教师使用目标语言教学对学生二语学习的影响

教师使用目标语言教学对学生二语学习的影响【摘要】目标语言是否应该作为二语教学的主要语言引起了广大学者的争议，例如，英语课堂中频繁使用英语作为教学语言能否被中国学生接收，并提高英语水平。

笔者通过一系列课堂调研和教学评估来分析目标语言在教学中的使用对于二语学习的影响，发现频繁使用英语进行教学能提高中等程度学习者的英语水平。

不可否认，母语在二语教学中起一定辅助作用，但目标语言在课堂教学中的使用对于二语学习有更重要的积极作用。

【关键词】目标语言；二语教学；二语学习；课堂教学1.introductionlanguage teachers all have developed their own approaches to the use of target language and first language in second language classroom. whether the target language should be used as a main means in the classroom interaction or not has aroused heated discussion among second language teachers. how much target language should teachers use and how much target language teachers expect students to use is also questioned （levine， 2003， p.1）. some teachers believe the frequent use of the target language can not help the students to grasp english grammar and vocabulary effectively， which is required in the examination. while other teachers think the extensive input of the target language will improve students’pronunciation， speaking and listening skills so that they can adapt to english language environment better. the effect of teacher’s use of target language in the classroom on intermediate-level learners’ language learning is crucial to investigate， since it relates to teacher’s professional development and the curriculum improvement.2.planthere is much debate about the use of target language in the classroom and how much it should be used with intermediate-level students. obviously， the use of target language makes no sense if the learners have no second language proficiency or can not understand the majority of the teacher’s speech. on one hand， cook （2001） argued that learners understood grammar and vocabulary better if they were explained by the teacher in their first language. many teachers think the use of the learners’ first language can make the daily organization of the class more effective （franklin， 1990）. on the other hand， it is maintained that learner can communicate as they are in a real-life situation and the gap between the controlled practice in the classroom and the unpredicted situation in real-life communication is narrowed when teaching in target language （halliwell & jones，1991）. extensive input of the target language is one of the ten principles of instructed language learning （ellis， 2005）. teacher’s use of target language in the classroom can help students to build confidence in real-life communication in future. bateman （2008） suggested that teachers who maximized the use of target language was more successful than those who did not prefer to use it； and their lessons were better prepared because of the high requirements of teaching in target language； students seemed to have better ability to comprehend the second language than those who did not receive second language teaching from the teacher.the review of the literature provides me some theory basis for my investigation and influenced my action research as well as the interpretation of my observation. my investigation focuses on the effect of my target language use in the classroom on the intermediate-level learners’ second language acquisition and how i can make students feel involved and keep high motivations when using the target language. i plan to conduct the classroom investigation for three weeks using action research. i will largely use the target language in the classroom in order to investigate how my intermediate-level learners respond to the extensive secondlanguage input and how the use of target language can improve their language proficiency. my research questions are：1.whether the extensive use of target language in the classroom is effective to intermediate-level students’language learning？2. will the students tend to use the target language themselves due to the extensive target language input？3.actionto answer my questions of the classroom investigation，i conducted an action research on non-english major freshmen in my college. these students are intermediate-level learners who have studied english as a course for 6 years but are poor in english listening and speaking. there are 50 students in my classroom. i encouraged my students to communicate in english as much as possible in the classroom， for one of the most important principles of a communicative approach is to use the target language extensively in interacting （crichton， 2009）. most of the time， i did not speak in chinese in the class but in english. i tried to create an active and warm atmosphere when teaching in target language in order to make students feel comfortable and willing to engage in the interaction （drnyei， 2001）. in the processof teaching， i frequently checked the understanding of the students by asking questions. i would tell them the difficulty if they confronted some challenging tasks in order to reduce their anxiety in communicating. i stimulated students’output of the target language by actively interacting with them and asking questions （crichton， 2009）. one of ellis’s （2005） 10 principles is that successful language learning should be provided the chance for output. swain （1985） stated that second language learners spoke confidently when they were encouraged to speak.the data collection consisted of the following steps： 1.i asked the students to take a listening comprehension test at the beginning of the investigation. 2. the classroom interactions were video- and audio-recorded by me. 3. at the end of the three-week classes， all students were asked to take a listening post-test. 4. after the three-week courses，some selected students were interviewed on their reactions to target language use. a combination of these instruments was to ensure the validity of the study.4.o bservationi videotaped and audio-recorded the detailed classroom interaction for 3 times during the three weeks.video-recording can capture the non-verbal behavior of the teacher and students as well as their speech and facial expressions （crichton， 2009）. the speech was transcribed and coded. i found that students made contribution to the classroom interaction by responding actively using the target language. from their responses， i could see their understanding of my expressions and acceptance of communicating in the second language. there were also frustrating experiences when using the target language in explaining some difficult sentences or deep concepts： the students just looked at me with no response. at this time，the re-explanation with the help of the first language took functions. as i tried to maintain the use of english， the students became impatient until i changed to use the first language to explain. if the students were motivated， it was easier to go on using the target language.the outcome was also supported by the interview. in the interviews， students thought that the use of target language in the classroom improve their communication skills and pronunciation. they confessed the practice of the target language was frustrating sometimes， but they would feel comfortable to try it if i using different strategies tomotivate them.the scores of the students’ listening post-test improved compared with the listening pre-test. therefore， the students need the continuous input of the target language to develop their listening skills. target language use also influenced their communication skills. when i used english to interact with them， i found that they unconsciously responded me in english. the more i input the target language，the more output from the students would occur.5.reflectionall of the research questions are answered according to the recordings， tests， and interviews. from my classroom investigation， i find that the use of target language can improve students’ pronunciation and speaking skills. they can better remember vocabulary， phrases and other language items because of the repetition of the target language. ellis and sinclair （1996） mentioned the repetition of the target language in daily class contributed to the vocabulary and phrase learning. although the classroom setting is not as natural as real-life situation， the extensive apply of the target language will reduce the limitations of the classroom interaction to a large extent. the students would be moreconfident in the real-life communication in second language in future. all the benefits described above suggest that the frequent exposition to the target language supports the intermediate-level students’ language acquisition and helps them to build communication capacity in the second language.i used the target language extensively in the class and expected the students would benefit from consistent hearing it. the investigation proves that the students tend to use more english to interact in the classroom if i employ it continuously.the observation of the videotape showed that the students would not use the target language if i did not stimulate them or arouse their interest. the students will engage in the interaction when i draw their attention by practicing interesting activities， asking questions， and check their misunderstandings. the use of target language in the classroom will be effective if i help them to comprehend the meaning and build confidence in the second language communication （crichton， 2009）. the investigation find the majority use of target language in the classroom is accepted by the students， but using the target language in the classroom exclusively is not appropriate forintermediate-level students. expansion of the target language use is considered as a principle in second language teaching， but the use of first language also has its functions （levine， 2003）. the use of the first language can serve as assistance while necessary such as explaining difficult items.the consistent use of the target language can help our teachers to find a suitable pattern of the language use in the classroom and we will not feel anxious in using it in future. the premise of using the target language in teaching is that the learners’ english proficiency can understand most of teacher’s speeches. as students reach higher levels of english proficiency， it is easier to use more second language in teaching （betaman， 2008）. it is not practical to use 100 percent second language in intermediate-level classroom，but the effort of teaching in target language as much as possible is beneficial to intermediate-level learners’language learning. through the investigation， i gain insights into what degree of using the target language is appropriate for my students， how i can motivate them better and when to use the first language to assist my teaching. further investigation on this topic can be conducted on moreclassrooms and by more teachers， since the results will be more valid considering a larger sample.【references】[1]bateman， b. e. （2008）. student teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about using the target language in the classroom. foreign language annals， 41（1）， 11-28.[2]cook， v. j. （2001）. using the first language in the classroom. cmlr， 57（3）， 402-423.[3]crichton， h. （2009）. ‘value added’ modern languages teaching in the classroom： an investigation into how teachers’ use of classroom target language can aid pupils’communication skills. language learning journal， 37（1），19-34.[4]drnyei， z. （1994）. motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. the modern language journal， 78（3）， 273-284.[5]drnyei， z. （2001）. motivational strategies in the language classroom. cambridge： cambridge university press.[6]ellis， n. c.， & sinclair， s. （1996）. working memory in the acquisition of vocabulary and syntax： putting language in good order. quarterly journal of experimental psychology，49， 234-250.[7]ellis， r. （2005）. principles of instructed language learning. an international journal of educational technology and applied linguistics， 33（2）， 209-224.[8]franklin， c. （1990）. teaching in the target language：problems and prospects. the language learning journal， 2 ，20-24.[9]halliwell， s.， & jones， b. （1991）. on target：teaching in the target language. london： cilt.[10]levine， g. （2003）. student and instructor beliefs and attitudes about target language use， first language use，and anxiety： report of a questionnaire study. the modern language journal， 87， 343-364.[11]swain， m. （1985）. communicative competence： some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. in s. gass & c. madden （eds.）， input in second language acquisition （pp. 235-256）. new york： newbury house.。