论文正文 The Application of Role-play in Junior Engli

1TheApplicationofRole-playinJuniorEnglishTeachingIntroductionTheultimategoalofforeignlanguageteachingistoenablethestudentstousetheforeignlanguageinworkorlifewhennecessary.ButthepresentpracticeintheEnglishlearning&teaching(ELT)classroominChinacouldnotprovidesatisfactoryconditionsforbothteachersandstudentstoachievethegoalsbythetraditionalteachingmodel.HowtomakeEnglishlearnersfeelthereallanguagesituationandcontextwhenlearningEnglishisworthstudying.Role-playisaneffectivewaytomakeEnglishlearnersreachthegoal.Thispaperaimstoattempttostudytheapplicationofrole-playactivitiesinjuniorEnglishclassroom.Beforethediscussionoftheapplicationofrole-playinjuniorEnglishteaching,thewriterwantstodoabriefintroductionaboutrole-play.Role-playisalearningactivityinwhichyoubehaveinthewaysomebodyelsewouldbehaveinaparticularsituationfromtheOXFORDAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary.Inpedagogy,itisacommonlanguagelearningactivitywherestudentsplaydifferentrolesandinteractfromthepointofviewoftherolestheyplay.Aseveryoneknows,mostofjuniorstudentsaretiredofEnglishforrememberingwordsorgrammar.VanMents(1989)inhisbookclaimedthatamajoradvantageofrole-playwasthat“itwashighlymotivatingandgavestudentssimple,directandrapidfeedback…”Sorole-playactivitiescanhighlymotivatestudents’interest.Inrole-playactivities,studentsareencouragedtoactivelyparticipateinactivitiesthataredesignedtopromotetheuseofthelanguage.Role-playactivitiesprovidestudentsopportunitiestopractiseEnglishinasafeandrelaxedatmosphere.Infact,role-playhasbeenoneoftheeffectivewaysespeciallyinEnglishteaching.Thispaperconsistsofthreeparts：Part1isthecausesofusingrole-playinjuniorEnglishteaching,Part2istheapplicationofrole-playinjuniorEnglishteachingandPart3istheimportantpointsinrole-playinjuniorEnglishteaching.Let’sstudythemstepbystepthroughthispaper.21．Thecausesofusingrole-playinjuniorEnglishteaching1.1ThecurrentsituationofEnglishteachingThecurrentsituationofEnglishteachinginjuniorhighschoolsEnglishteachersmayoftengetchancestoseeanEnglishlessontaughteitherbytheircolleaguesorbyotherEnglishteachers.ThefollowingphenomenaareobservedtoquitecommoninthejuniorEnglishclassroominmanyplacesinchina.Theteacherenjoysperformingonthestagewhilethestudentsactasgoodmanneredaudiences,listeningtotheteachercarefullyandquietly,copyingimportantnotesfromtheblackboardintotheirnotebooks.Theteacherasksquestions,andstudentsraisetheirhandsandanswerthem.Sometimestomaketheclasslooklivelyandinteractively,theteacheraskssomepairsorgroupstocometothefronttoactoutadialogueorputonashortplay.Buttherestoftheclasswatchtheperformance,andgiveawarmclapattheendofit.ThisisaverytypicallessoninthejuniorEnglishroom.Butinfact,manystudentsjustlistenorwritedownimportantinformationintheEnglishclassoranswerquestionstogether.Inrecentclasses,thestudents’utteranceisnomorethan“yes”,“no”oronlyafewwords.Besidesthat,wecan’tneglectanothercommonphenomenathatmanystudents’highscoresinwrittenEnglishexamsdonotmatchtheircompetenceinusingEnglish.CurrentEnglishteachingfocusestoomuchonlanguageknowledgesuchaswords,grammar…Forexample,inteachingreading:atthepostreadingstageofreadingteaching,teachersoftenrelyuponreadingaloud,askingcomprehensionquestions,Sometimesevensentencebysentencetranslationisconducted.Andthenfocusoutthosegrammarsandnewwordstoletstudentscopydowntoremember.Maybewecanconsidertheseactivitiesinadequatetofulfillthetaskofdevelopinglearning.Buttheteacherignoredtoprovidethestudentswithopportunitiestousethem.Consequentlystudentsspendmosttimememorizingthesocalledlanguagepointsandpractisingtheminmultiple-choiceexercises,ratherthanusinglanguageinarealandauthenticway.2.2TheNewCurriculumStandardsstressstudents-centeredteachingactivitiesWiththeNewCurriculumreformationgoingoninChina,moreandmoreEnglishteachersarerealizingthatthetraditionalteacher-dominatedclassroomshouldbereplacedbythestudent-centeredone.NewCurriculumStandardsstressesstudent-centeredteachingactivities.ItisrecommendedthatEnglishteachersshouldadoptpleasingandactiveteachingmethodologiestostimulatestudents’interests,builduptheirlanguagecompetenceandeventuallypromotetheir3ideation,imaginationandcreation.AnincreasingnumberofEnglishteachershaverealizedtheimportanceofchangingtheirteachingmethodologiestomeettherequirementsoftheNewCurriculumStandards.Soteachers’rolesshouldshiftfromthetraditionalknowledgeproviderandactivitycontrollertothelearningfacilitator,classroomsupervisorandparticipator.Ontheotherwords,theteachershouldgivemoretimetostudentsandletstudentstobetheowneroftheclassesandtheteachershouldpaymoreattentiontothelanguagepracticethanthelanguageintroduction.Atthesametime,manyChinesescholarspointoutmanyproblemstofindnewteachingways.“ThemajorproblemishowtobalancearelaxedlearningatmospherewiththeachievementofbettergradesinEnglishexaminationswithinnecessarilylimitedclassroomtime”(DuMinghuan,2006:1).“TheteachingofEnglishinjuniorschoolhasnotbeengivenenoughattentionandthereareactualdifficultiesintheteachingwork,suchastheenvironmentofEnglish-studyisnotidealenough,theopportunitiesofhearingEnglishisquitefew