小组活动在英语课堂教学中的作用及实施方式

摘要：

　自1993年使用九年制义务教育初中英语教材以来，广大教师已经逐渐地熟悉了新的课堂教学步骤"五步教学法"。五步教学法在对教材的处理上，练习占有较大的比重，而且富有变化，使课堂容量加大，节奏加快，时间紧凑，气氛活跃，可收到事半功倍之效，因此深受广大教师的青睐。我们也不难发现，在练习方面，几乎每节课都会有同桌两人一组的"对练"（Pair work ）和前后三、四人一组的"组练"（Groupwork）等小组活动方式，这成了课堂上不可缺少的练习方式。那么，这些小组活动在英语课堂教学中究竟起到哪些作用？教师在课堂上如何穿插、实施和控制小组活动呢？本文想通过对这些问题的讨论来探索提高英语课堂教学质量的途径。

　一、小组活动的实施方式

　小组活动为课堂教学提供了简便、有效的操练方式，这些活动主要可以穿插在以下几种教学步骤之中进行。

　1.在"呈现（Presentation）"环节后

　在"呈现"新的语言项目后，就转入操练（Drill）这一环节，目的是帮助学生熟悉新的语言项目的书面和口头形式。此时的操练难度一般不大，以教师控制式的机械性练习为主。教师可以出示一些图片、幻灯、实物、提示词等"指挥"学生进行练习，这时最好穿插Pairwork（内容简单的话不必让学生先准备，反之，事先作些准备），直接以快频率的方式让学生一对一对地（pair by pair）、一问一答地进行下去。学生可以通过视觉、听觉、口头表达，很快地掌握新的语言项目。这样做的特点是节奏快、密度大、频率高，使学生在紧张热烈的气氛中兴趣浓厚，人人参与，差生也跟得上。

　2.在"练习（Practice）"阶段

　"练习"阶段的目的是帮助学生加深对新的语言项目的理解，巩固新的语言习惯，为在实际中进一步自如地运用作好准备。练习的内容应该具备一定的难度，学生在问答时有较宽的选择余地。这时适宜穿插"对练"或"组练"方式，用几分钟时间让学生看图、看物问答，模仿对话，表演课文对话等等。教师要巡视监听，对有困难的"对"或"组"进行一些必要的指导，充当"助手（helper）"或"引导者（guide）"的作用。练习结束后一定要抽查几对或组当堂表演，以了解练习情况，并对表演出色的组进行适当的表扬，以鼓励学生的积极性。这个阶段的特点是节奏放慢，频率放低，但密度大，气氛活跃，学生参与意识强，有利于调动每一个学生的积极性。

　3.在"巩固（Consolidation）"阶段

　这个阶段的目的是使学生在多种模拟日常生活的'背景中，运用所学的语言解决实际问题来体现语言的各种功能。学生可以根据自己的意愿来作答，答案是多种多样的，不可预料的，学生的自由度较大，有充分发挥创造的机会和余地。这时候最好以"组练"方式，如进行角色扮演（一般用学生真实姓名为好）、会谈、讨论解难、模拟采访、扩展对话、补充想象性结尾等等。教师要提醒学生结合课文中的语言形式来表达，注意人物的身份和具体的场合。教师往往扮演裁判（judge）、评委（commentator）的身份。这时的特点也是密度大、气氛热烈活跃，学生们有充分发挥、表现自己的机会。随着课堂语言实践量的增加，学生获得了充分的语言实践的机会，为获得"为交际运用英语的能力"打下了扎实的基础。

　小组活动通常穿插在以上三种教学步骤中，然而，教无定法，这并不是一成不变的。

　二、小组活动在教学中的作用

　对绝大多数中国学生来说，课堂环境几乎是外语学习的唯一场所。教师如何在有限的时间内有效地利用积极因素，避免或消除消极因素，采用更适合于学习者语言发展的课堂教学方法，是外语教学是否成功的关键之一。小组活动在英语课堂教学中始终起着积极作用。

　1.小组活动在课堂上起到操练语言、有目的地实践语言项目的作用，从而达到当堂巩固的效果。

　新大纲中提出在教师对学生进行训练的过程中要使学生的"言语技能发展成运用语言进行交际的能力"。学生对语言形式和语言意义的掌握是否充分，是其能否运用所学语言表达特定功能的必要条件。通过教师设置的与课文和学生实际相关的交际情景，学生能通过小组活动进行大量的操练，加深对语言形式和意义的理解，从而使"言语技能"到"运用语言进行交际"的发展成为自然和可能。

　2.小组活动提供了大量的向其他同学学习的机会。

　教师应当使学生明白，学生学习英语，不仅可以从教师那里学，还可以从其他同学那里学。Johnson和Paulston在谈到leamer roles（学习者的角色）时说到："The leamer is a member of a group and he leams by interacting with others; The leamer is a tutor of other leamers; The leaner leams from the teacher,f rom other students and from other teach-ing sources…"学生们明白了学习是互相的、平等的，就可以克服不愿与比自己水平差的同学操练的心理，从而充分调动了学生学习的主动性和积极性。

　3.小组活动增加了课堂的密度和广度。

　英语课是语言课，是训练课。许多知识的掌握和能力的培养不是靠教师"教"出来的，而是靠学生"练"出来的。小组活动加快了教学的节奏，加强了训练密度和广度。在课堂上教师可以用快速反应的方式通过 “pa ir by pair" 的形式，有节奏地让学生练。这样无论学生成绩好、差，人人都能参与。学生在活动时都被一种积极的情感所支配，将大大激发参与课堂教学的热情，调动积极性。以教师为中心的课堂教学模式将转变为以学生为中心，学生成为教学的主体，他们在一个近似自然的语言环境中运用语言进行交际，以达到语言学习的目的。小组活动活跃了课堂气氛，是初中学生所喜爱的教学活动方式之一。本人曾以问卷形式进行过"对初中生所喜欢的英语课堂活动的调查"，课堂小组活动方式是学生最喜欢的课堂活动方式之一。初中生具有爱说、好动、爱模仿、爱表演、羞怯感少等特点。在小组活动中，把教师的教学要求转化为学生自己的愿望，给学生提供学习语言结构、理解语言功能的外部条件和参加语言实践的机会，课堂上气氛十分活跃。学生们想在课堂上有好的表现，他们在课前、课后就有兴致去积极准备，互相对话，大大激发学习英语的兴趣。

　教师在课堂教学中，通过灵活多变的教学形式对学生的学习动机、课堂学习环境和语言的输入产生积极的影响，使课堂教学摆脱应试教育的枷锁。课堂小组活动在课堂上营造轻松愉快、活泼的学习氛围，不失为一种较好的、简便易行的教学形式。课堂小组活动组织得好与坏，在某种程度上决定着一堂英语课的成败，它来自于师生的***同创造，它在课堂上的作用是不容忽视的。

　[原创]A thank-you letter

　Hi, Valerie,

　How are you? have you got the approval for your new EP(Employment Pass).

　If yes, congratulations!

　I wanted to email to GP first, but temporally can't

　find his address. It doesn't mean I don't want to write

　to you, just feel like GP is more closer to me that

　time.

　GP told me that because of me you don't want to

　talk to Kent either. I was very appreciateful, cause

　I took this as my true friend's action! However, Rex

　didn't do as you did at all!

　I didn't talk to you much when we were in the same

　company, though you just sat behind me. Last time I

　thought even talk too much with another girl is

　considered a great offence to my "wife". I was stuck

　too deep to stay awake of this mass. Thank you and GP

　so much for having given me great support when I

　needed it badly.

　I miss GP and you, really. Just hope one day we can

　meet together and drink together. I am sure I won't

　have a boss like GP again, not to mention a colleague

　like you and Vincent. You guys left me the sweetest

　memories in Singapore. How am I going to thank

　you?

　Please tell GP that I have mailed to you and let me know

　his address as well. I want to email to him too. I'm

　now at home being taken well care of by my parents.

　They are about to buy me a car so that I can travel to

　some other provinces in China. Ok, my daddy is back,

　got to take lunch with him. See you.

　All the bests to you and GP

　Danny

　[原创]About the F word

　When I first started to learn English in middle school, I didn't know there is F word in vocabulary. Until many years later, browsing through a book about American Slang in the college library, I spotted the F word in an expression about cursing. I looked it up in my dictionary, but found nothing. Back then, we didn’t have computers or Internet, which gives you access to any sort of information in the blink of an eye, nor did we have DVD or VCD. The only chance we could watch American movie was that during some weekday evening the American teachers played some movies brought from US on a VCR. The TV in our classroom was very small, and the sound was poor. And the room was always packed and had an awful smell of body odor, stale air, and lots of noises.

　Honestly, I could understand disturbingly little of the movie, which had no subtitle and couldn’t be played back. All we studied was some stupid textbooks titled advanced English with passages written probably decades or even centuries ago by some famous writers or philosophers whatsoever.

　Many years passed, we have more options of English learning, and my knowledge increases. I found that the f word is so widely used in English that no one could say his or her English is really good without solid knowledge of it.

　To many beginners, teachers told them that the f word is a bad and crude word they should never learn or use. But I think this is terribly wrong. The f word, though often used as a verbal insult to other people as in “f you”, it is also frequently used to indicate anger, resentment, affection, or even care. Some good examples could be easily caught in the many popular American movies. “Where the f are you talking about?” “Where the f have you been” The speaker may be simply emphasizing an emotion of surprise, shock, or concern. The most interesting word incorporating the f word is “abso-f ing-lutely” in one episode of the TV show “Sex and the City”. If we don’t know how to use the f word, it is really hard to express a degree of certainty higher than the word “absolute”.

　My point is that as language learners we should always keep in mind that sometimes what you see is not what you get. To learn a language better, it requires us so much more than hard work and practice. We need to expose ourselves to a more authentic language environment even it is very difficult for people like us living and working in China. The earlier we expose ourselves to cross-cultural problems, the more obstacles we come across in learning English, the deeper we would understand the language. So challenge yourself and you would become tougher and smarter.

　为了更好理解这篇文章，请观看以下电影：/fwordflash.html

　[原创]BEC高级--让我难忘的考试

　又一年的BEC考试又要开始了.很多人急着复习备考了.平心而论,她在对测试非英语为母语的考生运用英语作为工具进行商务活动能力的方面还是比较有说服力和权威性的,所以对于将来有志进入(或已经进入)外企进行国际贸易的人员来说,这项考试还是值得一试的.特别是BEC HIGHER, 她对英语综合能力的评估力度相对更大一些.

　由于BEC考试有她特有的特点,报考她的人也越来越多.但是也正是由于她将英语和商务结合到一起,致使考试难度加大.无论是对于没有经过英语专业训练的非英语专业考生,还是对于学习英语专业但没有商务知识的考生来说都是比较困难的.尤其如果是没有正式进入工作岗位,只是在校学生,他们对BEC高级商务实务不是很了解,在解决具体考试内容的时候,就会有一定难度.

　[原创]Government Officers

　I had no idea what the government officers were like before I joined my bureau. I, however, had no positive impressions on them, because of some officers I approached when I was a salesman.

　Of course, I usually contacted those who were in charge of purchasing. Those officers were/maybe still are proud, demanding and powerful. Some of them hinted me for returns and some just asked directly. I invited them for dinner sometimes, and they ordered the most expensive dishes. Some even asked for more services after dinner. Not until all the so-called services were done, did they want to release some useful information to us or sign the purchasing orders. That’s why I used to look down upon them. They were nothing but a big pile of shit to me.

　And now I’m working as a government officer too, not only because I am tired of being a salesman, but I want a stable and reliable job. I don’t think this position will be my final career destination, though! It’s been three months since I joined in the bureau. I’m impressed by the government officers in my bureau, because they are far away from what I thought before. Some of them are really good and responsible people!

　Our bureau is a bit different from the others, because we are in charge of all the trades and investments in the city. Local companies have to apply for invitation letters if they want their foreign customers, colleagues, friends, relatives or whoever to come to Shenyang to live or work. And we’re in charge of all the foreign companies in the city. Though we have great power in hand, we use it to get more legal foreign investments and for anything which could be helpful for employment opportunities.

　Some small problems still occurred to me after I became a member of the officers. I had no such experience on dealing with them before. For example: A section director asked me to translate a long essay for him. I said yes, but my boss was not happy because he said the director had no right to ask his man to do anything without his permission. I understood, cause he is my boss. I shall not take orders from other people, though their ranks are much higher than mine! So my boss asked me to leave his translation alone and let him to explain to the director. In fact, he forgot to do it, and I was there waiting for the consequence. It came to me pretty soon. The director told the president of my bureau that my English was poor. And don’t forget I just impressed the boss in a negative way. I smiled when I heard this, bitterly. “So what?” I asked myself. It’s no big deal. Danny’s English level has been proved by many foreigners, not only from English-speaking countries. I have, at least, great confidence on my English skills.

　This incident made me more mature. Working for the Chinese government is not easy. As long as you’re sophisticated enough, you will definitely stand a batter chance to be promoted. You have to be bad, mean and whatever suitable for the job. I’m outta here, sooner or later. Like my brother told me before: if you work for the government, you’re gonna die soon.

　Now I understand what he meant. Oops, being a government officer is not easy; being a good and innocent one is nearly impossible. So are you ready to be a government officer?

　[原创]how to "use" english!!!

　some people just dont know why after 10 years of learning they

　still cant speak like a 10 year old native speaker. the only

　reason or difference is that while you are "learning" english,

　a native kid is "using" english.

　a book just wont get you anywhere, but without a good book,

　you cant go far either. so here is my idea, use the language

　first, read when there is something you dont understand, but

　before you go through this reading process, do ask a native

　for help first.

　i spent 3 years on this and it definitely worked. i hope

　newbies could do like i did, but one thing for sure, you will

　never be as good at this as you wanna be, and this feeling will

　either get you motivated or bored, if you can manage well, you

　will see the big picture.

　here is a website where you can meet a lot of native people,

　www.facethejury.com , there is a forum which can be accessed

　for free if you register, you can chat with native people on

　that forum in real time, its much better than having a teacher

　right? well, at least i think so.

　you know, i avoid the chance to talk with non native speakers,

　because i might learn from them, and they might become some

　kind of habbit to me, which tells you not to use english with

　your own kind, cause if you do it will not do you any good.

　mistakes can happen, but make sure they dont come out all the

　time, cause if they do your brain will register them and it

　will be hard for you to correct later on.

　dont you ever think going abroad to learn english is much better

　than doing it in your own country and dont forget who you are, because if you forget who you really are, no one else would

　remember that for you, and if you think going abroad can learn

　the real thing, to some point you are right, but for most of

　you, its a big mistake, who told you native speakers can accept

　you as their friend when you still need to learn english? if

　you cant talk fluently with them they will get bored.

　dont argue, if a native spearker says "hey whats up", you just

　need to accept the fact that they dont use "hello how are you",

　just register that piece in your mind and use it the next time

　you see someone you know, "habbitize" yourself. "ima tell you

　like dis," grammar rules dont work very well in real conversations

　if you see what i mean.

　"is" and "are", you dont know how to use them? maybe a native

　speaker doesnt know that either but they do know how to use

　them in a "right" kind of way. "who you think you is?" does

　this one sound right to you? cause it does sound right for a

　native. whatever a native says, its right, if you follow,

　you will become more like them.

　alright, im sick of this long ass sh*t, enough for you to

　get my point...(or maybe i need to write more?)