Direct/Indirect Language Use of Teachers

Abstract

Teacher-student interaction can be characterized as a systematic and intensive social contact requiring a mechanism that maintains order and control. Teacher controls the learning and the behavior in the classroom with definite kinds of speech acts. The purpose of the study is to find out whether teachers use direct or indirect language to the problematic students during the class and to what extent teachers' age play a role in using it. The direct language consists of orders, the indirect language includes utterances displaying empathy and explanation. A questionnaire is given to 60 teachers of primary and secondary school. Results show that age is a crucial factor in determining teachers' language choice.