后方法视角下的英语专业基础英语教学

后方法视角下的英语专业基础英语教学

摘要：有效教学一直是外语教学研究的重点。随着传统教学方法局限性的暴露，越来越多的学者和教育家开始关注“后方法”。尽管已有很多学者对“后方法”进行了研究，但是由研究者亲历教学过程的案例分析为数尚少。本文作者意在揭示传统教学法的局限性，介绍“后方法”的三维系统和宏观策略框架，并通过基础英语教学这一个案研究来阐述“后方法”在教学中的作用。最后，作者总结了“后方法” 对我国外语教学的启示。

关键词：基础英语；“后方法”；宏观策略框架；英语专业

Essential English Course Instruction for English Majors from the Post-Method Perspective

Abstract: Effective teaching has always been the focus of foreign language study. Since the exposure of traditional teaching limitation, more and more instructors and educators have paid great attention to postmethod pedagogy. Although a large body of research has already been done in this aspect, there is still room for further probing. The writer aims to figure out the limitation of traditional language teaching methods. Then the research aims to introduce postmethod pedagogy, which includes the three dimensional system and postmethod macrostrategic framework. To better illustrate this theory, a case study of the essential English course is conducted through class observation to prove that effective English teaching complies with the postmethod pedagogy. The writer summarizes implications and suggestions for English teaching.

Key words: Essential English Course; Postmethod pedagogy; Macrostrategic framework; English major

Essential English Course Instruction for English Majors from the Post-Method Perspective

1 Introduction

1.1 Current situation of English teaching in university

Thirty years since China’s policy of reform and opening up to the outside world, our college English has made tremendous progress (He et el, 2008). However, despite the great achievements it has made, there are many problems remaining to be solved. Liu Xiangqian (2007) holds the view that during the process of English teaching,

teachers have paid more and more attention to the practical usage of language itself. Practicality and functionality have been highlighted gradually, which shows its tendency of swinging away from the tradition of humanism education. Zhang Shaojie (2010) points out that some Chinese foreign language researchers are not clearly about the aim of foreign language education and that they focus more on the instrumental aspect of language while neglect the importance of its cultural values.

There is another problem that can not be ignored, that is, because college English teaching shows little concern for the training of critical thinking and necessary professional English knowledge reserve, many English majors have trouble expressing original ideas and thinking critically (Wen & Zhou, 2006).

1.2 Essential English Course for English Majors

According to the Syllabus of English Education for English Majors:

Essential English Course is one of the main courses for English majors in higher education and it aims at cultivating and promoting students integrated skills of using English. This course, through basic language training and passage explanation and analysis, develops and promotes students’ ability of discourse reading gradually, equipping them with all kinds of ways of expression and characteristics of literary styles (2000:23).

Based on it, English teachers should focus on the cultivation of integrated skills, which are listening, speaking, reading and writing, during the process of teaching. But actually, many problems exist in Essential English Course teaching, such as unreasonable curriculum structure, unclear focus, obsolete teaching model and methods (Xiong, 2013), making the task of developing students’ comprehensive ability even more difficult. Shu Dingfang (2005) shares the same viewpoint. He thinks many teachers don’t know much about foreign language teaching theories. And basically, they follow the way their teachers have taught them, thus, their way of teaching is not effective. Zhong Meisun (2006) thinks from another aspect. He points out that Essential English Course prefers language skill training and helps little in cultivating students’ cognitive competence and critical thinking skills.

1.3 Research aim