivid and effective language to lead in the content

Lead-in language in fact plays an important role in class.Teachers should use simple，vivid but effective language to lead in the content .The sentences and structures you use should be simple and your words should be succinct.They should also give the students relative hints.The following is an example of leading in of a dialogue.

Once I was asked to have a class.The lesson was a dialogue between a patient “Sharon”，and “ Doctor Yang” at the doctors office.Sharon ate something wrong，so she had to go to see a doctor.The students were required to master some phrases and sentences often used at the doctors，such as “ Can I help you”，what s the matter”，and so on.How did I lead in the dialogue？

That day was the second day of their new term，so I asked the students，“Did you have a good time during your holidays？”

“Yes！” they replied loudly.

“What did you do at home？” I asked.

Some said sleeping，others shopping or eating.When I heard eating，I continued，“Oh，how wonderful！ But what did you eat then？”

“Cake，apples，bananas…” they counted one by one.

I couldnt help smiling.“Very delicious，right？ But take care of yourselves and dont eat too much.What ‘s more，you must pay attention to the food.If you eat something wrong，you will feel sick or terrible，right？”

“When you feel sick or terrible，where will you go？” I asked，raising my index finger.

“Go to the toilet，” a boy answered loudly without thinking.All the students couldnt help laughing.

A dialogue class is often made up of leading，listening，reading，performance，explanation and homework.After listening，I checked the answers with the students，then has them open their books and read the text silently to find out more details.When it was time for them to act out the dialogue，I cleared my voice intentionally and announced，“Now it is a good chance for you to practice if you want to be famous film stars in the future.Who would like to act out the dialogue？” Two boys raised their hands.They both felt happy during the performance，which exceeded my expectations.When they finished，I couldnt help asking the patient，“Are you really sick and serious？ You are so happy！” the audience laughed.The patient felt somewhat embarrassed.“但由此可見，你是一個多么樂觀，堅強(qiáng)的男孩”（But from this we can see what an optimistic and strong boy you are.）I praised him in Chinese so that every student could understand.No sooner had I finished than the whole class burst into laughter happily，including the boy himself.Then I walked among them and suggested，“We should act out the dialogue with feelings，right？”

“Yes！” they agreed heartily.

“Any other student who would like to have a try？”

This time two girls stood up.They devoted themselves very much to the plot，especially the patient.She even knitted her brows and answered the doctor painfully.When the doctor touched her stomach，the patient cried out，“Ouch！ Ouch！”

“Well done！” we couldnt help clapping our hands.

I knew that the next step was to explain some language points to them，but I didnt want to tell the students directly since we were all immersed in the pleasure of the performance，so I suggested，“You have done a good job a moment ago.Now，boys and girls，shall we go back to appreciate the script --- 劇本？”（Adding the Chinese meaning of “script” because they hadnt learned the word before.）

“Yes.” All of them were willing to follow me.

Then I started to explain the language points.

By paying careful attention to the students responses and mood，I was able to move on smoothly and naturally from reading to performance to explanation.Although what connects each part is not the focus of the class，it will affect the result of the whole class.Vivid and humorous language can make the class more complete and attractive，whereas trite and dull language may make the students tired and bored.

For the above-mentioned reasons，you may ask，“Can a teacher prepare all the sentences and words he might speak in class？” in many cases，he cant，because the situation is always changing.A teacher might encounter many unexpected incidents，so the choice of teaching language needs to be flexible.

2.3 Teaching language should be flexible

All things are changing unceasingly in the world，so is language.Being a kind of professional language used in class，teaching language has formed some permanent distinguishing features，but it is not rigid.Indeed，it must be flexible.

2.3.1 Teaching language changes with different students and teaching contents

Different students，different languages.The psychology and attentiveness of college students，middle-school students and primary-school students are quite different.When you face different students，you should use different languages.

College students hope that your language can keep pace with the times and bring them more information.If you are a teacher of middle-school students，you should not use too many phrases popular in colleges.You should use common and simple words or sentences with which they are familiar，because their comprehension ability is limited to some extent.But when you stand before those naive children，you should try to make your voice and tone sweet and childish since children often live in the world of fairy tales.

Different teaching content，different languages.When a teacher is explaining a difficult point to his students，he should use common and simple words that are easy for the students to understand.Sometimes he needs to use a vivid figure of speech.But when giving a definition of something，the language must be objective，scientific and logical.

2.3.2 Even when you are mentioning the same thing，your language can be flexible.

Just as you should speak different words when you deal with different students and situations，even when you are mentioning the same thing，your language can be different.

Last year，an English teacher called Candy in our school asked for leave.I was asked to take her place to teach four lessons.She told me she always had an activity called “one-minute speech” before each lesson.Surely，I should continue “one-minute speech” before class.But how should I use simple and vivid words to make the speech interesting.I asked a student in Candys class how Candy conducted this part of teaching.The student told me that their teacher Candy always said：“Its sbs turn to make the speech.”.And the student also told me that they were not interested in such kind of speech.I thought maybe the words Candy used were always the same；it cannot interest the students.So I decided to bring something new to the students.

The first day I said，“Now，before our class today，who would like to make a one-minute speech？” the second day I nearly forgot it，so when one of the classmates gave me some hints，I suddenly saw the light and said to the students，“Oh，as a rule，we should ask a student to give us his one-minute speech，right？ Whose turn is it？” the third day I announced immediately as I walked into the classroom，“Ladies and gentlemen，lets enjoy Johns speech.I know he has made a good preparation，right？” the last day my invitation was，“Its time for the one-minute speech.Lets invite Mary to come to the blackboard.Welcome，Mary”.Then we all cheered.In fact I had only one purpose though I said four different sentences.They have this activity every day，but if the teacher uses the same words and sentences each time，the students can not get anything new from the order.But if you think about it for a while and express it in different ways，you can attract the students and bring something new to them.Those students who are careful may remember your words and appreciate you；they may regard you as a person who is always lovely，vivid and young because you like variety.

2.4 Consider the feeling of the students

Teenagers are emotionally sensitive and fragile.Sometimes the teacher doesnt think that he has said anything wrong，but the students felt hurt，so teachers should be careful about their teaching language.Dont use language that may easily hurt the students，even when they have made mistakes in class.For example，if the student can not answer your question immediately，you had better not say，“Hurry，were all waiting for you，” or “Why cant you answer this simple question since I have mentioned it so many times？” these kinds of words will hurt the students feelings.Then they may keep silent next time even though they know the answer，just because they dont want to co-operate with you.

However，the result will be different if you express the same meaning like this.

※“Dont be nervous.I know you know how to solve the problem.We want to hear your opinion.”

※“It doesnt matter，.Maybe you need more time to think about it，right？ When you finish，please raise your hand.Now，lets see how some other students solve the problem.”

The students will feel grateful and be more active in thinking when they hear your encouragement.Remember that praise and encouragement are more helpful than criticism.So in many schools，a teaching method called “successful teaching” is very popular，and the same is true in our school

2.5 Teaching language should reflect a teachers style

Personality is an important concept in modern society.Middle-school students will never be tired of seeking personality.In their eyes，teachers should have their own styles，too.No matter whether your language is humorous，vivid or serious，simple，unadorned or flowery，graceful，unrestrained or straightforward，you should have your own style.

While I was studying at college，there was a foreign teacher called Ben，who is very humorous and lovely.We never felt nervous and strained in Bens class.When we saw him the first time，we asked，“Ben，where are you from？”

“From my mother，” he said，blinking his eyes like a little boy.

One afternoon one of my classmates in our class was late for Bens class.He raised his voice and said “Good morning，my boy.” before he said “Sorry.” The boy couldnt help laughing when he heard “Good morning，” but he was never late again.Bens humor not only made the atmosphere light，but also gave the boy a clear hint of reprimand.

When Ben was about to leave the college，a girl in our class asked，“Ben，can I go to America with you？”

“Of course，my darling，” Ben replied with a sweet voice，“if my suitcase is big enough.”

That is Ben，a humorous teacher .His words were always unexpected and made us laugh.Every teacher should form his own language in the course of teaching.

2.6 The use of body language in class

2.6.1 Body language

How to express is as important as what to express.Attention to the choice of sound language is not enough，for you still need to pass knowledge on to your students successfully.You need the help of another kind of language-body language.

Body language is any nonverbal communication，including gestures，eye contact，facial expressions，and posture，all of which can help you to exchange your idea or feelings with other people more effectively.

2.6.2 The significance of body language

Proper use of body language can attract the attention of students effectively and raise the quality of exchange between students and teacher.（Ma Changlong，1999，P8）

The teachers voice，speed and tone，students familiarity with the words and phrases，newness and originality of content are all stimuli to the students.But gestures and expressions of a teacher can affect the students directly.It can help the teacher express his thoughts and opinions more accurately and vividly，and attract the students interest to the teaching content and enable them to remember the knowledge they have learned.（Ma Changlong，1999，P8）

2.6.3 The use of body language

A teacher can provide students with information of give them orders through his expressions，gestures，motion and behavior，which are more convenient，vivid and attractive than explaining in words，and can give the students a deep impression.（Ma Changlong，1999，P9）

For younger students in particular，a teacher must often restrain the range of vocabulary and spoken English when explaining language points in English.Body language can then act as a useful supplement to his expressions，especially when he wants to explain something abstract or something that is easy to understand but hard to express.（Ma Changlong，1999，P9

As a teacher，you should pay attention to your voice，pronunciation，gestures and motion.Your voice should be moderate，neither too loud nor too soft.Your speaking speed should be moderate，too.If you speak too fast，the students will be confused.What is more，it will reflect that you lack confidence.When you want to tell the students specific information or emphasize something，it is necessary for you to slow down your speed.

Mistakes made in pronunciation will affect not only your expression，but also the pronunciation of the students.They may regard the wrong pronunciation as the correct one and imitate you，so your pronunciation should be correct.

Your posture will reflect your self-esteem and the students opinion of you.Straighten your back，and stand naturally and confidently in front of the students no matter how many students are looking at you.You will fail in giving the students a good impression if youre overcautious.Most of the time，you stand on the platform，explaining or writing，but sometimes you need to walk around the classroom.For instance，when you want to check their homework，or remind some students whose attention is diverted by something else，or a students opinion clearly，you must move around.But this time，do not stand too close to the students or always stop in front of one or two of them.They will feel nervous and embarrassed.

Do not put your hands in your pockets，because it seems a little too casual.Also avoid crossing your arms when you are listening to the students opinions，for you will leave them the impression that you have set yourself high above the masses，that you are sacred and inviolable.The distance between the students and you has been enlarged unconsciously.Some teachers never stop walking around when they invigilate exams.This walking may interrupt the students or make them nervous and bored since the whole class are working against time to finish the exercises.You had better trust your students and keep yourself on the platform except when they need you.

Eye contact is a good way to attract the students.Your eye contact should reach every student，so that they will realize that you are speaking to him or her on purpose.But do not stare at one or two students，for they will feel embarrassed，and the other students will think that they are being excluded.

Since you appear in class，a public place，you need to pay attention to more details.Your clothes and manner can give the students a good or bad impression.Your clothes should be dignified.Excessive or ostentations adornments may divert the students attention，so you had better choose the simple ones.

Conclusion

In fact，language is both concrete and abstract，and there is no exception to teaching language.As a kind of language used in class，teaching language has its own characteristics，it is colloquial and standard，educational and scientific，colorful and simple.It is also a combination of oration and dialogue.Generally speaking，it is impossible for a teacher to preplan all his teaching language since language is always changing according to different students and teaching con tent，but he needs to pay attention to the choice of teaching language.In order to express our meaning more accurately，vividly and succe ssfully，we often combine spoken language with body language.

Without doubt，the choice of teaching language is a kind of art.Only when you are willing to study teaching language，can you find its marvelous function.

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