Strategies of developing a supportive atmosphere in English class如何营造良好的英语课堂氛围.doc

Strategies of developing a supportive atmosphere in English classAbstract: Harmony is the basic characteristics of good, harmonious education is not only a kind of thought，a theory ,but also a sort of ideal ,a pursuit . According to the New Curriculum, the process of teaching should be the one containing an inter-communication and a co-development between the teachers and students. Teachers should act as an organizer, a supporter, a guider and a participator. The most important task for a teacher is to build a kind of classroom atmosphere with admit, support and tolerance. Under new curriculum-based English-teaching , how to construct harmonious atmosphere in class to cultivate the students ability in thinking and making innovations and to promote their ability to communicate in English is a hot topic worthy of our consideration ,how to raise the students interest in classroom teaching is a vital issue to be solved. The purpose of this paper will discuss the ways of how to construct English-teaching class in middle school from the aspect of classroom teaching.Key words: supportive atmosphere harmony teaching strategies 1. Introduction A language classroom needs a supportive atmosphere in which conditions are conducive for students to learn. To achieve this atmosphere is not an easy task for EFL teachers because of various factors such as students backgrounds, behaviors, learning styles and many others. In most situations, language classrooms in EFL contexts are boring for students. With the globalization of English and the recognition of English application in the world, the number of English learners around the world has drastically increased in the past several decades ,the importance of English has been emphasized much .In our country is mainly through English-teaching class ,thus we should pay attention to the classroom research to seek appropriate teaching strategies to initiate our students English learning motivation and improve their English-learning efficiency .Constructing harmonious class is a key factor for us to realize this target , adhering to the principle of student oriented ,helping students complete their English acquisition are not only the requirements of new English course standard ,but also the basic expression of class value in the new century .New English course standard advocates English teachers to construct democratic ,relaxed and harmonious classroom atmosphere in class ,which can fully initiate students learning desire ,excavate their potential .2. Strategies of constructing harmonious classTo construct harmonious class, we must grasp the spirit of New Curriculum Standard (NCS), adhere to the principle of students-oriented, and make full use of teaching strategies focus on the all-round development of students. According to the New Curriculum, the process of teaching should be the one containing an inter-communication and a co-development between the teachers and students. Teachers should act as an organizer, a supporter, a guider and a participator. The most important task for a teacher is to build a kind of classroom atmosphere with admit, support and tolerance, and to establish a kind of educational environment in which the students are stimulated and inspired to learn in an atmosphere full of equality, respect, trust and tolerance. The following is some strategies of how to construct English-teaching class in middle school from the aspect of classroom teaching.(1) Establish harmonious and equal teacher-student relationship in class The successful teaching relies on a genuine understanding and trust between teacher and students ,relies on a harmonious classroom atmosphere .The relationship between teacher and students directly determines the success or failure of our teaching activities ,the concept of teacher-student relationship should be harmonious ,democratic and relaxed in teaching process with unselfish love ,care and positive contact from the teacher, students gain the pleasure and confidence in their English learning ,improving their learning efficiency ,the teacher can also gain respect and cooperation from students ,it is a win-win situation . The good relationship between teacher and students is the key factor in constructing harmonious class, teachers should focus on students emotion ,treat every students equally ,respect every students ,help students solve problems in their study ,especially pay more attention to those who has difficulty in English learning .Harmonious teacher-student relationship is built on the basis of equality and democracy ,modern education thought tells us democratic and equal relationship in classroom can greatly stimulate students learning desire ,it is a powerful catalyst ,also the key to keep teaching-and-learning activity carrying on smoothly .When teaching in class ,teacher should use friendly smile ,humorous language to cultivate lively atmosphere ,highlight students role ,shorten the distance between teacher and students .At first, we should make friends with students. If students dont like the teacher, they cant study his or her lessons well and they cant tell you what they think about. So teachers should be their friends, and must know them, take care of them and help them to overcome any difficulties that they meet. Teachers can be introduced to a variety of in-class activities and out-of-class activities that form part of the enrichment program. The teachers have to actually participate in each activity to help raise their awareness and foster empathy for students. Effective matching between teaching style and learning style can only be achieved when teachers are, first of all, aware of their learners needs, capacities, potentials and learning style preferences in meeting these needs. It is easy for a man to do a thing. But its very difficult for a man to do a thing well.The current problem in middle school education is we lack of communication and cooperation between teachers and students ,many teachers still hold the concept that no one is noble, which leads to low efficiency in teaching-and-learning activity ,many English teachers find it is more and more difficult to carry on teaching activity .students also think it is difficult to learn English effectively ,as a result ,teachers and students feel tired and bored .Therefore we need to enforce communication ,constructing a harmonious relationship between teachers and students ,forming a relationship of mutual respect ,mutual understanding.(2) Build up a new-styled English-teaching mode, emphasized on the Student oriented principle.“All for studentsFor all studentsFor students all”. This expression has shown the essential features of the quality-oriented education. Professor Liu Running, a famous English educator, once points out: “English cant be taught, it must be learned”. Classroom is an important stage for the interaction ,a place for creating miracles and knowledge pursuit ,therefore ,effective teaching methods and efficient teaching atmosphere are the eternal pursuit of teachers, teachers should try to make the content more authentic to attract the students in order to ensure that the communicative activities can move smoothly .In traditional classroom ,teachers were the centre ,manipulating the whole situation and leaving little time to students. Due to the simple and boring teaching methods ,our students feel difficult in English learning ,they can not build confidence and interest , so we should take flexible and diverse teaching methods ,turn the classroom into a place where the students can get trained in their listening, speaking, reading and writing, and get cultivated in their awareness of autonomous learning .for example ,activities of discussion ,cooperation, group tasks ,interviews can get students involved in the process, let every student be part of the class . When students begin to speak, they will make quite a few mistakes. Materials must first be easy, then difficult, from superficial to abstruse, increasing interest. Teachers can ask students to work in pairs to share notes from the mini-lecture. By doing this, they can expect to further clarify the concept of survey taking and have a more specific idea of what learning styles are. While the pair-work is in process, the teacher should be prepared to answer any questions that may arise. Then, students are ready to complete the questionnaire. If they have questions or need assistance, the teacher cans mini-conference with them individually. Finally, students can start summarizing their individual style results in the survey. Teachers also can organize a whole-class discussion of the style assessment results. Teachers can write the major learning style on the blackboard and ask the students to write their names under their major style in a list. Then, in a full-class discussion, everybody is aware that the class is indeed a mixture of style and full of similarities and differences in learning style preferences. This discussion helps eliminate some of the potential of a teacher-student “style war” if the teacher talks about his or her own style during this time. I have found students are intensely interested in talking about their own style and the style of their peers and teachers. When such style discussions are constructive, students initial interest in self-awareness is rewarded and deepened.Teachers are no longer the roles of imparting knowledge to students ,but the promoter s of the students, we play the roles of organizers, guiders and cooperators in classroom ,the new curriculum emphasizes the integration of teachers teaching and students learning, teachers should motivate students learning potential and encourage students to practice ,training their innovation. With the development of the society, the traditional teaching mode is no longer suit for the full development of our students, we should change traditional teaching methods and choose flexible teaching methods, which enable our students to participate in the whole teaching activity with confidence and individuality, and help them learn English in equal, democratic, pleasant learning atmosphere.(3) Cultivate their interests in English learning.As is known to us, interests the best teacher in our learning process, many students can not learn English well because they are not interested in it. Interest in learning is the study of object cognition, curiosity is a root in learning, and desire for knowledge is the main purpose of the interest in learning .Interest can improve learners to form a sense of achievement, further improve the learners inner motivation and learning enthusiasm, ultimately help learners to form the virtuous cycle of learning.We can organize students to take part in all kinds of activities to practice their English. Since the meaning is an important device in teaching grammar, it is important to contextualize any grammar point. Songs are one of the most enchanting and culturally rich resources that can easily be used in language classroom. We can use songs to increase the motivation. Songs also give new insights into the target culture. There are many advantages of using songs in the classroom. Games and problem-solving activities, which are task-based and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, are the examples of the most preferable communicative activities. Access to information, analysis, processing, application capacity will serve as the basic ability and quality of modern requirements. English teachers should make full use of modern educational technology, development of English language teaching resources and broaden student learning and use of English channels, to change the study methods. Such activities highlight not only the competence but also the performance of the learner. Both games and problem-solving activities have a goal. Games are organized according to rules and they are enjoyable. Most games require choral responses or group works, whereas problems-solving activities require individual response and creative solutions.(4) Group work and cooperationCooperation among students helps create positive attitude towards learning. When students work together to accomplish the tasks, they interact with each other and can certainly feel they are interdependent. Group cohesiveness among students in the foreign language classroom is an aspiration for most teachers. This idea has become significant in the EFL contexts since it can help learners get a pleasant and supportive environment. Interpersonal communication is crucial in establishing acceptance among students. Teachers should promote activities that encourage openness and friendship within the group. Therefore students can communicate and interact with each other thus breeding familiarity. Classmate information gathering activities are quite helpful for this purpose and teachers should seize the chance to make full use of these activities. This can be in the form of filling personal information questionnaire, or writing biography for their peers. Also, frustration can arise if group members only focus on demerits of group life and weak point of the members. So, positive feelings are worth fostering and reinforcing to promote acceptance. Speaking or writing activities which invite students to recognize and state each others strong points, benefits of staying in the group should be designed and adopted in class.3. SummaryUnder the guidance of New Curriculum, we should construct harmonious atmosphere in class to match the students physical and mental development ,in line with the reality of our students in different areas ,creating a flesh language environment ,enhance their participation ,care their personality .Our purpose is simple ,that is to arouse students interest and help them establish selfconfidence and sense of achievement ,so as to improve their ability of second language acquisition .Reference:1. 李丽生等编著,英语新课程改革理论与实践，云南大学出版社，2005年2. 肖之芳,新世纪英语教学的几点思考，山东教育，2003年3. 陈爱娣,让英语课堂教学活起来，福建教育，2003年4. 刘建华,中学英语创新教学法，教育科学出版社，1999年