The Shift of Discourse Right in College English Classroom
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【Abstract】With the deepening of the reform of foreign language teaching in China, the issue on the discourse right in college English classroom has aroused much attention and hot debate among the language teachers and researchers. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the reasons of general loss of students' discourse power, the power relation between teachers and students and the domination of students' autonomous learning over teachers' instruction, and to propose some measures for the balance of discourse right in class. For instance, the change of traditional instruction model, the establishment of student-centered and teacher-guided educational model in class, the teaching form of student discussion and cooperation in groups and the improvement of the abilities to learn autonomously. With the shift of discourse right in English class, students are more likely to gradually promote the ability to study English by means of taking class activities actively in relaxing atmosphere.
【Key Words】discourse right, the loss of discourse right, shift, English teaching and studying, instruction model, teachers’ talk, class activities, group study
In response to the call for quality-oriented education and the nurture of knowledgeable talents, the issue on the shift of discourse power in college English classroom should be taken seriously.
Michel Foucault (1926-1984)， a French historian and philosopher，has had wide influence not only (or even primarily) in philosophy but also in a wide range of humanistic and social scientific disciplines. He has pointed out that discourse right is a sign of power-specific relationship. Obviously discourse right in class is concerned with both teachers' and students' speaking right. However, the English teaching has been viewed as a process of instruction from teachers to students. Consequently, the teachers occupy much of discourse right. But in recent years, both language teachers and learners are struggling for the balance of discourse right between teachers and students.
First of all, there should be an obvious shift in language teaching from "teachers-oriented" to "students-oriented". Students are required to manage their own study, share responsibility for successful language acquisition and become less dependent on teachers. Then teachers' role in Second language Acquisition (SLA) has to be greatly changed immediately. They should have this belief that teaching is not a knowledge of delivery, but knowledge of the processing and conversion of knowledge. It is teachers' duty to teach students to learn autonomous learning rather than teach students what they know. In class language instruction is viewed not just as the way of providing input but also as helping students enter into all kinds of authentic social discourse situations, so that they can handle these situations even outside the classroom. Therefore the English teacher should play a guiding role as a good helper and a studying partner in students' learning. It is true that most college English teachers now realize that they should minimize TTT(teacher talking time) but fail to pay sufficient attention to the quality of teacher talk, such as the types of questions raised towards their students, the way they respond to students' contribution, the use of mother language in their talk. What's more, researchers explored the effects of discourse right on students' oral English and found that practice is necessary and essential in language learning. That is to say, a certain amount of output is especially important to raise learners" speaking level. So students should be allowed to express their views freely and be encouraged to have more output of English in the knowledge acquisition process. Since boosting the enthusiasm of learning is a key to successful study, language teachers should focus on students' needs and inspire their interest in study. There is evidence to suggest that provided with adequate discourse right and opportunities to interact orally with each other, students can arouse their interests and strengthen their cooperation in the learning process. Furthermore, the learning of English in class is aimed to improve students' communication skills not just the language itself. English teachers should set up motivate mechanism in diversity ways, use different teaching methods, make full use of teaching resource, and train the learners to correctly assess their own study. For instance, teachers can make task assessments and performance assessments. Of course students' class performance has to be closely related to their English proficiency and the master of discourse right. Then students can be graded for their class performance, to a large extent, which has a great effect on the shift of discourse right. In doing so more students can participate in class activities in limited class studying time when they are supposed to finish assignment in groups. At last, as English teachers, we ought to make great efforts to ensure all the students the discourse right in class.
In conclusion, it can not be denied that the shift of discourse right in college English class is a major and important step in the process of the shift in language teaching from "teachers-oriented" to "students-oriented".
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