A Design Framework for CL 2 Classroom Language Use
Taking into account the needs of an English-speaking beginner learner，this chapter proposes a design framework for presenting classroom language in a CL2 context.
There are four considerations:first，there must be clear indication of the user as it helps the beginner learner identify whether the expression is for the teacher or the learner.Second，language teaching in the classroom should not be teacher-centred，but a two-way interaction between teacher and learners.In other words，the beginner learner is not just a passive receiver who only needs to understand teacher talk，but also an active producer whereby he/she has the opportunities to speak，and an interactor to engage the teacher in meaningful interactions.Third，classroom language must indicate a clear communicative function，so that learners are able to use them in appropriate context.Last but not least，the process of receiving and generating information is essentially different and must be treated as such.
Although both processes are mediated by the base language，English，the direction of conversion between English and Chinese is not similar.In the process of reception，information is received in the target language(Chinese)and is translated into the base language(English)[CL2→EL1]，whereas in the process of production，information is generated in the base language(English)and is translated into the target language(Chinese)[EL1→CL2].Therefore，in term of presentation，the sequence for placing English and Chinese should follow the order in which learners receive and generate them.For example，when beginners receive information in the target language(Chinese)，Chinese will be presented at the top row and English at the bottom row.When beginners generate information in Chinese，the order is reversed.
Based on our discussion in Section 4.3，five types of information should be provided for English background beginners:first，learner’s role and corresponding mode of communication;second，function of classroom language;third，the language user;fourth，English translation;fifth，Hanyu Pinyin，as classroom language is communicated in spoken form，all information in Chinese is represented by Hanyu Pinyin.When beginners hear a certain Chinese word or sentence，they are able to look for the corresponding Hanyu Pinyin，without referring to Chinese characters.
Examples are provided as follows in Table 5.3 to further illustrate the function and design framework of classroom language:
The first column in Table 3 indicates the“Function of Classroom Language”and the second column the speaker.Under the column on“Function of Classroom Language”，there are“Starting the lesson”and“Giving instructions”.Since the beginner learner is the information receiver and the source of information is from the Teacher，the second column is thus marked“Teacher”.
Table 5.3 Receiver:Chinese to English interpretation
As the communicative function of the receiver is to understand information，the learner first needs to listen to the Chinese pronunciation of sentences，and then translates it into the English.To help beginners understand the teacher’s classroom language，the top row is the teacher’s language represented in Hanyu Pinyin，and the bottom row is the corresponding English translation.
Verbs(or phrasal verbs)are marked in bold in both Chinese and English sentences，whereas other parts of speech are in italics.For learners with English background，the word order difference between English and Chinese poses a learning challenge.When they discover that the position of a particular Chinese word in sentence is not in the same as its English equivalent，font labeling would help learners to have a conscious understanding on the differences in word order between Chinese and English.For example，in Table 5.3，“zài”is italicized，similar to“again”，the English equivalent of“zài”.In“qǐng zài dúyībiàn”(Please read it again)and“wǒmen zài liàn yībiàn!”(Let’s practise again!)，“zài”is placed before the two verbs in bold“dú”(read)and“liàn”(practise)respectively.However，in English translation，“again”，the equivalent of“zài”，is preceded by“read”and“practise”.
In Table 5.4，the learner is the information producer，and the source of information is from the learner himself.Hence，the second column is marked“Learner”.Using“Making a Request”as an example，the communicative function of the producer is to create information.In this instance，the information is first generated in learner’s base language，English，and then translated into Chinese.For example，the Engish sentence“Can I go to the toilet，please?”is followed by Chinese translation“wǒnéng shàng xǐshǒujiān ma?”.It is thus noted that in Table 5.4，the process of generating information is rather different from receiving process:the top row is the learner’s base language，and the bottom row the corresponding Chinese translation in Hanyu Pinyin.
Table 5.4 Producer:Chinese to English presentation
Table 5.5 shows the interpersonal communication between teacher and learners.In this mode，beginner learners are not only the receivers who listen to teacher’s instructions or questions，but also the producers responding to the teacher.Taking“Starting the Lesson”as an example，the left column is the conversation initiator—the teacher，and the right column is the conversation responder—the learner.At the beginning of the class，the teacher asks a question，such as“Zuótiān de gōngkèzuòle ma?”(Have you done yesterday’s homework?).At the“Learner”column on the right，several possible English responses are provided，followed by the corresponding Chinese translation in Hanyu Pinyin.
Table 5.5 Interactor:Chinese to English bi-directional interpersonal communication
