A Brief Study Of The Interactiveoriented Language Teaching

●江苏省溧阳市竹箦中学 徐海仙

1.Introduction

Since the publication of D.A.Wilkins’famous book National Syllabus in 1976,most language teachers around the world have agreed that EFL classrooms should be a place full of communications or interactions(termed more recently).Real meaningful learning results can be achieved through stimulating face-toface human interactions in classrooms.I believe it is the high time for Chinese language teachers to practice what their counterparts around the world are doing and to see why through this interactive approach students can be intrinsically motivated and become more autonomous and less dependent on their authoritative teaching.Here,I will illustrate these three points by giving a description of a 100-minute lesson plan.

2.Central beliefs about the benefits of interactive-oriented language teaching

2.1 Interactive language teaching develops students’intrinsic motivation

Motivation is generally classified into two types,extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.The former lays much emphasis on the fostering of the learner’s dependence upon external rewards such as money,prizes and grades,while the latter on the higher,deepest driving forces such as fulfillment and self-actualization.

2.2 Interactive language teaching can bring a change to the traditional classroom roles

In an interaction-oriented classroom,the teacher’s role undergoes a significant shift from a knowledge giver to a facilitator and helper,while students’role changes from a passive one into an active one.

According to traditional beliefs,the teacher should be a dominator who imparts knowledge to students,while the students are only sitting there passively,waiting to receive it,because they have been used to being led instead of taking the lead (Wang,1998).In an interactive classroom,however,“the teacher is only a guide or a facilitator who helps the learner to learn,rather than an authority who is supposed to know everything and be able to explain everything.”(Yue,1999:17)In other words,the teacher only helps students to clear away roadblocks,to find shortcuts,to negotiate rough terrain.

2.3 Interactive language teaching enables the teacher to be better informed of both the teaching and learning results

Chinese EFL teachers now face two harsh realities.Some students can hardly express themselves,even though they scored very high in national tests like CET 4 and CET 6;students tend to forget most of what teachers strive very hard to cram into them immediately after they step out of the classroom or pass the exams.From these teaching failures,we can conclude that spontaneous oral work was obviously de-emphasized and meaningful learning results failed to be achieved.If,however,the teacher had tried to monitor or evaluate students’oral output,if the teacher had realized students’impotence and had done something to compensate for it,things would not have happened in this way.

3.Reflections

All the learning processes are interaction-oriented.Through classroom activities relevant to their lives such as weekly speech,discussion,pair work and role-play,students'curiosity and genuine interests are aroused.Their learning is energized.For example,students are eagerly involved in the discussion about the fashion show.They are intrinsically motivated to learn more and learn more meaningfully.

In this classroom,the teacher is no longer a dictator and students are actively involved in all the activities.The teacher does not pose himself as an unchallenging authority.Students are given the freedom to express their opinions just as in the interview activity.Their creativity and imagination hence are initiated and brought into full play.

Brown,H.D.(1994)Teaching by principles:An interactive approach to language pedagogy.N.J.Prentice Hall