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让英语课堂成为一个动态开放的语言环境

2018-02-24刘慧琴

中学教学参考·语英版 2018年12期
关键词:开放动态英语

刘慧琴

[摘   要]在英语教学中,教师要研读教材文本并建立恰当准确的教材文本外延基础,然后走出教材文本,开放课堂,创设适切的课堂语言环境,这样才有利于学生进行有价值的语言活动。这样的课堂不再是让学生被动地接受语言知识,而是提供给学生用英语“做事”的一个更接近真实的语言情境 ,让学生在“做事”的过程中进一步发展语言能力、思维能力等。在这样的学习体验过程中,学生才能更好地感知语言、融通语言、运用语言。

[关键词]英语;课堂;动态;开放

[中图分类号]    G633.41        [文献标识码]    A        [文章编号]    1674-6058(2018)34-0027-03

语言的学习过程是一个动态的、开放的过程,这一过程会受到学习者接受新语言的能力、心理状态以及外部环境等因素的影响。语言课堂教学不是教师对学生语言知识的单方面的强加;反之,语言课堂学习应提倡多元、互动与发展,尤其应重视学生对语言“affordance” 的生态理解。因此,课堂教学环境下学生的语言学习是在教师的引导下,与所在语言环境不断交流互动的过程。同时在这个过程中,课堂里的语言学习不是恒定不变的,而是随着语言的自然需要线性发展,即教学过程要随时打破预设,让英语课堂成为一个动态开放的语言环境。

一、研究样本

“Go for it!”(人教版)八年级上册Unit 8 “How do you make a banana milk shake?”(Secton A 1a-1c)这部分教学内容如下:

1a. Write these words in the blanks in the picture above.

[turn on, cut up, drink, peel, pour, put ]

1b. Listen  and put the instructions in order.

______ Turn on the blender.

______ Cut up the bananas.

______ Drink the milk shake.

______ Pour the milk into the blender.

______ Put the bananas and ice- cream in the blender.

1      Peel three bananas.

1c. Cover the instructions above. Tell your parter how to make a banana milk shake.

[A: How do you make a banana milk shake?

B: First, peel the bananas... ]

这是人教版义务教育教科书八年级上册Unit 8第一课时的一节听说课,语言目标是Describe a process 和Follow instructions。通常,教师会依照文本内容,按词汇、读、听和会话的顺序来逐步完成教学,但在这节课,我以听的内容为语言素材和背景,紧紧扣住“奶昔的制作过程”将其拓展开来,使得课堂语言学习动态、开放。

二、教学过程与行为及其分析

下面是我对这节听说语言课的部分处理过程和分析。

1.走出教师的“方圆”,变英语课堂为学生的动态的语言学习环境

教育必须顺应自然,也就是顺学生的天性而为。我们的课堂应还给学生一个自由发展的空间,一个真实表达或表现的世界,一种心向自然的情愫。这种动态的课堂应该是一个联系的课堂、发展的课堂、和谐的课堂、共生的课堂。

下面从课堂设计Teaching  procedures的第一个步骤Free Speech说起。

Warming-up以刘同学课前的演讲开始:

Good morning, everyone! Its my great honor to stand here to make a speech. Of course you all guess what Im talking about here. I am going to tell you something about food. But before I begin, I would like to ask you what you think of food.

當演讲进行到这里的时候,她自然地期待来自班里的各种声音:

S1:I think all the foods are very nice to eat.(常态逻辑思维)

S2:And I think some of the foods are delicious and some of them are not so good.(在目前的语言知识范围内一种常识性的观点)

S3:But I wonder if you can really tell us the question clearly. Why do you ask such a question? In my opinion, all the food can be eaten if they dont turn bad.(教师即时随口纠正:If they dont go bad.)

此刻哗然声起。这位学生借问题本身的疏漏反驳性地回答了演讲者,既表现出了思辨的学习智慧,又让令人绷紧神经的课堂活跃起来。课堂打破演讲者的美好预设而立刻进入主动、积极、活跃的参与性的语言学习氛围。

演讲继续:

Yes, to be honest, all the foods in my heart are very delicious. Dont you agree with me? There are a lot of foods in the world. How many do you know? Such as American hamburgers, Chinese gongbao chicken, Beijing roast duck and so on. However, there are also lots of drinks in the world. Which do you like best?

又一个问题飞向同学,顿时各种国内的、西洋的饮料名词在教室里“沸腾”起来……

演讲又继续:

For me, water is my favorite drink. You know water is the most important to human beings.(她随即将human beings 板书在黑板中央并让同学猜测其意思)But if you would like to enjoy other drinks,you must learn how to make it by yourself first. So today Ms Liu will teach us how to make your favorite drinks. OK? My speech is over. Thanks for your listening.

掌声后我习惯性地以questions and short discussions开始讲课。我的问题“What kind of food do you like best, and why?”点燃了学生的激情。学生们从教室的不同角落站起来谈自己对这个问题的不同理解与思考:

S4: I think my favorite food is hamburgers because they are delicious.

S5: I also like eating hamburgers,so I often go to KFC with my parents.

S6: I dont agree with them. I like eating Chinese gongbao chicken because it is Chinese traditional food.

S7: Yes, she is right. I like all Chines food. We eat Chinese food, that is, we love our country.

此刻,全班爆發出雷鸣般的掌声。所有的目光聚焦在我们的班长郭宏利身上……此时教师课前的预设已被学生的热情推向一种忘我的自然情境,让人无法摆脱和走出,完全浸润在其中,感觉着、欣赏着、享受着。

再听听班里的运同学根据自己记录的key words对刘同学演讲的复述:

Today Lius speech is about foods and drinks. Before she begins, she asks us a question: What do you think of food? I think the question is very strange and it is very difficult to answer. Dont you think so?After that, she says all the foods are very delicious. And there are a lot of foods in the world. She also shows us some popular foods, such as American hamburgers, Chinese gongbao chicken,Beijing roast duck and so on. This time she asks us which we like best. In my opinion, this is an interesting question. I am very happy to get some different voices from my class. But our monitor Guo Honglis opinion makes us so surprised. Finally, she says there are also lots of drinks in the world. For her, water is her favorite drink. Everyone knows water is the most important to human beings. Thank you!

【分析】 在教学设计中,我在这个环节仅仅提供给学生3分钟,可学生在课堂上用去了近7分钟。但这个环节没有缺憾,它没有浪费课堂上的时间或与后期的教学产生冲突;反而,它给学生提供了较为充足的时间从听和说两个方面进行锻炼。尤其是运同学的复述,不仅仅体现了她清晰的语言表述,更是融入了她自己的思辨品格与思维品质。而这种“英语的思维品质是英语学科基本素养的最高层次”(孙大伟,2015)。例如她说的:I think the question is very strange and it is very difficult to answer. Dont you think so?

語言的学习不是顺从,不是接纳,而是在学习的过程中受到语言环境中某些东西无意识的、无觉察的和不刻意的渗透和浸润。这样,即可真正意义上实现“英语学科核心素养……最终体现在学生的成长和发展上” (张连仲,2015)。教师需要“放下”或 “让位”,并引着学生走出教师的“方圆”,变英语教学课堂为学生的动态的语言环境。

2. 走出文本,开放课堂,创设适切的课堂语言环境

日本学者左藤学指出:“无论是作为‘公共框架的课程还是作为学校‘教育计划的课程,在课堂情境中只能靠‘教师的课程,即被每一个教师的意图、解释、构想、设计所演绎的课程来发挥其现实的功能。所以‘教师课程成了教材的决定性因素。”这使学生在掌握知识方面很大程度上要受到教师的个人影响。因此,英语教学需要教师精准把握教材,不绑定文本,并精心设计师生语言共融的开放性课堂,创设适切的课堂语言环境和氛围,让学生如游泳一样完全浸泡在“水”中。

于是,在我们很快完成1b的听力练习之后进行Free talk时,课堂语言活动由原来预设的12分钟改为20分钟。同时在原来的

Try to make your favorite drinks. You must follow these steps:

First,...

Next,...

Then,...

Finally,...

之外又加了另一项:

Or, if you want to make other things in good order, you can also follow these steps:

First,...

Next,...

Then,...

Finally,...

【分析】这堂课在依附于教材文本的基础上完全走出了文本内容,并给学生创造了一个开放的课堂语言情境,给了学生充足的时间。 Free talk 中的第二个课堂活动“Or,if you want to make other things in good order, you can also follow these steps...”给学生无限的语言开放空间。在进行Free talk 的十几分钟里,每一位学生根据自己已有的语言基础和能力积极参与到2人组、3人组或4人组开放的Conversations语言活动里,甚至有语言能力极弱的学生也扮演其中只有两三句台词的角色。

约13分钟后,讲台前展示了6组学生的“作品”。这里有一组颇为优秀的会话。

S1:Hi,you know we had an English test yesterday. How do you feel?

S2:Its bad. I think Im going to get a bad grade. Do you know how to get good grades in English?

S1:The answer to this question is what many students want to know.

S2: Oh, we can ask the teacher for the answer.

S1:Excuse me, Ms Liu. Wed like to ask you how to learn English well.

T:My dear children, it is not difficult to learn English well. You must be interested in it. Also, you need to take it seriously.

S1:Yes, I think we should listen to the teacher carefully in class.

S2:We also need to do homework carefully.

T:What you say is quite right.

S1:The most important thing is to remember the words.

S2:I dont agree with you. I think the most important thing is to be interested  in English.

S1:Well...maybe it is true. Do you know how to get good grades in English now?

S2:Yes, let me tell you. First of all, we should be interested in English. Next, we need to take it seriously. Then, we should listen to the teacher carefully in class and do homework carefully. Finally, we should recite the words.

S1:If we do this, we will get good grades. I hope you can get good grades next time.

S2:Time is money. Im going to study now.

S1:Goodbye! Reading books can change a person. I believe that much knowledge will change you. So I love learning because it can bring me a lot of good things and make me happy. Hey, Liu Zhengrui, wait for me. Im going to study with you, too!

【分析】这两位学生的语境会话将原文本内容进行了很好的拓展。他们走出教材的局限,打破常规的跟教师走的预定模式,只是借助原文本目标语言结构“First,... Next,...Then,... Finally,...”用自己创造性的语言给我们展示了“How to get good grades in English?”的整个询问过程。他们表演时声情并茂、绘声绘色,情景交融,完全沉浸在自己的语言情景之中。在整个交谈当中,两位学生在探讨如何学好英语并取得优异成绩,但他们没忘记教材为学习者设定的基本语言目标,运用“First,...Next,...Then,...Finally,...”去进行交流与沟通。课堂里,教师提供了充足的时间让学生进行语言情景创设和语言表达。在他们的会话过程中,一方突然转身向我:Excuse me, Ms Liu. Wed like to ask you how to learn English well.这使得我瞬间不知所措(我在以往的课堂上都是习惯于倾听)。因此,我的回答“...it is not difficult to learn English well. You must be interested in it. Also, you need to take it seriously.”似乎是唐突作答和忽悠。但该生能在需要时随即求助于他人,表现出了个人学习机智、聪慧和不受场景的约束与限制,入情入理,语融于境。

我们语言教学的课堂需要教师研读教材文本并建立恰当准确的教材文本外延基础,然后走出教材文本,开放课堂,创设适切的课堂语言环境,学生才会奇迹般创造有价值的语言并进行相应的语言活动。在《义务教育课程标准(2011年版)教师学习指导(初中英语)》一书中谈到:课程从以前以教师为中心的教学模式轉换为以学生为中心的教学模式,强调学生的参与和体验。通过创造良好的语言环境和提供大量的语言实践机会,使学生通过自己的体验、感知、实践、参与和交流形成语感,并在教师的引导下,通过观察、发现和归纳等方式,掌握语言的规律,形成有效的学习策略。这明确地告诉我们,课堂不应让学生被动地接受语言知识,而应提供给学生用英语这种语言“做事”的更接近真实的语言情境 ,并且在“做事”的过程中进一步发展学生的语言能力、思维能力和其他诸多学习能力,这样学生才能更好地感知语言、融通语言、运用语言。

罗滕博格认为,课堂是由人际互动和心理互动共同组成的整体,是一个由课堂物质环境和课程资源构成的生态单位。(刘贵华,杨清,2011)英语教师必须努力为学生创设一个既具真实性又具开放性的动态的语言环境,给学生一个交流的课堂,让学生变倾听者为语言参与者,让每个学生都有发言的机会;给学生一个开放的课堂,设计尽可能开放的问题,让学生在参与的过程中充分表达和展现;给学生一个感悟的课堂,让他们尽可能真实地、创造性地运用语言在情境中交流,从而真正实现语言的语用价值。

(责任编辑 周侯辰)

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