吳敏
摘 要:作為英語語言學習和高考的重中之重,閱讀教學備受廣大高中英語教師的關注。筆者通過分析制約學生取得高分的因素和新鮮語篇輸入的重要性,以新概念英語教學為例,探究高三課堂新鮮語篇輸入的方法和有效性。
【關鍵詞】英語閱讀;新鮮語篇;新鮮語篇輸入
1 閱讀的重要性
眾所周知,世界各國間激烈的競爭和日益緊密的聯系賦予了英語這門語言學科在教學中的重要地位。英語作為一門語言學科,是聽、說、讀、寫有機結合的整體,各項技能在語言學習中相輔相成、相互促進。作為四項基本技能之一的閱讀,是掌握英語語言知識、獲取信息、提高語言應用能力的基礎。在英語學習中,閱讀起著主導作用,它往往決定著其它三種技能的發展和提高,有助于培養良好的語感,形成正確的英語思維,是中學英語教學過程中不可忽視的一環。國內外教育學家一直強調以大量閱讀為主要方法來增加學生的語言輸入量,進而提高英語語言技能。
同時,新課程標準要求學生能從一般文章中獲取和處理主要信息;能理解文章主旨和作者意圖;能通過上下文猜測生詞意思,理解語篇意義;能通過文章中的線索進行推理;能根據需要從網絡等資源中獲取信息;能閱讀適合高中生的英語報刊或雜志等,對高中英語閱讀教學和學生閱讀能力提出了很高的要求。閱讀理解是吸收書面信息的手段,是人們對書面信息進行認知并且構建深層理解的心理過程,是語言發展的一項重要活動。閱讀能力是一種語言的綜合能力,是書面交際中通過文字積極獲取信息的能力。
江蘇省考試說明要求考生在30分鐘的時間內閱讀4篇不同題材、體裁的短文并完成文章后的題目。不僅考查考生快速捕捉信息、準確理解特定細節以及復雜句子的能力,而且考查考生通過文章的表層進行合理推斷、挖掘文章隱含意義的能力。近幾年,江蘇省高考的閱讀理解加大了對考生理解、概括、推理和判斷力的考查。閱讀理解30分,在整張試卷中占有非常重要的比重并且在考試中起著非常關鍵的作用,可謂 “得閱讀者得天下”。
因此,無論從英語作為一門語言學科的特點,還是從新課程標準的以及目前高考英語試題結構來看,閱讀在高中英語教學中都具有非常重要的地位。
2 制約學生取得閱讀高分的因素
詞匯量大,篇幅長,長難句較多是近年來高考閱讀的特點。如2014年江蘇省英語高考卷中D篇有696個單詞,2015年D篇長達605個單詞,2016年D篇則有686個單詞。有專家測算江蘇考生閱讀速度大約應為每分鐘130詞。正如英國著名的語言學家D.A.Wilkins曾經說過,“沒有語法,能表達的內容很少,沒有詞匯則什么也表達不了”。學生的詞匯量小是制約學生取得高分的至關重要的一個原因。不難想象,一個連單詞都記不清、只學會寥寥數個單詞、胸無點墨之人,如何能看懂語篇所表達的意思?更無從寫出好文章。學生只有通過廣泛閱讀各種語篇,背誦大量的詞匯、長短句乃至整篇的文章,才能做到有效積累,掌握考綱要求的3500詞及500個常用詞組,閱讀理解中才能不因為不熟悉單詞而不能理解句子、段落甚至語篇的含義。同時,廣泛地獲取素材,寫作也水到渠成。
知識面窄,是制約學生取得高分的另一個因素。江蘇省高考中考查的知識面廣,涉及政治、經濟、文化、地理、歷史、生物、科技等等各個方面。如:馬克·吐溫小說評論、機會成本、“生氣”的影響、志愿者服務社會、自由與責任、人類與黑猩猩、厄爾尼諾等等。閱讀可以使學生開闊眼界、了解西方風俗文化。語言是文化的結晶和載體,文化又影響著語言。而江蘇省目前的牛津教材閱讀量極為有限,無法滿足提高學生英語閱讀能力的要求。正如魯梅哈特(Rumelhart)曾經指出,一個讀者不能正確理解一篇文章的原因可能有三種情況:其中之一是讀者不具備與文章內容相關的圖式。也就是學生缺乏對與文章主題有關的內容熟悉度或關于文章內容的過去經驗和背景知識,也會發現文章晦澀難懂。反之,足夠的背景知識又能幫助學習者預測、驗證、消除歧義,加深讀者對文章的理解。通過大量的閱讀,學生可以了解到不同國家的歷史地理、政治經濟、文學哲學、宗教、科技等,從而不僅促進了英語的學習,還使學生增長了知識,增加了閱歷,豐富了生活。可見,大量地閱讀有助于英語各種技能的提高,增強語感,了解西方風俗文化,形成英語思維。因此,英語閱讀教學中新鮮語篇的輸入尤為重要。
3 新鮮語篇輸入的重要性
進行新鮮語篇輸入,不僅可以使學生鞏固課本所學的語言基礎知識結構和閱讀技巧,而且還能開闊學生的眼界和知識面,使他們熟悉各種文章體裁和風格,從而提高他們閱讀各種文體的適應能力。同時,也是吸收英語語言材料、拓展和豐富語言知識、擴大詞匯量的重要手段之一,可以為英語口語、聽力和寫作能力的發展打下堅實的基礎,也能使學生從英語的閱讀中逐漸意識到學習英語的真正價值和樂趣所在,繼而在高中的英語學習中使學生們樹立學好英語的自信心。此外,增加新鮮語篇輸入,能幫助學生培養語感,鍛煉英語的使用能力和加強思維能力。
高三課堂教學,尤其是模塊十一教學結束以后,很多學校就進行機械式的試卷講練教學。其實,一味的做題講題會讓學生覺得英語學習枯燥無味,學習缺乏樂趣,逐漸導致學生學習的積極主動性下降。適時地補充新鮮語篇,既能拓展學生的知識面、擴大詞匯量,適應了高考的要求,又能給高三英語學習增加生動性和趣味性,可以說一舉多得。筆者認為,新鮮語篇輸入就是高三英語課堂教學的增鮮劑,不僅緩解了做題講題的枯燥感,還為學生打開了一扇窗,開啟奇妙的探究世界之旅。
4 高三課堂如何進行新鮮語篇輸入
筆者認為,高一階段新鮮語篇的輸入應注重激發學生學習興趣,培養語感;高二則重在積累,訓練思維;而高三的新鮮語篇輸入,除了給枯燥的練習增添一抹亮麗的色彩之外,要以綜合訓練,多元提升為宗旨,即通過課堂新鮮語篇的輸入,提高學生聽說讀寫綜合能力。筆者以新概念3Lesson 41 為例,展示課堂教學如何進行新鮮語篇的輸入。選擇新概念3是因為這套經典教材知識面廣,語言地道,第三冊月目前江蘇省高考對閱讀的要求想匹配。當然,因為課堂教學時間有限,只能有選擇性地進行部分篇章的閱讀教學。筆者采用的是下發如下講義的形式,而非整本書,為前兩個環節進行設計準備。endprint
Lesson41 Illusions(幻想) of Pastoral(田園的) peace
The quiet life of the country has never me. City born and city bred, I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window, or something you visit during the week-end. Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures(欣喜) at the mere mention of the country. Though they extol(贊美) the of the peaceful life, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow town life. He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be compared, he , with the first cock crow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting(閃爍) on the trees and pastures(牧場). This idyllic(田園詩的) pastoral scene is only part of the picture. My friend mention the long and friendless winter evenings which are interrupted only by an occasional visit to the local cinema-virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Why people are prepared to a four hour journey each day for the dubious(可疑的) privilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so much and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.
If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer. You never have to travel miles to see your friends. They invariably(總是) live nearby and are always for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment. Some of my in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat. For them this is a major operation which considerable planning. As the play to its close, they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home. The city dweller(居住者) never experiences of this sort. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best. Country people run wild when they go shopping in the city and stagger(搖晃) home as many of the necessities of life as they can carry. Nor is the city without its moments of beauty. There is something about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights. Few things could be more impressive than the peace that descends(下降) on city streets at week-ends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked(縮進) a way in their homes in the country. It has always been a to me why city dwellers, who appreciate all these things, obstinately(固執地) pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.endprint
第一個環節要求學生根據文章的內容,自我思考理解,嘗試填入恰當的詞。這一環節的設計旨在引導學生尋找文章的寫作線索,關注上下文語境。
第二個環節為聽力,即dictation,略高于江蘇省高考要求。從所填的appealed to,occasionally,virtues,superior to,maintains,fails to,tolerate,misery,available,acquaintances,involves,draws,anxieties,loaded with,comforting,deserted,mystery這些詞及詞組中,不難看出,都是江蘇省高考要求的常考詞匯,并且是寫作中的常用詞。因此,這個環節既訓練和考查學生的聽力能力,又有助于督促學生詞匯背誦積累任務的完成。
第三個環節通過question and answer以及multiple choice的形式對語篇進行分析。
Q1: How long did one of the authors city friends live in the country?
Q2: Why does the author find fault with his friends description of the country?
Q3: Why does the author consider people who have to travel from the country to the city every day unfortunate?
Q4: What is the genre(體裁)of the passage? How does he develop the passage?
Q5: What is the main difference between the writer and most of his friends?
A. They often visit the country but he only spent one weekend there.
B. Unlike them, being brought up in the city, he can appreciate its worth.
C. In contrast to them, he finds city people friendlier than country people.
D. He thinks them hypocritical(虛偽的) to maintain a preference for country life.
Q6: What advantage has the city dweller over the country dweller in terms of entertainment?
A. He can entertain his country friends more often than they can him.
B. His choice of entertainment is wide and within easy reach of him.
C. As he travels by bus and not by train, he can see the latest plays.
D. He does not need a major operation when planning a visit to the theatre.
Q7: When he speaks of the beauty to be found in the city, the writer
A. alludes(暗示) to the comparative cheerlessness of winter night in the country.
B. means that if more people settled in the city they would find peace.
C. advertises the fact that the city is a warmer place than the country.
D. implies that the country is less peaceful than the city at weekends.
這個環節中既有高考題型,又有常規的開放式題型,有助于學生對語篇的理解和把握,也能利用有限的課堂時間探討閱讀解題技巧。同時,通過文章的學習拓寬知識面。
第四個環節,summary。within about 30 words, please give an account of the advantage which the author attributes to living in the city. Use your own words.2013年考綱要求學生又提取并概括信息的能力,從2014年起江蘇省高考連續三年通過書面表達讀寫作文的形式考查這一能力。
第五個環節,積累好詞好句,存入word bank。如:The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City born and city bred, I have always regarded the country as something, extol the virtues of the peaceful life, He is forever talking about the friendly people. Nothing can be compared, he maintains. fails to mention, Why people are prepared to tolerate a four hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me.等等閱讀及寫作中常用的詞組和句式,擴大了詞匯量。在語篇中學習詞匯句型,提高了輸入的有效性。
當然,不同的文體有不同的處理方法,這里筆者通過一個例子來探討新鮮語篇在高三繁重而枯燥的練習生活中的一點小小的舒緩作用。另外,筆者認為,時文美文以及試卷中的文章也可以作為我們的信息源。如:美國大選,試卷中的Pride and Prejudice for the modern world與原著節選對比欣賞等等,希望通過這些,能讓學生在聽說讀寫得以多元提升。
5 結束語
教育家蘇霍姆林斯基先生指出,教學應使學生產生發現驚奇、滿足求知欲的愉快和創造的歡樂等各種情感體驗,從而使學習帶著高漲的、激動的情緒進行學習和思考,使教學成為一個充滿活力和激情的活動。因此,在英語課堂教學活動中,要注重教學藝術,力爭活動要目的化、情景化和知識化,使每一個學生都樂意參與其中,體驗到學習的樂趣。
學生閱讀能力的提高是一個漫長的過程,是學生主動積極構建的過程。老師起的是引領作用,希望能在我們老師的引導和幫助下,盡可能地拓寬學生的知識面,培養學生學英語的興趣,提高學生的閱讀量和綜合運用語言的能力。從而達到了事半功倍的效果。
參考文獻
[1]教育部.普通高中英語課程標準(實驗)[M].北京:人民教育出版社,2003.
[2]桂詩春著.新編心理語言學[M].上海: 上海外語教育出版社,2000.
[3]章洪霞.英語課文整體教學的三步曲[J]. 鎮江市高等專科學校學報,1996(01).
[4]黃國文著.語篇分析的理論與實踐[M]. 上海:上海外教出版社,2001.endprint