浙江 宋小燕
思维品质指思维在逻辑性、批判性、创新性等方面所表现出的能力和水平。一般思维品质包括思维的准确性、深刻性、灵活性、批判性、开放性、创造性等。这些思维品质都可以通过英语学科教育来提升,因为英语思维的逻辑性、批判性均显著于汉语思维,非常有助于中国学生的终身发展。
关于语法知识的内容要求,《普通高中英语课程标准(2017 年版2020 年修订)》(以下简称《课程标准》)指出,在语言使用中,语法知识是“形式—意义—使用”的统一体,与语音、词汇、语篇和语用知识紧密相连,直接影响语言理解和表达的准确性和得体性。高中阶段英语语法知识的学习是义务教育阶段英语语法学习的延伸和继续,应在更加丰富的语境中通过各种英语学习和实践活动进一步巩固和恰当运用义务阶段所学的语法知识,学会在语境中理解和运用新的语法知识,进一步培养英语语法意识。
根据《课程标准》对语法知识的内容要求,我们可以将语法教学概括理解为就是在主题语境下,通过一定的学习活动,“形”“意”兼顾,提升学生的英语理解力、表达力、思辨力。
然而,在实践《课程标准》对语法知识的内容要求时,受限于学生的口语表达能力和思维品质,语法教学的形式与意义脱离语境,或者只能兼顾形式,未能有效提升学生的思维水平和语法意识,尤其突出表现在以下几个方面:
1.重规则轻思维,“记”与“用”不匹配
在语法教学过程中,教师往往通过对一系列的例句或教材原句的重现和分析,一一罗列相关的语法规则,然后通过操练帮助学生熟记这些规则。一条一条列出语法规则本是有必要的,但在归纳规则的过程中教师忽视了语境、忽略了思维品质的提升,就会导致学生即便能记住很多规则,但在实际的语境中不能准确地理解与运用。
2.重形式轻语境,“形”与“意”脱节
教师在语法教学中往往注重对语法形式的呈现和总结,而忽略了语法需在一定的主题语境中才有具体的、特定的意义,从而造成“形式”与“意义”脱节,未能有效地帮助学生体会、内化语法知识。
为有效达成《课程标准》对语法知识的内容要求,笔者实践了在语法教学中,围绕一定的主题语境,通过学习理解、应用实践、迁移创新等一系列体现综合性、关联性和实践性的英语学习活动,在分析问题和解决问题的过程中,促进学生多元思维的发展,进一步培养学生的语法意识。
英语学习活动的类型与思维品质的具体对应关系如下表所示:
语法不仅是语言形成或者使用的规则,还是我们用来思考和表达的工具。本文以笔者执教的一节语言研究课为例,探讨如何在语法教学中提升学生的思维品质。
本节课的授课对象为高一学生,教学内容是人教版(2019 年版)必修一Unit 5 Discovering Useful Structures部分,学习以where,why,when,介词+which,介词+whom引导的定语从句的用法。在本节课之前学生已经学习了以that,which,who 和whose 引导的定语从句的用法。通过本节课的学习,学生将能准确地辨别和使用定语从句中的关系代词和关系副词,并能用介词+which 或介词+whom 替换部分由关系副词引导的定语从句。
1.复现教材,自由造句,培养思维开放性
用幻灯片呈现Unit 4 中出现的典型句子:
1.The number of people who were killed or badly injured in the quake was more than 400,000.
2.Workers built shelters for survivors whose homes had been destroyed.
3.There were deep cracks that appeared in the well walls.(重现教材中的句子有助于帮助学生快速激活关于以that,which,who,whose 引导的定语从句的相关知识)
然后,笔者让学生以小组接龙的方式仿照上面的例句分别一一口头编造以which/that,who/that,whose 引导的定语从句,即第一位学生的造句以which/that 引导,第二位学生的造句以who/that 引导,第三位学生的造句以whose引导,如此循环。
【设计意图】
让学生进行造句练习以激活其已有的语法知识,降低语法学习的难度,提高学生参与活动的热情。小组接龙游戏在活跃课堂气氛的同时,基于自由造句的形式,给了学生更多的自由度和个性空间,从而打开学生的思维视野、培育其思维的开放性。
2.创设语境,自由问答,蕴育思维灵活性
在学生小组接龙造句后,笔者呈现了一张自己和高中同学的合影。师生有如下自由问答对话:
T:I visited my former classmate during the Spring Festival.Can you guess what she does?
S1:A teacher.
S2:A doctor.
T:You are clever.She is a teacher,too.She teaches maths at the school where I once studied in my high school.Can you guess how long she has taught maths?
S3:Ten years.
S4:Fifteen years.
T:Yes.She began teaching when she graduated from college in 2002,just the same with me.2002 is the time that I will never forget,because it is the time when I graduated from college,too.
在师生对话时,笔者将对话中出现的两个含有定语从句的句子书写在黑板上。Sentence 1:She teaches maths at the school where I once studied in my high school.Sentence 2:It is the time when I graduated from college,too.
T:Suppose our school is also the school where your parents once studied.Can you make up a new sentence like Sentence 1?
S5:I am studying at the school where my parents once studied.
T:Good job.I know you graduated from your junior high school in 2019.Can you make up a sentence like Sentence 2?
S6:2019 is the time when I graduated from my junior high school.
T:Please write down as many sentences as possible that are similar to the two sentences on the blackboard.(学生自由书写)
【设计意图】
创设情景可以让学习过程更真实,激活学生的思维。通过类似情景的仿句训练,既可以让学生初步感受新的语法句型,为后续讨论语法规则做铺垫,又可以让学生自由书写类似的句型,培养学生思维的灵活性。
3.引导学生归纳语法规则,提升思维准确性
T:Let’s analyze Sentence 1.In the part of the sentence“where I once studied”,does the word“where”function as the object or subject?
Ss:No.
T:The part“where I once studied”is to modify the word“school”.The word“where”functions as adverb in the clause.
T:According to Sentence 1,can you analyze Sentence 2,especially about the function of “when”?
Ss:...
通过引导学生分析其已操练过的句式,可以帮助学生熟悉以when,where 引导的定语从句的基本用法,并为接下来学习以why 引导的定语从句打好基础。在学生分析了when,where 引导的定语从句的用法后,笔者继续提问:Do you know why I visited this former classmate during the Spring Festival?
S1:Because you are the best friends.
S2:Because you miss her very much.
S3:Because you wanted to send her a good gift.
T:(Smile) S3 is right.The reason why I visited her was that I wanted to send her a good gift that she hoped to gain for a long time.[笔者将此句(Sentence 3)书写在黑板上]
T:Can you sum up the usage of“why”in the sentence?
Ss:...
在观察、分析句子得出相关的语法规则后,笔者和学生一起汇总了关系副词引导定语从句的规则,并用幻灯片呈现。
T:Let’s go back to Sentence 3.When we talk about the reason of something,we often use prepositions“of ”or“for”,for example,the reason for his being late was that his mother was ill that day.So Sentence 3 can be replaced like that:The reason for which I visited her was that I wanted to send her a good gift that she hoped to gain for a long time.In many cases,the words“when”“where”“why”can be replaced by preposition and which or whom.Of course,which is to refer to something while whom is to refer to somebody.
在学生了解了关系副词when,where,why 引导的定语从句和介词+which,介词+whom 的基本用法后,笔者和学生一起用中文复述了各项规则和用法。
【设计意图】
针对思维品质的培养,很重要的一点是培养学生观察、归纳、总结的能力。学生通过观察、比较、总结来获得语法知识比教师直接告知学生语法规则的教学效果更好。
1.改编教材设置判断正误题,培养思维批判性
判断题“身材”小,容量大,耗时短,涉及知识点广,是课堂检测,尤其是对语法知识进行检测的很好的方式。判断题有利于教师更准确地了解学生对知识的掌握情况,从而消除学生的知识盲区,对学生来说,判断题需其熟练、准确地掌握相关语法条目,多角度考虑语法的运用,极大地提升了其思维的批判性。
教师可将教材中Unit 4 Discovering Useful Structures部分的语句改编成如下判断题:
1.A doctor with who James used to work died in the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador.
2.The only supplies which were provided to the disaster area were placed casually in the warehouse.
3.The couple,both of their sons are studying abroad,volunteered to help after the earthquake.
4.The Tangshan earthquake was a terrible experience,that my grandma would never forget.
5.Mr Li is an architect whose designs for the new town has won praise.
【设计意图】让学生体会语法规则形式与意义的一致性,在观察语句、分析问题的过程中,培养其思维的批判性。
2.描述身边的朋友,培养思维的独立性
教师应尽可能多地为学生创造语言实践的机会,鼓励学生通过观察、体验、探究、展示等方式学习和运用语言。在学生熟悉了相关的语法规则后,教师应引导学生通过笔头、口语训练等多种方式进行操练,这样学生既能及时巩固所学语法知识,又能灵活运用知识,学以致用。
笔者设计了以下话题让学生讨论:Can you describe your best friend in junior high school to us? You may begin your sentence like the following:My best friend is a tall girl for/to whom...
这个话题极大地调动了学生参与的积极性,激发了学生的想象力和语法表达欲望,学生纷纷踊跃发言。例如:
S1:My best friend is a beautiful girl to whom I often write letters.
S2:My best friend is a shy boy from whom I can borrow many books.
S3:My best friend is an active boy with whom I often play football during the weekends.
【设计意图】通过回忆身边的朋友,以自己的视角,用含有特定语法规则的句式表达自己,以培养学生思维的独立性。
1.围绕主题演讲,构筑思维创造性
本单元(Unit 5) 的主题是LANGUAGES AROUND THE WORLD,重点介绍了汉字的变迁和意义。
T:Now we have learned something about the Chinese writing system.Now would you like to describe it to your deskmate? You may begin your description like that:China has over 5 000 years of civilization which has continued all the way into nowadays.At first,written Chinese was a picturebased language,which can date back to...
【设计意图】
在学生掌握了语法规则后,教师需带领其进行一定形式的操练和巩固训练。笔头练习是一般语法训练最常用的手段。笔头训练确实可以直观地评估学生掌握语言知识的熟练度。但除了笔头训练外,口语训练也是必不可少的。口语训练可以提升学生用英语进行表达的能力,还有助于其文字表达能力的提升。
2.进行开放式写作,培育思维深刻性
口语训练后教师可以带领学生进行语法填空练习,要求学生用所给单词补全下列句子:
(1)I hope the future is a place where ______(educate).
(2)In the summer holiday I visited the West Lake again,where_________(visitor).
(3)Ellias will never forget the moment when ________(Nelson Mandela).
(4)August 25th is the date when___________(come).
(5)Lily is an American girl with whom______(write).
(6)The colorless gas is oxygen without which________(live).
显而易见,上述语法填空试题是一项半开放式的练习,旨在帮助学生熟悉含有关系副词when,where,介词+which/whom 的句型,还可帮助学生展开想象,启发思维,创造性地完成句子。
另外,教师还可设计写作练习,让学生在课堂上操练口语的基础上,给自己初中时的好朋友写一封大约100 词的信,介绍自己高中时的一位好朋友。在此应要求学生使用一些含有定语从句的句子,在写信时,既要表达真实的情感,又要发挥自己的想象力与创造力。
【设计意图】
设计这一任务的目的是让学生将所学语法知识与生活实际结合,既实现知识的内化和运用,也引导学生认真思考句与句之间的逻辑关系,保证整个短文句与句之间过渡衔接自然,训练学生思维的深刻性。
对于在高中英语语法教学中培养学生的思维品质,教师要依据《课程标准》对语法知识内容的要求,围绕单元主题语境,充分利用教材原句或对教材原句进行适当改编,通过学习理解、应用实践、迁移创新的学习活动,帮助学生内化语法知识,培养语法意识,提升思维品质。