Undergraduate Thesis

Summary This study aimed to observe class, transcribe and examine qualitatively English interactions carried out by the English teacher and high school students of Elizabeth Seton School for school year 2011-2012. Specifically, it required to answer the questions on what kind of interactions are carried out in the English class based on the following indicators: (1) Teacher Talk (2) Student Talk (3) Silence and Confusion Methodology This qualitative research endeavor specifically utilized the microethnographic design to tackle a big social issue through careful examination of small communicative behaviors particularly, teacher-student interaction (Cur Le Baron http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/the-sage-dictionary-of-social-researchmethods/n119.xml). Likewise, microethnography is the study of a smaller experience or a slice of everyday reality, such as instruction. Microethnography is the process of data collection, content analysis, and comparative analysis of everyday situations for the purpose of formulating insights (Smith, 1978). In my studies, the focus is on teaching as a way to understand a culture. For example, I used several microethnographic procedures in my study of teaching preadolescents during a nine-week sequence (Stokrocki, 1988). p. 35. This study used the descriptive research design which includes observation, taking down field notes, and audio recording as the primary mode of gathering the data. Shuttleworth (2009) underscored that descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. One of the advantages of descriptive design is that the subject being observed is in a completely natural and unchanged natural environment. Key (1997) emphasized that descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The instrument used in analyzing teacher-student interaction in English class was adopted from the categories of interaction analysis system by Ned Flanders (1970) lecturing styles by George Brown (1984). CONCLUSIONS In the light of the foregoing findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: The observed teacher-student interactions in an English classroom of Elizabeth Seton School are apparent as evidenced by the premise that: 1.1. The teacher talk dominates the classroom interaction in an English classroom in Elizabeth Seton School. Hence, the most common classroom discourses used by the English teacher based from the three observations conducted by the researchers are asking something, lecturing, and accepting and using the ideas of the students. 1.2. The student talk is less evident than that of the teacher talk of which the primary reason is that the students are merely answering or responding to the teacher's questions. 1.3. Furthermore, being ranked as the last in the classroom interaction, silence and confusion are grounded on the reason that no student wants to answer the difficult question raised by the teacher. 2. The teacher asking something is very much apparent in classroom discourses other than giving lectures to the class in times that the teacher performs different functions such as explaining, talking, communicating, and giving information to the student. The teacher imparts his own views or ideas on the topic and accepts the ideas of students and uses it to explain further in classroom discussion. 3. The teacher utilizes the Literal Comprehension type of questions, those that require the student to focus on ideas and information explicitly stated in the text. 4. Students tend to be silent in class if the teacher gives more than one question which results to ambiguity and leads the students to becoming confused and thereby, passive learners. Aside from that, the researchers concluded that foreign language anxiety takes place in an English class. RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of the study and conclusions drawn, the following recommendations are hereby presented for consideration. 1. The teacher may try to control the amount of time they spend in talking in class in order to provide the learners the opportunity or chance to communicate using the target language. The teachers may make conscious effort to develop a classroom climate in which learners feel free to express their ideas of their own. This may be possible by initiating a communicative activity which may involve the latter in the form of group works such as games, energizers, authentic-based activities, etc. The teacher should employ more activities toward more active interaction among students. 2. The students should make the most of their time in participating and practicing the target language in English class. Likewise, they may also initiate or instigate new discussions related to the subject matter in which they can express their ideas freely and confidently. Likewise, in times lecture, the teacher must employ effective lecture styles by Brown (1980) such as inductive method, sequential method and comparative method or any other conventional methods that may sound appropriate and beneficial. 3. The teacher may acquaint himself in the art of questioning techniques by attending seminars and training and/or venturing into researches related to classroom discourses in English specifically in the art of questioning as an important facet of teaching-learning process. 4. The teacher should apply the principle of questioning that provides students enough pause time to think, reflect on the answers to the questions and organize his thoughts and also provide essential questions that can lead to further discussion and exchange of views. More so, in order to have a meaningful and productive silence, the teacher may also engage the students in self- reflection activities. Further, questions should be stated in a higher level (metacognition) to elucidate highly creative and critical thinking answers. The researchers would also like to recommend to future researchers to conduct study related to foreign language anxiety.