A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CLASSROOM INTERACTIONAL DISCOURSE OF NEW AND EXPERIENCED CHINESE LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to provide targeted instructional improvement strategies for educators by comparing and analyzing the classroom interactional discourse of new and experienced teachers. Specifically, the study investigates the similarities and differences between these two groups of teachers in terms of classroom interaction patterns, questioning strategies, feedback, and silence. The study selected six Modern Chinese language teachers from the School of Communication and Media at Z University, including three new teachers with two years of teaching experience and three experienced teachers with over five years of teaching experience. The research subjects also included first-year undergraduate students aged 19–20 years, who had a basic proficiency in Chinese language but lacked systematic knowledge of linguistic theories. The study employed the improved Flanders Interaction Analysis System (iFIAS) and Conversation Analysis (CA) methods to conduct both quantitative and qualitative analyses of teachers' classroom interactional discourse from macroscopic and microscopic perspectives. Each teacher's classroom sessions were recorded for 450–500 minutes, transcribed, and analyzed to reveal the similarities and differences in interaction strategies among teachers at different stages of professional development.The study's results revealed both similarities and differences in the use of classroom interactional discourse between new and experienced teachers. The main conclusions were as follows:Both new and experienced teachers' classroom interactions were predominantly teacher-led, with IRF and [InRn]F being the primary types of classroom interactions. Students were largely passive participants, with limited contributions to classroom discourse and low frequencies of proactive questioning. Closed-ended questions were the main type of questions used by both groups of teachers, and probing and rephrasing were the most frequently employed questioning strategies. Both groups placed significant emphasis on knowledge transmission and the clarity of students' understanding. They were also aware of the importance of positive feedback in enhancing students' motivation and tended to use positive feedback to encourage student participation in classroom interactions. To balance students' thinking time and classroom fluency, both groups frequently employed a 3-5 second pause (T2) as a waiting strategy in classroom silence management.Experienced teachers had significantly higher classroom discourse volume than new teachers. Compared with new teachers, experienced teachers exhibited more diverse classroom interaction patterns, including [InRn]FR and IR[FnRn], which positively influenced student initiative. Experienced teachers placed greater emphasis on stimulating student thinking, using open-ended questions at a higher proportion than new teachers. In feedback, experienced teachers were more adept at employing complex strategy combinations (such as repetition with supplementary expansion) and motivating students through indirect means (such as praise and adoption of student viewpoints), while new teachers relied more on direct feedback and had a lower tolerance for student errors. Experienced teachers preferred shorter pause durations (T1), indicating better control over classroom tempo, whereas new teachers favored longer pause durations (T2) to provide students with more thinking space.

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