an investigation and research in oral english teaching in high middle school高中英語口語教學調(diào)查與研究

1、<p>　　英語口語教學調(diào)查與研究</p><p>　　An Investigation and Research in Oral English Teaching in High Middle School</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　Senior high school " English Teachin

2、g Syllabuses (陳道明: 2002) " proposes the main purpose of English teaching is to improve the ability to communicate in English, especially the innovative spirit and practical ability. With the development of global e

3、conomy, English has become a kind of international all-purpose language, that is to say, it is an important political and economic resource. The basic goal of learning English is to communicate with it. Therefore, speaki

4、ng ability is the main skill </p><p>　　In recent years, with the efforts of the teachers, foreign language teaching in most high school has made great progress. Meanwhile, students’ listening, speaking, read

5、ing and writing skills are generally improved. However, in the vast rural areas, high school English level is still lagging behind. Although many students have learned English for many years, they still can not speak Eng

6、lish fluently, even to say a word when they meet with foreigners. As a result, there is the prevailing phenomeno</p><p>　　Based on the current situation, the author conducts an investigation among teachers a

7、nd students in Baoding rural senior high school. The investigation takes Juncheng senior high school as the sample, using a questionnaire as the main instrument to collect data. At last, the author analyzes the problems

8、and insufficiency in the oral English teaching, meanwhile, gives suggestions to improve the current situation.</p><p>　　I. Literature Review</p><p>　　A. The Importance of Oral English</p>

9、<p>　　There is no denying that the process of global economy is being accelerated constantly when we entered into a new century. Countries all over the world expand constantly in economy, culture, science, diplomac

10、y, traveling etc. Profound changes taking place in our society asks for more unprecedented, urgent and enormous demand for English talents. Therefore, the demand of new age is far greater than that demand the talent who

11、is just good at written English.</p><p>　　English is not only a tool of learning, but also a kind of international all-purpose language, that is to say, it is an important political and economic resource. Li

12、stening, speaking, reading, writing and translating are the five basic skills of learning a language. And the final goal of learning a language is to master the five skills. The basic goal of learning English is to commu

13、nicate with it. </p><p>　　But influenced by exam-oriented education in our country , generally speaking, the second skill ¨speaking” is the weakest part in English studying, and also a serious problem f

14、or middle school students, and even for the college students. Students continue to memorize grammar and sentence patterns for a long time, so students' brain has become a warehouse that is used to store vocabulary,

15、sentence patterns and language knowledge, and they find it hard to communicate with others in English. So th</p><p>　　B. Current Situation of Oral English Teaching </p><p>　　The purpose tha

16、t we study English is to communicate fluently with others. So fluency, accuracy and appropriateness are important in oral English study. That is to say, we have to pay much attention to practical communicating ability in

17、stead of only focusing on the grammar. So it needs us to know the rules of speaking, and the cultural characteristics as well, to express correctly and to use right styles under different situations or on the special occ

18、asions.</p><p>　　Due to the influence of the old English teaching system and the language environment, Chinese students could not practice oral English and improve their ability of spoken English. In the old

19、 English teaching system, teachers always play the main roles in classes, and they focus on paraphrasing text and language points. Though they do some oral practices in classes, these are not enough to improve students’

20、ability of spoken English. Students can understand English grammar, vocabulary and intonat</p><p>　　There are many students have troubles with oral English. Some students are considered the best one in his o

21、r her class, but they dare not to speak English when he or she talks with the foreigner who comes from an English-speaking country. The reason is that he or she is not used to speaking English when he or she talks to oth

22、ers. The students can not express what they want to say clearly when they talk with others in English and people around him or her can not understand what he or she said. Su</p><p>　　II. Research Design and

23、Methodology </p><p>　　In order to find out the problems and insufficiency in the oral English teaching, the author conducts an investigation among teachers and students in Baoding rural senior high school. T

24、his chapter mainly introduces the research design.</p><p>　　A. Research Questions</p><p>　　This quantitative study was designed to address the following questions:</p><p>　　1. How a

25、bout the oral capability of English teachers?</p><p>　　2. How about the learning situation of oral English among students?</p><p>　　B. Research Subjects</p><p>　　Participants for th

26、e investigation are 20 teachers and 100 students chosen at random from the Juncheng High School in Tang county, Baoding, Hebei province. The teachers and students from Grade One are prepared to take part in the questionn

27、aire investigation in order to acquire information of oral English on teachers’ part and students’ part.</p><p>　　Instruments</p><p>　　The investigation uses questionnaire as the main instrument

28、. The investigation consists of two questionnaires. The first one contains 10 items, which are all be multiple-choice, aiming to make teachers evaluate their oral English teaching objectively. It involves the following c

29、ontents: the educational degree of teachers, the time distribution of different skills, the present teaching situation, the teaching resource and auxiliaries. The second questionnaire with 6 items is used to investigate

30、t</p><p>　　D. Data Collection and Data Analysis</p><p>　　During the investigation, the teachers and students were very cooperative and careful. There were twenty teachers participating in the in

31、vestigation. And teachers’ feedback was all considered to be effective. Meanwhile, we collected 100 pieces of paper among students, of which two was invalid for the lack of answers to some questions. The rest of the feed

32、back was considered to be effective and the valid rate is 98%.</p><p>　　Firstly, the author collected all the data of the investigation. And then descriptive statistics listed the percentage of each choice.

33、Finally, affective factors should be analyzed. In this way, the author obtains the final results shown in the following tables.</p><p>　　Table 1 The Educational Degree of Teachers</p><p>　　Acco

34、rding to the above survey, we find many serious problems. 70% teachers (about 14 persons) graduate from colleges. Teachers with bachelor degree reach about 4 persons (20%). Besides, there are 20% teachers who only receiv

35、e technical secondary education. The present English teachers' educational level is not high, that is to say, the number of teachers with high degree is rare. </p><p>　　Table 2 The Time Distribution amo

36、ng Different Skills</p><p>　　In the survey, most teachers pay more attention to grammar(32%), vocabulary(30%), and writing(19%) teaching. They do not have much time spending on oral English and listening ski

37、ll. Some teachers say current teaching materials content more difficult. In the teaching, in order to drive teaching plan so that there is no time to spend on oral English teaching. At the same time, exam doesn't tes

38、t speaking ability, so under the guidance teacher only pay attention to what will be tested. So there is l</p><p>　　Table 3 The Present Teaching Situation </p><p>　　From the data, we can easily

39、 find that English information source of teachers is narrow. 51% teachers’ knowledge is only limited in the learning at the student age. In addition, only 15% teachers have further study plan to update their knowledge. B

40、ecause time flies, changes happen at anytime, and new things emerge constantly. Obviously, English is developing with ages. How can old knowledge keep up with the new age? So there is a long way to enrich the knowledge o

41、f rural school teachers.</p><p>　　As to the scientific research ability, judging from the questionnaire survey results, only 18% teachers often participate in research activity. It shows that the rural middl

42、e school English teachers' scientific research consciousness and scientific research ability are generally poor.</p><p>　　As to teaching language, 26% teachers teach lessons in English as much as possibl

43、e. Only under the condition that the students couldn't understand, teachers will use Chinese to have further explanations. 32% teachers usually use English at first. Then explain in Chinese. 42% of the teachers mainl

44、y use Chinese in class. Therefore, in the rural middle school English class, the teaching language also cannot guarantee in English. This phenomenon accounts for two aspects. On the one hand, teacher’ ab</p><p

45、>　　As to the relationship between teachers and students in class, 53% teachers think classroom should be teacher-centered and teaching should be the main part that controls everything in the classroom. Obviously, thes

46、e teachers are influenced by traditional education idea. Only 26% teachers think students are the center and teachers should adjust the lesson according to the conditions of the students.</p><p>　　In additio

47、n, only 13% teachers often organize the activity to create speaking circumstance. Most teachers run teaching task of more than 3 classes, so that they think the teaching task is too heavy to have energy to organize some

48、teaching activities to develop students' speaking ability after class. A number of teachers emphasize the school hardware and software facilities all outdated lacking of speaking conditions and atmosphere, so that th

49、ey can’t carry out activity to practicing speaking.</p><p>　　Table 4 Teaching Resources </p><p>　　As to the teaching resources, the survey finds that most rural high school in Hebei province us

50、es the new curriculum. 74% teachers prefer reference materials with the textbook as supporting material. Teachers using reference material from online resource accounts for 10%, and borrowing reaches 12%. Editing materia

51、l by the teachers is nearly zero. Current edition of high school English textbook is more difficult than the old from vocabulary, reading, communication patterns etc. While the new edit</p><p>　　Table 5 Tea

52、ching Auxiliaries </p><p>　　As to the teaching auxiliaries and helping means in the rural middle school, in everyday teaching, about 74% teachers use recorder as the main teaching tools. Choosing speech room

53、 and courseware teachers are 10% and 12%. Choosing network is only about 4%. Teachers said they face difficulties to multimedia applications during the teaching and have bigger problems in control the teaching material a

54、nd using teaching methods. Most teachers also say they seldom refer to network, newspapers, broadcast</p><p>　　Table 6 The Learning Condition of Students</p><p>　　From the above table, we find

55、that only 21% students regard speaking as an important skill. 46% students can not recognize the importance of oral English and 45% students show less interest in learning spoken English. So we can see that students igno

56、re the oral English learning. Because of the lack of interest, from the above findings we can easily discover that 52% students are not satisfied with their oral English and lack confidence. Having learned five or six ye

57、ars of English, most students </p><p>　　New teaching concept advocates the target language teaching. The data shows 15% students can understand parts of the English teaching, which reflects that students are

58、 lacking of solid foundation of English, which is worth our attention and earnest ponderation. What is more, only 47% students admit that school seldom organizes activity of oral English. It reflects that school lack spe

59、aking environment. At the same time, there are still quite a number of students (about 52%) are afraid of making </p><p>　　III. Results and Discussion</p><p>　　Outdated Educational Concepts</

60、p><p>　　The most important factor is the Chinese education system, which just severs for examination. As a matter of fact, most teachers, parents and students detest the examinations because it does not do good

61、 to the improvement of English in real sense.</p><p>　　On the teachers’ part, the standard of the teachers’ working effect is marks. So in order to achieve high marks, teachers just focus on examinations and

62、 students also serve for this purpose. As a result, most teachers pay more attention to grammar(32%), vocabulary(30%), and writing(19%) teaching. They do not have much time spending on oral English and listening skill. B

63、ecause there is no examination or test on speaking, so teachers and students pay little attention to oral English practicing. Th</p><p>　　On the students’ part, 46% students can not recognize the importance

64、of oral English and 45% students show less interest in learning spoken English. As there is no concrete demands in spoken English at all, many students have a vague understanding toward English. They just want to get hig

65、her scores in the entrance exam so that they can get chances to enter universities and change their destinies completely. Gradually, they develop “Mute English” without recognizing the importance of speaking. </p>

66、;<p>　　B. Poor Teaching Conditions </p><p>　　In most Baoding rural high schools, teachers’ ability is limited. 70% teachers graduate from colleges. Teachers with bachelor degree reach only 4 persons (

67、20%). Besides, there are 20% teachers who only receive technical secondary education. From the data, we can find the present English teachers' educational level is not high. They are still carrying out the old tradit

68、ional education method, which will not only make a bad influence on students’ speaking, but also an obstacle to listening. Under </p><p>　　The fact that 42% of the teachers mainly use Chinese in class will g

69、ive a bad effect on students’ listening, meanwhile abate students’ desire for speaking. Some teacher excuse that most students can not catch up the meanings of what they say if they speak too much in English. In fact, wi

70、th the curiosity of learning, students will try their best to get the teachers’ meanings. When they confront some difficulties, they will ask others for help. A recent research shows that speaking English should </p&g

71、t;<p>　　At the same time, the large number of students in a classroom affects the chance of speaking oral English. There are always more than 40 students in a Chinese classroom, but in the west countries there are

72、 just 20. So more students in the same room means less time for each to practice oral English and less opportunity to speak. In order to finish the task of teaching there is no time for the oral English practicing. Some

73、teachers have realized the importance of speaking, but because of time limi</p><p>　　Besides, teaching resources are badly needed. Approximately74% teachers prefer reference materials with the textbook as su

74、pporting material. In their textbooks students can only be offered a dialogue in each unit to practice functional items, which is far from enough. The form of this set of book is more like reading rather than speaking. F

75、urthermore, lots of materials are not up-to-date enough, and can’t broaden their mind. Most learners are eager to read latest, practical interesting textbooks</p><p>　　C. Lack of Speaking Circumstance</p&

76、gt;<p>　　The first thing is the Lack of real circumstance of English. Although the students can read the text, or even can recite a lot of language materials, they do not have the authentic language environment. B

77、ecause lacking of oral practice, they can not apply knowledge of English in real life, even mention to have a real communication in their daily lives. </p><p>　　We know that the physical obstacle plays a rol

78、e in practicing oral English. 52% Students dare not speak, because they are lack of confidence and encouragement. But the original reason is lack of practice both in class and out of class. Only 47% students admit that s

79、chool seldom organizes activity of oral English. It reflects that school lack speaking environment. In class, teachers give few opportunities to them to practice oral English. Moreover, monotonous oral activities, for ex

80、ample, the mec</p><p>　　IV. Countermeasures to Change the Current Situation</p><p>　　With the development of the society, more and more teachers and students have realized the importance of oral

81、 English. They gradually pay more attention to improve it. Taking all the factors above into consideration, the author presents some countermeasures.</p><p>　　A. Improving the Status of Oral English</p>

82、;<p>　　Reforming the English exam system to improve the status of Oral English is the primary step. Through revising the syllabus and adding some formal oral test, teachers and students pay more attention to the t

83、raining of oral skill. In the traditional exam-oriented education, written examination is always the main method to check students’ study and students’ written marks stand for the teaching abilities. The evaluation syste

84、m disobeys the quality education. Education departments should promote the</p><p>　　Oral English training should be coherent, systematical and scientific. Under this principle students’ abilities can develop

85、 fully. Then they will make the best use of what they have learnt in class and make great progress in people’s real life. The old system is a bandage of students’ practicing ability, it is very necessary to add some new

86、blood to it.</p><p>　　Enhancing the Capacity of Teachers</p><p>　　With the growing importance of English, English teachers have to face more and severer challenges. Everyone has to improve himse

87、lf continuously to be qualified and meet the demand of society by further study. A good English teacher should have fluent language, correct pronunciation, beautiful intonation in speaking English. At the same time, he m

88、ust have abundant language knowledge like linguistics, be good at teaching, and be skilled in arousing the interest students. The last but not the least</p><p>　　Firstly, teachers should do their best to spe

89、ak more English in class. It is a good requirement that teachers should speak at least 70 percent of English in class. Teachers set a good example for students, which will stimulate students’ interest and curiosity to sp

90、eak more in English. In this case, there are more opportunities for students to open their mouth, which will bring a great benefit to students. Speaking more English also will make students keep a good habit of speaking

91、English at any </p><p>　　Secondly, teachers can use the modern means of teaching. Modernization of teaching methods in various forms mainly refers to sound recordings, films, slides and projectors which can

92、integrate text, images and sound together. It can make the boring teaching content vivid and visualize to bring our students into a communicative situation and create a pleasant and pleasing emotion. In addition, sometim

93、es teachers also can allow students to watch the original English movies or talk shows to let them</p><p>　　Thirdly, teacher could introduce more English speaking countries culture to students. Different cou

94、nties have different ways of thinking and doing. It is necessary for teacher to tell those differences to students. Here take attending a party for example: being on time to take part in a party and remembering to take a

95、 small present for the first time visit, which are really important for their future life. After the discussion students will get an idea about some culture difference in daily acti</p><p>　　C. Creating Spea

96、king Environments for Students</p><p>　　Language is a tool of communication, so the learners must know how to use language appropriately and flexibly. Therefore, teachers should try to create more and proper

97、 speaking environments both in the class and out of class. </p><p>　　In the class, at the beginning of the class, teachers can spend about 5 to 10 minutes on news, storytelling, discussion, role-play, songs,