何 如
(福清市东张中学,福建 福清 350300)
运用语言是学习语言的根本目的。《普通高中英语课程标准(实验稿)》对英语写作提出了新的要求,强调要特别注重提高学生用英语进行思维和表达的能力。书面表达在高考中所占比重较大(25 分),它的主要目的在于考查学生的语言驾驭能力,书面交流能力和逻辑思维能力,对学生的综合能力要求比较高。学生的作文全面反映了他们掌握的语法知识,词汇知识和遣词造句能力。由此可见,写作教学在高中英语教学中占有相当重要的位置。
然而现状却不容乐观。学生对写作充满畏难情绪,习作质量较低。在课堂教学中,我们深感相当多的学生目前尚不能运用英语进行最简单的自我表达。语句混乱、词不达意、句子结构不完整、标点误用等现象随处可见;更遑论语篇布局松散、缺乏连贯性以及语法使用错误和中式英语现象。
如何有效提高高中生的写作能力和语言应用能力是高中英语教学的重要课题,值得探讨。下面谈谈笔者在作文教学中的几点粗浅做法。
英语属于结构语言,它有自己的基本句型、固定搭配、固定短语等,这些都是不可变的,要想在写作中用上它们,用好它们,必须加强这方面的基本训练。首先,加强五种基本句型结构教学。几乎所有的英语句型都是五种句型的扩大、延伸或变化,在课堂上,结合课本里的重点单词、短语,进行五种基本句型的造句练习。这五种基本句型是:
(1)S+V(主谓);She stood up.
(2)S+V+O(主谓宾);I am having a wonderful time.
(3)S+V+O+O(主谓+间宾+直宾);He will give us a speech this afternoon.
(4)S+V+P(主系表);It looks funny.
(5)S+V+O+C(主谓+宾+宾补)。We should make our school tidy.
五种基本句型虽然能表达一定的意思,但无法比较自由地表达思想,因此还必须对学生进一步进行扩句训练,在课堂上充分发挥学生的想象力,进行扩句练习。
其次,加强句型教学,要对一些重点句子进行分析,增强学生利用各种句子进行一意多种表达的训练。比如要求学生用各种不同的表达方式改写课文中出现的典型句子。努力做到一句多种表达。在套用句型的同时,让学生用英语组织一段短文,叙述一件事情。通过这种初步训练,提高学生对句子的活用能力。例如,在讲‘so…that…”句型时,要求学生译出“这道题很难,我不会做。”学生回答:The problem is so difficult that I cannot work it out.接着教师可引导学生用其他句型表达上句意思。学生即可说出:The problem is too difficult for me to solve.It is not easy enough for me to solve.等句。继而教师再问学生:What must we do then if we cannot solve the problem? 要学生用英语说出自己的想法。有的学生这样叙 述:The problem is so difficult that I cannot work it out.But I am not afraid of the difficulty.I can try many different ways to solve it .While I am doing with it,I can look for available methods in reference books.I can also ask my teachers and classmates for help .As I make every effort,the difficulty can be overcome.
在教学中,教师可以有选择地把课文中的短语列出。要求学生以这些短语为中心词扩展成句子,并联成一段短文,以表达一个完整的意思。例如,在高一英语必修一Unit 1 Friendship 中我们要求学生写一篇短文“My friend”,必须把be concerned about,be fond of,be good at,to make progress,to make up one’s mind,等短语用到短文中去。有的 学 生 写 道:Han Li is my classmate.He is a League member.He is always concerned about others.He is fond of English and I am good at Maths.We often help each other.Both of us have made great progress in our studies.We have made up our minds to study harder and win still greater progress.
学生在造句练习中既复习巩固了所学的短语,又通过短文的连贯练习了解了时态的用法,训练了思维。
另外,在联句成文的过程中应该特别强调学会使用过渡词,即关联词。如:
表递 进:furthermore,moreover,besides,in addition,then,what's more,what was worse,once more,etc;
表转折:however,but,nevertheless,afterwards,though,although,etc;
表总结:finally,at last,in brief,to conclude,in a word,in general,generally speaking,in short,as you know,in the end,to sum up,etc;
表强调:really,indeed,certainly,surely,above all,etc;
表比 较、对 比:just like,just as,in the same way,more or less,sooner or later,on the contrary,on the other hand;
表并列:and,also,as well as,and then;
表顺序、动作过程:first,firstly,first of all,second,secondly,at first,at last,next;
表时间:now,then,afterwards,soon,five minutes later,before long,shortly after that,soon after supper,to this day,just now,just then;
表结果:thus,therefore,so,as a result,seeing that,luckily,unfortunately;
表解释和说明:that is to say,namely,for example,actually,and so on,such as,believe it or not,to tell you the truth,according to this,for this reason;
表个人观点:in my opinion,as far as I am concerned,as for me,as I see,personally,from my point of view;
熟记并且能灵活地运用这些关联词无疑会使全文结构紧凑,层次清楚,过渡自然。
笔者在教授课文的时候充分发掘课文的作用,利用课文中适合写作练习的内容进行训练,达到让学生多写多练的目的,不仅有利于提高书面表达能力,同时也加强了对课文的理解。教师给出提示词或提纲,或让学生独立写课文大意。均是可行的训练方法。在开始阶段,适宜用提示方法。教师再对课文进行充分分析后,列出课文重点。或编写几道问答题,让学生按顺序叙述或回答问题。叙述联句成文后,便为该课文的缩写。例如,人教版新课标高中英语必修2 Unit1 Cultural relics,教师在阅读课后可摘列出以下重点让学生联句成文:imagine…,amazing…,be used to…,in the fancy style…,belong to…,as a gift…,in return…,serve as…,had it moved…,add more details to…,one of the great wonders,at war,remain a mystery,学生们可联成:The king never imagined the amber room would have such an amazing history,It was given the name because tons of amber were used to make the room.The design of it was in the fancy style.It belonged to the king of Prussia.Later it was given to the Czar as a gift.In return,the king received a troop of best soldiers.And it once served as a small reception hall.Later,Catherine II had the room moved and added more details to it.Although the amber room was considered to be one of the great wonders,it is now missing.It disappeared at war.However,what happened to the amber room remains a mystery.
有些课文在学习后,可以要求叙述自选人物,改写内容。学生在练习中,应该根据课文的结构模式,尽量运用课文中的词汇和句型。
通过上述练习,学生既复习了课文,又提高了组织短文的能力。
据分析,近年来的高考作文主要是提示作文,看图作文和开放性作文,尤其是近三年的福建高考作文题均为根据图示写某一话题的半开放性作文。由此可见看图作文在高中作文教学中有着举足轻重的地位。
在课堂上,教师可在出示图画后,要求学生认真读图,分析图画中所提供的信息以确定自己所写的短文需要表达的内容。学生应根据图示选用词语,教师亦可以给出限定使用词语,注意短文的连贯和时态的呼应。学生可以挖掘图画的内涵,发挥想象力和创造力。但切忌漫无边际地发挥想象,杂乱无章乱写一气。写的文句宜朴素,使用自己有把握的和熟悉的简单句,不写没把握滥造的冗长的句子。应紧扣图示提供的信息,清楚准确地完成表达。教师对看图在作文的字数可以稍加限制。
此外,还可以活用课本出现的图片进行练习。例如人教版新课标高中英语必修3 Unit 1 Women of great achievement 中warming-up 里出现的六位有着杰出贡献的女性的图片,以其中Picture 3 为例,可要求学生根据自己所了解的有关宋庆龄的情况,写一段文字。有的学生写道:
As we all know,Song Qing ling was considered to be one of the greatest women in the world.She married Dr Sun Zhongshan in 1915.She has been the vice president of the People’s Republic of China for many years.She made so great contributions to the Chinese revolution that all the Chinese people think highly of her.
这样的段落字数不太多,但抓住了重点。
再如在人教版新课标高中英语模块8 Unit4 Pygmalion 中的Warming up 部分里,有三幅关于希腊神话故事Pygmalion 的图片,要求学生根据所看到的图片,运用所学的知识给每幅图分别写出一到两句话来概括该幅图的大意。学生有可能在看完后写出以下的句子:
①Pygmalion was a very gifted artist.One day,he decided to make a stone statue of a beautiful woman.He worked day and night and at last he finished.He spent a long time making a stone statue of a beautiful woman.It was so beautiful that he couldn’t help loving it and wanted it to be his wife.
②But it was only a stone.How could he make his dream become true? He thought and thought and at last he asked the Greek Goddess to help him to bring it to life.
③Finally the Goddess was moved by his sincerity.His wish was granted 。
④Pygmalion threw himself to his feet,the girl was deeply touched by him.Afterwards,they fell in love with each other and married.
完成了这一步后要求学生将已经写好的句子联成一篇完整故事。
一种做法是,教师只提供作文题目,由学生自由发挥,构思作文。此为开放性作文。另一种做法是,提供背景材料、情境或图画,在短文字数上加以限制,要求学生根据提供的内容写作,以加强可控性。此为半开放性作文。后一种练习,在目前更接近高考要求,宜多进行练习。在训练的过程中笔者建议学生按照如下步骤进行准备:首先,分析主题,审清题意包括弄清题目要求、文体、题材。第二,理清脉络,列出提纲,起草文章。切勿遗漏要点。第三,对初稿进行润色及修改;优选高级词汇和句型结构。最后,审稿定稿。要仔细检查有否遗漏要点,时态、语态是否一致;单复数运用及词性变化是否有错,单词拼写及字数等等。在教学中,对学生的书面表达能力的训练办法是很多的,不在此一一列举。笔者认为,在步骤上,可以由句到段,由段成文,由浅入深,由简单到复杂循序渐进。在方法上,可以依照教学内容而定,不必千篇一律,面面俱到;可以先口述,再动笔整理成文,既练听说又练写;亦可统筹安排,有计划地定期进行各种文体的操练。
总之,高中英语写作及语言应用能力的提高,不是短期突击所能奏效的,而应当贯穿于教学的整个过程中。师生们需要树立正确的写作意识,厚积薄发。不懈坚持,必见成效。
[1]燕华兴.普通高中英语课程标准(实验)[M].上海外语教育出版社,2006.