詞匯教學貫穿于各種類型的英語課中,因詞匯主要出現在閱讀材料中,因此,在閱讀課中詞匯教學相對比較集中。在閱讀課的各個環節中把詞匯教學有機結合起來,既可避免單獨開設詞匯課機械講解詞匯的低效現象,又可豐富閱讀課的內涵,達成閱讀課中的語言知識目標。
學習詞匯,第一印象至關重要。在閱讀課的導入環節,即閱讀課開始后幾分鐘內進行詞匯教學,尤其是與課文主題密切相關的核心詞匯的教學,可以幫助學生掃除閱讀中的障礙,加強學生對文章的整體把握和深入理解,并可讓學生在課文學習中再遇這些詞匯時加以鞏固。因此,筆者在閱讀教學中,不斷嘗試在導入環節融入詞匯教學,形成了閱讀課的詞匯導入法。下面筆者結合自身教學實踐,談談不同類型的閱讀課詞匯導入法。
一、開門見山式
【教學案例1】NSEFC Book 2 Unit 1 Cultural Relics閱讀課的導入環節
T: Today we are going to start a new book,Book 2. And this book begins with Cultural Relics. What are cultural relics?
S: I think they are things from the past.
T: Thank you! You are almost right. The word “culture” means the beliefs, ways of life, art and customs shared by a particular group of people. The word “relic” means an object, custom or art form that is holdover from old times. So cultural relics are traces or features surviving from a past age and serving to remind people of them. Now let me show you some pictures. Please think of what they are and whether they are cultural relics or not.
【評析】開門見山式詞匯導入法適用于主題涉及新詞匯的閱讀課,尤其是那些新詞匯較抽象時,用直入主題講解的方式能為學生掃除理解障礙,若配上相關實物圖片則更有利于學生理解。教學案例1的單元標題為“Cultural Relics”,這兩個單詞既是課文核心詞匯,也是新單詞,而且又比較抽象,教師以開門見山的方式呈現并解釋了cultural relics,易于學生理解主題,為接下來的閱讀做好準備。
二、頭腦風暴式
【教學案例2】NSEFC Book 3 Unit 1 Festivals around the World閱讀課的導入環節
T: Morning! Class! How many festivals do you know? Work with your partners, and list as many as you can.
【評析】頭腦風暴式詞匯導入法適用于主題較為寬泛的閱讀課,為學生搭建一個利用發散思維搜索已學詞匯的平臺。學生中詞匯量大者必然會輸出一些其他同學不太熟悉的詞,借此,教師可適當拓展其他學生的詞匯,以舊帶新。如在教學案例2中,大多數學生輸出了Spring Festival, Mid-autumn Day, Thanks-giving Day, Christmas等舊詞,少部分學生輸出了Easter, Valentine’s Day等新詞,教師趁機在黑板上寫下新詞匯,讓全體學生一起掌握。
三、競賽式
【教學案例3】《21世紀學生英文報》高二版第448期第一版Enjoy Your Job閱讀課的導入環節
1. Ask the students to try to remember the words in the two lists in three minutes.
2. Divide the class into four groups. Ask the students to fold the newspapers. Make the four groups compete in translating the jobs without looking at the passage.
【評析】競賽式詞匯導入法能迅速激發學生的學習主動性。在競賽的熱烈氛圍中開始一堂閱讀課既適用于常規課堂,也是借班上公開課時開課教師偏愛的方式,因為這種積極氛圍有助于減少陌生師生間的距離感。教師要注意將競賽規則講解到位,賽后公正評出優勝者,適當給予肯定與獎勵,且適時帶讀、解釋所涉及詞匯中大部分學生所不熟悉的詞匯。教學案例3中競賽內容為閱讀材料中提到的工作名稱,有些詞匯如author, artist, firefighter等為課標詞匯,要求學生掌握,可在競賽時在PPT上逐個跳出此類詞的中文,要求學生搶答翻譯成英文甚至要求拼寫,搶答正確者得分。有些詞匯如psychologist, CNC machinist等不是課標詞匯,為話題拓展詞匯,不需要掌握,能認讀即可,可在PPT上逐個跳出英文,要求學生搶答翻譯成漢語即可。
四、多媒體呈現式
【教學案例4】NSEFC Book 4 Unit 4 Body language閱讀課的導入環節
T: Morning! Class! Please watch a video clip and fill in the blanks according to what you have watched:
____ percent of what we communicate with others is non-verbal, including tone of voice, ____, ____ and .
T: So what’s your answer? Yeah, together. 93 percent of what we communicate with others is non-verbal, including tone of voice, posture, facial expression and different gestures.
T: What does posture mean?
S1: The way you stand or sit.
T: Good. And gesture?
S2: The movement of your body, especially your hand.
T: Right. Thank you! Can you use two words to replace “posture, facial expression and different gestures”?
S3: Body language.
T: Right. So body language is of great importance in communication.
【評析】教學案例4先播放了一段介紹non-verbal communication的視頻,用視頻呈現了部分課文中的新詞匯。利用多媒體手段呈現視頻、音頻等教學材料作為導入環節的內容是閱讀課的常用手段,因為多媒體方式具有直觀性、交互性、動態性且信息容量大。用多媒體呈現視聽語言材料,在生動的語境中引出新詞匯,可讓學生更容易理解新詞匯。教師要注意根據閱讀課主題挑選適合的視頻、音頻素材,并根據素材語言難易程度選擇隨后的詞匯教學方式。
五、情境式
【教學案例5】網絡文章What about Abstinence?閱讀課的導入環節
T: Morning! Everyone! I like reading books. What do you like?
S1: I like watching movies.
T: If you watch a lot I will have some advice for you: You’d better abstain from over-watching movies because it does harm to your eyes. (Write down the sentence on the blackboard.)
(PPT shows a picture of Kong Fu Panda with food.)
T: What does Kong Fu Panda like?
S2: He likes eating.
T: I also have some advice for him: He is too fat. He must abstain from overeating. (Write down the sentence on the blackboard.) Can you guess the meaning of the word “abstain”?
S3: To forbid somebody or to prevent somebody from doing something.
T: Thank you! Abstain means to decide not to do something, especially something you like or enjoy, because it is not good to your health, or it is considered morally wrong. Now I’d like you to complete some sentences using the new word “abstain”.
Sentence 1: Mr Green is suffering from lung cancer, so he _________.
S4: So he’d better abstain from smoking.
(Show the following picture.)
Sentence 2: If you want to lead a happy and healthy life, please _______ before marriage.
T: What does the poster mean? Can you see the bride and the bridegroom?
S5: I think the poster means if you are pure, you will have happy marriage. So please abstain from sex before marriage.
T: You make a very good sentence. The practice of abstaining from something is called abstinence. (Show the following picture.) Look, these young people choose abstinence. Now we are going to talk about a passage about abstinence. I’d like to see whether abstinence is your choice or not.
【評析】教學案例5包括了情境猜詞和情境造句兩個讀前活動。abstain與abstinence 是文章關鍵詞。筆者放棄了對這些詞進行開門見山式的講解,而是創設情境讓學生在猜詞中領悟詞匯含義,在造句中掌握詞的搭配與使用,意在讓學生更深刻到位地理解詞匯。設置情境時配以圖片有助于學生更有效地理解情境,促使其輸出準確的語言。經過這個情境式猜詞造句的導入環節,學生不僅掌握了關鍵詞,而且對于閱讀材料的主題有了一定了解。
正如一堂課的導入可以是多元的,綜合各種方式,詞匯導入法也一樣可以多元靈活。教師可在教學實踐中根據閱讀課的詞匯教學目標設計各種導入活動,結合多種元素進行詞匯導入,以激發學生的學習興趣,進行有效教學。
精心設計的詞匯導入法既能在導入環節集中學生注意力,調動學生積極性,引入課文主題,又能幫助學生掃除閱讀障礙,加強對課文主題的理解與把握,使閱讀教學和詞匯教學巧妙結合,提高課堂教學有效性。因此,教師應該重視英語閱讀課的詞匯導入,巧妙設計導入方法,從而達到事半功倍的效果。