Constructive or Obstructive Features of Teacher Talk in Iranian EFL Classes

The present study was an attempt to investigate classroom discourse from the vantage point of the SEET (Self-evaluation of Teacher Talk) framework which has resource to conversation analysis as its underlying powerhouse. In addition, it aimed at exploring how teacher talk can lead to more learner involvement in EFL classes. This study was carried out on advanced EFL classes in a private language school in Maragheh, Iran. The audio and video-taped classes were transcribed and analyzed based on pre-defined modes of the SEET framework with special focus on teacher talk. Results indicated that confirmation checking, scaffolding, direct error correction, and content feedback constituted the constructive whereas teacher interruptions and turn completions made up the obstructive sides of teacher talk respectively. Findings are used to maintain that there is a greater need to highlight the significant relationship between teacher talk quality and learner contributions in EFL contexts; and, to argue that through reflective teaching EFL teachers’ verbal behaviors can gradually enrich and flourish in terms of teacher talk and learner contributions standards.