基于读者意识的概要写作教学探究

2018-07-19浙江

教学考试(高考英语) 2018年3期

关键词：原文思路笔者

浙江

（作者单位：浙江省衢州第三中学）

一、问题的提出

最新版《普通高等学校招生全国统一考试大纲的说明（英语）》（以下简称《考试说明》）针对概要写作的评分标准如下：

（1）对原文要点的理解和呈现情况；

（2）应用语法结构和词汇的准确性；

（3）上下文的连贯性；

（4）对各要点表达的独立性情况。

A summary is a brief restatement of the essential thought of a longer composition.It gives the gist of the author’s exact and essential meaning.可见，概要写作对学生的阅读理解能力、语言表达能力、审辩思维和逻辑思维都提出了很高的要求。

高中英语学科核心素养对思维品质的描述中提到：学生能分类、概括信息，建构新概念；分析、推断信息的逻辑关系；正确评判各种思想观点，理性表达自己的观点，具备初步用英语进行多元思维的能力。

因此，概要写作题型的出现既符合英语学科核心素养的要求，也能很好地考查学生的阅读和写作等综合语言运用能力。为此，笔者分别进行了基于信号词、基于体裁分析、基于作者思维的概要写作教学尝试，试图理解学生在概要写作过程中的思维障碍和表达困难，以期探索出行之有效的概要写作教学策略。

二、教学实践探究

1.基于信号词的概要写作教学

对最新版《考试说明》中的概要写作样题研究分析之后，笔者进行了基于信号词的概要写作教学尝试。教学过程如下：

Step 1: Read to predict

T: Read Paragraph 1 and try to predict what the text is mainly about.

S1: Maybe it talks about the good thing of getting rid of dirt.

S2: I think it is about people’s attitudes to dirt.

S3: It is about different attitudes to dirt, because of the words“nothing fixed”.

T：What do you think may be the different attitudes?

S4: Some think that dirt is good while others think it is bad.

[设计意图]

教师要求学生通过阅读第一段预测全文的内容乃一举三得：一方面是为了引导学生注意信号词However在文中的点题作用；另一方面是为了让学生对该话题进行思考，更好地走近作者的思维；同时，也是通过预测培养学生的想象和推断等思维能力。

Step 2: Read to check

T: What do you know about people’s attitude toward dirt from Paragraph 2？

Ss: People thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease.

T: What does Paragraph 3 tell us ? Why do you think so?

S5: Dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century.

S6: People began to hate dirt because of the word “however”in the last sentence.

T: What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

Ss: It is about people’s opposite attitude towards dirt because of the phrase“on the contrary”.

[设计意图]

教师要求学生提取段落主题并说明原因，一方面是帮助学生通过信号词关注文段之间的文意转折，另一方面也使学生养成合理推断的思维习惯。

Step 3: Discuss to paraphrase

T: According to the criteria of summary writing , we need to rewrite the passage in our own words.So would you please express the main ideas in a different way?

Step 4: Write to link

T: Now would you please rewrite the passage logically and fluently?

[作品展示]

经过师生共同讨论之后，得出了以下概要：

People have different opinions about dirt at different times.Between the 16th and 18th century, people thought dirt could protect them from getting ill.Then since the 18th century, people began to think that the cleaner it was, the better it was to their health.Now many parents still keep their children off dirt while some immunologists think it good for children to be exposed to dirt.

[分析与讨论]

通过这节概要写作课的教学，笔者以为找到了概要写作的有效教学途径。学生在教师的引导下，通过寻找信号词有效地提取、归纳了文章和段落主题，而且在讨论过程中，学生能够精准地把握住文章的主题和作者的写作思路，也能用自己的语言进行表达。

然而在后续的概要写作作业中，笔者发现大部分中等偏下的学生即使找到了相关的主题句，也很难正确提取信息，不能进行独立表达。体现在概要写作中就是（1）逻辑混乱（2）摘抄原文（3）词不达意（4）偏离主题。而且并不是每篇文章都会有这类信号词，大部分记叙文和说明文都不具备这个特点。因此，基于信号词的概要写作教学法的适用范围很有限，效果也不太明显。

2.基于体裁分析的概要写作教学

对以上现状进行分析和思考后，笔者认为学生在概要写作中出现的这些问题主要是阅读理解问题，而不仅仅是写作问题。于是，为了提高学生对文本的理解力，笔者又尝试从体裁分析角度提高学生的阅读能力和正确提取信息的能力。笔者分别对说明文、议论文、记叙文、新闻报道和研究报告等不同体裁的特点进行分类梳理和总结。以记叙文为例，笔者要求学生从5W1H（who，what，when，where，why，how )的思路去提取原文信息。在教学人教版选修八第五单元Using languageTHE FEAST: 18,000 BC之前，让学生就这篇课文进行概要写作。下面以第一段为例，原文如下：

Worried about the preparations for her feast, Lala quickly turned for home with her collection of nuts, melons and other fruit.It was the custom of family groups to separate and then gather again at different sites for reunions as they followed the animal herds across the grasslands.A wrinkle appeared on her forehead.If only it could be just like last year! At that time she had been so happy when Dahu chose her as the future mother of his children.He was the best toolmaker in the group and it was a great honour for her to be chosen.She remembered the blood pulsing through her veins.She had felt so proud as the group shouted loudly to applaud his choice.If only she had looked ahead and planned better this year! Then she wouldn’t have been feeling so worried now.

结果，大部分学生都不能从主要人物角度出发，按照5W1H的思路去提取信息。在此，展示一份学生作品。

[学生习作]

Lala was on the way home with wild fruits she collected.The feast was the custom of groups.Last year Dahu chose her as his wife,which was an honor.She regretted that she hadn’t prepared well enough.

[分析与讨论]

批改完学生的作文之后，笔者发现大部分学生都写到了 Lala去年被Dahu选为妻子，她感到很自豪这一件事。说明学生对信息的筛选能力相当弱，基本上无法从主题事件出发，以主要人物为主线进行概要写作。为了更好地了解学生的困难和写作过程，笔者分别从自己所任教的班级里选择10名学生进行面对面的交流访谈。结果发现学生的问题相当一致，都反映说：感觉哪个都是围绕Lala展开的，哪个信息都不能省略。

因此，笔者认为体裁分析法是以教师的思维水平为出发点的教学方法，即使学生了解一篇文章的体裁及其写作手法，也无法精准地提取主要信息，因而学生的概要写作总是达不到标准所要求的客观、全面、简洁、连贯以及独立表达。

3.基于读者意识的概要写作教学

为了更好地了解学生在概要写作时候的思维过程和写作表达困难，笔者首先选择10名不同层次的学生把作文写好后进行面批。在批改之前，让学生先把他们对文本内容的理解口述给笔者听一次，结果出乎意料的事情发生了，其中一个基础相当薄弱的学生说得比写得好很多。不仅内容全面而且逻辑通顺了很多。下面是笔者和这位学生之间的对话：

学生：老师，我觉得概要写作很难写，我都没写完。

教师：你看懂文章了吗？

学生：看懂了。

教师：看懂了，为什么写不出来？

学生：我也不知道。

教师：那你用中文讲给我听听。

结果发现学生讲得非常好，不仅要点全面，而且“因为、所以、然而”等连词都用得很正确。为什么就写不出来呢？

学生说: 因为是用中文讲给您听，所以自己就能自动地把前因后果联系起来。看着原文的时候，脑海里都是这些英语，思路就没有这么清晰，也不知道用什么词汇来替换原文。

然后，笔者叫她按照中文的表达重新写一次，效果非常不错。

笔者认为，这是读者意识在写作中的体现。于是，笔者决定在班级里进行全面试验。第二天，笔者布置了下面这篇概要写作，要求学生想象着讲给老师听，或者先讲给同学听一下，再开始写，也可以把中文理解写在边上：

New research has confirmed what people who like a few drinks have always known: living near a pub makes you happier.Oxford University researchers found that regulars with a local pub nearby are “significantly”happier, have more friends, better life satisfaction, and actually drink in more moderation.

The report highlighted the importance of face-to-face interaction, and noted that people were more likely to be engaged in conversations in small community pubs rather than larger places.It also found social skills improved after a drink.

Professor Robin Dunbar, of Oxford University, said，“Friendship and community are probably the two most important factors influencing our health and wellbeing.Making and maintaining friendships, however, is something that has to be done face-to-face.The digital world is simply no substitute.Given the increasing tendency for our social life to be online rather than face-to-face, having relaxed accessible venues where people can meet old friends and make new ones become ever more necessary.”

Tim Page, chief executive of Camra, said ,“Pubs offer a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends in a responsible,supervised community setting.Nothing is more significant for individuals, the social groupings to which they belong and the country as a whole as our personal and collective wellbeing.The role of community pubs in ensuring that wellbeing cannot be overstated.For that reason, we all need to do what we can to ensure that everyone has a‘local’near to where they live or work.”

The report said pubs have played a key role in British social life since the 16th century.“Pubs came to represent the heart and soul of a community, providing both a place of entertainment and an engine for community bonding,”it says.

However, it notes that the pub is in decline: in 1951,there were 73,421 pubs in England and Wales, but by 2014 the number of pubs had declined to 51,904, with pubs continuing to close at an average rate of 29 a week.

现摘录一篇学生的习作如下：

[学生作品]

New research has found that if you want to make yourself happier, you should live near a pub, especially a small pub.Why?

改：It has been found that with a pub nearby，one can feel happier.(住在酒吧附近，人们更幸福。)

In small pubs you can find a social environment to improve life.

改：Because in small pubs people can communicate faceto-face and so social skills are better.(因为在小酒吧里，人们能够面对面交流，因此，社交能力更好。)

Friendship and community are influencing our health and well-being, however, making and maintaining friendships is something that has to be done face-to-face.

改：People’s health and well-being can be obtained with friendship with face-to-face communication.（面对面交流有利于人们获得友谊、健康和幸福。）

Pubs offer a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends in a responsible, supervised community setting.

改：Small pubs can provides an environment for social communication.(小酒吧提供了社会交往的环境。)

Though nowadays pubs are rapidly decreasing, it had played an important role in British social life in the 16th century.

改：In British social life, community pubs play an important role , but the number of pubs is decreasing rapidly.（社区小酒吧在英国的社会生活中起着很重要的作用，但是最近它的数量在急剧减少。）

从学生改动前后的句子看，学生的思维更加流畅，逻辑更加合理，主题指向更加明确。这只是其中一个个例，当天大部分其他学生的作文也都写得不错。以下几个方面进步特别明显：（1）语言逻辑比较严密，连接词用得比较恰当；（2）内容比较客观、完整，几乎没有再发现无中生有的个人观点；（3）抄袭原文现象减少很多。

由此可以推断，读者意识能够提高学生在概要写作中的表达问题。

之后，笔者在课堂上和同学们一起讨论了本文作者的写作意图和写作思路，旨在加强读者意识在学生概要写作中的阅读理解效果，理解过程如下：

然后让全班同学一起点评上面这篇学生的习作并整理成文：

It has been found that with a pub nearby，one can feel happier，because in small pubs people can communicate faceto-face and it improves their social skills .The reason is that friendship and community are good for people’s health and well-being.And small pubs are places where social communication happens.However，although in British social life, community pubs play an important role , the number of pubs is decreasing rapidly.

[分析与讨论]

在这节课的讨论中，笔者发现，学生的参与面非常广，因为教学活动是在学生的可理解区域进行的，就如上文学生所言：我看懂了，我只是写不出来概要。其次，学生提取原文信息也不难。难点在于学生不能自动梳理作者的写作思路，所以在概要写作过程中不知道该如何对众多信息进行筛选，因此，容易造成逻辑不连贯，内容理解不准确等问题。当教师提醒学生思考作者的写作思路的时候，学生就能把一条一条看似孤立的信息结合起来，也就能够理解文章内在的起承转合的关系，写的时候自然就不必去抄袭原文。

三、教学启示

Taylor发现，专业写作者注意提供读者所需的信息，写作经验帮助写作者找到了具体和概括的平衡点。教师要教会学生写出以读者为中心而非以作者为中心的作文。笔者通过一系列的教学实践探究发现，学生在概要写作中的读者意识不仅可以教会，而且通过一定的教学手段，读者意识可以反过来提高学生对文本的解读能力。因此教师要有意识地引导学生以读者意识为出发点去理解作者的写作意图及其写作思路，以读者意识进行概要写作，向读者表达清楚文本的主要内容。

综上所述, 基于读者意识的概要写作教学有以下几个优势：

1.读者意识使学生的阅读更专注

一些学生在做阅读理解的时候，经常会有这种现象——看到下文忘记上文，这是因为学生对英语所提供的信息无法进行快速地解码和编码。当学生知道看完之后要对他人讲解的时候，他们的责任心就变得更强，因此，阅读的时候会更专注，理解力也就随之增强。因此，写出来的概要写作内容就更加全面。

2.读者意识使学生的思维更严密

笔者一直以为学生的概要写作的问题是阅读理解的问题，其实是学生的思维水平和作者的写作思路不匹配。不管教师在教学中采取信号词教学法还是体裁分析法，学生都是在被动地接受文本信息，处于想方设法去理解他人的状态，总是想着怎样正确地理解原文，生怕写不对，无形中情感处于焦虑状态，思维的自主性没有得到激发。当学生想到要讲给读者听的时候，他们的母语思维会自动地对所获取的信息进行编码，讲着讲着就把自己的思路理清楚了。因此，写出来的概要写作就更加连贯，思维更加严密。

3.读者意识使学生的写作更切题

由于受到范文背诵的影响，一些学生在进行概要写作的时候，喜欢在文末加上一句口号，或者对原文主题理解产生偏差。下面这句话是文章的主题：New research has confirmed what people who like a few drinks have always known: living near a pub makes you happier.有个学生最初是这样写的：People who like drinks are happier.笔者让他把中文写出来给笔者看下，结果他是这样写的：研究表明住在酒吧旁的人更快乐。可见，学生概要写作离题也不是阅读理解的问题，而是思维方式的问题，是语言编码的问题。