Functions of ESP Teachers’ Classroom Language: A Conversation Analysis Perspective

The language used by foreign language teachers in the classroom serves a dual role: as a means of communication and as a source of rich, meaningful input for learners. From a Conversation Analysis (CA) perspective, EFL teachers’ classroom language actively shapes interaction with learners, as it can either facilitate or hinder their oral performance and may discourage or encourage their initiation to use the language. This study explores the classroom language functions of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers in Vietnamese universities. Sixteen hours of classroom time, drawn from English for Transportation and English for Tourism and Hospitality courses taught by eight ESP teachers, were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using CA approach. The data analysis showed three main functions of teachers’ classroom language: classroom management, pedagogical function, and feedback provision. Quantitative results indicated that classroom management accounted for only a small proportion of classroom discourse, while pedagogical function and feedback provision were almost equally dominant. Qualitative findings further highlighted specific sub-functions within each category. For classroom management, ESP teachers primarily used discourse to monitor time and regulate learning pace. Within pedagogical function, delivering instructions emerged as the most common sub-function, whereas providing corrective feedback was most frequent in the feedback provision category. The analysis also revealed how teachers integrated different sub-functions and functions of their discourse to facilitate students’ speaking. These findings underscore the crucial role of ESP teachers’ classroom language and point to the need for training in classroom discourse for both EFL and ESP teachers.