摘 要:提問是課堂教學最常用的策略之一,問題設計策略是幫助教師選擇恰當問題從而達到有效發問的方式和技巧。教師可以該策略為依據,設計出多種提問方式應用于英語聽力課堂,達到提高教學效果,培養學生綜合語言能力的目的。
關鍵詞:問題設計策略;英語聽力課;提問方式
提問是課堂教學最常用的策略之一,也是最富影響力的教學藝術(Taba, 1984, 見王篤勤,2003)。根據調查,提問在英語課堂的交互活動中占40%左右,多則甚至占到課上一半的時間(Gall, 1984,見王篤勤,2003)。問答作為外語課堂中最普通的一種話語形式,對語言的習得有著很大的促進作用。它既可以保證學生在學習活動中的參與、監控學生精力是否集中,又可以作為檢驗學生學習效果及調控教師授課內容和進度的輔助手段。總的說來,提問具有以下功能:
1) 激發、保持學生的學習興趣;
2) 啟發學生思維;
3) 幫助教師析疑;
4) 幫助教師檢查學生對問題的理解和掌握;
5) 幫助教師就某些細節性問題進行檢查;
6) 刺激學生的課堂參與。
有關提問的研究,歷史久遠,側重各有不同。近幾年對提問原則和策略方面的研究更是方興未艾(Orstein, 1995; Harrison, 1992; Peacock, 1990; Yin Jing, 2000,見王篤勤,2003),其中一項重要內容就是問題設計策略。它是指幫助教師選擇恰當問題從而達到有效發問的方式和技巧(王篤勤,2003)。常用的有:
1) 簡化(simplifying):問題語言應簡單、清楚;
2) 調節(moderating):提問與學生知識水平相符的問題;
3) 啟發思維(asking thought-provoking questions):通過提問,培養學生分析信息和解決問題的能力;
4) 提問挑戰性問題(asking challenging questions):問題應對學生的語言能力、知識水平都有一定的難度;
5) 提問繼續性問題(asking follow-up questions):無論學生的回答正確與否,教師都應在其回答的基礎上進一步提問,使問題步步深入,增加學生的參與;
6) 提問發散性問題(asking divergent questions):問題并無固定答案,學生可以根據材料發揮自己的想象,做出創造性的回答。
恰當運用以上策略,可使問題清楚易懂,符合學生的特點,有利于培養學生的思維能力和語言綜合運用能力。
聽力是英語學習中的一項必備技能,不僅有助于其他單項技能的訓練,同時也為培養學生的英語交際能力奠定下良好的基礎。與其他課程相比,聽力課具有一定的特殊性:一是師生問答更加頻繁;二是受教學環境所限(如頭戴耳機、無法移動、不易與其他同學交流等),課堂活動形式較為單一;三是問題既要緊密圍繞課本內容進行,又絕不能拘泥于課本練習(因為“聽”脫離不了課本原材料,而目前的聽力教材中習題形式基本上以選擇題、填空題和判斷題為主,學生只要聽懂大意,甚至只捕捉到幾個關鍵詞就能做對題或猜對答案,而對于與習題無關的材料信息盡可以忽略過去。長此以往,學生在聽的時候,往往會丟失一些重要的信息,甚至產生誤解,達不到應有的信息輸入的目的)。如何根據這些特點,有效利用課堂提問,不斷提高學生的聽力水平是每一位英語教師都應認真思考的一個問題。而問題設計策略為我們切實改進傳統的聽力課堂提問方式提供了非常有借鑒價值的理論依據。在這一理論指導下,我們可以結合不同材料的特點創造性地設計出如下提問方式應用于英語聽力教學(示例材料均取自《英語初級聽力》,何其莘主編,1995)。
1.總結式
這種提問方式適用于結構較為完整、中心意思明確的對話或篇章,旨在使學生的注意力放在整篇材料上,從而達到總攬全局、全面理解的目的。例如:
A: Here comes my secretary. She is an extremely good-looking young woman, don’t you think?
B: Yes, but she isn’t very good at her work.
A: Perhaps you are right. But I like her all the same.
Sample question:
1) What do they think of the secretary respectively?
(A: good-looking; B: good-looking but not good at work)
2.提綱式
這種方式適用于脈絡較為清晰,時間、地點等順序明了的材料,旨在使學生能夠把握框架結構,按照內容發展的先后順序提綱挈領地抓住每一部分的意思。例如:
A: I’m terribly sorry I’m late. Just let me explain, will you?
B: Oh, that’s all right. I’ve been waiting for over an hour. After all, my time isn’t that important.
A: Listen please. I tried to get here in time but just after I left home, the car broke down.
B: The car broke down?
A: Yes. Luckily there was a garage near me. It took them a while to repair it.
B: Why didn’t you phone?
A:I would have! But I didn’t know the number of the restaurant.
B: You could have looked it up in the telephone book!
A: Yes, but I couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant.
B: By the way, which garage?
A: The one near my flat. Lewis Brothers.
B: I know the garage very well! A pity it’s Sunday.
A: Pardon?
B: That garage is closed on Sunday!
Sample questions:
1) Where does the conversation take place? (restaurant)
2) How long has B been waiting? (over an hour)
3) In A’s explanation, what’s the first excuse? (car broke down)
4) What did A do then? (to garage)
5) Did A phone? Why or why not? (no, not know number)
6) Why didn’t A look it up in the telephone book? (not remember name)
7) Which garage did A go to? (near flat, Lewis Brothers)
8) Is A telling the truth? How do you know? (no; garage closed on Sunday)
3.復述式
這種方式適用于簡短的段落、對話或新聞,使學生在短時間內使用原文或自己的語言達到對材料的理解和表述。例如:
...first you have to open the film compartment. Just press the release. Then you have to put a film cartridge in the compartment. Close it carefully. After that you have to push the lever until you see the number 1 in the counter window. And then all you have to do is this: look through the viewfinder and press the button...
Sample question:
1) Can you describe how to use a camera? (open, press, put, close, push, look through, press)
4.填空式
這種方式主要用于校對原文。教師在通讀材料時,可隨機留出個別單詞或短語、甚至句子讓學生口頭填充。所填內容可以是關鍵性內容,也可以是學生可能忽略的小地方,從而使學生對材料的理解更加細致,同時也避免了校對原文的枯燥性。例如:
A sailor once went into a pub in a very dark street in Liverpool. He got very drunk there and staggered out around 11 p.m. Around midnight, one of his friends found him on his hands and knees in the gutter. “What are you doing there?” he inquired. “I’m looking for my wallet. I think I lost it in that dark street down there.” he said. “Well, if you lost it in that street, why are you looking for it here?” the friend demanded. The sailor thought for a moment. “Because the light is better here,” he answered.
5.分段式
這種方式適用于篇幅較長,或時間、地點跨度大或變化頻繁的材料,目的是通過將材料劃分成幾個獨立而相對完整的部分,使學生更易把握各部分的意思以及各部分之間的關聯。例如:
Bill Walker works for an import-export company. Last Wednesday morning Bill rang his office at nine o’clock. His boss, Mr. Thompson, answered the phone ...(Part 1)
Sample questions:
1) Did Bill Walker go to work last Wednesday? (no)
2) Who did he phone to? (Mr. Thompson, his boss) ...
Mr. Thompson liked Bill very much. At 12:30 he got into his car, drove to a shop and bought some fruits for him. He went to Bill’s flat and rang the doorbell. Bill’s wife, Susan, answered the door ...(Part 2)
Sample questions:
1) Why did Mr. Thompson go to see Bill? (He liked him.)
2) What did he bring to Bill? (fruits)
3) Who answered the door? (Susan, Bill’s wife) ...
At three o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Thompson locked his office door, and switched on his portable television to watch an important international football match ...(Part 3)
Sample questions:
1) What did he watch? (an important international football match)
2) Where did he watch the match? (office, on portable television) ...
Then at 3:20, England scored from a penalty. Mr. Thompson jumped out of his chair. He was very excited. He was smiling happily when suddenly the cameraman focused on the crowd. Mr. Thompson’s smile disappeared and he looked very angry. Bill Walker’s face, in close-up, was there on the screen. He didn’t look ill, and he didn’t sound ill. He was smiling happily and cheering wildly!(Part 4)
Sample questions:
1) Why was he excited? (England scored.)
2) Why did he become angry? (Bill on the screen, smiling and cheering; he lied.)
6.預設式
一般的提問是在聽過材料之后,主要靠學生的記憶來回答所提問題。而預設式提問則是在聽之前就將問題布置下去,讓學生帶著問題去找答案。使用時應注意問題要盡量覆蓋全篇,否則學生在找到一個問題的答案后可能就會放棄其他內容了。這種方式的優點在于學生邊聽邊找答案,思考時間較長,因此對所提問題的理解更趨全面。例如:
Sample questions:
1) What do you think the speaker is? (writer)
2) When is the best time for the speaker to work? (morning)
3) How does the speaker arrange his time in the morning? (He gets up at 8 a.m., has breakfast, listens to radio, reads papers and starts creative work.)
4) What does he do in the afternoon and evening? (He goes for a walk or reads; he goes to a pub or goes out to meet people.)
5) What does a writer need according to the speaker? (self-discipline)
Are you a morning person or an evening person? That’s the question. When do you work best? For me the answer is easy. I work best in the morning. All my creative work is done before lunchtime. I get up at about eight, and then have breakfast. I listen to the radio a bit, and read the papers. And then I start. Usually I work from nine or nine-thirty until twelve but after that I’m useless. Then after lunch I go for a walk, or read. In the evening I like to relax, go to the pub or go out and meet people. If you’re a writer you need self-discipline.
7.保留式
經常有這樣的情況,就是材料聽過之后,學生對所提問題能夠基本回答上來,但就是有個別答案不確定,或有一、兩處復述不出來。這時教師也不必將答案和盤托出,而可以把難題暫時保留,待其他問題解決后再回到這個問題上來。教師可給予提示,反復播放有關段落,重點講解,從而達到重點問題重點解決的目的。
8.反饋式
這種方式適用于較為簡短的材料。這時,教師的角色是資源提供者(resource-provider)——不必設置任何問題,而是讓學生聽過之后主動提出疑問,共性問題由教師講解,個別問題則由同學之間相互討論解決。這種方式符合社區學習法(Community Language Learning)(Curran,見Harmer, 1983)的教學原則,可使學生在沒有壓力、心情放松的情況下集中精力聽材料,既培養學生自己解決問題的能力,也節省了大量的講解時間。
將問題設計策略靈活運用于聽力課堂創造出各種提問方式,在避免照本宣科,側重學生自己動腦、全面理解、不失巨細的同時,還兼顧了學生其他基本技能的訓練,達到提高教學效果,培養學生綜合語言能力的目的。
參考文獻:
[1] Harmer, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching[M]. London: Longman, 1983.
[2] Wang Qiang. A Course in English Language Teaching[Z]. Beijing: Advance Education Press, 2000.
[3] 何其莘.英語初級聽力[Z]. 北京:外語教學與研究出版社,1995.
[4] 王篤勤.英語教學策略論[M]. 北京:外語教學與研究出版社,2003.
[5] 陰國恩,李洪玉. 非智力因素及其培養[M]. 杭州:浙江人民出版社,1998.