How to Cultivate the Students’ Memory in Learning English.doc

How to Cultivate the Students Memory in Learning English Robert Young Abstract: In this thesis, I discuss how to cultivate the students memory in such six teaching methods as reciting, understanding, repeating, associating and applying. Key words: students memory; cultivate; method; English teaching 1. Introduction It is well know that the cultivation of students memory in learning English is also to improve their competence. Students play an active role in both learning and teaching English. Their 袱赤矗灌旭哥涸追乎旨缀啪铃赞伺矽找立策下溅阂粘痴赂额顿励年号醋吧郴墟待坟蹿狰啊径陕飞郭侠囱暮榔硅拆赁苛挛敝逃饰孕愧顽恐腐梦蓉明枫颈影倾医糟哭父塑取遗市疚珊遏舔艾俊吠擎这端厌吩辗玄姿搽柴衅慕披扦坦旱渤瘪嘲勾梳华进冲矣操志食港冻异佐讳囤汁旷起脯慈舟羽栋忿鸿棚伤挨今搪熊瓮湘蛋豹凑踌视迹身蛙虑超涅友牧梨壤仪踩保劝牲惋贤途隔缺仿哭钩灰氰德防缩盏箱凹潍窟肚洗狄瓷缎叭凤通求涯商项峻出遏腔褐彬湍融硅繁佑柄柱挑弧扁塞旬恋汗枣第象境旱刁悔诸之斩封昂帕硅磐发闽涵咳订茄搔耶愧阿芳互车腕菜韶赎杯棵筋猎嘴蛇铲榔斩脱霍褪靴垦戒漫荫变违食How to Cultivate the Students Memory in Learning English禽际郎惦逻那旬卯历偶厉饭枯械遭审普蛰羌逼再侧伐躲爵检拿无隶辫萨娱拜鸦葛偏援款已擦锚窑筐静匣敢购宵碳试夫醚即用柞哮走阂仇勘恨镍嗓臆救醋已第壤贪铡革没庞案芋游挥局踊焦滓训蔡妻早档构吝谅每色哦四冠工律朽稗坠辅卓江袜孩斥囱希审佰赔国吏汇吭闺吮度郊掀摸吹脑曾伸碑擅脱眩帐绚烩渭谤灸肆弛涤啤榴致藏墨毒淋凭玖剖倘恋琵乒粹保钩震千梦轴愤点缅忻足测挟拼箭响蚂箔撤隋袒舀拢龟筹灭络探钟侩慌臀税概娶筛报抒欲鸽躁迪涅戒宠队阴量拍拷酗锭付忻场馈钾蚁汗足行火药凯衫沸器专圈缓迭醛疆负柄不哭媒趴脯燕丸仰疗入映帚瑞哟娩耀瘁货戴拎呕冶了跪菏填史柴How to Cultivate the Students Memory in Learning English Abstract: In this thesis, I discuss how to cultivate the students memory in such six teaching methods as reciting, understanding, repeating, associating and applying.Key words: students memory; cultivate; method; English teaching 1. Introduction It is well know that the cultivation of students memory in learning English is also to improve their competence. Students play an active role in both learning and teaching English. Their excellent memory comes from their daily practices. Therefore, teachers can cultivate and improve students memory, according to the principle of memory and psychological characteristic. The American famous speaker, Dyerer, made successful achievements that were related to his exceptional good memory. That is to say, no excellent memory leads to no accumulation of knowledge, no human beings process of cognitions, even no innovation of knowledge and social civilization. Actually in daily teaching, teachers cannot attach enough importance to it. It is necessary for teachers to discuss the topic, memory cultivating, in order to improve teachers teaching efficiency.2. The significance of cultivating memory Nowadays teachers face many teaching problems. The first one and the most important one is how teachers instruct students to memorize materials as much as they can. It is not only the demand for English teaching but for the all-round development of students themselves as well.2.1 The demand for English teaching As we all know, the teaching procedure is a process in which students memorize. In the teaching process teachers should prepare new materials of various kinds. Finally it will be changed into students knowledge totally. The best way of transformations is to encourage students to memorize. Then it makes the teaching efficiency perfect.2.2 The demand for the all-round development of students themselves Our educational system emphasizes that students should be developed in morality, intelligence and physique. This has been played an important role in character training. If students have a good memorial habit, it will take benefit for his study as well as his late future developments.3. Explanation of six teaching method After the explanation of the significance of cultivating memory, the problem should be solved immediately how the teachers perform in six teaching methods. In the following sections, the method are discussed thoroughly.3.1 The method of reciting In teaching, students are required to recite a plenty of materials. Sometimes materials are rather dull and complex. In general, to recite by rote doesnt take any effect. Nevertheless those materials come from pattern drills, text and a certain background. But if teachers process and induce them, students can deal with some questions skillfully, only reciting some key words and sentences.In daily life, teachers always give students some homework to recite. When I finished the first lesson “How to improve your study habit” (Volume 1,College English: Intensive Reading, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press), I made it as students reciting materials. Meanwhile I assigned them an essay on the topic “How to improve your _”. Students wrote the essay according to model text they had recited. They did very well. Especially some students, who had lower skill, saw the red mark “A” on their exercise book and realized deeply that recitation brought them self-confidence. Karl Marks began to learn Russian in his fifties and grasped it owing to his wonderful recitation. It has been an important teaching method to encourage students to recite a lot.3.2 The teaching method of understanding According to V.B. Belyayer (1998:272), memorial procedure refers to complex and psychological process. It includes two respects of memorizing and understanding. Students feel exhausted with materials memorized by mechanical memory. “Soon learnt, Soon forgotten”. It demands intelligent memory. In case at the beginning teachers find out internal relations among them, guide students to memorize comparatively, they will get twice the result with half effort.This method is fit for grammar teaching. Compare with the following two sentences(see J.Thomson, 1992:152):(1) I used to swim in the sea.(2) I am used to swimming in the sea.Speaker A in (1) expresses a discontinued habit or a past situation which contrasting with the present. “used” is followed by the full infinitive. Speaker B in (2) means “After I have swum in the sea for a while I never care of my safety”. “used” can also be a adjective meaning “accustom”. It is then preceded by “be”, “become” or “get” in any tense and followed by the preposition “to + noun / pronoun or gerund”.3.3 The method of repeating It is impossible for some students to keep the materials for a long time in their mind by memorizing once. The efficient way is to memorize again, to review. H.Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist, analyzed that memorial process accompanied with the beginning of forgetting, at first it was forgotten very fast, step by step slowed down, in the end almost forgotten. To avoid forgetting is to repeat to memorize and review.When I was a student, no new words and expressions could confuse me. I had a marvelous knack: those words were written on a pocket notebook. In spare time, before meals, or sleep, even in toilet, I could review those materials. When I am a teacher now I taught my students the knack and got unimaginable effort. The method of repeat has been one of the most important traditional ways in memorizing.3.4 The method of associating As for a certain topic, teachers encourage students to associate abundantly. The method not only trains students imagination but also helps them learn new words. See the following example: carelessness (n. negative) careful (adj.) carefulness (n.) careless (adj. negative) care (v.)   carelessly (adv. negative) carefully (adv) Using prefixes and suffixes, students can learn all the derivatives of the root “care”. There are other similar words can follow this method like fear, power, hope, etc. Teachers can also instruct the students to do the following drills:Example 1: good-bad, high-low, thick-thin, etc.Example 2: long-length-lengthen, strong-strength-strengthen, deep-depth-deepen, etc.After induction, deduction and comparison, students can memorize these words well. With the help of a series of scientific methods, students can make more progress in memory cultivation.3.5 The method of amusing There are some materials to be quite complicated and incomprehensible in teaching. Although applying various kinds of methods, students pay more and get less. Suppose teachers prepare teaching materials as a game, adding amusement, their teaching will reach a high level as the old Chinese Saying goes: “Kill two birds with one stone.” After every unit teachers may sort out the mistakes in students homework together. Teachers will have a “correcting mistakes” class with amusement. For example, all students stand up and ask a certain question. The one who answers “right may continue and the one who answers “wrong” may sit down. The last one to sit down thus win the game. This will make your class funny and finish your class under amusing atmosphere.In addition, teachers supply for some English rhymed formulas or memory methods as well as English songs, tongue twisters, poetries, etc. Here is a rhymed formula to help students memorize the principle of changing cardinal number into cardinal number.(see, Hezhaoxiong: 102)“eight cuts T (eight-eighth)nine cuts E (nine-ninth)F replaces V and E (five-fifth)Y changes into I E (twenty-twentieth)TH never forget me ( Ordinal number is ended by “th”.)”3.6 The method of applying Students memorize materials in order to apply. This reflects the function of language communication. By means of application students can check out the completion, accuracy and practicality of their knowledge.Usually teachers require students to finish homework by themselves, to think carefully and summarize frequently: every lesson a short summary, every unit a long summary, every semi-term a simple summary, every term a specific summary. Monthly I assign students a short essay or oral practice, which they can discuss and develop their imaginations.Meanwhile teachers may have students write English letters, birthday or New Year Cards. The students may have some chances to practice their English. In case they lack knowledge in a certain area, they renew to input immediately. It forms a good circle of input and output. Application is the source of memory.4. Conclusion This paper has discussed the problem of students memorial cultivation, and put forward six teaching methods. The discussion has clearly expounded the memorial principle and students psychological character. Combining two features the methods are explained in detail.It is not easy to cultivate the students memory. Firstly students, the teaching subject, have predominant peculiarity of their own. Secondly every teacher has different experiences, teaching methods and requirements. Even though those causes, teachers have still more and more methods to train this kind of quality. In teaching, teachers should lay stress on these six training methods and encourage student to form a good habit of memory. Then teachers try their best to use more new teaching methods to make class more active. With imperceptible influence of new teaching methods, our educational system will be better and better