吴芳新
阅读是学习者外语语言输入的主要途径之一,对外语学习起着重要作用。阅读理解是一种在阅读中有效处理信息的能力,是中学英语教学重点培养的四项基本技能之一。但是,阅读又是大部分学生难以逾越的天然鸿沟,每篇文章中的词汇、句型和跨文化交际都是一道道屏障。学生除了要增加词汇量外,还要掌握一些阅读技巧。窄式阅读是克拉申(Krashen,1981)提出的一个阅读模式概念,是指学习者通过阅读同一风格、同一主题或者某位作家的多部作品来提高阅读能力的一种策略。即学习者通过大量阅读同一或相似话题、同一或相似体裁的文章,掌握主题相关的背景知识,提高阅读理解程度,激发阅读兴趣。总之,阅读一系列相似的作品会使读者反复接触相似词汇、语法结构、语篇特点及背景知识,增强输入语言的可理解性,从而在一定程度上降低阅读材料的难度,提高阅读能力。
多数学生对阅读理解的畏难情绪主要来自词汇障碍。窄式阅读能够帮助读者掌握词汇、习得句法,从而进入阅读状态。具体而言,窄式阅读具有以下特点:
学生在某个特定时间段阅读同一主题的文章,会在不同语境中接触同一或类似的词汇,从而加深对这些知识的印象。例如,学生在阅读有关电子竞技的文章时,会反复接触以下词汇:如Esports(电子竞技),digital generation(数字时代),expand its business(扩大商业规模),Call of Duty(使命召唤),Hearthstone(《炉石传说》),League of Legends (《 英 雄 联 盟 》),Counter-Strike:Global Offensive(《反恐精英:全球攻势》),Dota(《刀塔》),professionals(职业玩家),awesome team player(优秀团队玩家),gaming gear(游戏设备),take every win and loss as a challenge(将每一次胜负当作挑战),competitive(有竞争力的),the International Olympic Committee(国际奥委会),the millennial generation(千禧一代),dominance(主导地位),amateur(业余爱好者)等,这个话题可以与腾飞的电子商务完美契合起来(E-commerce takes off.E-commerce is transforming business and daily life,mostly for the better)。这些词汇在不同的篇章中反复出现,能加强阅读者的记忆,很好地成为理解文章的铺路石,使阅读者顺利地渡过词汇难关,从而顺利地挣脱阅读中的“拦路虎”。
同一作者的文章在风格上非常一致,行文稳定,遣词造句有相似或相关之处,擅长运用自己偏爱的词汇或表达方式。这样,读者在品读过某位作者的某篇文章后,能很好地适应他的其他作品。例如,学生在阅读漫威之父斯坦·李的作品《美国队长》(Captain America)后,能顺利地理解他的《神奇四侠》(Fantastic Four)、《钢铁侠》(Iron Man)、《绿巨人》(The Hulk)、《X 战警》(X-Man)、《起义博士》(Doctor Strange)、《超胆侠》(Marvel’s Daredevil)。同时,斯坦·李还在《复仇者联盟》(The Avengers)等电影中客串角色。他笔下的英雄人物具有以下特征:gain superpower,have faith in humanity,have selfless act,be brave,have a sense of justice,be humorous,stand against awakened threat,possess superhuman attributes,suffer a grave injury,be equipped with powerful tools。这些特征可以帮助学生更好地把握篇章内容。
为了能充分利用窄式阅读的优势,教师必须认真挑选,运用好阅读素材,并对素材进行筛选,以达到最佳效果。在高中英语教学中,教师可以通过以下方法获得素材:第一,充分利用互联网搜索相同主题并贴近教材内容的文章,同时注意文章的层次,让学生循序渐进地掌握相关知识;第二,充分利用同期或近期的报刊上摘选的相同主题的文章,让学生品味教材以外的美文;第三,查找同一作者不同时期的作品,并根据难易程度进行甄别。
例如,在教学北师大版高中《英语》选修6 Unit 1时,笔者要求学生阅读有关庞贝和楼兰城的文章。文章介绍了维苏威火山爆发后庞贝被埋,后来再次被发现的过程。文章中的下画线词汇需要学生借助文本猜测词义,从而破除阅读障碍。
Starting from 20 August AD 79,there were some earthquakes near the volcano—Mount Vesuvius.However,no one paid them much attention.Then,on 24 August,the mountain exploded,pouring out a cloud of ash.The people were fleeing the city for their lives.However,they could not get away fast enough,so they were buried beneath the ash.The city was abandoned and forgotten for many years until the 18thcentury when a farmer discovered a stone with writing on it.People started to dig in the area for treasure,and many archaeologists,historians and even treasure hunters swarmed there,which caused much damage.Thus,the area was put under government protection,so it could be preserved and studied.
The town which was home to some of Rome’s most affluent citizens provided a detailed insight into ancient Roman life,culture and civilization,allowing us to glimpse into a time that was not ours to see,a time long long gone.
文章中重点词汇的含义摘录见表1:
表1:重点词汇
同一主题的文章会不断重复同一含义的词汇。学生在上下文中反复学习同一词汇及表达方式,有利于掌握语言的用法。
学习了课本文章后,笔者选取一篇摘自英语画刊的介绍意大利南部海滨城市的文章。文章内容为一座历史悠久的古城在公元79年维苏威火山爆发后被掩埋。直到1500年后,人们偶然发现这座沉睡了千余年的神秘古城——庞贝。笔者要求学生列出教材文本中已学和重复的词汇,即画线部分。
From Affluence to Ashes—The Story of Pompeii.
Pompeii was one of a number of towns located near the base of the volcanic mountain,Mount Vesuvius.In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the entire ancient city under a thick carpet of volcanic ash.One witness wrote“the dust poured across the land like a flood,and shrouded the city in darkness...like the black of closed and unlighted rooms”.
Two thousand people died.The people and buildings of Pompeii were covered in up to twelve different layers of ash,which rained down for close to 6 hours.After the eruption,the city was abandoned and forgotten in its entirety.It was as if it had never existed at all.
For 1,500 years it remained untouched until 1599 when it was discovered by an architect who unearthed some frescoes(壁画)just to cover them again.The site was then rediscovered in 1748,by a team of archaeologists led by Spanish military engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre.Buildings were intact,bodies in the exact positions they had died,everyday objects and household goods and objects were found lying in the streets and even uncovered jars of preserved fruit and bread were discovered.The objects that lay beneath the debris were preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and moisture.
To this day,the destruction of Pompeii remains one of the world’s infamous and tragic events.
文章中重点词汇的含义摘录见表2:
表2:重点词汇
在第二篇文本中有许多第一篇文本中出现的词汇且生词量比第一篇文章大。在掌握了以上词汇后再阅读第二篇文章,学生会轻松许多,能从中体会阅读的乐趣,快速记忆单词,激起再次阅读的欲望,构成良性循环。同时,笔者鼓励学生查找失落的文明的相关知识,开阔学生的眼界,之后趁热打铁设计了以下问题:
1.Do you think it is important to protect objects from the past?
2.Do you have any suggestions on how to protect them?
3.Can you plan an outline for a speech about helping more historical places around the world and educate people so that they can better enjoy the treasure from the past?
A simple outline of the speech includes the following:
a word of welcome
a word of thanks to the audience
an explanation of why the speaker is there,or what the speech is about
the main body of the speech
your hopes for the future
the conclusion of the speech
有了一定的信息积累后,学生顺利地回答了以上问题,提升了语言输入与输出能力。
笔者以所教普通班A班和普通班B班为例,普通班A为对照班,按部就地按照教材和大纲顺序教学。普通班B为实验班,除教学教材内容外,从《英语世界》《21世纪报》等摘取一些相关话题的素材,进行话题补充阅读,要求学生理清文章脉络并摘录好词、好句,拓宽背景知识,巩固新增词汇。在教学过程中,笔者采用多种形式,如小组讨论、讲座、演讲或专题报告等进行窄式阅读教学。经过一个学期的实验,笔者发现B班比A班平均分高出近5分。实验后,笔者对B班部分学生进行单独访谈,受访学生均表示在进行窄式阅读后对英语文章更感兴趣了,有能力应对一些阅读障碍了,英语阅读的自信心也提高了。
在选择同一话题的阅读材料时,教师应尽可能多地选择与教材内容有重复词汇的文章,从而使学生能更好地在语境中巩固词汇。
在高中英语教学中,教师应根据学生的词汇和语言基础,选择与他们生活较贴切的话题,让他们有据可依,有话可说,有语可言,使其能够运用概括总结、观点区分等策略将自己的已有知识与素材信息建立联系,积极、主动地完成输出任务(王晓颖2008)。
在高中英语教学中通过窄式阅读训练能够缓解学生词汇量不足而导致的由阅读障碍产生的压力,丰富学生的背景知识,使其理解同一主题的文章,提高阅读效果。