Our spoken language dictates how we bond, exchange information and show power. Our speech and paralinguistic features are dependent on the context of the situation. It is the latter factors which guide our conversation and actions along with the way we choose to communication to particular people and groups of people. Conversely, these ideas also apply to the structured setting of the classroom. In a classroom, one expects formality and that teachers have power over students. Although, even these ideals are variable, according to the context.
One of the main purposes of a classroom setting and a teacher-student relationship is for teacher to show their authority over students in order to maintain control of the classroom. This is evident in transcript A, where the teacher begins her lesson with a greeting; ‘come in’, ‘thank you’ as well as an explanation of the lesson plan; ‘we are going to be looking at some poetry’. The use of vocabulary here is significant as it is assertive and clearly indicates that the teacher is ready to commence work. Our expectations of power in a classroom are that teachers have the ability to raise their volume at students in order to silence conversation and control the class. An example of this is shown when the teacher addresses a particular student; ‘Paul’, which is accompanied by a pause. The break here clearly implies she is waiting for the student to be quiet. Also, the teacher wants to get the student’s attention. This suggests that the power and the lack of verbal commentary indicate the student is aware of the teacher’s expectations implying a professional bond already. According to the Accommodation Theory, one should adjust their speech to accommodate the person we are addressing. The studen...
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...y off tomorrow’ and the student replies; ‘bye miss’. Both the teacher and student are leaving the classroom on a positive note. On the other hand, there can be a negative bond, which can be seen in transcript C. The teacher begins her lesson by establishing her power over the students and speaks with an assertive tone; ‘what do we do when we want to ask a question’. The student apologies to the teacher although they are unaware of what the teacher was implying which was that the student should have put up their hand if they wanted to speak; which is a general expectation in the classroom. However, the student is challenging this expectation. The teacher interrupts the student, showing her authority. Although, the student then mutters ‘for god’s sake’, as the student is clearly annoyed at the teacher. Therefore, the student has violated Lakoff’s Politeness Principle.
Mr. Prud’homme, a substitute teacher for the summer session, went to Gene and Finny to discipline them the next morning for missing dinner, but he was soon won over by Finny’s ebullient talkativeness and leaves without giving punishment. Mr. Patch-Withers, the substitute headmaster, held tea that afternoon. Most of the students and faculty conversed awkwardly; Finny, on the other hand, proved he’s a great conversationalist. As Mr. ...
Many people believe verbal communication to be a very powerful way of expressing oneself. Words gain there power when the volume is raised and lowered alternatively to make a point. Additionally, the influence of speech can manifest itself in a number of ways. It can be used to humiliate, to intimidate, to flirt and to threaten, all of which are integral and pragmatic strategies to win a power struggle.
Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burroughs, N. F., Kearney, P., & Plax, T. G. (1989). Compliance-resistance in the college classroom. Communication Education, 38, 214–229.
Communication is the foundation of any society. Humans are interactive beings that must communicate in order to survive. Humans develop communication skills as infants; learning to yell when something is needed, cry when something is painful, and smile when feeling happy. As babies age they learn words; eventually learning to compose sentences allowing them to express their feelings or desires. Humans finally learn to communicate within different parts of their life with different forms of communication such as letters, spoken, visual, and more. As one ages, they become aware of the different rules of communication used with certain people and situations; such as learning to speak to a teacher in a different manner than how one talks to their friends. While doing this, people are unconsciously starting to learn how to conform in the different discourse communities. Discourse communities are an essential part of life, and learning to communicate in those communities is just as vital.
In her article “Schools Weak on Strong Silence”, Adi Bloom describes that there are two types of silences present in schools, weak and strong. The terms “weak” and “strong” are used to describe the classroom environment created by the way teachers utilize silence. Weak silence, also referred to as negative silence, is used by teachers for the purpose of maintaining control over students. Teachers use this type of silence to keep order in their classrooms, and to show authority. Weak silence is used as a tool to benefit teachers. Generally, a teacher’s attitude toward silence stems from their own personal experiences. The influence of these experiences is apparent in the way they use silence in their classrooms (Waite, 2013). As a result of the encounters students have with weak silence in their classrooms, students learn to associate silence with fe...
When the time was up to stop writing, I looked around the classroom and noticed some of the students appeared a bit confused. The assignment was not a difficult one, not for me anyway. When the teacher began asking students to share what they had written with the class, it was interesting to find that only a...
Utterances (1)-(5) are very direct, clear, and unambiguous. These utterances are purposed to be effective delivered. Additionally, the teacher has more power than the students, so this strategy must be commonly used though the occurrence in only four times in thirty minute discussion. Utterances (1), (2), (4), and (5) are used for their function to give command to the students, while utterance (3) seems to be used to disagree with the student directly to prevent misconception.
“The ways in which people converse with one another can vary greatly from culture to culture. For example, when a teacher asks a direct question, students from some cultures may no...
Communicative intentions and speech acts are related to the fact that an individual states a sentence, but that sentence has 2 or more several different meanings. The way the sentence is delivered, the tone used to deliver it and the entire body language is related to speech acts. In this paper, a particular scene will be discussed with regards to the participants’ communicative intentions and speech acts. The following scene will be discussed related to the communicative intentions and speech acts:
Oral language is the creation of messages produced with vocals, as opposed to written text or gestures. Today much of our communication is handled orally, especially for students in early years of school that are unable to read and write but must communicate with their teachers. In later years, oral language is heavily focused on in school and students are encouraged to share their opinions mid class and give presentations. This is to prepare students for situations in society and at the workplace where they must be able to communicate clearly and efficiently. Generally, students are expected to possess some level of oral language capability entering kindergarten, which teachers are then expected to build upon (Solley, 2014). Students initially build their oral language capabilities from the millions of words that they hear from their parents and home environment. With different home environments, this leads to varied levels of capabilities between students (Snow et al., 2012, p. 496). To get every stu...
A major proportion of class time is taken up by teachers talking in front of the classroom(Nunan & Bailey, 2009). No matter what teaching strategies or methods a teacher uses, it is necessary to give directions, explain activities and check students’ understanding (Richards & Schimdt, 1985). This clearly emphasizes the importance of teacher talk in language classrooms. Walsh (2011) claimed that teacher talk is more important in language classroom than any other classroom since in this context the language being used by teacher is not only the means of acquiring new knowledge; it is also the goal of the study.
Before beginning the main discussion in this essay, the difference between language and communication must be outlined. The Penguin English Dictionary (2003) defines language as ‘the ability to make and use audible, articulate, and meaningful sound by the a...
As a teacher language is the most important tool in order to support student learning. The book Elementary Classroom Management by Kerry Williams discusses how language is an important tool to use “language can be a powerful vehicle for activating thought, and as teachers we need to be aware of the role it is playing” (ref pg. 196). The use of words and tone that the teacher uses to the students is significant in the behaviour of students. For example if a student is displaying
With this, the students will be more eager to speak in depth about the lesson or ask questions. When students are interacting more, this causes less of a frustration from the teacher and they are more willing to spend time with the students to make sure they comprehend the lesson being taught, and that they are able to critically think about it. Thus, it enables both the students and the teachers to overcome their titles, where no one is higher than or less than the other. However, although there is a bond between the teacher and the student, it is important that a boundary is set, and not to be crossed by either one. They must remain respectable to each other, and to understand that not everyone thinks the same. The purpose of this relationship is for the teachers to increase the students ' desire to learn.
Oral language is fundamental requirement for literacy development and a strong indicator of future academic success. Provide brief road map of essay. Ensure thesis statement is relevant and clear highlighting main points. Provide brief road map of essay. Ensure thesis statement is relevant and clear highlighting main points. Provide brief road map of essay. Ensure thesis statement is relevant and clear highlighting main points.