EFL teachers’ speech styles and the implications for teacher professional development

Abstract

This study highlights the varied speech styles in a classroom context, particularly those used by English teachers in language classrooms. Teachers’ speech styles in the classroom reflect the way they treat their students, whether they are close to them or keep a distance from them. This study aims to find out: 1) What types of speech style the EFL high school teachers speak in the classroom, and 2) What communication purposes the EFL teachers provide through particular types of speech styles in a classroom setting. By observing and interviewing two English teachers of a high school in Samarinda, it was revealed that the teachers generally applied three types of speech styles in their teaching practice, including formal, casual, and consultative. Age and teaching experience caused the different use of speech styles among the participants. Moreover, each speech style is diverse one another depending on their communicative purposes.