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Ⅰ.Introduction
Discourse analysis is connected with “the study of the relationship between the context in which it is used” （McCarthy， 1991：5）. The study of language in EFL classroom is a branch of discourse analysis. In the EFL classroom， English language is “both vehicle and the object of instruction”， and “question-answer is a basic interactive structure” （Coulthard， 1985：7） accounting for much of the class time. This study tries to investigate the functions and structures of question-answer discourse from a pragmatics perspective in Chinese EFL classroom. Some key theories of pragmatic basis such as speech act theory， cooperative principle， and politeness principle will be investigated for analyzing the collected data. To achieve this objective， this empirical study will employ the following instruments： classroom observation， questionnaire， and interview to teachers and students. The purpose of the study is to draw attention to different functions and structures of question-answer classroom discourse， and to offer implications for teaching and learning English in Chinese EFL classroom.
Ⅱ.Background
Classroom discourse is concerned with the language of achieving educational purposes between teachers and students in a particular educational context， and its significance is reflected in the completion of the teaching objectives （Walsh 2006）. The structure， pattern， quality， and flows of classroom discourse directly affect students’ learning opportunities and quality. （Seedhouse 2004）. The purpose of classroom discourse is precisely to optimize the teaching effect in the classroom environment to a large extent. As Cazden （1988：99） said， we must consider how they affect invisible thought process of the classroom discourse participants by visible classroom discourse， and in turn affect the nature of what they have learned. This is particularly important for foreign language teaching， because discourse assumes a dual role in a foreign language classroom： is not only the learning content and objectives， but also the learning method. （McCarthy
Discourse analysis is connected with “the study of the relationship between the context in which it is used” （McCarthy， 1991：5）. The study of language in EFL classroom is a branch of discourse analysis. In the EFL classroom， English language is “both vehicle and the object of instruction”， and “question-answer is a basic interactive structure” （Coulthard， 1985：7） accounting for much of the class time. This study tries to investigate the functions and structures of question-answer discourse from a pragmatics perspective in Chinese EFL classroom. Some key theories of pragmatic basis such as speech act theory， cooperative principle， and politeness principle will be investigated for analyzing the collected data. To achieve this objective， this empirical study will employ the following instruments： classroom observation， questionnaire， and interview to teachers and students. The purpose of the study is to draw attention to different functions and structures of question-answer classroom discourse， and to offer implications for teaching and learning English in Chinese EFL classroom.
Ⅱ.Background
Classroom discourse is concerned with the language of achieving educational purposes between teachers and students in a particular educational context， and its significance is reflected in the completion of the teaching objectives （Walsh 2006）. The structure， pattern， quality， and flows of classroom discourse directly affect students’ learning opportunities and quality. （Seedhouse 2004）. The purpose of classroom discourse is precisely to optimize the teaching effect in the classroom environment to a large extent. As Cazden （1988：99） said， we must consider how they affect invisible thought process of the classroom discourse participants by visible classroom discourse， and in turn affect the nature of what they have learned. This is particularly important for foreign language teaching， because discourse assumes a dual role in a foreign language classroom： is not only the learning content and objectives， but also the learning method. （McCarthy