合作原则在中学英语教学中的应用

1、攀枝花学院本科毕业论文合作原则在中学英语教学中的应用学生姓名： 任 立 立 学生学号： 5 院 （系）： 外国语学院 年级专业： 2008级英语本科2班 指导教师： 何学德 副教授 二一二年五月Application of the Cooperative Principle in English Teaching in Middle SchoolRen LiliUnder the Supervision ofHe XuedeSchool of Foreign Languages and CulturesPanzhihua UniversityMay 2012ContentsAbstractIK

2、ey WordsI摘 要II关键词IIIntroduction1. The Cooperative Principle and Its Maxims2A. Definition of the Cooperative Principle2B. Function of the Cooperative Principle2C. Four Maxims3. Application of the CP and Its Maxims5A. Application of the Maxim of Quality5B. Application of the Maxim of Quantity6C. Appli

3、cation of the Maxim of Relation8D. Application of the Maxim of Manner9. Violation of the CP and Its Maxims11A. Violation of the Maxim of Quality11B. Violation of the Maxim of Quantity12C. Violation of the Maxim of Relation12D. Violation of the Maxim of Manner13. The Reasons for Violating of the CP15

4、A. Courtesy15B. Facesaving16C. Enthusiasm16D. Humorousness17E. Cultural differences18. The Enlightenment to English Teaching19A. A Solid Foundation Built for English Students19B. A Good Master of Foreign Cultures19C. Students Active Participation in English Teaching19D. The Change of Atmosphere20Con

5、clusion21Acknowledgements22Bibliography23Abstract We are living in a world which is full of communication and conversation. Therefore, teachers and students in English teaching should follow the Cooperative Principle. This essay is aimed to apply the four maxims of the Cooperative Principle in Engli

6、sh teaching, that is, the maxim of quality, the maxim of quantity, the maxim of relation and the maxim of manner. Firstly, we explain the definition and function of the Cooperative Principle as well as the four maxims; next, we analyze the application of the four maxims respectively in English teach

7、ing; thirdly, the violation of the four maxims is discussed; fourthly, we find out the reasons; finally, we get the enlightenment to English teaching and draw the conclusions so that we can get better teaching effects. The proper use of the Cooperative Principle in English teaching can motivate stud

8、ents interest and make students master the English language more deeply and correctly.Key WordsThe Cooperative Principle; application; violation; reasons; enlightenment摘 要 我们生活在一个相互之间充满交际与对话的世界。因此，在英语教学中学生和老师都应该遵守合作原则。本文旨在探讨将合作原则中四大准则,即质的准则、量的准则、关系准则和方式准则运用于中学英语教学。首先对其定义和功能以及该原则的四个准则进行阐述。第二，我们分别对这四个

9、原则在英语教学中的应用加以分析。第三是对其违反情况的讨论。接下来找出违反的相关原因。通过以上的分析，最后得出该原则对于英语教学带来的启示以及相关结论，从而取得更好的教学效果。恰当地运用合作原则可以激发学生的学习兴趣并且使他们能够更加深入和正确地掌握英语这门语言。关键词合作原则；应用；违反；原因；启示 IntroductionEnglish is one of the international languages and most widely used one in the world. English serves as a bridge for us to communicate wit

10、h each other. While to most English learners, classroom teaching is the basic way to learn English. It is also the main access to gain information, improving many kinds of skills and developing some thoughts and perceptions. The communication between teachers and students is regarded as a special ki

11、nd of conversation. The American linguist Herbert Paul Grice first put forward the Cooperative Principle in the speech in Harvard University in 1967 (Hu Zhuanglin, 2006:176). Grice s Cooperative Principle is one of the most important principles that govern a successful communication, examining the m

12、ental and social processes involved in communicating through language(Verschueren & 何自然：2000). The aim of this paper is the application of the Cooperative Principle from the angle of middle school English teaching and the violation of these maxims as well as the reasons are also presented. We hope t

13、hat the quality of English teaching can be improved and enhanced by using the Cooperative Principle. The Cooperative Principle and Its Maxims A. Definition of the Cooperative Principle The Cooperative Principle (CP for short) was first proposed by Grice, the U.S. linguist and philosopher in the late

14、 1960s. He proposes that all speakers, regardless of their cultural backgrounds, stick to a basic principle that he defines as the Cooperative Principle. During peoples communication, they have to cooperate with each other, only in this way can they contribute to the success of the conversation as w

15、ell as the goal of it. The participants have to comply with the four maxims in order to get a successful and harmonious conversation. The cooperative principle is meant to describe what actually happens in conversation. That is, when we speak we generally have something like the cooperative principl

16、e and its maxims in our mind to guide us, though sub-consciously or even unconsciously. Hearers will also try to interpret what is said to them in this way.In the book entitled logic and conversation, Grice provides us with the definition of the Cooperative Principle. i.e. Make your conversational c

17、ontribution as required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.B. Function of the Cooperative Principle The Cooperative Principle is very useful and important in many aspects, so is it in English teaching. In reality, people

18、 who go into conversation with each other will follow the four maxims of the Cooperative Principle, namely, both the speakers and hearers are expecting the conversation to continue. The function of the maxim of quality: the maxim of quality is one of the four maxims of the Cooperative Principle. It

19、requires the information provided by the participants to be genuine and correct. It is helpful for teachers and students to provide appropriate and correct information according to specific instructional purposes. The function of the maxim of quantity: the maxim of quantity is the second maxim of th

20、e cooperative principle. This maxim plays an important role during the conversation. It can be used to see whether the provided information is adequate as required for the current purpose of communication or to see whether the information is less than necessary. The function of the maxim of relation

21、: the third maxim of the cooperative principle is the maxim of relation. It needs the utterances to be related to the topic under discussion. The relation of all the information needs to be in a wholly meaningful entirety. If the utterances are not concerned with the topic, the communication will tu

22、rn out to be meaningless and boring. This maxim will make the communication easier to go. The function of the maxim of manner:this is the fourth maxim. It is useful to enable both teachers and students to use simple and ordinary words to convey their meanings and try to avoid obscurity and ambiguity

23、 when changing information. Thus, they will concentrate on their attention and make full use of the limited time. Communication will turn out to be more effective and efficient.C. Four MaximsAccording to Grice, there are four maxims under this general principle, which are specific maxims of quality,

24、 quantity, relation and manner.The maxim of quality1) Do not say what you believe to be false.2) Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.This maxim needs the speakers to try their best to make sure the truth of their words and sentences. The information that is false or lack of enough e

25、vidence should not be used by speakers during conversations. The maxim of quantity 1) Make your contribution as informative as required (for the current purpose of the exchange).2) Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.In other words, this maxim requires that the provided i

26、nformation is as adequate as required for the current purpose of communication, or the information should not be less than necessary in order to support the conversation goals. Too more or too less information will fail to achieve the goal. The maxim of relation1) Be relevant.This maxim requires tha

27、t the words and sentences of the speakers should be related to the topic.With respect to this maxim, Grice writes Though the maxim itself is terse, its formulation conceals a number of problems that exercise me a good deal: questions about what different kinds and focuses of relevance there may be,

28、how these shift in the course of a talk exchange, how to allow for the fact that subjects of conversations are legitimately changed and so on. I find the treatment of such questions exceedingly difficult and I hope to revert to them in later work. (Grice, 1989:27) The maxim of manner 1) Avoid obscur

29、ity of expression. 2) Avoid ambiguity. 3) Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)4) Be orderly. This maxim requests the speakers to avoid double meanings or to be clear in their words as possible as they can. They should try their best to be concise and put the words and sentences into order. (Levins

30、on, 2001:101). Application of the CP and Its Maxims As an important theory of pragmatics, the Cooperative Principle is one of the major principles guiding peoples communication. During communications, when participants stick to some basic principles, cooperating with each other, pushing them to go o

31、n with their communications, eventually achieving their conversational goals, we say that they follow the cooperative principle. In the classroom teaching, the interaction between teachers and students is very important, it is also of great significance to apply the four maxims. Lets see the applica

32、tion of the four maxims in English teaching one by one.A. Application of the Maxim of Quality 1. Do not say what you believe to be false.One requirement of the maxim of quality is that the information should be genuine and correct. This maxim needs the speakers to try their best to make sure the tru

33、th of their words and sentences. The information that is false should not be used by people during conversation. Lets see an example: This conversation took place in an English class between a teacher and one of his students, when the teacher is imparting some general knowledge about England. Teache

34、r: Jim, do you know where the Big Ben Clock Tower is? Jim: It is in London. From this conversation, we can say clearly that Jim doesnt contribute what he believes to be false. He doesnt answer the question by saying: Its in Hong Kong. Therefore, we say Jim gives the correct and truthful information.

35、 His answer is normal because the maxim of quality is observed. 2. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. This maxim also needs the speaker to give enough evidence to support his or her point of view. Thus, it is easy for others to believe and agree. Otherwise, people will think your

36、opinion or information is false or unbelievable. As a result, the success of communication will be greatly affected. Lets look at this example: An English teacher asked Tim to give his answer as well as the reasons for this question. He did not go to the party not _the time but _he was ill. A becaus

37、e of, because B because, because C because, because of D because of, because of Tim: I am sure the answer is A in that because of should be followed by noun or noun phrase, while because should be followed by a clause. Teacher: Yes, you are absolutely right. Actually, Tims answer is right. He did no

38、t choose B, C or D and his reasons for this answer are enough and adequate. So it will save time. The teacher thinks that at least Tim has known the difference between the two phrases. Therefore, if the teacher and students can both adhere to the maxim of quality, teaching can be successful and smoo

39、th. B. Application of the maxim of quantity 1. Make your contribution as informative as required (for the current purpose of the exchange). One of the requirements of the maxim of quantity is to provide adequate and enough information for the purpose of current communication. Because adequate inform

40、ation can not only satisfy the needs of peoples communication, but also enrich and broaden the range of topic. Too less information will fail to achieve the goal.If the teacher does not give more examples, students will find it hard to understand the knowledge, which will in turn greatly affect the

41、quality of teaching. Therefore, teachers have the duty to choose typical examples according to the teaching goals and the degree of difficulty of the materials. For example: when teacher explains the usage of such words as interest(v), interested, interesting, puzzle(v), puzzled, puzzling. He can gi

42、ve the following examples: (1) The story interests him; He thinks that the story is very interesting; He is much interested in it. (2) The puzzling problem puzzles him and he feels puzzled at it. We can see that the above examples are proper in number and rich in content, so they can strongly enligh

43、ten students. The teacher only needs to ask students to do more practice; they are likely to understand the usage of them. Another one: wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you (无论你走到哪里，无论你做些什么,我将在此为你守候). These words are found in a song. This example involves the usage

44、of wherever, whatever, and the present participle waiting used as adverbial of company. It is quite useful to explain these grammars in one sentence and they are very effective and time-saving. 2. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required. The second requirement of the maxim of

45、 quantity is not to provide extra or too much information, especially unrelated ones to the topic. If the knowledge is more than they can accept, they will lose confidence in learning. Therefore, the teachers need to study and analyze the practical requirements of the individuals so as to improve th

46、e quality of instruction. The time of each course is so limited; therefore, teachers have the duty to impart adequate knowledge to students in order to finish the goal. However, at the same time, students also need to answer what the teacher has asked, but not the unnecessary ones. Lets look at the

47、following example: Teacher: Tom, could you tell me where America locates? Tom: oh, its located at the north hemisphere, between Mexico and Canada. Thus, we can say that Tom answered the question by providing a right amount of information, no more and no less. The maxim of quantity can help people sa

48、y something sufficient to the topic. In a reading comprehension class, the teacher asked one of his students to answer the question in the article about smoking.who weeps for the smoking daughter? His student said: her mother. He did not mention her father, so he observes the maxim of quantity witho

49、ut providing more information.C. Application of the maxim of relation Be relevant This maxim needs the utterances to be related to the topic under discussion. This is the most basic and important principle. The relation of all the information needs to be in a wholly meaningful entirety. If the utter

50、ances are not concerned with the topic, the communication will turn out to be meaningless and boring. It seems to show that the participants are not willing to go on with the conversation. For example： Teacher: What do you think of Ernest Hemingways novel The Old Man and The Sea? Jinny: The coverage

51、 of this novel is so beautiful. Obviously, Jinnys answer is not related to the question. Thus, we can guess he have not read this novel before. Therefore, if the utterances have nothing to do with the communication between teachers and students, English teaching will be hard to continue, because it

52、shows their indifference and noncooperation. Whats more, what the teacher said in classroom should be related to the teaching materials as well as students daily life and practical situations.Lets look at this example. It takes place in a grammar class. When the teacher explains the sentence pattern

53、: it has/is + time + since + clause, and one of their classmates is in hospital. Therefore, the teacher: it has been two weeks since he got injured. At this time, one student: we miss him so much. In this way, it is easy for students to remember this sentence pattern because it is realistic and acce

54、ptable. Such examples are likely to attract their attention and activate their enthusiasm. They are likely to remember the imparted knowledge and put what they have learned into practice. By this means, they can understand and remember the knowledge more deeply in their mind.D. Application of the ma

55、xim of manner 1. Avoid obscurity of expression. This maxim needs to avoid obscurity in speakers words and sentences. Otherwise, it will be rather difficult for people to understand. The conveyed meaning should be clear enough. Adhering to this maxim will make the communication more effective. It wil

56、l enable both teachers and students to use simple and ordinary words to convey their meanings, expressing the richest content by using the least words. Most importantly, students will not be confused by teachers question and teacher also has clear understanding about their utterances. So they both w

57、ill give concise and concrete words instead of the obscure ones. The class can continue successfully. For example: Teacher: Class, what are the effects according this passage or to your own experience? ( what do you think of smoking?) Class: I think(puzzled.)In this conversation, the teachers question will be full of obscurity if he chose the latter question, because they dont know whether they should answer