Motivating Students to Speak up in the Large-sized Class

劉敏娟 （西安財經學院公共外語教學部 陜西西安 710100 ）

1.Introduction

As we all known， with the expanding of class size in college， there are lots of students in each class.It is very common phenomenon that there are 50 or even 100 students in class.College English is also a compulsory course in university so that it makes many problems during the process of language teaching.It is worthwhile for English teachers to face up with the severe challenge with cooperative learning instead of traditional teaching methods.(translated from 李潔莉，P91)

It is difficult for students to practice their own oral ability in class.Teachers should motivate learners to speak up a lot in class， especially large-sized one.As is commonly accepted motivation is the key to success， and interest is the best teacher.According to Williams and Robert Burden， motivation refers to “a state of longitude and emotional arousal which leads to a conscious decision to act， and which gives rise to a period of sustained intellectual and physical effort in order to attain a previously set goal.”

Motivation is one of the most important factors in learning a foreign language.As Darwin said “Just as eating without liking does harm to one’s health，learning without liking harms memory and retains nothing it takes in.” Former experiments show that among the factors contributing to success of learners， motivation accounts for about 35%.Psychological studies indicated that human beings mainly depend on eyes and ears to obtain information.Motivation is the key to success，and interest is the best teacher hence the role play is suitable for the psychological development of teenagers.It is not only a better way to motivate the students，but also helpful to their memory.

2.Relationship between students and teachers

In order to enhance students' motivation to speak English in oral English class， the teacher should establish positive relationship with students.As we all know， what a teacher behaves has great influence on students learning.If teachers dislike or lack interest in the teaching topic， students are impossible motivated to speak English.In contrast， if teachers interest in it， even the most mundane topic can be more interesting to students.And research show that teachers who give information and topics enthusiastically can increase students' interest， self-efficacy， self-confidence and achievement more than less enthusiastic teachers do.

2.1 The importance of role-play activities

"Role-play is used to refer to all sorts of activities where learns imagine themselves in a situation outside the classroom" (Ur， P， 1996)."Doing role-play activities is a way to practice or rehearse situations that may happen in real life.The purpose of this is to prepare the students for the reallife language use" (Gu Yueguo， 2005: 89)."Role-Plays are the most commonly used method to ensure that the students can use effectively what they have learned in the real communication.Teacher wants students to make up their own dialogues naturally and students really have something to say to each other.That means teacher has to give students situations that are interesting and that the students can relate to" (Gu Yueguo， 2005:239).

2.2 How to do role-play activities

In role-play activities， "students are asked to: 1) Imagine themselves in a situation which occurs outside the classroom.This could be anything from a simple occurrence like meeting a friend in the street，to a much more complex event such as a series of business negotiation.2) Adopt a specific role in this situation.In some cases， they may simply have to act as themselves.In others， they may have to adopt a simulated identity.3) Behave as is the situation really existed in accordance with their roles" (Littlewood，1981).

3.Conclusion

In conclusion， there are many factors influencing the students to speak English in oral English class.Teaching English is not an easy job.As English teachers， we should realize that motivation is an important factor in oral English class， and a better understanding of motivation may enable us to design oral English teaching programs.In order to motivate our students effectively， we should find an appropriate topic for students to discuss， be enthusiastic in the classroom and adopt flexible teaching method in oral English class depending on different situations.

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