王佳

一、問題的提出

有效教學(xué)(effective teaching)的理念源于20世紀上半葉西方的教學(xué)科學(xué)化運動，在美國實用主義哲學(xué)和行為主義心理學(xué)影響的教學(xué)效能核定運動后，引起了世界各國教育學(xué)者的關(guān)注。20世紀以前在西方教育理論中占主導(dǎo)地位的教學(xué)觀是“教學(xué)是藝術(shù)”。但隨著20世紀以來科學(xué)思潮的影響，以及心理學(xué)特別是行為科學(xué)的發(fā)展，人們意識到，教學(xué)也是科學(xué)。即教學(xué)不僅有科學(xué)的基礎(chǔ)，而且還可以用科學(xué)的方法來研究。

有效教學(xué)的核心就是教學(xué)的效益，即什么樣的教學(xué)是有效的？是高效、低效還是無效？所謂“有效”，主要是指通過教師在一段時間的教學(xué)后，學(xué)生所獲得的具體進步或發(fā)展。具體到英語教學(xué)，筆者觀摩過百余節(jié)英語課，發(fā)現(xiàn)英語課堂大致可分兩種：

一種是：教師“教英語”，學(xué)生“學(xué)英語”，在這樣的課堂上，教師對學(xué)生的“教”僅僅體現(xiàn)在語言層面；

另一種是：教師“用英語教”，學(xué)生“用英語學(xué)”，此處“教”和“學(xué)”的內(nèi)容不僅僅局限于英語這門語言，而是以英語為工具和載體，鼓勵學(xué)生去探究，引導(dǎo)學(xué)生去思考，啟發(fā)學(xué)生去應(yīng)用。因此，在這樣的課堂上，學(xué)生學(xué)到的不僅是英語本身，還有解決實際問題的方法，批判性思維，文學(xué)欣賞的視角，和地道的歐美文化。

本文將以一節(jié)公開課為例，從教學(xué)目標的鋪設(shè)，教學(xué)語境的構(gòu)建和學(xué)生表現(xiàn)的反饋和評價三方面分析第二種課堂“用英語教”的具體教學(xué)策略的實施。

二、教學(xué)文本和教學(xué)簡案

What does digital media bring us?

WITH the explosion of digital media in recent years, a growing number of students are spending their time in front of the small screen– whether its a smartphone or tablet. In just two years, the number of US children using digital media has doubled to 72 percent, according to a survey by Common Sense Media.

On average, students spend one hour and 55 minutes a day in front of the screen, according to Forbes. Watching TV makes up half of this time. But interestingly, the time children spend watching TV is decreasing , with more and more time being given to digital media. Some of the common things kids do with digital media are playing games, watching videos and sending messages to friends.

The digital world can be used very effectively. In the Survey, 74 percent of teachers said that digital media would improve students learning. As students can quickly get hold of information they need.

However, without guidance from teachers or parents, digital media may have bad influence on students attention span and communication skills. Whats more, some parents are also worried about what their children are doing online. In this new age of technology, we still dont know what effects digital media will have on us in the future. So its always best to use your smartphone and tablet carefully.

When using digital media, you need to find a balance. Just like study, too much can lead to information overload, and give you a headache. Also, make sure your smartphone or tablet doesnt take priority over more important tasks. Give your eyes a rest, and remember: offline is just as fun as online.

Teaching Material What does digital media bring us?

Teaching Object Class 3A, Junior Two, Hangzhou Foreign Language School

Teaching Aims Criteria Notes

1.The main task (Outcome)

The students will be able to give some advice to Susan and her mom, who are having trouble with smartphones. This is the main task of this class and other steps all contribute to it.

2.Language Focus

The students will be able to understand the following words: digital media, smartphone, tablet, influence

A and use the patterns:

have influence on…

Whats more…

So its always best to… There are plenty of new words in this article. However, todays class focus more on main ideas, organization and idea exchange, so not every new word is presented in class.

endprint

3.Language Skills

Students are able to understand statistics in an article.

Students are able to understand the writers tone.

Students are able to quote surveys in their argument. With the development of these three skills, students may be more prepared to speak or write more logically and convincingly.

4.Learning Strategies

The students will cooperate with their group members to finish the main task.

The students will be able to reflect on their work. Cooperation strategy and reflection strategy are applied in this class.

5.Culture

Students may be aware that in western countries, relationship between kids and parents are different from that in China. Students are aware that parents and kids need more communication.

Difficulties Students may find it difficult to read such a long article with so many new words and expressions. For 8th graders, reading such an article is really a tough job.

Teaching Aids Blackboard, Chalk, Computer, Overhead Projector, I pad, I phone, a blue tooth speaker, wifi

Setting The students sit in pairs and groups. This setting is good for their cooperation.

Procedures & Activities Notes

Step 1A survey3 min

Ask students some questions about digital media. This survey acts as an ice-breaker, presents vocabulary, and provides a strategy for the main task..

Step 2Task–introduction & Task–acknowledgement 3 min

Tell students Susan and her mom are facing a problem:

To use or not to use smartphones?

Students are going to give some advice to them. Students will feel more secure and oriented if they know what they are going to learn at the beginning of a class.

Step 3Reading 10 min

1.Ask students to skim for organization of this article

a.Choose an organization pattern for the article

b.Match the main ideas with each paragraph

2.Ask students to scan for details: What do these numbers mean? Understanding the organization will help students get closer to the writer and attention to statistics will help students understand importance of survey quoting.

Step 4Imitation of Paragraph 4 5 min

1.Listen to paragraph 4

2.Imitate and make a speech Using a smartphone to record and play audio for students is a good example for Para 3 and imitation can help students prepare for the main task.

Step 5Understanding the Writers Tone3 min

Ask students to think:

Is the writer objective? In other words, does he simply give facts? The writers tone is helpful for students to understand his/her point of view and this step also contributes to the main task .

Step 6Skyping with an American student 4 min

Students can talk with an American student and ask for his/her opinion.

Is he/she objective or subjective? Another example to use digital media effectively and also another chance to analyze speakers tone.

Step 7Tips for Susan or her mom10 min

Students are working in groups to give some tips for Susan or her mom. and for each tip, they need to state why.

Then they present their discussion outcome to the whole class.

endprint

Other students evaluate their work. Students will need the survey result, pattern imitated, tones introduced, etc to finish this main task.

Homework:2 min

Write an email to Susan or her mom to give them some advice.

三、如何“用英語教”

(一) 教學(xué)目標的鋪設(shè)

這節(jié)公開課的主要任務(wù)(Main task)是給Susan母女提建議，而其他的教學(xué)步驟都是為這個主要任務(wù)設(shè)置的。仔細閱讀這份教學(xué)簡案，發(fā)現(xiàn)其實這節(jié)課可以用以下思維導(dǎo)圖來表述：

通過以上圖示，可以清晰地看到，教師通過精心設(shè)計的每一個教學(xué)步驟，逐步達成了預(yù)設(shè)的教學(xué)目標：

1.The main task (Outcome).The students will be able to give some advice to Susan and her mom， who are having trouble with smartphones.

2.Language Focus.The students will be able to understand the following words: digital media， smartphone， tablet， influence

and use the patterns:

have influence on…

Whats more…

So its always best to…

3.Language Skills. Students are able to understand statistics in an article.

Students are able to understand the writers tone.

Students are able to quote surveys in their argument.

4.Learning Strategies.The students will cooperate with their group members to finish the main task.

The students will be able to reflect on their work.

5.Culture.Students may be aware that in western countries， relationship between kids and parents are different from that in China.

通過如此的目標鋪設(shè)，學(xué)生不僅能學(xué)到英語本身，還能學(xué)到如何用英語去完成更多的任務(wù)，而就在這些任務(wù)的完成過程中，本節(jié)課的教學(xué)目標也就水到渠成地達成了。

(二) 教學(xué)語境的構(gòu)建

本節(jié)課以一個現(xiàn)場調(diào)查開始：

1. Have you used a smartphone or a tablet?

2. Do your family have more than 4 screens?

3. Do you enjoy using digital media?

4. Does digital media give your family a headache sometimes?

5. Do you think digital media can improve your learning?

教師現(xiàn)場提問，并將結(jié)果寫在黑板上，讓學(xué)生計算百分比，學(xué)生當場就被這些結(jié)果震驚，并開始了對digital media的初步思考。緊接著，教師告訴學(xué)生全世界的人們都在思考這個問題，Susan和她的媽媽就收到一張巨額手機話費單，學(xué)生迅速進入了Susan和她媽媽的困境，共同思考她們該怎么辦，以及有什么建議可以給她們。這兩個教學(xué)步驟讓學(xué)生得以“用英語”去做調(diào)查，“用英語”解決生活問題，“用英語”提建議。

(三) 學(xué)生表現(xiàn)的評價

在英語課堂中，有以下的評價方法可以采納：

1.評價標準前置。在這節(jié)課主要任務(wù)：給Susan母女提建議的開展之前，教師先問了幾個問題：Should we sound subjective or objective? What expressions in the article can we use? How should we state our reasons? 通過對這幾個問題的思考，學(xué)生在大腦中建立起了這個任務(wù)的評價標準，在任務(wù)的最后準備階段不至于盲目執(zhí)行，而是有指導(dǎo)標準貫穿整個過程。

2. 教師評價與同伴評價相結(jié)合。在英語課堂上，有的教師由于擔(dān)心時間不夠，自己對學(xué)生進行匆匆評價就切換至下一個環(huán)節(jié)。殊不知，同伴評價無論是對于評價者和被評價者都是一個“用英語學(xué)”的過程：評價者更加明了什么樣的成果(outcome)是好的，什么樣的成果是需要改進的，以及在什么方面能夠得以改進；而被評價者除了能聽到老師的評價，還能聽到同伴的評價，能夠產(chǎn)生更有效的反思，反思所完成的任務(wù)可以從哪些方面進行進一步的改進。比如這節(jié)課的Skyping結(jié)束以后，學(xué)生意猶未盡，教師就乘勝追擊，讓同學(xué)們共同對剛才主講的同學(xué)提建議，學(xué)生講了十幾條實用的小貼士，在這個過程中，學(xué)生既預(yù)熱了提建議的方式，又都學(xué)到了如何更加得體，高效地與外國人進行交流。

3. 當場評價與過去評價相結(jié)合。有的教師在評價學(xué)生的時候僅僅注意到了學(xué)生當時完成的任務(wù)，而沒有把學(xué)生當時的表現(xiàn)和學(xué)生過去的表現(xiàn)進行對比。教師在對學(xué)生進行評價之前，應(yīng)做好資料收集的作用，比如在評價學(xué)生的時候，給每個學(xué)生準備一個檔案袋(portfolio)，不定期將學(xué)生一段時間內(nèi)的表現(xiàn)進行縱向地比較評價，這樣能夠促進學(xué)生及時調(diào)整學(xué)習(xí)方法，增加學(xué)習(xí)動力。

四、結(jié)語

效度是上不封頂?shù)?，這就意味著有效教學(xué)地探索是永無止境的。一名英語教師，如果長期以來，只滿足于“教英語”，那么學(xué)生學(xué)到的只有英語本身；而如果教師能夠探索更多內(nèi)容，并將這些內(nèi)容“用英語”在英語課堂上帶給學(xué)生，學(xué)生幾年以后收獲的除了流利準確的英語語言，還有學(xué)術(shù)探究精神，批判性思維，跨文化交際能力，獨立處理問題的能力，與人溝通交往的能力等等。這就要求我們教師努力提高自己的業(yè)務(wù)水平，在每節(jié)課的教學(xué)目標的鋪設(shè)，教學(xué)語境的構(gòu)建和學(xué)生表現(xiàn)的評價方面精心備課，做“有效教學(xué)”的一線踐行者。

參考文獻：

[1]Hedge, T. Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom . New York: Cambridge University Press , 2000.

[2]崔允漷,有效教學(xué)[M].上海:華東師范大學(xué)出版社,2009.

endprint