English Teaching in the Primary School
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Education has made the policy on English teaching in the primary schoolDTheir reason is that English teaching should be taught as early as possible. Itfs true that we need more people who can speak good English and communicate with other countries so as to bring economic profit to our country Cto introduce China to the worldCand to improve the countryfs image in the worldCbut is it the truth that teaching English in primary school is well preparedCor is everything ok for English learning?
In the present day society, competition is becoming fiercely. Some parents are sending their children to the English training school to learn English. The parents want their children to be priority to others in the future. But is it necessary to learn English as early as possible? Many people agree with this. As for my part, I do not agree with this thought. Some children are too young to learn a foreign language in their own age. It is not necessary to have a child to learn English at a very young age. First, with the deepening of reform and Chinas entry into WTO, English teaching has drawn the attention of the whole educational world. To cater for the economic development, the Ministry of Education required that English should be taught from the third year onward in all primary schools in urban areas from the fall of 2001 and the following year in rural areas. (5) Meanwhile, a New English Course Requirement at Compulsory Education Stage (on trial basis) was published. Second, in the last two years in primary school, the children have the ability to master and make full use of his mother tongue. So it is easy to have a good command of English learning in both listening and speaking.
The overall aim of the New English Course Requirement at the basic education stage is to develop the childrens general language ability. The development of the general language ability is based on the overall development of the childrens language skills, language knowledge, emotion and attitude, learning strategies and culture awareness. Among them, language knowledge and language skills are the foundation; culture awareness is of help in using language appropriately; emotion and attitude are the important factors influencing childrens learning and development; and learning strategies can help to enhance learning efficiency and develop learners autonomy.
2. English learning and foreign language acquisition in primary period
Schmid Schonbein, the English department of Germany Aachen Formal University, has done some experiments about whether children can master the basics of English by formal teaching methods or not. Actually the answer is certain. According to the experiments, Schmid Schonbein has proved that the children can naturally pick up English in a condition of creating a teaching environment. Of course, in this environment it needs teachers teach the children with a Standard English accent and play with them in a very ease atmosphere.
As mentioned English learning, it has to relate to some concepts about it. Foreign language acquisition (3) is a process of learning and obtaining a second language unconsciously in a natural or directed circumstance. Foreign linguists regard foreign language learning as foreign language acquisition because learning is a conscious activity; both the conscious activities and unconscious activities are included in the foreign language acquisition. For example, during the process of learning English, learners consciously imitate the correct pronunciation, recite English words, and study the grammar rules. These are all called conscious activities. Also learners will use the words and sentences, which are heard in conversations. This shows that the words and sentences are learned unconsciously, not on pessimistic about how to extend childrens attention span. However, children can fasten their eyes on the favorite cartoon programs for the duration. The short attention span comes up usually when teachers present material that to them is boring; or too difficult. So on a specific ground, H. Douglas Brown (2) suggests the following ways to raise childrens attention:
Activities should be designed to capture childrens immediate interest.
.A lesson needs to have a variety of activities to keep interest and attention alive.
A teacher needs to be animated, lively and enthusiastic about the subject matter. Since a classroom is a stage in which the teacher is the lead actor, his energy will be infectious to others. A teacher might think he is overdoing it; actually pupils need exaggeration to keep spirits high and minds alert.
A sense of humor will go a long way to keep children laughing and learning.
Since childrens humor is quite different from adults, a teacher should remember to put himself in their shoes
Students have a lot of natural curiosity, which is a certain spontaneous interest. Teachers should tap into that curiosity whenever possible and thereby help to maintain childrens attention and focus. It is well known that current second language teaching methods aim at developing students communicative competence that will enable them to communicate effectively in a second language. Extensive researches have been conducted in order to develop a new approach to course design, which takes task as the unit of analysis.
English teaching in English learning in primary school
During English learning in primary schools, students are always influenced by their teachers. Especially in English learning, students imitate teacherfs