Improve the Students′ Oral English 英语专业毕业论

HHHHImprovetheStudents'OralEnglishIntroductionIworkinNo.3MiddleSchool.Inmyteaching,I’vefoundsomeproblems,especiallytheproblemthatsomeofmystudentsarenotinterestedinspeakingEnglish.I’vetoldthemtimeandagaintheimportanceoforalEnglishandurgedthemtotakeanactivepartinoralwork.However,theirinterestinspeakingEnglishdoesnotseemtobeenhanced.IhopeIcanfindsolutionstotheproblemthathastroubledmeforsometimethroughactionresearchsothatIcanapplywhatIhavelearnedintopractice.Hopefully,thepresentsituationinteachingoralEnglishcanbeimprovedandmystudentscanalsobenefitfromtheproject.Problemanalysis2.1SummaryoftheproblemsInmyteaching,theproblemidentifiedwasreallyaseriousone.Mypreliminaryresearchconfirmedthattherewerethreemainreasonsthataccountedforstudents’lackofinterestinoralclass.Firstly,somestudentswereafraidofbeinglaughedbyothersbecauseoftheirpoorpronunciationandperformance.Secondly,somestudentswantedtosay,buttheydidn’tknowhowtogetstartandwhattosay.Thirdly,somestudentsparticularlythosewhodidnotdowellinthetraditionalgrammar-orientedwrittenexamlackedSelf-confidenceinoralwork.Theythoughtthattheoralclasswasonlytheshowing-timeforthe“top-students”.Fourthly,somestudentsdidn’tthinktheoralpracticeisusefultotheirgrammar-orientedexam,sotheywerenotinterestedinitatall.TheProblemshadbeentroublingmeforalongtimeandnowIwasdeterminedtoworktowardsthesolutiontotheproblem.Istartedoffbymakingananalysisoftheproblems.Methodsofanalysis(seeAppendixA)TheanalyticmethodMyproblemis:Someofmystudentsarenotinterestedinoralpractice.Throughtheanalyticmethodanalysis,Imadeachainofreflectionsabout“others”and“mycolleagues’students”comparedwith“someof”and“mystudents”.Theresultshowedthattheyarenotasthesame.SoInoticedthepoororalworkdesignwasthemainreasontheproblem.SocraticdialoguesThe Socratic dialogues was used to analyze one of my trouble-makers:IhardlyhelpmystudentstoexpressinEnglish.Astheresult,“thepurposeofspeakingIgavemystudentswasnotmuchclear”wasthemainreason.Causeanalysis:(seeAppendixA)IdidtheCauseAnalysisonboth“teacher’sside”and“students’side”.Ianalysisthefourmainreasonsofstudentsnotbeinginterestedinoralpractice.IrecognizedthatIshouldaddsomePronunciationTrainingActivitiestoimprovestudents’pronunciation;givethemoreclearinstructiontoletstudentsknowwhattospeakandhowtospeak;offermoreencouragementtothe“lowstudents”withlo wmarksonthe“grammarexams”togrowconfidence;trytodesignsomeoralactivitiestoimprovethestudents’abilityonthe“grammarexam”.Questionnairesurvey:Idesignedonequestionnaireanddistributedtomystudentsbeforeconductingtheresearchandrequiredthattheyfinishitwithin20minutes.Allofthem,22students,returnedtheirquestionnairesthatwereleftanonymous.Whenallthesedatacamein,Imadesomestatisticalevaluation.Theresultshowedthat100%ofthestudentsthoughttheoralpracticewasimportantandthatabout80.5%ofthestudentsthoughtoralpractice was quite necessary for their future development, whichindicatedthatthestudentshavebeenfullyawardedoftheimportanceandnecessityoforalpractice.Buttheymightencounterdifficulties,suchasthelanguagelevelishigherthanthestudents’,sotheylosttheirconfidenceandinterest.1.Resultsofproblemanalysis:Aftermakingtheaboveanalysis,I’vegottheresultthatinadequateteachingdesignismainlyresponsibleforstudents’lackofinterestinoralpractice.Soinmyfutureteaching,Iwilltrytoimprovemyoralworkdesignthroughaddingsomeitemstoimprovethestudents’pronunciation,givingthemmoreencouragementandmoredetailedinstructionsfortheirspeakingtopic,etc.ProjectobjectiveandhypothesisProjectobjectiveTheprojectobjectiveistoenhancelearners’interestinoralpractice.ProjecthypothesisItishypothesizedthatlearners’interestinoralpracticecanbeenhancedbywell-designedoralwork.ProjectrationalThepurposeandimportanceofteachingspeakinginEnglishcourse“Speakingistheskillthatthestudentswillbejudgeduponmostinreal-lifesituations.Itisanimportantpartofeverydayinteractionandmostoftenthefirstimpressionofapersonisbasedonhis/herabilitytospeakfluentlyandcomprehensibly.”(Wang&,2000)SoasaIdeoegeefmakingitasclosetoreal-lifeaspossible.ItismyresponsibilitytohelpstudentstoimprovetheabilityofspeakinginEnglishbothinclassroomandintherealworldoutsidetheclassroom.CommunicativeapproachinteachingspeakingSince1960’s,CommunicativeLanguageTeaching(CLT)hasdevelopedintoacomprehensiveteachingandlearningmethodology.Sointoday’steaching,thegoalofCLTistouselanguageforcommunicativepurposes.ToourEnglishteachersEnglishteachingfocusesnolongeronthemasteryofgrammarstructuresandvocabulary,butonamorecomprehensivetrainingofcommunicativecompetence.PPPmodel“ThePPPprocedurehascomeinforconsiderablecriticismoverthelastfewyears,especiallyasamodelforteachertraineestofollow.”(Harmer,2003)TheprocedureofanorallessonaimingatteachingnewlanguageitemscanbeidealizedintothreestagesknownasthePPPmodel.FollowthePPPmodel,thenewlanguageshouldfirstbepresentedtothestudentsinmeaningfulcontextsandmakesuretheyunderstandwhatitmeansandhowitused,thatisthefirststagePresentation; thenstudents Practice thenew languageon thefollowing stage; finally students are given the opportunity tointegratethenewlanguageitemswiththeoldthroughactivitiesthatgivefreeandextensiveexpressionaimedatdevelopingfluency.ThatisthelaststageProduction.CommunicativespeakingactivitiesLittlewood(1981)dividescommunicativespeakingactivitiesintotwotypes:functionalcommunicationactivitiesandsocialinteractionactivities.Forbeginninglanguagestudents,Littlewoodpointsoutthatitisnecessarytoalsoincludewhathecallspre-communicativeactivities,whicharemorestructuralandallowthelearnertopracticetheformsofthelanguage.Thelearners’rolesandresponsibilitiesTriciaHedge(2002)pointedoutthatoneoftheperspectiveonlearner-centerednessis“encouraginglearnerstotakeonagreaterdegreeofresponsibility for their own successful learning, not only bycontributingtocourseoractivitydesign…,butalsobycontinuingtheirlearningoutsideclass,athome,orinself-accessfacilities.”Whatislanguage?IthinkthatLanguageistheartofspeaking.SowhenyouarelearningEnglish,youareaperson,whoislearningbydoingit;youareaperson,whoisworkingbyusingitandyouareaperson,wholivesinit.MakeEnglishstudyapartofyourdailyroutine,thesameaseatingorbrushingyourteeth.MereexposuretoEnglishwillnotenableyoutospeakEnglish.SpeakingEnglishwillteachyouEnglish!TheroleoftheteacherIwillletthestudentsknowthatasateacherinspeakingclassroom,I’mnotjustateacher–thepersonwhojustgivesyouknowledge,Ihavemanyrolesinone.JeremyHarmersays,“Withintheclassroomteacher’srolemaychangefromoneactivitytoanother,orfromonestageofanactivitytoanother.Ifwearefluentatmakingthesechangesoureffectivenessasteachersisgreatlyenhanced.”(Harmer,2003)Soteacherisplayingdifferentrolesatdifferenttimes.InthePPPmodel,Ishouldhavegreatercontrolatthepresentationstageandoftenactasademonstrator.Atthepracticestage,Iamexpectedtobeanorganizer,aconductorandamonitor.Attheproductionstagewhenthesituationismorestudent-directed,Ishouldplaytheroleofastimulatorandahelper.Inteaching,“thatisteachingwhichmakesthe learners’ needs and experience central to the educationalprocess.”(Harmer,2003)So“If(theteacher)isindeedwise,hedoesnotbidyouenterthehouseofhiswisdom,butratherleadsyoutothethresholdofyourownmind.”(Gibran,1991)SuccessfulelementsofspeakingclassAsuccessfulspeakingclassshowsthefollowingcharacteristics:YourstudentstalkalotinEnglish.“Insuccessfulspeakingtasks,thestudentstalkalotintheforeignlanguage.”(Ur,1996)Thestudents’participationiseven.“Whetherthetasktakesplaceamongthewholeclassorinasmallgroups,asuccessfultaskshouldencouragespeakingfromasmanydifferentstudentsaspossible.”(Ur,1996)3）Thestudents’motivationishigh.“Researchhasshownthatmotivationisoneofthe mostimportantvariablesinsuccessfullanguagelearning.Teacherscandoalottoincreaseandmaintainthemotivationofstudentsbythetypesoftasksthatthey inclass.”(Ur,1996)4）Thelanguageuseshouldbeanacceptablelevel.“Inasuccessfulspeakingtask,thelanguageisattherightlevel.Thetaskmustbedesignedsothatstudentscancompletethetasksuccessfullywiththelanguagethattheyhave.(Ur,1996)Theroleofgoodlessonplanning“Lessonplanningisanartofcombininganumberofdifferentelementsintoacoherentwholesothatalessonhasanidentitywhichstudentscanrecognize,workwithin,andreactto…”(Harmer,2003)As for teachers, lesson planning is not optional, it is essentialpreparationforteaching.Itisamatterfortheteacherwhattoteach,andhow.(Davies,2002)Agoodlessonplanfollowstheprinciplesofvariety,flexibility,learnability,andlinkage.(Wang&Cheng,2000)Thatmeansteachersareexpectedtoplansomedifferenttypesofactivitiesinordertokeepstudents’interestinlearningwithhighmotivation,andnevermonotonous;andtoadoptdifferentmethodsandtechniquesratherthantobeaslavetoonemethodology.Thelessonplanshouldbeneithertoohardnortooeasy.Doingthingsthatarebeyondorbelowthestudents’copingabilitywilldiminishtheirmotivation(Schumann,1999).Languagelearningneedsrecyclingandreinforcement,sothestagesandstepsshouldbeplannedtobelinkedwithoneanother.ProjectresearchResearchdesignObjectivesTheobjectiveofthisresearchistoincreasestudents’interestbybetter-designedoralwork.SubjectsThesubjectsare22high-schoolstudentsinNo.2MiddleSchoolinTuoketuoCounty,whoareintheirearly20’sandwithunder-moderatedEnglishlevel.MaterialsThematerialsarebasedontheSeniorEnglishForChinaBook1A.ResearchingtoolsFivedatacollectioninstrumentswereusedintheresearch:questionnaires(seeAppendixF),Teachingnotes:(seeAppendixB),Students’handouts(seeAppendixC),diary-keeping,speech-writingexercisesandoraltests-preparedtalks.QuestionnaireThetwoquestionnairesdesignedbeforeandaftertheprojectwereessentiallycomparableinIdentifyingtheproblemsShowingtheresultoftheprojectAudio-recordingOnepronunciationtrainingarticlewasassignedonceaweektocheck,correctandimprovestudents’pronunciation.Diary-keepingDiarieshelptorecordthestudents’responsesandmyownobservation.Theyarewritteninfulldetail,because“detailiseverything.”(Liu&Hu,1999)Preparedtalks(Speech-writingexercise)Preparedtalkswereplannedtogivestudentstheopportunitiestoshowoff,whichcanhelpthemfeelmorecomfortableandsuccessfulaboutthemselves.“Ifproperlyorganized,preparedtalkscanbeextremelyinterestingforbothspeakerandlisteners.”(Harmer2003)Sofourspeech-writingexerciseswereassignedtopreparestudentsforgivingatalkinclass.ResearchingmethodsExperimentalMethodwasusedanddatawerecollectedoveraspanofroughlyonemonthfromthebeginningoftotheendofit.Thecomparisonwasmadebetweentheresultsofthetwoquestionnairesinpercentage.ResearchingprocedureProblemidentifiedwiththefirstquestionnaireDuringmyteaching,Inoticedthatsomestudentsareinterestedintheoralpractice,butsomearenot.TofindoutthereasonIdesignedaquestionnaire.Imadeadraftquestionnaireandputitintotrialuseandthenrevisedit.Thequestionscoverarangefromtheimportanceandthepurposeoftheoralpracticetotherolesoftheteachersandstudents.22questionnairesweredistributedandcollected.Afterprocessingtheresultswithcomputer,itisfoundthat12.8%ofmystudentswerenotinterestedinoralpractice,and37.8%ofthemjustfeltsoso,whichformedthebaseoftheprojectresearch.Implementationoftheresearch (seeAppendixD,E)FouroralactivitiesweredesignedbasedontheSeniorEnglishForChinaBook1A.Ittookfourweekstocarryouttheimplementationbyusingdifferentteachingmeans----Week1Inthefirstweek,wedidaGame-activitytopracticetalkingaboutlikesanddislikesbasedonUnit1inSeniorEnglishBook1A.StudentsactedwiththeStudents’Cards (seeAppendixC) ingroups:Onegroupaskedquestionsaboutlikesanddislikes,anothergroupsansweredthem.Thentheytalkedanddecidedwhocouldbefriends.Aftertheclass,studentsmadeashortspeechabouttheirlikesanddislikesasthehomework.Week2Inthesecondweek,wedidaRole-playActivitytopracticedirect&IndirectSpeechbasedonUnit2inSeniorEnglishforChinaBook1A.Studentsworkedingroups.EachgroupformedbyStudentA,B,andC.StudentAandBrequestedeachothertodosomething.StudentCwasnotclearaboutwhattheysay,sostudentCaskedAandBtoretellwhattheirpartnerssaidinindirectway.Aftertheclass,theymadeashortspeechaboutoneoftheirfavoritestars.Week3Inthethirdweek,wedidaResearch-ActivitytopracticetalkingabouttravelingbasedonUnit3inSeniorEnglishforChinaBook1AStud