首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. Fo
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. Fo
admin
2010-01-26
51
问题
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.
For questions 1-4, mark
Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;
N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;
NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
For questions 5-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
The Advantages of Communicative Language Teaching
As a teacher trainer working with international groups, I am frequently asked to include an overview of communicative language teaching (CLT), and discuss ways of adapting materials to make lessons more communicative or interactive.
Most groups are enthusiastic about the lesson opportunities which CLT offers. However, some also indicated they felt constrained by the system under which they operated, especially those teaching in settings which are particularly exam-focused. In addition, they queried the relevance of CLT to their situation, where many of the students never used English outside the classroom. In contrast, I had shifted across a spectrum of learners, enthusiastically taking CLT along with me as universally appropriate.
Taking my colleagues’ concerns on board, I began to question the appropriateness of CLT for some of these diverse learner groups. This was supported by current reading on the topic; the titles of some articles made me think I should give up the support for CLT then and there. However, the more I read on the topic, the more I defended the continued suitability of CLT. It really does benefit the students in a variety of ways.
Elements of CLT
Communication — According to Ability
Whether CLT should be considered an approach or a methodology is a more abstract debate and here I want to deal with its more practical aspects, in fact, it is those very elements, and the name itself, which have been used to challenge the future relevance of CLT. Firstly, the label implies a focus on communication and some might argue that this method can’t be employed genuinely with low levels as there is no authentic communication, due to a limited vocabulary and restricted range of functions. Initially, many of a learner’s utterances are very formulaic. As an aside, consider just what percentage of our own English expressions are unique, and how often we rely on a set phrase; just because it is delivered unselfconsciously and with natural intonation does not make it original. The aim is that the length and complexity of exchanges, and confident delivery, will grow with the student’s language ability.
With the emphasis on communication, there is also the implication that spoken exchanges should be authentic and meaningful; detractors claim that the artificial nature of classroom-based (i.e. teacher-created interactions makes CLT an oxymoron. Nevertheless, a proficient teacher will provide a context so that class interactions are realistic and meaningful but with the support needed to assist students to generate the target language. We need to consider that producing language is a skill and when we learn a skill we practise in improvised settings. For example, before a nurse gives a real injection, they have punctured many a piece of fruit to hone their technique.
Accuracy as Well as Fluency
It might also be argued that the extent of some of the structures or functions may never be used in real life. One example is adjective order; I have given students an exercise where they have to produce a phrase with a string of adjectives, such as "a strong, orange, Norwegian, canvas tent." This is very unnatural, as most times we only combine two or three adjectives. The other example is directions—we have students follow a map and negotiate exhaustive directions which suggest maze-like complexity. In reality, most of us probably are only involved in a three-phase set of directions. In fact, what we are doing with these exercises is exposing students to patterns which they can later activate.
This focus on accuracy versus fluency is one of the issues not often considered in a discussion of CLT. The teacher decides to pay attention to one or other end of this band, depending on the type of lesson, or the stage of a particular lesson, and accuracy is their choice if they want to deal with students getting things right, take an opportunity for correction, or gauge the success of their teaching, for example. Freer speaking involves more choice, therefore more ambiguity, and less teacher intervention. While CLT implies the lessons are more student-centered, this does not mean they are un-structured. The teacher does have a very important role in the process, and that is setting up activities so that communication actually happens. There is a lot of preparation; accuracy practice is the bridge to a fluency activity. By implication, CLT involves equipping students with vocabulary, structures and functions, as well as strategies, to enable them to interact successfully.
The reference to strategies introduces the matter of grammatical versus communicative competence. If we view the two as mutually exclusive, then we are likely to champion one over the other, in terms of approach, curriculum or whatever else determines and defines our classroom teaching. In fact, Canale and Swain’s model of communicative competence, referred to by Guangwei Hu, includes four sub-categories, namely grammatical, sociolinguistic discourse and strategic. They consider someone competent in English should demonstrate both roles of grammar and use.
Promoting Learning
This returns us to the consideration of who we are teaching, and why. Are our students aiming to learn or acquire English? Do they need to know lexical items and linguistic rules as a means of passing an exam, or do they want to be able to interact in English? For those inclined to maintain the dichotomy between learning and acquisition, and who argue that our primary focus is learners, CLT still has relevance. It is timely to review an early definition of CLT. According to Richards and Rodgers, in Guangwei Hu, CLT is basically about promoting learning.
Then again, Mark Lowe suggests that we follow Halliday’s lead and drop the distinction between learning and acquisition, and refer to language mastery instead. After all, if the students master the language, they will certainly be able to perform better in exams, if that is their goal. In addition, those who do see a purpose beyond classroom-related English will be better equipped for using the language socially.
Motivation
One of the constant discussions in all my teacher training groups was how to motivate students. This suggests that the focus on passing the exam was not always enough. Motivation relates to engaging students but also includes confidence building. If there is a climate of trust and support in the classroom, then students are more likely to contribute. One way of developing this is to allow pair-checking of answers before open-class checking occurs. Another way is to include an opportunity for students to discuss a topic in small groups before there is any expectation that they speak in front of the whole class. Evelyn Doman suggests that "The need for ongoing negotiation during interaction increases the learners’ overt participation..." It is this involvement we need to harness and build on.
Sometimes the participation is hardly what we would define as "negotiation", but merely a contribution. For a few students, just uttering a word or a phrase can be an achievement. Indeed, some of the teachers in the training sessions said this was the goal they set for their more reticent pupils. And I have had students who, after writing their first note or e-mail in English, expressed their pride at being able to do so.
If teachers consider an activity to be irrelevant or not engaging enough, there are many other tasks which may be more appropriate, such as surveys, using a stimulus picture and prompt questions (Who... Where... When...What...), or a series of pictures which need to be sequenced before a story is discussed. In this respect, CLT addresses another area which constantly challenges teachers, the mixed-ability class. When the lesson progresses to a freer-speaking activity, students can contribute according to their ability and confidence, although I acknowledge both need to be stretched. So there is a challenge for the more capable students, while those with an average ability still feel their effort is valid. This compares with the less creative opportunities offered by some textbooks, where students read a dialogue, perhaps doing a substitution activity, for example.
A basic responsibility is considering and responding to the needs of our students, so if the course book is inadequate we need to employ the following steps: select, adapt, reject and supplement. Moreover, because each class we teach has its own characteristics and needs, CLT will vary each time we employ it.
Since in reality, most of us probably are only involved in three phase-set of directions, it is meaningless for the students to negotiate exhaustive directions.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/X3dK777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A—limitedliabilityJ—unfaircompetitionB—businessscopeK—wholesalerC—commercialchannels
Thispartistotestyourabilitytodopracticalwriting.Youarerequiredtowriteabusinessletteraccordingtothefollowin
Scientistsfindthathard-workingpeoplelivemuchlongerthanaveragemenandwomen.Careerwomenarehealthierthanhousewives
Judgeswillnormallyinterpretcontractsstrictlyandwillusecertainprincipleswhenit_______(解决意思前后矛盾、模棱两可的问题时).
A、Anessay.B、Amagazinearticle.C、Apoem.D、Ashortstory.DWhatmustthestudentsreadforWednesday?
Manyteachersbelievethattheresponsibilityforlearninglieswiththestudents,Ifalongreading(47)______isgiven,instru
A、Sheworkedinasupermarketfortuition.B、Shehelpedsomeonetolearntoread.C、Shegavesinglemothersthehelpthattheyn
A、Maryearnedtheprize.B、Maryhasgrantedtheprize.C、MaryfailsintheSpeechcontest.D、Themandoesn’tthinkMarydeserves
A、Itdoesn’tneedtoberefueled.B、Itwillusesolarenergyasfuel.C、Itwillbedrivenbyelectricalpower.D、Itwillbemore
Withmoreelectricalhouseholdappliancescomingintobeingduringthetwentiethcentury,_______________(妇女孩子花在做家务方面的时间比例大大减少了)
随机试题
铝及铝合金采用机械清理时,一般都用砂轮打磨,直至露出金属光泽即可进行焊接。()
在上例中,如果允许延期交货,并且每单位每年的延期交货成本为2元,问经济批量,年库存总成本和年订购次数是多少?
在生产关系的内容中,起决定作用的是【】
有关CT的临床应用中,错误的是
关于女性骨盆的结构和韧带,以下哪项正确
男性,25岁。1周前婚检发现血压150/95mmHg,尿蛋白(+ + +),尿红细胞0~1/HP。最可能的临床诊断是
某县根据国家规定,已经制定并公布实施了“统一年产值和征地区片综合地价标准”。该县现需要新修一条道路,通过路段的征地区片综合地价分别为5万元/亩、4.5万元/亩和4万元/亩。在按照标准办理了建设用地征地等手续后开始施工建设。就上述问题。回答问题。在本案
下列说法符合城镇土地使用税规定的是()。(2012年)
社会化过度是指把成年人某些社会化的任务前移到了部分青少年身上。现在我们的教育过早及过多地给予孩子们社会规范、纪律约束和强求一律的认同,极易造成青少年的社会化过度。根据上述定义,下列行为中不属于社会化过度的是()。
有如下程序:#includeintconvert(int*data){return(*data)++;}main(){intdata=56;convert(&da
最新回复
(
0
)