Teacher Talk in Chinese Secondary English Classrooms: Power and Control

摘要

This paper investigates the features of teacher talk by two secondary school English teachers by using Bourdieu’s framework. Based on data analysis of two class recordings, this study argued that the experienced teacher was able to achieve her purpose by utilizing her cultural capital, while the less experienced teacher was less successful in claiming power and control due to her inadequate cultural capital and inappropriate code choice in the classroom. The study suggest that new teachers be advised on the potency of code selection to facilitate instruction.