How To Organize a New language Class

XU+Zhi-yun

【摘 要】本文介紹了六步教学活动帮助语言课堂的老师引导去表达学生自己的思想，意见和经历。每一步的教学活动将学生主动表达的需要与课文结构的需要相称，扫除学生在表达思想时的障碍。

【关键词】语言学习；教学活动；自信心；自主学习

【Abstract】Six activities are presented in the article to help students to express their own ideas， opinions， and experiences in the new language class. Each activity balances the studentsneed to take initiative to speak or write with the need to structure the lesson. This essay provides some useful activities for both teachers and students to remove the obstacles to express what they think.

【Key words】Language learning； Teaching activities； Confidence； Autonomy

The six core teaching activities are designed. They are pair up and talk， discuss and decide， talk around ， talk your ideas/your turn， talk about it， write about it. They help students develop confidence and autonomy in learning language.

1 Confidence

Confidence is important in learning language. Students are experts about themselves and about their experiences and opinions. Confidence is based on expertise. Students build their confidence in using the new language when they are able to talk or write about what they think and what they know. As a teacher， your challenge is to create ways for them to think， speak， and write about their experiences and about what they believe， and then to encourage them to take the risk to do so.

2 Autonomy

Confidence leads to autonomy. Autonomy means that students act on their own， without the help or support of the teacher. Acting independently involves some risk， particularly of making mistakes. But since students know what they mean， their mistakes are temporary problems. For a teacher， the challenge of learners autonomy is how best to support what students are trying to say or write in the new language. This means acknowledging that the students are the experts in what they are trying to say or write. By using your knowledge of the language you can support their expertise in their content.

3 Pair up and talk

For teachers， pair up and talk helps provide structured practice so that students become accustomed to and comfortable with the new words and expressions. Language output can help students gain independence as they use the language.

For students， pair up and talk helps them

（1）try out the new words and expressions and become comfortable using it.

（2）build relationships with their classmates. These relationships help form a community of learners in the classroom.endprint

（3）use new words and expressions in a personal way. Personalizing the language helps students see how it can be used to express their own thoughts and ideas.

4 Discuss and Decide

For teachers， Discuss and Decide helps them

（1）assess students fluency skills. When students are talking about the topic， the teacher can note how well students are using the new words and expressions.

（2）Provide opportunities for students to work together and negotiate with each other to complete a task. This encourages interaction and cooperation among students.

For students， Discuss and Decide helps

（1）Use new words and expressions to discuss a topic. In Discuss and Decide， students use new words and expressions when they communicate with their classmates.

（2）Build skills in critical thinking. Through discussing their answers and completing a shared task， students learn to negotiate and evaluate their responses.

5 Talk Around

Talk around gives students the opportunity to practice the same material with several different partners in succession.

For teachers， talk around helps

（1）Establish a comfortable learning environment. This interaction helps students develop relationships with their classmates and help students feel more at ease.

（2）Provide opportunities to recycle material through repeated practice. When students use new words and expressions several times with different partners， it reinforces their new language skills.

For students， talk around helps them

（1）Feel more comfortable speaking by sharing information with several different classmates.

（2）Show what they have learned and feel successful using the new words and expressions with their peers.

6 Talk Your Ideas/Your turn

This activity provides students with an opportunity to use the new language independently and to express their own thinking.

For teachers， this activity helps

（1）Assess students abilities. If students use the target language appropriately， they are ready to move on. If they make errors， more practice may be necessary before continuing.

（2）Create a cooperative learning environment. When students work together to complete a task，they build interpersonal skills.

For students， this activity helps

（1）demonstrate what they have learned. This type of activity also allows students to synthesize and apply new words and expressions.endprint

（2）Feel more in control. These open-ended practice activities show students what they can do with the new words and expressions.

After students have practiced the new words and expressions in more structured activities， students express their own thoughts freely without the help of prompts. It is an important step toward developing students independence and control of new words and expressions.

7 Talk About It

In this activity， students talk about a topic in order to build their fluency. When students speak independently， they are pushed to use the new language to express their ideas and experiences.

For teachers， this activity helps

（1）provide independent language practice time.

（2）Assess students confidence in speaking independently. When students are talking about the topic. The teacher can observe and note how well they are using the new language.

For students， this activity helps

（1）Use new words and expressions to express themselves about a topic.

（2）Build confidence. Students can practice speaking freely.

8 Write About It

This activity gives students the chance to use the new language to express their ideas in writing. It involves a two- step process： First the students think about the topic and take notes about their ideas； Then they use their notes to complete the writing task. This process is designed to encourage students to think before they write and help them express their thoughts more clearly in writing.

For teachers， this activity helps

（1）Encourage students to use pre-writing strategies before doing a written task. Teachers can show students helpful steps to organize their writing.

（2）Assess students understanding and use of the new words and expressions through writing.

For students， this activity helps

（1）prepare their ideas before they write. Students learn the habit of formulating and organizing their ideas on a topic before they begin to write.

（2）Use new words and expressions in a format other than speaking. Writing provides another chance for language output.

After writing， students exchange written paper. Students read their written work aloud to the class. After each paper is read， the students tell the class what they heard. Write the points on the board and then check in with the person who read the paper to see if the class understood correctly.

9 Summary

Each activity balances the students need to take initiative to speak or write with the need to structure the lesson. This group of core activities addresses accuracy and appropriateness. Striking a good balance between how you structure the activity and what students invest in it leads to their greater confidence and autonomy with the target language.

【參考文献】

[1]A Maley.《A Course in English Language Teaching》Elt Journal，2014.

[2]王强壮.《A Course in English Language Teaching》北京：高等教育出版社，2000.

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