Classroom language is an extremely important form of talk. In a foreign language classroom, the teacher has to organize language teaching by using the target language. Therefore, classroom language in foreign language teaching seems more important.
　　In a foreign language classroom, the teacher has to take several roles: the guide, the coach, the organizer etc. Besides teaching the foreign language, he has to do a lot of other things simultaneously, and all these things guarantee the success of the teaching. The following are some of them.
　　To lead students to follow the teaching steps;
　　To achieve teaching goals for a particular session;
　　To give instructions;
　　To organize students’ activities;
　　To attract students’ attention;
　　To allocate students’ turns of speaking;
　　To elicit students’ answers;
　　To provide feedback;
　　To change topics;
　　To take disciplinary control;
　　To keep students’ interested.
　　In one word, in English classroom, English is the target language as well as the tool for teaching and for creating a favorable learning atmosphere.
　　Now we will talk about the relationships between some functions of classroom language and teaching efficiency.
　　I. Classroom language and a sense of purpose
　　An essential aspect of good teaching is that the teacher must pass on to our students a sense of purpose, that is, he must make students clearly know what your teaching objectives are, or what they are going to learn.
　　Linguistically, every session of teaching can be divided into three chunks——starting, keeping going and closing. The starting stage involves exchanging greetings, reviewing the key points of the previous class, stating the objectives of the present class. The second stage takes most time of the session, during which, all the objectives should be reached. At the third stage, a summary of the key points is made to help students have a all-around view of what they learned. And then, give the assignment and say goodbye.
　　The following are some options for a teacher:
　　“By the end of this class you should be able to do these things:…”
　　“Today’s objectives are: First, … Second, … Third, … And lastly,…”
　　“ We are going to do four things today. The first, …”
　　“The main tasks are …”
　　A sense of purpose is a very important factor of an efficient teaching. Only when students have a sense of what will go on, can they follow the teacher’s teaching schedule. That is, the teacher gives the students a sense of direction during the teaching, and therefore a sense of achievement at the end of the teaching.
　　II. Classroom language and clear instructions
　　Clear instructions are the guarantee of efficient teaching. A good teacher will never fail to give clear instructions. Certain technique is needed in it. After giving the instructions, the teacher should check students’ understanding by asking an individual (usually a weaker one) to repeat the most important information. This is a valuable technique in giving instructions because the teacher will be sure that even the weaker students understand the instructions, at the same time, all students hear the instructions once again.
　　Instructions must be clear and brief, so imperatives are often used. For example, “Now read the first paragraph and be ready to answer some questions.” Or “Let’s form four groups and discuss this question, make sure that a person in each group will represent the ideas of that group.”
　　When checking the understanding, a teacher can make some questions, such as, “Have I make myself clear?” “What should we do first?” ect.
　　III. Classroom language and the correction of mistakes
　　Correcting students’ mistakes is an important task in teaching. But when and how to do it is something worth of thinking about. Making mistakes is a necessary and inevitable step in learning. Therefore, in one hand, a good teacher should learn to appreciate the mistakes and try to guide the students to learn from the mistakes they made. In the other hand, a teacher must know when to correct the mistakes. When the fluency is the target, correction is to be avoided, unless the communication is affected. If the mistakes appear in grammar teaching, they can’t be ignored because accuracy is the target now. Correction of the mistakes at wrong time will make students less confident and enthusiastic next time.
　　Inappropriate wording in correcting students’ mistakes will hurt students too. The remarks such as “No!”, “You are wrong!”, “Wrong again!” etc. should be absolutely avoided.
　　IV.Classroom language and encouragement for students
　　All teachers know that a friendly atmosphere is good for learning. Encouragement is helpful in creating thus atmosphere. Encouragement is motivation as well. Everybody needs encouragement. “It’s a good point.” “Well done!” “You did a great job!” “I’m sure you can do better next time.” Those simple remarks have magic power to most students, especially some shy students, who expect attention and encouragement from their teachers.
　　Students may put forwards some questions that the teacher doesn’t think it appropriate to answer or discuss it. The teacher still should give a positive comment first. For instance, “It’s a good question, but will it be better to talk about it after class?” A negative reaction from the teacher will make students feel that asking a question is to take a risk of losing face, or even confidence.
　　Language is the tool of communication; classroom language is the tool of the communication between the teacher and students. Classroom language has a wide range of functions contributing to the success of teaching. A good teacher should use them skillfully to improve his/her teaching quality. A friendly, cooperative atmosphere is good for learning. A good teacher is also a master of classroom language.