How to Use Controlled and Uncontrolled Practices in English Classes

馮娟

【中圖分類號】G71 【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2015）02-0108-02

1. Introduction

How to effectively cultivate learners' speaking ability has always been a major mission for English language teachers. It is this mission that has prompted numerous human efforts to develop various approaches， classified mainly as controlled and uncontrolled ones， to promoting learners speaking competencies. There are， however， divided views as to how effective such approaches can become when applied in a classroom. On the one hand， some people strongly believe the possibility of attaining approaches to speaking that prove capable of benefiting the majority of students， through persistent research and experiments. Such positive belief appear to serve as a major force driving numerous researchers and teachers forward in their search for more effective and better teaching strategies. On the other hand， however， some other people hold a rather pessimistic view that， no matter what practices and strategies are implemented in a classroom， they only produce very limited benefits to some of the learners some of the time but not all of the learners all of the time. Such perception， while probably justifiable in part at an early time when very few effective approaches were available for implementation， seems hard to find its solid support nowadays from more and more emerging language research work. It is the firm conviction of this author that， with the rapid development of ELT research and betterment of teaching approaches， it becomes increasingly likely for the teacher to implement language speaking strategies that enable most learners to promote their speaking skills effectively.

2. Controlled vs. less controlled practices

There are several distinctive characteristics concerning controlled and less controlled practices.

If we label some activities as controlled， ‘accuracy is their prime objective.Accuracy refers to the correct grammar and pronunciation. That is to say， the controlled activities usually focus on the ‘form of the language itself， i.e. vocabulary， sentence structures， language functions， coherence， and so on. Therefore， controlled exercises supplied in classroom usually confine students attention to sentence structures or language coherences， which is to assure the precisely produced language. More often， learners have little or limited choices on responding the fixed patterns of practices. On the contrary， the less controlled ones prioritize the transmission of ‘meaning， for the purpose of achieving ‘fluency and authentic communication. If the discourse delivered is easy to comprehend and free from errors and breakdowns， it is fluent. From his perspective， a fluent discourse must be accurate， more importantly， should be easy to follow. The activities designed for this type may cover learners personal information and imagining， reasoning， analyzing and evaluating abilities， the answers for this kind of practices are relatively diverse and free. More realistic tasks and the frequency of using practical language increase in less controlled practices.

Both controlled and practices have their own advantages.

Despite these and other doubts， controlled practices can still be meaningful or the reason that the specification of a syllabus for the fundamental grammatical knowledge which all learners would be expected to acquire before moving to their specific professional or other interests. Therefore， we have a good ground to claim that the semantic and grammatical base is the prerequisite for the output of communication language， and communicative activities play a role of consolidating grammar and vocabulary.

On the other hand， less controlled practices make contribution to diversify the practices and encourage individual opinions， which can be scarcely fulfilled in controlled ones. Through the creative variety of interactive activities， fostering the English learners interest， stimulating their enthusiasm and heightening their confidence——thus to get a great majority of learners involved in the interaction.

It is not difficult for us to discover that controlled and less controlled practices are complementary to each other. How can we skillfully utilize their positive aspects and avoid the negative ones to achieve the most fruitful English speaking learning？

In most English language classrooms， the interests learners showed and the bonus they got differed largely. This could be considered as one of explains for why some students may feel dull and tedious in a traditional classroom when others show great interest. We cannot merely blame this polarization on students insensitivity and incapability. The teachers failure to motivate them to participate should also be ascribed to this situation. However， it is more desirable that every student can be given an opportunity to express themselves fluently and correctly in spoken English and to understand efficiently what is said to them. Therefore， I embrace the opinion that， in a classroom， it would be more desirable if controlled and less controlled practices could coexist and be adjusted properly. This will be exemplified in a more detailed way in the following analysis.

3. The coexistence of controlled and less controlled practices

There are mainly four advantages for the adoption of mixed activities.

First and foremost， this incorporation offers opportunities for learners with a large variety of preferences. Whether for those who are keen on speaking on the basis of limited forms and choices， or for those who are more productive by using the target content freely， it is easier for them to integrate into respective preferred types of interactions. Through engaging in meaningful activities， including problem-solving， discussions， or narratives， the learner's interlanguage system is most likely to be developed. Therefore， the diverse and flexible activities can tremendously motivate students learning and help them to participate with great interests and enthusiasm.

Second， most of uncontrolled practices or tasks designed are two-way tasks， which encourage every participant to share his or her knowledge with partners. This participation makes them practice and produce language successfully. Two-way tasks are more beneficial compared with one-way tasks， where one participant has information to give， and the other simply responds to that information.

Third， when they work cooperatively to fulfill a task， the participants enjoy tremendous interactions， which is accessible for them to share each others knowledge， experience and ideas. Through the continuous input of new concepts， it is favorable for broadening their horizon.

Last but not least， the topics and questions designed are realistic and close to learners life. That is to say， what they learn and practice in classroom probably can be put into the situation out of classroom. Most of teachers have known that a crucial issue in ELT is how the classroom may be used to support the learners to communicate effectively in the complex and sometimes unfriendly world beyond the classroom doors. As long as they are consolidated by the repeated drills on these practical topics， learners will not feel uneasy when they are put in the real context. Then， it is definitely not hopeless to benefit all of the students all of the time.

By this flexible combination between controlled and less controlled programs， it is not impossible to gear the various appetites and expectation of learners. Any of them can find one type appealing to them—this leads to the anticipated fruitful outcome for English language teaching and learning.

4. Conclusion

The main findings and conclusions to be emerged from this study are：

·Both the controlled and less controlled practices have their advantages and disadvantages and should be flexibly implemented in an ELT classroom， taking the following into account：（a）the differences of ages and levels of students，（b） their cultural contexts and social and cultural backgrounds； and （c） their individual learning motivation and habits.

·Although challenging and demanding， it seems likely to strike a delicate balance between controlled and less controlled activities. Such balance is essential in achieving a teaching strategy that works for the majority of students in improving their speaking skills. Bibliography

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