Some ways of improving oral English

外国语学院英语学术论文写作纲要课程论文标题：Some Ways of Improving Oral English班级：20070311学号: 2007031116姓名：杨立志任课教师：王进军日期：2010-6-31Some Ways of Improving Oral EnglishbyY ang LizhiA thesis submitted to School of Foreign Languagesin conformity with the requirements forthe Degree of Bachelor of ArtsQujing Normal UniversityQujing, Y unnan, P.R. ChinaJune, 2010AcknowledgementsI have incurred many debts.I would like to owe my indebtedness to all authors of the books and papers listed in the bibliography.I would like to thank my teachers and my classmates for their guidance and help.I am most grateful to my teachers, without whose sound advice and patient revision, this thesis would never have taken the present shape.My special thanks should go to Dr. Wang Jinjun, whose enlightening lectures about academic writing initiated me into the study of effective academic writing in English: An Essential Guide.Moreover, I would like to thank all my teachers in the Department of Foreign Languages of English major, for I have benefited a lot from their patient help and introduce in the past four years.Finally, thanks should also go to some of my classmates for their computer and suggestions, and all the students in class 20070311 who have served as subjects in my research for their collaboration, patience, and earnestness in the p articipation of this experiment, and my parents’ support and financial help, thank you all so much!AbstractAs the development of social and international communication speeded up, learning English has become necessary, especially to us young generations at the 21st century. How to conquer English however has been becoming a key point, such as oral English learning and development. For learning English, different people in different countries have different ways and strategies. Here the author will provide some ways himself of learning English, and hope it will do some good to readers.Key words: intensive listen; extensive listen; recitation; imitation; repetition摘要随着社会交流和国际交流的日益加速发展，学习英语已经变得愈来愈重要，尤其是对于21世纪的年轻一代来说更是明显。

对于如何攻克英语也变成了一个重要问题，比如口语的学习和提高。

对于学习英语，生活在不同国家的人有不同的学习方法和策略。

在此，笔者想就自己的学习经验为广大读者提供一些学习方法和心得，并希望能给读者提供一点帮助。

关键词：精听；泛听；背诵；模仿；复述Contents Acknowledgements (II)Abstract in English (III)Abstract in Chinese .............................................................................................................. I V1. Introduction (1)2. Literature review (2)3. Some ways (3)3.1 Intensive listen (3)3.1.1 Listen to some phrase for beginning and ending conversations. (3)3.1.2 Listen to expressions that show you are paying attention and following theconversation. (3)3.1.3 Listen how to express your reactions (3)3.2 Extensive listen (4)3.2.1 Listen to those which are about routine life of English-speaking countries. .. 43.2.2 Listen to those which are about finance, market and stock. (4)3.2.3 Listen to those which are reported in special and standard English (4)3.3 The third step of improving oral English is recitation. (4)3.3.1 Recite those great sayings, such as Francis Bacon’s Of Truth, Of Studies, asfollows: (5)3.3.2 Recite those great speeches, such as Martin Luther King’ s I Have a Dream,as follows: (5)3.4 The forth step of improving oral English is imitation. (6)3.4.1 Imitate those materials (6)3.4.2 Imitate those materials which you are really interested (6)3.5 The fifth step of improving oral English is repetition. (6)4. Conclusion (7)Bibliography (8)1. IntroductionSome learners who are studying a foreign language on their own think that they should hold off speaking until they have mastered the “basic” grammar and vocabulary of the language. They feel this way because they are apprehensive about making mistakes and about not being understood. However, the truth of the matter is that the only way to learn the grammar and vocabulary of new language is by practicing them in different contexts. So if your goal is to learn how to speak a foreign language, you should start practicing speaking as soon as possible. The problem is, however, when to start and how to improve it. That’s true of learning a foreign language without a certain context and background will be impossible. As we all know, we first listen and then speak by practicing step by step when we are babies. After that, we try to remember those words of speaking and talking by others and even imitate them. At last, we can speak just as they do. Here, we can speak a language and make a simple conversation with others. By practicing day after day, we can speak fluently and easily. That means we succeed.2. Literature reviewCarroll proposed traditional cognitive approach in 1964. It arose when audio-lingual approach was attacked and challenged. The audio-lingual habit theory “emphasizes the primacy of auditory discrimination and oral production habits over other aspects of language us, the importance of the automation of habits and the role of repetition in such automation,” whil e cognitive code learning theory is “a modified up-to-date grammar translation theory”, according to which “foreign language learning is a process of acquiring conscious control of the patterns of a second language largely through the study and analysis of these patterns as a body of language”(Carroll, 1966).The information-processing cognitive approach (as represented in, for example, Shiffrin and Dumais 1981; Schneider, Dumais, and Shiffrin 1984; Anderson 1980, 1982 (see Hultijn, 1990)), on the other hand, was formed in 1980s and developed in 1990s with the publication of “A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning” by Skehan in 1998. During the last few decades, sociolinguistics has grown in influence on second language learning, which focuses on the importance of the social contexts in which languages are learned, and the way they influence the meanings which are expressed. However, the recent achievements in psycholinguistics and their influences on SLA have been neglected. The aim of information-processing cognitive approach is to investigate second language learning through the cognitive abilities of the learner and the processing problems that the learner has to confront, and redress the balance of viewpoints in second language acquisition research and language teaching pedagogy, which the author feels has leaned too for towards linguistics and sociolinguistics in recent years and has not, until recently, drawn effectively on contemporary cognitive psychology.3. Some ways3.1 Intensive listenWhat learners should do is intensive listen at the beginning progress, especially to those routine sentences.3.1.1 Listen to some phrase for beginning and ending conversations.Every language has standard greetings, introductions courtesies, and leave-takings. In English we begin a conversation with Hello! or Hi! and may end with Take care, S ee you later, I gotta go now, or I’ll see you. In telephone conversations, English speakers also have clear rules for beginning and ending conversations. When making a business call, the person calling says Hello, I would like to speak to so and so, please. When told to hold the line, the caller will often say thank you. When the conversation is over, the conversational partners usually say good-bye.3.1.2 Listen to expressions that show you are paying attention and following the conversation.In English, we use such comments as Y eah, Good, My goodness, Uhuh, Wow, Really?, How strange, How interesting to encourage a conversational partners. Inserting such phrases at the right times indicates that we understand and are interested.3.1.3 Listen how to express your reactions.Y ou should learn how to express your impressions and content on what is goingon. In English, we praise or criticize someone with phrases such as Y ou look nice, What a good idea! Or how stupid of me! Learn the appropriate ways of expressing various reactions in the language you are studying.Also, listen how to agree and disagree. In English, we use phrases such as I agree, Really, Certainly, Y ou’re right, and I don’t agree.3.2 Extensive listenWhat learners should do is extensive listen, especially to international news in English.3.2.1 Listen to those which are about routine life of English-speaking countries.From those news, we can get many words about routine life and life styles, even eating and dressing habits. Among of them, some are talking about how to cook, some are talking about how to keep healthy, and others are talking about living and eating.3.2.2 Listen to those which are about finance, market and stock.Different materials have different contents. Some of them must have been interested you. We can get not only these words but also we can understand the world away us far.3.2.3 Listen to those which are reported in special and standard English.From listening them, you can get different feeling on listening materials. The special one can make you follow them and understand them. The standard one can make you feel real English and pronunciation.3.3 The third step of improving oral English is recitation.Recite those great sayings of being written by great men and those powerful speeches of containing politic and life, or other aspects. Great sayings contain notonly great ideas but also hints. Great speeches encourage people to do something, even make them become a real person.3.3.1 Recite those great sayings, such as Francis Bacon’s Of Truth, Of Studies, as follows:“some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy and extracts made of them by others, but that would be only in the less important arguments and the meaner ort of books; else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have more cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores. Nay, there is no stond or impediment in the wit but may be wrought out by fit studies, like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises.”(英美文学名篇选读,39-40)3.3.2 Recite those great speeches, such as Martin Luther King’ s I Have a Dream, as follows:“I have dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama-with its vicious racists, with its governor’s lips dripping with the words of int erposition and nullification-one day right there down in Alabama, little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain and crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, andall flesh shall see it together.”(英美文学名篇选读,291)3.4 The forth step of improving oral English is imitation.Imitation is very important and necessary for an English learner. It can set up a language context for you and attach the real English conversation. On one hand, it can help your pron unciation through imitating the speaker’s pronunciation, and form a correct pronunciation habit. On the other hand, it can also help your mind in English through the English contexts, and form a standard oral English habit.3.4.1 Imitate those materials which are easy for you and with a standard pronunciation, such as English Phonology and New Concept English.3.4.2 Imitate those materials which you are really interested.English films are your best choice and always very interesting, such as animations.3.5 The fifth step of improving oral English is repetition.It is based on before you finish the front four steps.Y ou should try to catch up with the actors’ voice, even at the same time as quickly as you can.4. ConclusionBy now you should have a much clearer understanding about yourself as a language learner, the language learning process, how to set realistic goals, and how to find an environment that will help you realize these goals. Y ou should also have a better grasp of what you can do to help yourself become amore effective language learner: how to take charge of your learning, how to use what you know, how to assess the strategies you use, and how to improve your use of techniques in speaking and listening.Y our success in learning a foreign language depends largely on how well you assess what you need to do at each stage of development. Y ou should consider whether you will learn more by working in a classroom or by living abroad and using the language, and whether you should stress a particular skill.Y ou will need to assess what background knowledge about language and the world you already have and what you need to learn. At the same time, you will need to become aware of your learning strategies and of ways to improve them so that you learn more quickly and effectively. Y ou may also need to be conscious of the degree to which your feelings inhibit your learning and find ways to reduce their negative impact.Remember that language learning can be a lifelong process and that your goals, knowledge, motivation, and strategies will vary, depending on your own situation and on you degree of language proficiency.If you become actively involved in the process of learning, your chances of achieving your goals are immensely improved. Learning a foreign language is a complex undertaking, but if you know more about the process and about your own approach to the task, it can be a very rewarding, enriching, and enjoyable experience.BibliographyCarroll,J.B.&S.M.Sapon,1959, Modern Language Aptitude Test[M]. New Y ork: Psychological Corporation.Hulstijn, Jan H,1990, “A Comparison Between the Information-processing and the Analysis/control Approaches to Language Learning”, Applied Linguistics[M]. V ol.11, No.1.昂秀，2009.1, 职场口语[M]。