Lead-in Strategies Based on Key Competence

【Abstract】Lead-in is the first step of English classroom teaching， which has a big influence on the following teaching and learning. Proper lead-in strategies can? attract students’ attention， provoke their learning interest， and create a cheerful classroom atmosphere so that they will join in learning actively. Lead-in plays an essential role in enhancing teaching efficiency and? key competence of students. To achieve teaching objectives effectively， teachers should apply appropriate lead-in strategies.

【Key words】Lead-in; Strategies; Teaching efficiency; Key competence

【作者簡介】華銀銀，安徽省安慶市懷寧縣振寧學校。

Thesis statement：In English classes， teachers can adopt different lead-in strategies to enhance teaching efficiency and develop students’ key competence.

1. Introduction

Nowadays， student-centered education and key competence are attached more and more importance to. To meet the new curriculum standards， and promote the development of students’ key competence， teachers ought to pay more attention to teaching strategies. Well begun is half done. An effective lead-in makes us accomplish better results with less effort. Specifically speaking， it can make students absorbed in learning in a relaxing atmosphere. Their linguistic competence， cultural consciousness， thinking quality and learning capacity will be enhanced in learning process. In this essay， the author will make a general introduction of key competence and lead-in， further analyze the principles of lead-in， classify and recommend some typical lead-in strategies. And the infiltration of key competence is also discussed with different strategies.

2. The connotation and significance of key competence

English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools published in 2017 defines English key competence in four aspects， namely， linguistic competence， cultural consciousness， thinking quality and learning capacity.

Linguistic competence is the basic factor of English key competence， refers to the ability of understanding and expressing by means of listening， speaking， reading and writing as well as the language awareness and sense developed in language learning and using.

Cultural consciousness refers to the understanding of different cultures， the approval for excellent culture as well as the students’ cross-cultural cognition in international background. It reflects the value orientation of English key competence. The development of cultural consciousness contributes to strengthening students’ national cognition and cultural confidence. It helps students to establish the sense of human destiny community so that they can grow up as civilized and responsible people.

Thinking quality mainly consists of logic thinking， critical thinking and creative thinking， which reflects the mental characteristics of English key competence. Its development is beneficial to improving students’ abilities of analyzing and solving problems， helping them to know about the world and make judgments correctly.

Learning capacity refers to students’ awareness and ability of actively using and adjusting English learning strategies， extending learning approaches and promoting learning efficiency. It is the developing condition of key competence. As the saying goes， give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Teachers should always pay high attention to training students to use different learning strategies and cultivating their learning capacity in daily teaching.

The four dimensions of English key competence are closely connected and indivisible. Linguistic competence is the carrier of the other factors， the core of key competence. Without its support， the others cannot be cultivated. By improving the students’ linguistic competence， their international understanding level can also be enhanced. And it will help them develop positive emotional attitudes and correct values. What’s more， their abilities of thinking and independent learning will be promoted as well. In turn， the establishment of the other three dimensions is helpful for students to improve their own language ability and learning confidence so that it arouses their interest in learning and enhances their learning efficiency， laying a solid foundation for their lifelong learning.

3. Lead-in strategies based on key competence

3.1The definition of lead-in

Lead-in is the first step of each lesson， during which teachers spend five minutes or so applying specific methods to attract students’ attention， provoke their interest， arouse their motivation and create an enjoyable classroom atmosphere to help them prepare for and get into the learning of new content quickly and naturally.

3.2 The functions of lead-in

Lead-in is able to draw students’ attention. After the learning of the last class and a break between classes， students’ minds stay excited. As a result， they cannot shift to the new learning in time without proper guidnce. In fact， their attention is distracted and cannot be focused on learningt. If not dealt with properly， teaching and learning will achieve half the results with double the effort. As for this situation， an interesting lead-in can hold their attention to help them calm down to enter the next stage of learning smoothly.

Lead-in aims to provoke students’ interest in lessons and arouse their motivation for studying new knowledge. Lots of experts have pointed out interest is the best teacher， which is also proved in practice. Only if the students take a keen interest in the lesson will they begin to absorb the knowledge voluntarily and then they can learn with high efficiency. In fact， teenagers are always full of curiosity. What the teachers need to do is make the most of it to arouse students’ affection and initiative for learning.

Lead-in is meaningful for teachers to develop a pleasant classroom atmosphere. An effective lead-in makes both teachers and students relax and excite their minds so they will enjoy the pleasure of the class.? In this way it is easier for teachers and students to communicate with each other and it stimulates students’ active and creative thinking. It must be emphasized that learning may be hard but it is supposed to be full of pleasure instead of pain.

Lead-in builds a bridge between the old knowledge and the new knowledge. Starting the new stage of learning abruptly makes students confused and tired. English learning is constant and different knowledge is related to each other. Students can better understand the knowledge by setting up the relationship between the previous and the present knowledge.

3.3 The principles of lead-in

Lead-in should be targeted. Teachers must keep clear targets in mind while planning lead-in. Generally speaking， lead-in is aimed at stimulating students’ interest and desire for learning， connecting the old and new knowledge， creating a harmonious classroom atmosphere as well as promoting the development of students’ key competence. In addition， it should make students have a definite knowledge about what they have learned， what to learn next， why to learn and how to learn.

Lead-in should be interesting. As is mentioned repeatedly above， lead-in aims to draw students’ attention and provoke their learning motivation. To achieve these， lead-in must be interesting enough， which requires teachers to choose fun and unique materials and adopt proper strategies.

Lead-in should be relevant. For one thing， teaching should be student-centered. To make sure of this， lead-in materials must be closely related to all aspects of students’ life， such as their daily routine， family， friends， and hobbies. For another， lead-in is actually a preparation for main teaching. Therefore， when teachers design lead-in， they must keep it in mind that it needs to be constantly linked to teaching content.

Lead-in should be brief. Although we attach great importance to lead-in， it shouldn’t take up much time. Actually it had better last for only 3 to 5 minutes. After all， its purpose is to lead students to shift to the new stage of learning. It is not the main task of the lesson.

3.4 Lead-in strategies applied in junior high English classes

To make students study effectively， teachers put more emphasis on lead-in. Lots of strategies are innovated and adopted. With the popularity of key competence， teachers should also take it into consideration while designing lessons. Here are some common methods applied in lead-in.

3.4.1 Reviewing

One of the most common lead-in methods is reviewing previous knowledge. As Confucius said， “Gain new knowledge by reviewing old.” Different parts of English learning are connected with each other. Through revision teachers help students build close relationship between old and new knowledge so that they can make good preparations for the learning of new knowledge..

3.4.2 Real object， picture， music and video presentation

Presenting real objects is an effective way of lead-in. It can offer students a sense of novelty so that their attention will be drawn to the learning content. Then， it is easier for teachers to guide them to begin the lesson and they can have a better understanding of the content. However， it is sometimes not convenient， even impossible to show students real objects. Fortunately， multi-media provides the solution. By using the media， teachers can easily present pictures， music or videos， which greatly widens the range of the presentation materials. These flexible and attractive materials strongly hold students’attention， help them learn all kinds of knowledge and broaden their horizons. And teachers can use these materials to lead students to develop a positive cultural consciousness.

3.4.3 Playing games

Game lead-in is one of students’ favourite methods since it is fun and exciting. Amusing games will relieve students’stress， making them actively take part in learning. In this way， teachers combine education with pleasure and students can learn in playing.

3.4.4 Free talk

Teenagers wish parents and teachers to treat them equally as grown-ups. Free talks as friends can usually find its way to their hearts and obtain effective feedback information. Teachers can link the topic to their own experiences， which students are especially curious about， and then allow students to discuss the topic with each other freely. By expressing and debating， agreeing and disagreeing， children’s critical thinking can be gradually developed. They learn to think about things in different ways. Making use of this chance， teachers can lead them to take a positive attitude to life. While discussing in pair or group， students naturally realize the importance of cooperation and teamwork.

3.4.5 Asking questions

It seems an old style to lead into class by asking questions， but this traditional method is direct and effective. A suitable question will easily stimulate their interest. A set of well-designed questions can greatly hold students’ attention and guide them to think logically and creatively. Also， it is easy for teachers to alter questions freely according to the different situations， such as accidental events， students’ moods and conditions， or students’ reactions to the questions.

3.4.6 Creating situations

This strategy requires teachers to bring students into a real context related to the learning content through words， music and so on so that students can better understand the situation and experience the feelings. This will provoke students’ imagination and their eagerness to learn more about the material. As a result， students can actively analyze to solve the problems.

4. Conclusion

After the discussion and analysis above， some conclusions can be come to. First， lead-in is an essential part of English teaching. Second， teachers must try to develop students’ key competence in teaching rather than only focus on knowledge acquisition. Third， there are various strategies that can be applied in lead-in， which teachers should choose and use flexibly in different situations. They also need to make lead-in brief. At last， English classroom teaching must be students-centered so that students will learn actively and cheerfully with the guidance and assistance of teachers.

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