英语教学法中语法翻译法与交际教学法的对比研(2)

In other words, Communicative competence may also be described as follows: one can not only make a correct sentence according to the grammar rules but also use the language quickly, accurately and appropriately with different people in different context at different time. So knowing a language involves both knowing the forms of language and knowing whether it is appropriate to use some form in some context. Learners need to know that:

a)                   Different grammar structures may in different contexts have the same function. For example: “Shall we meet at 9:00?” and “9:00 is ok” are structurally different, but can both be used to express a suggestion.

b)                  The same grammar structure may in different contexts perform different functions. For example: “It’s raining” can be a statement/ a complaint/ a request to stop an activity, and so on.[6] (P74-75)

The objectives of a course of language instruction cannot be defined until the learners’ needs have been identified. In order to identify their needs, it is necessary to carry out a needs analysis. This needs analysis should first consider why the learners are learning the second language, what topic they will need to find themselves using the language on, and what roles they may need to play within those situations. Next, it is necessary to decide what vocabulary, language structures and functions they will need to know, to what level of accuracy, in order to achieve their purposes. The ability to use these structures and perform these functions quickly, accurately and appropriately for their own purposes will become the objective of the course. [8](P190-191)And these structures and functions will then form the basis of the syllabus.

Then what about the teaching activities in CLT? In W. Littlewood’s Communicative Language Teaching, he describes four CLT teaching activities: Structural Activities, Quasi-communicative Activities, Functional Communication Activities, Social Interaction Activities. He distinguishes between “functional communication activities” and “social interaction activities” as major activity types. Functional communication activities include such tasks as learners comparing sets of pictures and noting similarities and differences; discovering missing features in a map or picture, and so on. Social interaction activities include conversation and discussion sessions, dialogues and role plays, simulations, skits, improvisations, and debates. [2] (P76)

Those objectives and this view of the syllabus and activities seem to ignore that:

a)       Probably all learners need to learn the basic structure rules of the English in order to be able to achieve their purpose in the English learning.

b)      The form of foreign language exam influent the application of the teaching activities. For example the CET4 and CET6.[11]

c)      Some teaching activities above require teacher to do something new, but they may not be willing or be able to do it. [12]

  d)  Carrying out of a thorough need analysis is expensive and very time-consuming, and many teachers may not be willing to do that. [8](P50)

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For a communicative approach, Breen and Candlin have described the roles of the teacher and learners in following terms:

The teacher has two main roles: The first role is to facilitate the communication process between all participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group. The latter role is closely related to the objectives of the first role and arises from it. These roles imply a set of secondary roles for the teacher; first, as an organizer of resources and as a resource himself, second as a guide within the classroom procedures and activities. A third role for the teacher is that of researcher and learner, with much to contribute in terms of appropriate knowledge and abilities, actual and observed experience of the nature of learning, and organizational capacities.

The role of learner as negotiator—between the self, the learning process, and the object of learning-emerges from and interacts with the role of joint negotiator within the group and within the classroom procedures and activities which the group undertakes. The implication for the learner is that he should contribute as much as he gains, and thereby learn in an interdependent way. [2](P77)

In CLT, other roles assumed for teachers are needs analyst, counselor, and group process manager. [2] (P78) Teachers ought to know their learners’ needs and interests and choose suitable and realistic materials to hold English teaching practice activities. Teachers also can answer the learners question and communicate to them in English fluently.

    Learners should be active participants in the learning. They should let the teacher know their interests and purposes for learning the English. They will cooperate with the teacher and be willing to learn from other students.

CLT materials aim to help learners to learn to use appropriate language structures in appropriate contexts and also to practice using them. They can be a textbook, and can be a task based on sets of pair or group work activities or games, role plays, and so on. They can also be authentic materials so as to prepare learners for the second language used outside the classroom. The “authentic materials” are types of English teaching input such as newspaper, advertisement, magazines, films, programs, cartoons, and so on.

The CLT view of the role of teachers, learners and materials seems to ignore that:

a)       The role of teachers requires them to have very good teaching and language skills, but not all teachers have good ability. Some feel lack of confidence in their English teaching ability.

b)      The English courses of our country have the great number of takers, and the level of learners is very different. It may make the teacher difficult to choose a suitable material and teaching activity.

c)      There are not enough varied English teaching materials for teacher to organize a communicative activity.

d)      The fact that in most classes the learners’ main motivation for studying the English is to pass the exam, they will not to spend much time on non-exam-related activities. [8]( P50-51)

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12.3.3 Conclusion

CLT is best considered an approach rather than a method. It ignores something in the approach, design and procedure, but compared with GTM, it seems to match the evidence from Psycholinguistic and SLA research more closely. CLT pays more attention to developing learners’ ability of using the English. It may promote learners’ learning initiative and enthusiasm. So it’s necessary to keep a balance between teaching of form and practice of form.

3. Implication for English teaching in Middle School in China.

From the above discussion, we can see that both Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching have their advantages and disadvantages in teaching, but after comparing them, CLT is much better for English teaching in China. Along with social development, it is absolutely necessary to learn English for international communication. The CLT becomes more and more attractive in China. There are a number of reasons for its attractiveness:

Apart from providing a richer teaching and learning environment, it can first include wider considerations of what is appropriate as well as what is accurate; second it can handle a wider range of language, covering texts and conversations as well as sentences; third the Communicative Approach can provide realistic and motivating language practice; and lastly it uses what learners “know” about the functions of language from their experience with their own mother tongue. [8](P199)

But clearly, in Chinese learning contexts, the implementation of CLT is hindered by many practical problems. There are many problems in application of CLT. They include whether a communicative approach can be applied at all levels in a language program, whether it is equally suited to ESL and EFL situations, whether it requires existing grammar-based syllabuses to be abandoned or merely revised, how such an approach can be evaluated, how suitable it is for non-native teachers, and how it can be adopted in situations where students must continue to take grammar-based tests. These kinds of problems will doubtless require attention if the communicative movement in Chinese language teaching continues to gain momentum in the future. [2](P83)

The following aspects of teaching English in China are to be heeded if CLT is going to succeed:

(i) Teacher’s quality

We know that teacher plays the most important role in the teaching activities. In Chinese middle schools, there are many teachers feeling anxious about their English language abilities. They think they have not enough abilities in English teaching to achieve learners’ needs. So developing the teachers’ quality is the most important thing in China.

How to develop it? In Success in English Teaching, Paul Davies said that teacher’s development options can be grouped into three broad categories: Self-development, Co-operative Development, and Formal Development. He believed that initial training should be the beginning, not the end, of their professional development. Self-development can be promoted by reflection on their teaching, developing what consistently seems to go well, and experimenting with alternative approaches to what consistently seems to go badly. Diaries and recordings of their own lessons can help them notice things they would not notice otherwise. Co-operative development can be promoted by sharing ideas and experiences with colleagues. Peer observation is a good way of sharing experience, and is usually more supportive than supervisory observation. Formal development is now virtually essential during almost every stage of a teacher’s career. Apart form actual in-service courses. There are many conventions, seminars, and short courses for teachers of English. Finally, professional reading is one of the best ways to extend their knowledge and keep up with new ideas. [5](P197-201)

In CLT, Teachers ought to know their learners’ needs and interests and choose suitable and realistic materials to hold English learning practice activities. But, how can we know the learners’ real needs? How do we know the materials we choose are suitable for them? They are the problems which are difficult for teachers to resolve in China. In Chinese middle schools, the motivation of students is to pass the exam. They may not want to spend much time on non-exam-related activities. If we want to solve these problems, carrying out the reforms in education is the primary problem in China, but we all know it is impossible at present.

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(ii) Teaching activities

    CLT procedures often require teachers to acquire less teacher-centered classroom management skills. It is the teacher’s responsibility to organize the classroom as a setting for communication and communicative activities. But the focus on fluency and comprehensibility in Communicative Language Teaching may cause anxiety among teachers accustomed to seeing error suppression and correction as the major instructional responsibility, and who see their primary function as preparing learners to take standardized or other kinds of tests. [2] (P79)

(iii) Language environment

Now let us see the teaching and learning environment.

English in China is a foreign language. Although we have attached importance to English language at present, there are not enough varied materials for teacher to carrying out teaching activities in CLT.

Overseas, in CLT, learners are usually the persons who prepare to travel to English-speaking countries or settle down, or have the chance to contact with foreigners at home. So they have a good opportunity to develop their communicative ability. But in China, English is seen as foreign language. Not only in school but in other places, most of people speak only Chinese, so students in middle school have few opportunities to contact with foreigners from English-speaking countries, so the English communication does not seem very important. [13] (P63) And due to the difference of culture and the way of thinking between China and English-speaking countries, there are many difficulties for students to learn English.

    According to the questions mentioned above, there are other problems may affect the carrying out of CLT in China, such as the different level between learners, the large number of students in an English course, and so on. But CLT is still a good effect method in English teaching in China.

4. Conclusion

Every English language learning context is more or less different and it will lead to more or less different answers to questions at the Approach, Design and Procedure levels.

In this paper we can see that not a teaching method is omnipotent, and every method has its advantages and disadvantages. GTM emphasizes the written language and ignores the oral one. CLT pays more attention to developing learner’s ability of using English language, but its focus on fluency and comprehensibility may cause some anxieties. Along with the social development, the growing needs of communication make us understand that CLT is suitable for China, although it has many limitations in its applications in China. CLT must be extended in the modern English Teaching.

Furthermore, we must analyze the factors such as the learners’ personal factor and environment of language to choose a suitable method to ensure the high efficiency of teaching. At last, a better understanding of the nature of language and language learning can help teachers to decide which choices are most likely to lead to effective learning in Chinese classroom.

Reference:

[1] 马丁.韦德尔. 外语教学与学习[M]. 高等教育出版社, 2001.

[2] Jack C. Richards & Theodore S. Rodgers.  Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching[M] 外语教学与研究出版社, 2004.

[3] 袁春艳. 综合英语教学论[M]. 中山大学出版社, 2005

[4] Jack C. Richards. The Context of Language Teaching[M] 外语教学与研究出版社, 2001.

[5] Paul Davies & Eric Pearse.  Success in English Teaching[M] Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001

[6] 何广铿.  英语教学研究[M].  广东高等教育出版社, 2002

[7] 张  利.  浅析两大外语教学法[J]  西华大学学报 (哲学社会科学版), 2005/12

[8] 舒百梅, 陈佑林.  外语教学法[M].  高等教育出版社, 2004.

[9] 李慧.  浅谈英语教学中的语法翻译和交际法[J].  宜春学院学报, 2004/12

[10] 袁春艳. 综合英语教学论[M]. 中山大学出版社, 2005

[11] 刘平.  语法翻译法与交际法之对比研究[J].  沈阳航空工业学院学报, 2005/12

[12] 李晓菲.  浅析交际法未被大学英语大班教学广泛采用的原因[J]  文教资料, 2006/02

[13] 胡文仲.  交际教学法初探---基础英语教学论文集[C].  外语教学研究出版社, 1985

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