Power of Teachers’ Words – The Influence on Pupils’ Grades and Behaviour

The main role of school is to help pupils develop and to empower them towards success in adult life. One of the major factors that play important role in this process is the way teachers talk to their students. Therefore the purpose of this study was to explore the effects of teachers positive language such as among others effective praise, redirection, reinforcement, reminding and confirmation as well as the use of appropriate humor or tone of voice on pupils‘ motivation, discipline, interest in the subject being taught and consequently school achievements. On the basis of that, the following research questions are addressed within this thesis: What is the influence of teachers’ positive talk on their students’ results and behavior? Do teachers use positive talk in schools? Additional questions were: How do Polish students and teachers tend to perceive the importance of teacher talk? And: Is there enough relevant literature to the subject of teacher talk? In order to prove the thesis, this study focuses mainly on reviewing relevant literature works and obtaining data from a quasi-experimental design with using positive language, and teacher and student surveys, as means to investigate how positive language affects pupils. My thesis illustrates that teachers words can be characterized as a powerful tool which with the combined action of encouragement, praises and humor facilitates learning, makes pupils believe in their abilities, reduces stress, reinforces their positive behaviors and helps them reach their potentials. More importantly, this is also about teaching the pupils social skills. I would like this work to be handy and inspiring for other teachers in bringing out the best in their pupils.