The Application of Lead— in in Junior High School English Teaching

鄒華清

【Abstract】Lead-in， a way of leading students to study， is the warming-up of the whole teaching process， which aims at getting students into the best state of study in the shortest possible time. Combined with contents from Go for It， this paper mainly deals with the requirements and methods of lead-in for stimulating junior high students' learning interest. In English class， scientific methods of lead-in can easily attract students' attention and stimulate their strong interests.

【Key words】lead-in； methods of lead-in； teaching efficiency；

I. Introduction

An excellent beginning， is the key part of success. As the first step of an English class， lead-in plays an important role in English class， which is never a waste of time. If middle high school English teachers really want to organize their classes lively and successfully， they must make full use of lead-in. As a saying goes， “Well begun is half done.”

II. Principals of Lead-in in Junior High School English Teaching

A good lead-in is to try every means to make students be interested in the class content. There are three major principals in a good lesson in the process of lead-in. They are variety， flexibility， learning ability， and linkage.

2.1 Innovation

Innovation is the first requirement that teachers cannot ignore. Junior high students have less desire to learn English than to learn native language. So the material of lead-in should be creative. Students are curious about the things that they do not know.

2.2 Variety

It refers to the process of planning a number of different types of activities and to make it possible to lead students to a wide selection of materials so that learning is always interesting and motivating.

2.3 Timeliness

Finally， teachers should pay close attention to the time of lead-in. Lead-in must attract the students' attention in a short time. The time for lead-in should not be too long. Five minutes is good.

III. Methods and Samples of Lead-in in Junior High School English Teaching

A famous educator G. De Landersheer said， “It is the starting point to stir up the interest of students”. There are several methods often adopted in junior high school English teaching.

3.1 Reviewing

Reviewing means to review the learned knowledge in order to introduce the new knowledge. But the learned knowledge that the teacher reviews should be connected with the new lesson.

For example， “Unit 3 What Were You Doing When The UFO Arrived？ Book 8B， Go for it”. The teacher can start with two questions： “What are you doing now？” “What were you doing at this time yesterday？” In this way， the past progressive can be naturally introduced.

3.2 Conversation

Focusing on a certain subject or a hot topic， the teacher and students can have a free conversation. And next introduce the new lesson timely. Take “Unit3 What are You Doing for Vacation？” as an example. As the Mid-Autumn festival holiday is coming， the lesson can begin like this：

T： In three days， we will have a Chinese festival. Do you know what it is？ Ss：…

T： Yes. We will have a three-day vocation. What are you doing for vacation？

3.3 Direction

In English teaching， the teacher can use the blackboard writing， picture， real objects， video and multimedia for setting up situation so as to attract students' attention. This method caters to the law of students' cognition， which can be easily accepted by students.

3.4 Songs

Song is a useful method that is used in lead-in. It can stimulate students' interest of learning English and activate the classroom atmosphere. However， the song should be closely connected with the teaching content.

For example： Unit5 If you go to the party， you'll have a great time， Section A in Book8B， Go for It. As the target language in this unit is if-clause， there is a song—“If you are happy”can be a good lead-in.

3.5 Games

Games are much popular among junior high school students. They will have a sense of accomplishment and understand what teamwork is. There are so many games， such as lets whisper，Touch and Guess，Hide and Seek and so on.

IV. Conclusion

Lead-in can help teachers arouse students' interest， know of what they are thinking and give appropriate reflection to them while teaching. Teachers cannot ignore the role of lead-in. If the teacher could properly use the methods mentioned above， students will study actively， and the teaching goals can be achieved.

References：

[1]Wu Daocun.How to Teach English Class Effectively[M].Bei Jing：Pepople's Education Press，1991.

[2]吉小煒.外語課堂教學策略探索—寓教于樂[J].Theory Studies·Times Figure，2008.