A Functional Analysis of Hedges in Teacher Talk

Teacher talk considerably contributes to teacher-student interaction and the application of hedges in teacher talk can lead to their negotiation of meaning as well as be the samples for students to learn a second language. It is intended to approach hedges from the perspective of three metafunctions under the framework of systemic-functional grammar and reveal how and why hedges can figure in the teacher-student interaction in the classroom context. The registerial characteristics of hedges imply the pedagogical importance concerning teachers’ roles and students’ language proficiency.