英语硕士学位论文-郑州小学英语教学现状调查及建议

学校代码：10475学 号：研 究 生 硕 士 学 位 论 文An Investigation on English Teaching in Primary School in Zhengzhou and Suggestions郑州小学英语教学现状调查及建议 专业名称： 学科教学（英语）专业方向： 英语教学法 年 级： 08级教育硕士 研究生姓名： 导师姓名、职称：学院名称： 河南大学外语学院 论文初稿完成时间： 2009年8月 viiiAn Investigation on English Teaching in Primary School in Zhengzhou and Suggestions郑州小学英语教学现状调查及建议ByLiu NanCollege of Foreign LanguagesHenan UniversityAugust, 2009AcknowledgementsSince I began to teach English in an international bilingual primary school and kindergarten in 2002, I have been accustomed with the new teaching models which are different from the non-bilingual schools. I am interested in English teaching. I am thankful to Henan University for giving me a chance in the study of teaching. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all the teachers who have taught me and helped me during the years of my study in Henan University.My greatest thankfulness goes to my supervisor, Prof. Xu Youzhi, who gave me lots of suggestions and guidance on how to write this thesis, and read and revised the entire manuscript with great patience. Without his help and encouragement this thesis could not have reached the present form.I owe my thankfulness to Mrs. Qin Feng, for her providing the materials and books I needed. I am also much appreciative to the teachers in College of Educational Science for their kind support. I am very grateful to my colleagues and teachers from primary schools who are helpful in my collecting of the teachers questionnaires.I am also thankful to the authors for their works I referred to and quoted. AbstractWith the implementation of the National English Curriculum (2001), a lot of new problems arise in English teaching in primary schools. Primary students are almost 6-12 years old. They have many different characteristics from adults and adolescents in language learning. The focal problem is how to teach children English effectively. English teachers have to grasp the theories of language learning and teaching and children psychology. In order to understand the existing situation of English teaching and learning in China, many researchers have investigated various aspects of primary school English teaching. They have found out the key of the problems and have proposed some solutions to solve them. This thesis is to proceed with the job, centering on the situation of English teaching in primary schools in Zhengzhou.This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1, an introduction, presents the reason of investigation, the research questions, research methodology and the design of thesis.Chapter 2 reviews the development of English teaching in China and overseas. Chapter 3 states the research objectives, instrument, procedure and method. The investigation included four aspects: the teaching objectives in the NEC (2001) and in the real teaching, the main teaching methods in different levels, the roles of teachers and students, and the main teaching aids. The instruments of investigation were Questionnaire and Teacher Interview. The subjects were 36 primary English teachers chosen randomly from 11 primary schools in Zhengzhou. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were adopted in this investigation. Some of the statistics were expressed in charts directly by EXCEL. Chapter 4 analyses the data and sums up the results. From analyses the writer found that most primary English teachers could grasp the designing principles of the NEC and answer the call from the government for quality-oriented education. But in level 2 they focused on the objectives of grammar and writing more in real teaching. The gap between the NEC and the real teaching influenced teaching methods in class. Teachers used the Grammar-Translation Method and the Grammar Inductive Method more than others. It would influence the development of other language performance such as the skills of listening and speaking and communicative competence. Teachers still played an important and center role. The teaching process was going around teachers and the content of textbooks. Most teachers used the traditional and hand-made teaching aids in their classes. The lack of advanced teaching aids and technology limited English teaching. They were the existing problems in primary school English teaching. Chapter 5 gives some suggestions. They are adjusting the concrete objectives in real teaching; integrating teaching methods, and following the teaching procedure to choose appropriate activities; interpreting the roles of teachers; and using various teaching aids. In real teaching the concrete objectives are different in Level 1 and Level 2. Both language knowledge and the communicative competence are always the main objectives.Integrative methods should be used. The integrative model in level 1 includes Audio-Lingual Method, Situational Language Teaching, Total Physical Responds, Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching. In Level 2 the integrative model includes the Grammar Inductive Method, Grammar Translation Method, Situational Language Teaching, Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching. Teachers should adopt a teaching procedure like presentationpracticeconsolidation extension (PPCE). According to the taxonomy of activities (Brown, 2001:141), activities are used respectively into the procedure of PPCE. And pointing to the particular activity, the steps are used for running it: lead in set up run close post activity. Teachers roles should be changed, and teaching aids and resources should be created and used.Chapter 6, the conclusion, reviews the procedure of investigation, presents the findings, puts forward suggestions for real teaching, and points out the shortcomings of investigation and suggests for more investigation.Key words: primary school, English teaching, teaching objectives, teaching methods, teaching activities中文摘要 随着国家英语课程标准（2001）的推广和执行，在小学英语教学中出现了许多新的问题。小学生大多数都在6到12岁之间，这个年龄段的学生不仅年纪小还有许多与青少年和成人不同的语言学习特点。如何根据儿童的特点及英语语言教学理论有效率地教好儿童英语是小学英语教学的关键。为了更多的了解小学英语教学的现状，许多研究者开展了各种英语教学方面的调查，发现问题并提出解决问题的办法。这篇论文继续了前者的研究，并针对郑州小学的英语教学情况进行了调查和研究。此篇论文共有六章。第一章前言。前言主要介绍了此次调查的背景和原由，调查的问题，调查方法和论文的结构。第二章回顾了英语教学在国内及国外的发展进程及现状。第三章介绍了调查的目的，方法，过程和数据分析方法。调查主要包括四个方面：对英语教学目标的把握，不同阶段的主要教学方法，教学过程及活动，师生关系及主要教学手段。调查工具是小学英语教师调查问卷和个别访谈。调查对象是随机抽取的36名英语教师，他们来自11所不同的小学。调查数据是通过定量和定性方法进行分析。数据先进行分类统计，一些统计数据通过EXCEL软件用图表直接表示出来。第四章分析并总结了此次调查结果。从调查结果作者发现大多数小学英语教师能把握新英语课程标准的设计理念和响应国家进行素质教育的号召。但在实际教学中又将语法和写作放到的首要教学目标。这样的教学目标又直接影响了课堂教学方法的使用。老师用语法翻译法和归纳法要比其他方法频繁。这影响了学生其他方面的发展例如听说能力和交际能力。老师在教学中始终处于重要的和核心的地位。整个教学过程也是围绕着教材和老师转。在课堂上，大多数老师还是使用传统的和手工制作的教具，缺乏先进的教学设备，这些问题限制了英语教学的发展。第五章提出了一些建议。包括调整具体教学目标，综合使用教学方法，根据教学过程选择相应的教学活动，改变教师角色及多种教学手段的使用。实际教学中不同级别有不同的具体教学目标。但语言知识和语言交际能力始终作为主要目标。综合的教学方法应该被用于教学当中。一级综合教学模式包括听说法，情景法，全身反应法，交际法和任务教学法。二级综合教学模式包括语法归纳法，语法翻译法，情景法，交际法和任务教学法。教师通常采用呈现练习巩固拓展的教学过程。根据BROWN（2001：141）对教学活动的分类，需要在不同的教学环节中采用不同的教学活动。针对独立的教学活动，可采用导入启动运行结束回顾的步骤。 教师角色也应有所改变，教学手段和教学资源也应不断地开发和利用。第六章结语回顾了整个调查过程，总结了调查结果，提出一些实际教学建议，并指出调查的不足之处和将来要做的更多调查研究。关键词：小学，英语教学, 教学目标，教学方法，教学活动ContentsAcknowledgementsAbstracti中文摘要ivChapter 1 Introduction1Chapter 2 Literature Review42.1 Development in teaching English42.1.1 The views on language42.1.2 The views on language learning52.1.3 The review of teaching approaches and methods62.2 The post-method era112.3 ELT in China132.3.1 Development of ELT in China132.3.2 The setting of ELT in China142.3.3 The statusquo of ELT in China152.4 The question proposed and investigation16Chapter 3 Methodology173.1 Objectives173.2 Subjects173.3 Instrument183.4 Procedure213.5 Method21Chapter 4 Results and Analysis224.1 Analyses of the teaching objectives224.1.1 Objectives in NEC (2001)224.1.2 The major concrete objectives in real teaching254.1.3 Summary of teaching objectives314.2 Analyses of teaching methods314.2.1 Principles in teaching English314.2.2 Major teaching methods in different levels324.2.3 Major teaching procedure364.2.4 Major teaching activities in different levels374.2.5 Summary of teaching methods374.3 Roles of the teachers and students384.4 Main teaching aids414.5 Summary42Chapter 5 Suggestions435.1 Adjusting concrete objectives435.2 Adjusting teaching methods455.2.1 Integrating the teaching methods455.2.2 Adjusting Procedure475.2.3 Activities in the PPCE505.3 Roles of teachers535.4 Use of teaching aids54Chapter 6 Conclusion55Bibliography57Appendix I62Appendix II65Chapter 1 IntroductionEnglish has been the international language in the world which plays an important role in economics, education, politics and technology. Richard (2001:3) pointed out: “Increasingly English is becoming the major international language of printed information. A great deal of the worlds scientific, commercial, economic and technological knowledge is written and published in English”. It is not in fact difficult to understand the importance of foreign-language learning in todays world. As this planet becomes smaller and the means for moving round it easier, todays world has become more multicultural and multilingual. In China peoples use of English is spreading far and wide at the different fields of society which includes international trade, diplomacy, entertainment and study. English is a compulsory course from primary schools to universities in China. The National English Curriculum (NEC, 2001) designs a Basic Requirement for Primary School English and starts introducing English step by step nationwide in primary schools from 2001. Now more than 100 million primary students are learning English in schools. In Zhengzhou English has been taught in primary schools since 2001 and some of schools have even begun to teach English from Grade1.English teaching has a long history. Language teaching and learning theories have been explored and developed all around the world, especially in Europe and U.S.A. They are related to the development of linguistics and psychology. Many pioneers provided ideas or practices in language teaching. English spread out from Britain to the countries bordering the Channel, then came to the outer circle of the Mediterranean and Baltic countries, finishing in the late eighteen century with Russia (Howatt, 1999:61). Howatt in A History of English Language Teaching said: “The other (stream of the English language teaching history) is concerned with the response of language teaching methodology to educational and social change in the nineteen-century Europe (Howatt, 1999:71).” In the 20th century the language teaching methods emerged in large numbers. From the Grammar-translation Method and the Direct Method, to the Communicative Method, the past century is an era of methodology. The methods represent the development of language from structuralism to functionalism and interaction, and language learning from behaviorist theory to cognitive theory, constructivist theory, and socio-constructivist theory. These theories and methods were introduced into China and were practiced and developed. In the 21st century, we have entered into “the post-method era”, and the eclectic approach is the primary selection.In China English is an important school subject of study and it is necessary to pass an examination in English before entering a university. Chinese students learn English in classroom. They spend a lot of time at school and in classroom with teachers. “A foreign language usually requires formal instruction and other measures compensating for the lack of environmental support (Stern, 1999a:16).” In China the development of ELT (English Language Teaching) since 1978 can be divided into four major phrases: Restoration, Rapid Development , Reform, and Innovation (王蔷，2006：39). In these decades, the English Syllabus has been changed for several times and now replaced by the New National English Curriculum (2001), and the teaching methods were used one after another. Since 2001 the New National Curriculum has been implemented in primary schools, many teachers and researchers have been concerned with English teaching for primary students. Primary students have different characteristics to adults and adolescents. English teachers must grasp children psychology and language learning and teaching theories to help their teaching.At the background of development English teaching in China, the writer has worked in an international bilingual primary school for seven years and observed the difference of English teaching between the bilingual school and common schools. The writer wanted to investigate the situation of English teaching in common primary schools and find out some problems. To solve some problems and develop the primary English teaching is helpful to the primary English teachers and their teaching.This investigation referred to A Survey on English Teaching Situation in Primary Schools, Middle Schools and Universities (梅德明，2004a). Four aspects of English teaching were investigated: the teaching objectives in the NEC (2001) and in the real teaching, the main teaching methods in different levels, the roles of teachers and students, and the main teaching aids. The data of investigation was collected through the Primary English Teacher Questionnaire and the Teacher Interview. The subjects were 36 primary English teachers chosen randomly from 11 primary schools in Zhengzhou. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were adopted in this investigation. Some of the statistics were expressed in charts directly by EXCEL. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 is introduction presents the reason of investigation, the research questions, research methodology and the design of thesis. Chapter 2 reviews the development of English teaching in China and overseas. Chapter 3 states the research objectives, instrument, procedure and method. Chapter 4 analyses the data and sums up the results. Chapter 5 gives some suggestions. Chapter 6 is conclusion reviews the procedure of investigation, the findings, suggestions to the real teaching and the disadvantages of investigation and suggestions.Chapter 2 Literature Review2.1 Development in teaching EnglishThe development of teaching English has a long, tortuous way for more than twenty-five centuries. Since the 18th century various teaching approaches and methods have emerged. All of these approaches and methods have followed the development of linguistics and psychology. 2.1.1 The views on language In the past century, language teaching and learning had been influenced by three different views of language: the structural view, the functional view and the interactional view. Structural view Structuralist linguistics describes linguistic features in terms of systems or structures （胡壮麟，2001：354). It includes phonology, morphology and syntax. Wang Qiang explained: “Each language has a finite number of such structural items. To learn English means to learn these structural items to understand and produce language （王蔷，2006：3).” Functional view The functional view not only sees language as a linguistic system but also a means for doing things （王蔷，2006：3). Shu Baimei also proposed : “This approach emphasizes the semantic rather than the grammatical potential of language and leads to language teaching content by categories of function rather than by categories of form （舒白梅，2005：3）.”Interactional view The interactional view considers language to be a communicative tool, whose main use is to build up and maintain social relations between people （王蔷，2006：3). Shu Baimei explained: “ Interactional theories focus on the patterns of moves, acts and exchanges in communication （舒白梅，2005：4).”These three views present the various aspects of language. The different language views lead to the different contents and emphases of language. For example, if they want to know whether the language which they use is appropriate to the context, the learners have to study the rules of language above the sentence levels. Not only language views influence learners to learn language but also the views on language learning of psychology.2.1.2 The views on language learningBehaviorist theory The behaviorist theory of language learning was initiated by behavioral psychologist Skinner （王蔷，2006）. Based on the theory of conditioning, Skinner suggested that language is also a form of behavior. It can be learned the same way as an animal is trained to respond to stimuli （王蔷，2006）. This theory has been used in the studies of language learning. But the behaviorist theory can not explain language learning completely. Psychologists have proposed new, more complex theories of learning.Cognitive theory It seems to be the result of Noam Chomskys reaction to Skinners behaviorist theory. According to Chomsky, language is not a form of behavior, it is an intricate rule-based system and a large part of language acquisition is the learning of this system (王蔷，2006). Chomsky claimed that children are biologically programmed for language and that language develops in the child in just the same way that other biological functions develop （舒白梅，2005）. Chomsky referred to this special ability as being based on a language acquisition device (LAD) （舒白梅，2005）. Chomskys theory is not directly applied in language teaching, but it has influenced that students should be allowed to create their own sentences based on their understanding of certain rules, and the general knowledge about language and language learning will help language learners and teachers do a better job.Constructivist theory John Dewey provided a foundation for constructivism. He believed th