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"According
to this theory, learning a language is a process of acquiring conscious
control of the phonological, grammatical, and lexical patterns of
a second language, largely through study and analysis of these pattern
as a body of knowledge2". The classroom teaching often follows
3 procedures: Introduction of new materials, exercises and application
activities. The students are learning meaningfully and feel more
enjoyable, but teachers have a heavy burden in selecting and preparing
meaning presentations.
2.5 The Functional/Notional
Approach
The main objective is to teach communicative skills
consciously, with structure and vocabulary as the byproduct. It
lays emphasis on developing the communicative competence, the four
language skills（listening, speaking, reading and writing）are taught
integratedly.
3 Practical
Strategies in TEFL
We will discuss here some strategies that can be
easily implemented in English-teaching class activities.
3.1 Questioning
Asking questions is effective ways to check whether
the students have fully understand what you teach. But how and when
to raise a question plays an important role in this activity. When
asking questions that you want to be directed to a specific student,
there is a concern that the rest of the class will not stay on task
because they do not have to respond. One way to keep everyone on
task in this situation is to phrase your question as such:
"I was thinking about the material we just discussed as a group
and it raises some concerns in my mind. Describe to me what you
think those concerns could be?"
The teacher is suggested to wait about 5 - 7 seconds to let all
the students think it through a little, and then direct the question
to a specific student.
If you had directed the question to a specific student right from
the beginning, the rest of the class could have tuned out because
that student was the one who had to do all the thinking. By using
an open-ended question first, you create the climate where anyone
in the entire class might have to respond and so they all must formulate
an answer in their mind. This keeps everyone on-task.
3.2 Assessment
One of the challenges of in-class teaching is making
sure that the students in the class understand what has just been
taught or instructed. This is especially true when giving out instruction
for in-class activities or tests. We don't want any student to not
be successful on an assignment because we failed to give out proper
or clear instructions. There is a very easy way to assess whether
the instructions were understood. That is:
After giving out the directions or instructions, ask one student
to repeat back to you what the requirements were. If we know our
students really well, you can pick out people that you know might
have a little trouble understanding or remembering what to do. If
they can repeat back the instructions clearly, then you have a pretty
good gauge that the rest of the class understood what to do. This
is a much more effective assessment technique than." Does everyone
understand?"
3.3 Collaboration
One of the skills that are essential for students
to develop is working in groups. There are many ways to get students
to work collaboratively. Here is a really simple collaborative activity
that you can use to introduce a new concept in class.
1) Put up a word on the board that represents the new concept
you are teaching.
2) Have the students write a one-sentence definition of the word
on a piece of paper.
3) When they are finished, have them pair up with a person close
by. They now have to combine their two definitions into one. They
must collaborate to do this.
4) When the pairs are finished, have them get into groups of 4
and combine the two new definitions into one.
5) Now you will share the definitions as a class to see what you
come up with. For example, you could have one person from each of
the groups write their definition on the board. Then you could go
through the definitions circling words that represent common ideas
expressed.
This is a great collaborative strategy to see how much background
knowledge the students have on the new topic you will work with.
3.4 Environment
The environment that we create in our classroom is
essential to learning. If students do not feel safe and comfortable,
they will be less likely to want to be actively involved in the
learning experience. Here is a real simple technique to create a
feeling of comfort and safety.
Play music in your classroom. There has been extensive research
on the value of music to learning. Some great ways to use music
is to have it playing when they come into the room and get settled
in for the class. Just be there 10 minutes early for the class.
Classical music is great and Mozart has been proven to aid in thinking
and solving problems. Also, when students are working in groups
or working individually on worksheets and such, have soft music
playing in the background.
4
Conclusions
Again Teaching is both science and art. The personal
and social characteristics of the teacher are manifested in the
teacher's classroom behavior. There are three processes in teaching:
the goal, the method, and the content. A real classroom activity
is driven by the methods or techniques by which learning works toward
its goal. This is what is often referred to as style. The challenge
for teachers is to come to a level of content. A real classroom
activity is driven by the methods or techniques by which learning
works toward its goal. This is what is often referred to as style.
The challenge for teachers is to come to a level of congruence between
style and method as well as these practical strategies.
References
[1] Carroll, J.B. The contribution of Psychological
Theory and Educational Research to the Teaching of Foreign Languages[J].
Modern Language Journal V 1995.
[2] Rivers, W.M. & Temperley, M.S. A practical Guide to Teaching
English as a Second Foreign Language[M]. Oxford University Press,1998.
[3] Tang LI-xing. TEFL IN CHINA:METHODS AND TECHNIQUES[M].Shanghai
foreign Language Education Press, 2003.
作者簡介:1.Scotland(1967-
)，female，Qingdao Institute of Architecture and Engineer-ing;2.Xiufeng
Zhang(1962- ),female,Qingdao Institute of Architecture and Engineering.
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