My views on English Language Teaching

Abstract The ultimate goal of foreign language teaching is to enable the students to use the foreign language in work of life when necessary. Thus we should teach language in the way that is used in the real world. But the basic precondition is that learner must be interested in foreign language. In my opinion， during the English learning process， “interest is the best teacher”. But many students don’t like to learn English， the reason is that they are not interested in English. Therefore， a successful language teacher must know how to raise students’ interest in learning English， make them enjoy learning English. In addition， the language teaching method is very important， it must renew continuously， teachers should use the vivid and diverse teaching method to organize students to participate in extensive language practice activities， so as to improve students’ study enthusiasm.

Key words effective; dominant;initiative;stimulate;enthusiasm

中圖分類號：G424 文獻標識碼：A " DOI：10.16400/j.cnki.kjdkz.2015.04.056

I. Introduction

As we know， for many years English teaching in China is always in the trend of “high input， low output”， this is not harmonious. The result is so-called “dummy English”. In my opinion， the reason is that we couldn’t arrange the learning in scientific way. However， at present， there are many problems existing in English teaching. One of the biggest problems is that many students don’t like English. This is a serious problem. As an English teacher， the most important skill is to make students enjoy learning English. Therefore， if English teachers want to arouse students’ interest in English， they should provide the good opportunity， create an active classroom atmosphere， cause students’ interest and the desire of learning knowledge. Interest is the key， there are many approaches to arouse students’ interest. Now， let me say something about the effective language teaching system in detail.

II. The necessity and importance of arouse students’ interest in English teaching.

English is a language， unlike other subjects. The aim of English education is to communicate with others. And in the modern time， the Quality-oriented Education is putted into practice. On the other hand， many students don’t like "learning English. They think it is very boring and hate memorizing large vocabularies， sentences and difficult phrases， so they lose the interest to English day after day. In my point of view， interest is the key， interest can make us energetic and give us the powerful drive to gain new knowledge， including English. If one can profit by something， he or she would be interested in that thing. There’s no doubt that studying English is very profitable. Because it is not only a kind of foreign language， but also a kind of tool to learn advanced knowledge. The students’ interest in the studying has affected the study result directly， if students lose the interest in English， they cannot produce the motive of the study. Therefore， English teachers must try their best to make the whole class active and attractive， stir up students’ studying potential， help students change the concept from “Make me learn” to “I want to learn”. This is the beginning of success in the English teaching.

III. Breakthrough the traditional language teaching method and form the new teaching method based on the principle of science， this method can arouse students’ interest in English effectively.

1. Some problems existing in the traditional teaching method.

For many years， we have found that the traditional teaching method is difficult to enable students to communicate freely and express their ideas clearly. Most of English teachers follow the traditional method， let me take the “dialogue teaching” for example： students read the dialogue and new words after teacher; teacher let students recite the texts and translate it into Chinese， or explained some difficult points. As a result， most of students cannot make themselves understood and communicate freely in the dialogue. Traditional ways of teaching English are dominated in so-called textbooks with a lot of grammar and reading materials. The method only put emphasis on reading and listening， neglect speaking and writing.

As Harmer suggests： “ One skill cannot be performed without another. It is impossible to speak in a conversation if you do not understand listening， and people seldom write without reading----even if they only read what they have just written”. （Harmer， 1991，52）

The diagram below shows how all four skills are related. （Byrne， 1991， 8）：

Spoken Language： Understanding， Speaking

Receptive Skills： Understanding， Reading

Productive Skills： Speaking， Writing

Written Language： Reading， Writing

We can see from above， the four basic skills should be taught inclusively rather than separately. This is why the traditional teaching way is not effectively. As Byrne says， the integrated skills activities are very important， for example：

a） Teachers should provide much more opportunities for students to participate in activities naturally;

b） Pair and group work activities call for a variety of skills simultaneously， in order to involve all the learners;

c） Students seem to learn better when they engaged in activities. （1991， 130）

So， as an English teacher， we should get students engaged in the communicative activity to finish the teaching task， students are very glad to learn in this way， this must be effective teaching way.

2. Strengthen the task-based language teaching， make students understand the importance of learning English.

The psychology research showing the need---motive---target process is the main factor that produces a persons’ initiative behavior. If a person has the need， then he can set up the motive， and has the motive then can establish the target. Therefore， a person has to be aware of the target， this study behavior can become a kind of beneficial learning motive. In the teaching process， teachers should pay more attention to stressing the importance of learning English， let students understand that English is one of the most extensive languages in the world， English is a language that can broaden their horizon and help them play a leading role in the international community as well as in the country.

3. To advocates the dialogue type teaching to cultivate students’ comprehensive ability in language usage.

3.1 The dialogue type teaching puts an emphasis on students’ independence and free development.

The dialogue type teaching pay attention to the interaction between teachers and students， students and students. It largely improves students’ thinking， they no longer accept the language knowledge passively， but use the language actively. The dialogue type teaching matches the mental process of learning language， it can arouse the students’ inside motive and study interests， create the equal and mutual teaching atmosphere， provide students’ demonstration opportunities to show their stage. The interest is the most realistic， the most active and the most important part in the learning motive. If students are interested in English， then the interest can improve their studying enthusiasm， thus they can learn English well.

3.2 The dialogue type teaching provides good language environment for students.

The equal relationship between teachers and students provides good learning atmosphere. In the harmonious democracy atmosphere， students can use the language knowledge they have learned， have a free talk and participate in the language scene actively. They are not afraid of being laughed at by the classmates. Therefore， the dialogue type teaching can help those students who are timid and self-abasement particularly remove their mental obstacle and strengthen their confidence， let them produce this mental feeling： “ I can speak English， I can do it well”.

English is a language， the social communicative of language decides that English teaching requires students to participate in class actively， the dialogue type teaching provides a stage that teachers and students can practice actual English， and cultivate students’ communicative competence. Richards and Rodgers （1986：72） suggested three principles in communicative language teaching： a） Communication principle： Activities that involve real communication promote learning; b） Task principle： Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning， it advocates task-based language teaching， students should be given tasks to perform or problems to solve in the classroom; c） Meaningfulness principle： Language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process.

IV. English language teaching should pay attention to the classroom interaction and develop the dominant function of students.

1. "Strengthen the language social intercourse function in the teaching.

The target of English teaching is for the social intercourse. English teaching is to cultivate students’ comprehensive ability in language usage through the social intercourse activities. In the activities process， the emotion exchange between teachers and students is also an interaction. The progress of learning English cannot be separated from the teachers’ teaching principle; the teachers’ teaching principle also cannot be separated from the study result. The aim of teaching is to promote communication. In order to develop students’ social intercourse ability， teachers should pay more attention to the usage of social intercourse strategies， create the true intercourse atmosphere.

2. "To create the true scene is a key in the English teaching.

The language can convey one’s meaning to others in the scene. The social background benefits a person to convey one’s meaning clearly. Therefore， teachers may design the true scene for students to carry on the meaningful social intercourse activities， some students enjoy working in groups， some enjoy speaking with the teachers. On the other hand， if students become so afraid of making mistakes that they never open their mouths， I think that teachers should give students a chance to say what he or she wants to say， then react to the content of what students said. After react to the content， teachers should point out a few specific errors which students should work on. Therefore， the student’s fear of making mistakes， a major obstacle in language learning can be avoided. So， I believed it also very important to give students more opportunities to talk about themselves and （下轉第118頁）（上接第116頁）exchange viewpoints with teachers and classmates. This is also a good chance to show themselves well.

V. Conclusion.

In my thesis， I have attempted to show the necessity and possibility of arousing students’ interest in English teaching， and explain the importance of integrated skills. I have also explored how to make use of activities to make the English learning more effective. English is a practical science. Learning English needs more practice. English teaching must put more emphasis on student-centered， teachers should breakthrough the traditional teaching method and form the effective teaching method. If students enjoy learning English， they’ll practice it as much as possible in the teaching activities. If English teaching can be arranged in scientific way. I think the “dummy English” no longer exists in the future.

Reference

[1] Hu Dongfang， The education of dialogue type teaching， the concept of education in the modern time， Shanghai foreign language education，2000.

[2] Scovel， T， Psycholinguistics， Shanghai foreign language education，2000.

[3] Harmer， J The practice of Language Teaching Longman，1991.

[4] Byrne，D Teaching Oral English Longman House，1986.