黃美萍
(浙江省臨海市城西中學,浙江臺州 317000)
二次開發教材文本 提升英語寫作能力
黃美萍
(浙江省臨海市城西中學,浙江臺州 317000)
《2017年浙江省初中畢業升學考試說明》(以下簡稱《說明》)命題要求指出命題應對應《英語課程標準》中提出的五級相關內容和要求,遵循《標準》要求,《說明》里的考試目標對書面表達做了相應要求。目前,初中生普遍懼怕甚至討厭寫作。本文就如何通過教材二次開發,有效提升英語寫作能力展開論述。
二次開發;寫作能力
英語學習過程中,只有大量的輸入,才會有大量的輸出,而這個輸出又可分為口頭輸出和筆頭輸出。《說明》里的考試目標對寫作做了如下要求:能正確使用大小寫字母和標點符號;能根據要求收集、準備材料;能起草并修改簡單的短文,描述任務或事件;能使用常見的連接詞表示順序和邏輯關系;能根據所給圖示、表格等寫出簡單的段落或操作說明,并能表達自己的觀點。
然而,目前初中生尤其是筆者所在的農村中學,學生的求知欲望、真實水平與中考要求相去甚遠。本文以去年臺州市中考英語試題書面表達為例,對如何利用教材的二次開發,有效提升英語寫作能力展開論述。
去年中考卷書面表達內容為:暑假即將來臨,學校要求同學們參加一些社會實踐活動。請在下表中選擇2~3項你喜歡的活動(也可自擬活動項目),然后用英語寫一篇短文表明你的選擇意向及理由,發表在學校微信公眾平臺的英語欄目中。
Social Practical Program(社會實踐活動)______ learn to do housework _______ help in the city library
續表
本卷涉及至少5個點,分別是housework話題,主要表達獨立能力培養的重要性;volunteer話題,可以談論閱讀的重要性,幫助他人的好處,對于將來工作的作用等;environment話題,可以討論環境保護和責任意識培養;關愛話題,可以描述個人特長和關愛他人,讓世界更有愛等內容。只有全面掌握知識要點,我們下筆時才能做到胸有成竹。
筆者認為教材文本內容是最好的寫作范本,就以上某些話題,可以做如下引用或改編。
例1:learn to do housework.
I think it is important for children to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework.…….It’s not enough to just get good grades at school.…….Doing chores helps to develop children’s independence and teaches them how to look after themselves. It also helps them to understand the idea of fairness.……The earlier kids learn to be independent, the better it is for their future. (八年級下冊第22頁)
例2:help in the library.
I am a book lover.……. you can see in their eyes that they’re going on a different journey with each new book. Volunteering here is a dream come true for me. I can do what I love to do and help others at the same time.(八年級下冊第11頁)
這些句型多樣,我們可以進行必要的修改,成為自己的美句,如It’s+形容詞for sb. to do sth., the+比較級……,the+最高級……。
所謂內容充實,即我們在描寫的過程中,要使語句有血有肉,有因有果,讓讀者覺得有內容可讀,讀起來有滋有味。
例 1:clean up the city park.
我們可以這樣寫,教材中出現過這種句子。
(I think we can do simple things like )remembering to throw rubbish in the bins and keep public places clean and beautiful for everyone. If we do these together, our actions can make a difference and lead to a better future.(九年級第98頁)。
例 2:visit sick kids in hospital .
我們可以這樣模仿:
I love kids because I can get on well with them. I am patient enough to look after them and cheer them up. I can get a strong feeling of satisfaction when I see kids get better and the joy on their parents’ faces.
用詞貼切更容易讓讀者理解和領會語句,英語中的用詞貼切與否主要表現在動詞和形容詞的應用。比如寫我最喜愛的老師:She told me to work hard. She told me not to give up and she told me the ways to improve my English.我們可以把這幾個句子改成:She told me to work hard. She encouraged ……she taught me ……顯然后面的句子用詞比原句更貼切高級,用詞的多樣化使句子變得更生動有趣,所以平時我們要鼓勵學生詞匯多積累。
句型變化多樣且有效是判斷一篇文章好差的主要標準之一,多樣的句型能夠給讀者耳目一新的感覺。以表原因句型為例,我們不能總用because,表原因的連詞或短語還有The main reason/One of the main reasons is that/On the one hand, on the other hand等。我們的新目標教材知識點層層深入,精彩范例處處可尋,比如:
例1:The main reason was to protect their part of the country. As you can see, it is quite tall and wide.(八年級下冊第50頁)
例2:For many tourists, his small island in Southeast Asia is a wonderful place to take a holiday. The main reason is that more than three quarters of the population are Chinese, so you can speak Pu-tonghua all the time. Another reason is that Singapore is an English-speaking country, so it is also a good place to practice your English.(八年級下冊第70頁)
例3:過去我學英語有困難,可以用學過的以下多種句型。
I used to have problems learning English./Learning English used to be hard for me.
It used to be hard for me to learn English./I used to find it hard for me to learn English.
新版新目標的特點之一就是語法不夠系統,重點不夠突出,導致很大一部分教師產生這套教材不強調語法,語法不重要的錯誤認識。《中考考試說明評分標準》明確指出滿分作文必須做到完全沒有語法錯誤。語法學習的重要性可想而知。
該卷文章寫暑期計劃,可以確定應該用一般將來時或表達意愿的句子進行描寫,通常表達方法有be going to do,will do, be about to do等。通觀五本教材,要表達暑期計劃,可以用以下句子來表達:
例1:原句I am going to keep on writing stories so that I can make my dream come true.八年級上冊第42頁改編成:I am going to keep on practicing speaking Chinese so that I can teach foreigners Chinese.
例2:原句I want to learn more about how to care for animals. I get such a strong feeling of satisfaction when I see the animals get better and the look of joy on their owners’ faces.八年級下冊第11頁改編成:I want to visit kids in hospital. I get such a strong feeling of satisfaction when I see the kids get better and the look of joy on their parents’ faces.
文章有再多的材料,如果沒有進行合理的組織連貫,讀者會不知所云。日本作家小林多喜二說:“不管你的材料有多優良,不管你的目的有多高尚,如果蓋得不好,搖搖晃晃的結果是毫無用處的。”結構連貫的文章讓讀者讀起來比較順心,不覺得突兀。結構可根據需要分為總分(總)結構、并列結構、對照結構和遞進結構。
總分(總)結構:Everyone is born with the ability to learn. But whether or not you can do this well depends on your learning habits. 接下來四段分別介紹了4個學習習慣,最后總結Learning is a lifelong journey.…….so learn wisely and learn well.(九年級第6頁)
并列結構:九年級第6頁4個習慣就采取了并列結構。
對照結構:東西方家庭教育差異對比 Should teenagers be asked to move out when they start working? In many Western countries, teenagers are allowed to move out at eighteen. Their parents believe that…….However, in most Asian societies, it is not common for teenagers to move out. Chinese parents believe that …… . But the young should then look after their parents as they got older. That is why many Chinese adults continue to live with their parents.
遞進結構:If you have a good team, you should support each other. Besides, winning or losing is only half the game. The other half is…….To his surprise and relief, his teammates all nodded in agreement.(九年級第86頁)
本文所說的書寫規范包括字體工整,卷面整潔,布局合理和標點準確。書寫字體優美工整、卷面整潔會給閱卷者一種賞心悅目的感覺,會給閱卷者一個好的印象。現在都采取網上閱卷,若字跡太大太小太潦草等都會讓自己的作文評分直接降檔。在此,筆者就標點應用的準確性做特別強調,例:She is kind, she likes looking after homeless animals.Such as dogs and cats.應改為She is kind and she likes looking after homeless animals, such as dogs and cats.
一篇好的文章,它一定有其獨特之處,包括好詞好句、立意新穎、構思巧妙等。如何使一篇英語文章加分,可以從以下方面著手。
比 如She is good.可 以 把good用excellent,wonderful,outstanding等更為具體高級的形容詞替換。
比如你寫一個人She smiles a lot.可以嘗試用以下句子She always wears a bright/big/…… smile on her face.或A bright smile always spreads across her face. 或She is a teacher who always wears a smile on her face. 這樣的句子顯得更為直觀生動。
正如中文作文,一篇到底平淡如水,毫無可讀性,適當運用恰感嘆句,倒裝句或復合句,會給整篇文章增色不少。如:把I felt happy.改為How happy I felt! 或You can never imagine how happy I felt! 把I think to work hard is important. 改為I realized how important it was to work hard at school! 或Not until then did I realize the importance of hard work.
縱觀歷屆中考試題,我們發現如今的中考試題更傾向于考察學生的語言運用能力,這勢必要求學生要有扎實的語言基礎和靈活的駕馭語言能力。最近幾年各地中考書面表達都偏向于熱門話題或對當今典型事例的看法,這大大提高了學生語言應用能力要求。我們要對各種題型應付自如,勢必要做到立足于教材,又要高于教材。作為教師,我們要樹立“教材開發”意識,我們用教材教,更要引導學生用教材學。教師要善于對教材文本進行整合優化,真正做到二次開發再利用。
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黃美萍,1980年生,浙江臨海人,城西中學英語教研組長,中學一級,路橋區優秀教師,臨海市骨干班主任,臨海市十佳少先隊輔導員,路橋區教學大比武二等獎,教研區優質課一等獎,校優秀班主任。