张雅菊
摘要:在教学中搭建支架,是指教师在学生的认知和能力范围内,对教学内容进行分析、加工、重组,降低难度,促进学生对知识理解和内化。初中英语写作教学中,搭建情感支架,有助于激发学生的写作动机;搭建内容支架,能够充实文章主体;搭建结构支架,可以完善学生的写作思路;搭建同伴支架,能够促进学生的语言建构。
关键词:初中英语写作教学支架搭建
支架(Scaffold),又称“脚手架”,本为建筑术语,指的是建筑过程中提供的暂时性支撑。在教学中搭建支架,是指教师依据学生的认知和能力,对教学内容进行分析、加工、重组,降低难度,促进学生对知识的理解和内化。写作作为初中英语教学的重要组成部分,是衡量学生英语综合能力的标志,也是课堂教与学的难点。本文结合具体课例,谈谈初中英语写作教学中常见的支架搭建。
一、搭建情感支架:激发写作动机
个体活动以动机产生为前提,动机的强弱也是影响个体行为质量的重要因素。在写作之前,教师可以搭建情感支架,设计不同的导入方式,利用视频、照片、歌曲等将写作任务与现实联系起来,增加写作的真实性,引发学生的共鸣,激发学生的写作动机。以译林版初中英语九年上册Unit 4 Task板块的The person who has influenced me most(《对我影响最深的人》)写作教学为例。考虑到这一话题比较抽象,有一定的难度,写作之前,笔者出示了一组照片(如下页图1所示),并播放歌曲《时间都去哪了》,先让学生沉浸于浓厚的情感氛围中。
教学片段如下:
师Do you know about the pictures? It is famous on the Internet. These pictures are about a father and a daughter, which were taken in the same place—the Beihai Park. The daughter put them on the Internet to show her love to her father, because she thinks that her father is the person who influences her most. So I want to know who influences you most in your lives. I will show some notes you wrote before the class. Who can say anything about the person?
生My mother influences me most, because she always encourages me in study.
师Good.
生There is something wrong with my mothers leg, but she tries her best to care for me.
生My grandmother had been died for two years, but she taught me a lot in my life!
……
这样的导入将抽象的写作题目与生活实际联系起来,在照片和音乐的配合下搭建情感支架,为学生创造了一种迫切需要抒发感情的时机。
二、搭建內容支架:充实文章主体
学生不仅要愿意写,还要知道写什么、怎么写。这就需要教师及时搭建内容支架,帮助学生理清写作的主体内容,明确写作中要用到的基本的单词、短语和句型。笔者结合教学实践,总结出搭建内容支架的几种方式。
(一)设计梯度性提问
梯度性提问是指将几个连贯性的问题由易到难依次提出,把学生的思维逐渐引向深处。仍以The person who has influenced me most 的写作教学为例,导入完成后,笔者提出三个问题:
(1)Who has influenced you most?
(2)How old is he/she?
(3)What is he/she like (please give us an example)?
梯度式提问将较为抽象的话题分解成层层递进的子问题,恰可“串起”文章主体内容,让学生在不知不觉间开始搜集写作内容。
(二)掀起“头脑风暴”
“头脑风暴”又称“智力激励”,是一种新颖的课堂活动形式。进行“头脑风暴”时,每一个成员都被鼓励就某一具体问题及其解决办法,畅所欲言,尽可能多地产生观点。“头脑风暴”的效用在于:较之个体之和,群体参与能够达到更高的创造性协同水平。以Walking for the safety(《安全过马路》)的看图作文为例,教学片段如下:
师(出示一张众人过马路的漫画,略)Look at the picture.When should we cross the road? Can we cross the road when the traffic light is red? Why?
生We need to cross the road on our way to school, we cant cross the road when the light is red, because it is dangerous.
师Why did any people break the rule?
生Maybe they wanted to save time.
生Maybe they do as others do.
师How to cross the road safely?
生First, I should not jaywalk. Second, I must stop others from jaywalking. Third, its necessary for me to tell my friends and families to follow the traffic rules and keep ourselves safe.
师If you meet the situation, how do you feel?
(学生列举出angry, sad, impolite, break the laws, dangerous等关键词。)
师If this happens in my life, my opinions are...
生punish the persons who are jaywalking, more and more people join the volunteer groups...
通过集思广益,学生迅速获得了大量的设想与创意,为写作做好了铺垫。此外,学生还可以在“头脑风暴”中讨论分享各自的观点经历,丰富写作内容,使得文章更加饱满。经过长期训练,学生的发散思维能力也会得到提高。
(三)拓展多媒体资源
除了利用教材中的例文外,教师还可以提供视频等多媒体的辅助,帮助学生充实文章内容。以一次关于文明旅游的写作为例。教师首先播放一段视频,展示各种旅游中的不文明现象,教学片段如下:
师Now lets watch a video about travelling and think more about the ideas based on the video and our own experiences. Do you have any similar experiences?Can you share more ideas about your own experiences?
生Some tourists carved on trees, made a telephone in the public.
生Some tourists like jumping the queue, I hate the action. It wastes others time. It is rude and impolite.
当学生缺乏写作素材时,观看有关文明旅游的视频可以触发学生联系自身的旅游经历,这也是在创设一种真实的生活情境。将写作与生活相联系,学生自然有话可写,文章内容自然得到了丰富。
三、搭建结构支架:完善表达体系
笔者在写作教学中发现,有的学生只是把词语和句子机械地堆砌在一起,根本就没启承转合的衔接,且句子结构单一。这就需要教师搭建结构支架,有意识地引导学生变换句子结构,并做一些语篇衔接的练习,最终达到准确规范、生动多样目的。仍以看图作文Safety on the road(《安全过马路》)的写作为例。为了使句式多样化,笔者首先帮助学生梳理了五种基本句型,分别是:
(1)主语(S)+谓语(V);
(2)主语(S)+谓语(V)+表语(P);
(3)主语(S)+谓语(V)+宾语(O);
(4)主语(S)+谓语(V)+间接宾语( IO)+直接宾语(DO);
(5)主语(S)+谓语(V)+直接宾语(DO)+宾语补语(OC)。
为了让句子更高级,笔者还引导学生要有意识地使用一些连接词或短语,如:表示并列关系可用and, or, as well, both...and;表示转折关系可用but, yet, however, instead;表示时间时可用while, when, as, before, after;表示目的时可用in order to, in order that, so...that;表示列举时可用such as, for example, like等。
之后,笔者出示下表,通过定量的例句帮助学生更好地理解句型和连词使用的情境。
在此基础上,学生将前两个步骤中的信息进行整合筛选,独立作文。
除此之外,教师也可提供范文,通过讲解范文结构,提醒学生注意文章的主题、主旨大意及主题和内容的关系,培养学生谋篇布局的能力。例如,通過讲解总分式结构,学生都能掌握“简介(introduction)—主体(subject)—结论(conclusion)”的基本框架, 写作思路也会相对清晰。
四、搭建同伴支架:促进语言建构
课堂中的师生也是支架的一部分,师生或生生交流也应成为支架建构的一种方式。因此,写作教学中,应发挥学生的主体作用,将学习任务交还给学生,实现由教师帮扶到同伴互助再到自主学习。搭建同伴支架,有利于这一目标的达成。课堂中同伴支架的搭建依赖于小组合作、同伴互助等活动形式。以话题作文One For One(《一对一》)为例。写作前,教师出示图2,让学生针对ONE for ONE图书义卖活动与同伴进行交流。
学生同伴之间的交流如下:
生What does “ONE for ONE” mean?
生I think it means one book for one student.
生It means if you buy a book, you can help a child get a new book.
生How can they get a new book? Do we donate the money to charities for them to buy new books?
生Maybe. So it is our way to help children in need.
生What does the second picture show?
生The importance of reading books.
生Thats why we need to give them books. Books are important for education and bring us much knowledge.
生So if I take part in the activity, I will feel happy and proud, because it is meaningful to help others.
生If a child in poor areas can receive a better education and get more knowledge, he will be successful. His life can be improved.
同伴交流有助于学生打开思维,理解主题的内涵、活动的意义等,从而在同伴支架的帮助下全方位破解题目。另外,同伴互动也为学生提供了更多交流与输出的机会,增强了学生的语言输出能力,从而促进了学生的语言建构。
参考文献:
[1] 张国荣.支架理论在英语写作教学中的应用[J].外语与外语教学, 2004(9).
[2] 李丹丽.二语协作任务中同伴支架对语言输出的影响[J].中国外语, 2014(1).