The Study of Improving Primary School Students’ English Learning Interest

趙欣宇

【Abstract】With respect to English teaching at primary school， it is fairly important for teachers to cultivate the students interest in learning English. With the purpose of fostering their interest， the primary school teachers should often use simple oral English in class teaching， create interesting English teaching situation， and carry out vivid English extracurricular activities. This paper puts forward some tentative advice to cultivate primary school students English learning interest in view of many factors including teaching methods， language environment， and new teacher-student relationship， and so on.

【Key words】primary school students； interest； teaching method； language environment

I. Introduction

Since the Ministry of education came up with that primary school was regarded as the starting point of learning English courses throughout the country from 2001， primary school English curriculum has been gradually towards popularization regardless of the city or town （Ma， 2014）. However， the primary school English teaching also suffers a huge challenge. Faced with this problem， many experts and scholars have locked their eyes on the stimulation of students interest in learning English. The new curriculum standard for compulsory primary school English emphasizes on the interest， attitude and self-confidence of students in learning English. Meanwhile， it is significant to establish a good teacher-student relationship so as to remove the psychological barriers of learning English， let all the pupils feel fun， relaxed and happy in a real language environment and effectively cultivate students lasting and strong interest in learning English. This paper shows some strategies that are involved in teaching methods， language environment， new teacher-student relationship and other elements to cultivate primary school students English learning interest.

II. Strategies to cultivate primary school students English learning interest

1. The use of intuitive teaching methods

The visual imagery of pupils is dominant， and they are very enthusiastic about visual， vivid， and colorful pictures. In order to arouse the enthusiasm of the primary school students and let them feel the innovation of classroom teaching， singing and painting as teaching methods are playing an increasingly important role in classroom teaching. In particular， simple line-drawing shows its superiority （An， 2010）. It is one of the most popular visual teaching methods， and also the most fundamental skills for primary school English teachers. The teacher who uses simple language along with the explanation makes the language and image information combine in the teaching process to resolve the difficulties in English teaching， improve the students attention， enhance their memory and enable students to learn knowledge in a relaxed atmosphere. Primary school students curiosity is very strong， and they love new visual images and objects very much.endprint

2. The creation of vivid language environment

The English Syllabus for primary school clearly points out that the main purpose of our English class is to arouse the students enthusiasm and interest in learning English in primary school. The key point for our English teachers to achieve this goal is to cultivate students self-confidence and interest by creating English learning situations （Wang， 2016）. How to create an environment for English learning is a problem that our English teacher need to think about. In the natural， positive， and enjoyable classroom atmosphere， students can interact with teachers and other classmates in the daily English， and gradually have a strong desire and emotions of expression in English to enhance students thirst for English knowledge， and strengthen students English listening and speaking ability unconsciously， so that the students interest in learning English is produced （Cai， 2012）.

In the process of English teaching， the teachers should try to use English， reduce Chinese application， and employ some words and sentences in realistic dialogue；and then the teachers can take advantage of appropriate chances to organize all kinds of after-class activities， such as creating English corner， carrying out English contest， telling story， and so on. There is no doubt that it can let more students perceive the charm of English and stimulate students interest in learning English through the creation of these scene and language environment.

3. The adoption of game teaching

The employment of game teaching can effectively stimulate students interest in learning English. The game is one of the students favorite activities， and it will greatly improve the students interest in learning English if we put appropriately the game on the English teaching. Role-play is one of the most spectacular ways to arouse students interest in learning English. Some articles in textbook contain interesting stories， we can let students play different roles in this background， make the students into the role， and carry out simple and interesting English dialogue with each other according to their personal preferences. In the process of the game， students not only master the words， but also have a good command of grammar， meanwhile， a wide variety of English knowledge has been flexibly applied. Role-play also allows students to learn more about the foreign culture and customs， and try their best to compare with those of our country， which have a positive impact on students life in the future.endprint

In addition， it also can bring about students interest in learning English by holding English contest. In our English class， it can contribute to cultivating students interest and passion through the English competition because students have a great sense of honor and they all want to do well in the process of the competition.We carry out English teaching by the means of competition， it is beneficial to greatly attract the attention of students， stimulate their interest in learning English， and improve their English proficiency.

4. The establishment of harmonious teacher-student relationship

The harmonious teacher-student relationship is conducive to fostering primary school students interest in learning English. A relaxed and enjoyable learning atmosphere enables students to study， think and acquire knowledge in a pleasant mood and cultivate students interest in learning English. In order to cultivate students interest in English learning， teachers should attempt to create an equal， democratic， harmonious， enjoyable as well as relaxed atmosphere in class. The relationship between teachers and students directly restricts students emotion and influences their cognitive activities （Zhu， 2009）. For example， when a students favorite teacher enters the classroom， the classroom atmosphere will become active. Students who dislike and distrust the teacher will be disgusted with the course that he or she teaches. It requires teachers to change their role， pay more attention to the emotional investment， sincerely devote to teaching， make the most use of their own experience to provide help for students， and let them feel that learning English is very joyful.

In the process of teaching， teachers should respect， care for and appreciate students， above all， treat each student with a positive attitude and development perspective， and believe that every student has great potential. When students get small marks， teachers should give them praise and encouragement in time. It is beneficial to let the children dare to speak， and other children will not laugh at them even if they speak the wrong words. When teachers organize some games， it should let the kids who are weak in English play with others. Whats more， teachers can let them know that the teachers love and care for them. With this kind of care， students will have a feeling of respect and trust to teachers， so that they will be determined to learn English， and gradually develop interest in learning English. Thus， even if their English learning does not meet a certain requirement， their interest in learning English is as strong as that of other children.endprint

5. The perfection of home-school cooperation

The investigation of educational psychology shows that the family environment is directly related to the students learning desire and interest， and the family environment has a subtle influence on childrens English learning interest （Xie， 2016）. If the parents are concerned about childrens English learning and get along well with them and English learning atmosphere is thick， these children tend to have higher interest and desire to learn English. Therefore， teachers have to start from the two aspects of school and family， control students schedule arrangements， contribute to shift from the the initial stages of interest to a habit of independent learning， and ultimately promote the formation of stable real interest in learning English. Nowadays， under the situation of information society， teachers can use QQ， WeChat and other platforms to strengthen communication with parents. Only when the parents， teachers， and students remain a harmonious and enjoyable relationship can we foster the students interest and excellent learning habits.

III. Conclusion

To sum up， there are many ways to develop and stimulate primary school students interest in learning English. As the organizer and leader of English teaching， teachers should try their best to explore actively new teaching methods by themselves. In English teaching， we must understand the students physical and mental characteristics， and pay attention to the cultivation and stimulation of students interest in learning. At the same time， the lively， progressive， and effective teaching methods should be adopted so that they can learn English happily and communicate pleasantly in English. However， training and improving students interest in learning English is very difficult， we need to persevere to discover and contemplate new and effective teaching methods.

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