This study explored how high school math teachers perceive small talk during their lessons,
what the practical purposes of their small talk are, how students perceive their teachers’ small
talk, and what contents students mainly wish for about the teachers’ small talk.
For these purposes, 40 high school mathematics teachers and 60 first graders of K High
School participated in this study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and
were also interviewed afterwards. The results of the analyses were as follows: The teachers
used small talk to better their teaching and help the students complete their assignments more
efficiently, while the students, based on the teachers’ small talk, wanted to find a teacher who
can help them with their studies, as well as find out how much of the teacher’s attention they
received. Most students showed a positive response to teachers’ small talk in class. As for the
contents of teachers’ small talk, the students, regardless of gender and mathematical abilities,
mainly wished for non-math related talks, such as compliment, joke, humor, or teacher’s
personal stories in the beginning and the instructional phases. Especially, they showed a high
preference to university entrance related topics in the instructional phase. In addition, teachers’
small talk was found to be helpful in healing students’ negative experiences in mathematics
class by giving them a temporary break from a competitive atmosphere, through cooperation
and communication. This research shows that teachers need to understand what types of small
talk their students favor.