序号：061 Array天津外国语大学成人高等教育
英语（本科）毕业论文
论文题目（英文）：On the Improvement of the S tudent’s
Oral English Ability
论文题目（中文）：如何提高学生的英语口语能力
答辩成绩：____________________
姓名：仉志平
学号：C1011308
身份证号：120225************
指导教师：孔暄
完成日期：2012年10月28日
Contents
Abstract (in Chinese) ........................................................I Abstract (in English) .......................................................II I.Introduction .. (1)
II. The importance of speaking (6)
III. The barriers in the process of speaking communication (8)
3.1. Phonetic barrier (4)
3.2. Grmmar barrier (5)
3.3. Mental barrier (6)
3.4. Lack of language environment (7)
IV.Essential methods for improving students? speaking ability (12)
V.Conclusion (18)
Notes (19)
Bibliography (20)
摘要
随着改革开放深入，英语教学越来越引起人们的重视，尤其北京成功深奥。人们都热中于英语学习。所以英语教改进入一个转折点，面临着美好的未来。
本文主要讨论如何提高学生的口语能力，为了更好地支持这一主题，本论文分成以下从下面三个大的方面阐述,第一部分说的重要性。第二部分说口语交流过程中的一些障碍。第三部分谈论提高口语能力的基本方法。
关键词：口语；交流；能力；中学；英语教学
Abstract
With the opening-up of China, English teaching has been getting more and more attention, especially since Beijing won the bid to hold Olympic Games. People are enthusiastic about learning English .So English teaching are coming to a turning point, which predicts a bright future.
Meanwhile, in order to support this theme, this paper is divided into four parts. The first part is the importance of speaking. The second part is some barriers in the process of speaking communication. The third part is essential methods for improving students? speaking a bility.
Key words:speaking; communication; ability; middle school; English teaching
I. Introduction
English is an impotant language especially in the new century. As we know, it is the most widely used language in the developing world and it?s getting more and more important nowadays. Recent estimates suggest that more than 400 million people speak Ehlish as their first language, with more than 1800 million people speaking it as a second language. It is an official language in a large number of countries and is widely used in air traffic control and academic gatherings. 1
Nowadays, with the opening-up of China, English teaching has been getting more and more attention, especially since Beijing won the bid to hold the 2008 Olympic Games. People are enthusiastic about learning English. As a result, English teaching and reform are coming to a turning point, which predicts a bright future in English education in China.Now, a 9-year voluntary education program is put forward in China .Most of the students begin to learn English from Grade 3 in primary schools. However, classroom teaching has long been the only way to learn English in China, and the method has usually involved cramming grammar and translation into learning the language. But this approach of teaching and learning English is evidentially passive, because it goes against the principle of English
teaching, which requires that listening and speaking take the lead in English teaching. On the basis of these two skills, reading and writing will be cultivated. So speaking as one of the four skills in English learning has played a very important role in English teaching in primary and middle schools. W hat?s more, with the reform of new process of teaching, it requires that the students will have the expressing ability to communicate in English in real occasions. But many students often can only speak well in class or in relaxed occasions . When they are put in a real occasion of communication, they can?t speak as well as they do in class. Why does it appear? Well, the ability of communication with the language is affected by many elements. One of the elements is the English speaking ability. So teachers in junior schools should try to develop the student's speaking ability.
II. The importance of speaking
2.1. Language is vocal, this means that speech is the primary medium of language. Even today languages which have onely a spoken form outnumber language which have a well-developed writing system. Secondly, normal children always learn to speak first. They begin to read and write only when they have reached the school age. Thirdly, speech is more important than writing for people?s
daily life. A person who can't read and write is an …illiterate?. However, a person who can't speak is normally regarded as …disabled?.2So speech is very important in the development of human beings.
2.2. Of the four language skills, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, listening takes the first step. However, communication is a two-way activity. Because of some reason, some times you can?t be understand what did you say . Y ou can't speak out what you mean, so the communication can?t be continued.This communication will become unsuccessful. During the learning of a language, listening and reading are processes of understanding and absorption. Speaking and writing are processes of expression and use. Understanding and absorption are the foundation while expression and use are the improvement. That is, the former is a process of input while the latter is a process of output. Without the latter, the development of the language ability to understand and absorption will be meaningless. It is impossible to master English comprehensively by only relying on the input of the language. The expression of speaking and writting should also be used to check and improve the language absorption and the thinking ability. While the language input is increased, the favorable practical activities of output will also be done constantly on the basis of understanding.
The fina l aim of language teaching is to develop the students? ability to communicate in the form of spoken and written. Thereby, the listening ability must rely on the speaking in a way. Moreover, it is proved that if the speaking is trained best, it will be helpful for students? confidence to learn English.
2.3.The aims of teaching stipulates that English teaching in middle schools can mainly train students to have a definite foundation of listening and speaking so as to attain the aim to communicate comprehensively with others in English.3It requires the teachers of English to organize their 45-minute class in English to create a lively English environment of English learning.
III.Some barriers in the process speaking communication.
3.1. Phonetic barrier
“The articulator apparatus of a human being are contained in three important areas or cavities: the pharyngeal cavity-the throat, the oral cavity-the mouth, and the nasal cavity-the nose. The air stream coming from the lungs may be modified in these cavities in a variety of ways. It may also be modified in the larynx before it reaches any of the cavities.”3Bearing this point in mind , the learners should be required to know every part of pronunciation and can pronounce the pure English. However, in the process of learning,
most students are greatly influenced by their teachers. At present in many areas, especially in the rural areas, schools are short of specialized English teachers. Some other teachers who are not familiar with the sound linking, plosive, stress, etc. are asked to teach English. Maybe they are competent in teaching English grammar and the language points, but thay can't teach students? oral English . Also some schools can't afford modern machines to establish the language lab, so the students can't imitate the pure English, So their speaking ability can't be trained favorably. When they communicate with others, they often find their pronunciations are different from others . They can't understand what is said to them. Therefore, their listening ability will be influenced and their confidence of communication will also be influenced.
Listening comprehension is a more complex psychological process. Students always feel the low level of their hearing and are easy to feel the fear of listening in a passive state, which result in too much tension and less concentration on listening. This will in turn lead to much loss of the points of the listening. Some students always want to listen to every word clearly during the listening comprehension, which also has a negative effect on understanding of the whole article. In addition, the external environment such as indoor and outdoor noise, the radio cassette player quality, the
volume of the sound may also affect the students listening comprehension during the listening process.
3.2. Grammar barrier
Although we emphasize again and again that the aim of our language teaching is to communicate, we should still have some knowledge of English grammar. In English, there is a change of tense. And the order, which the action happens, can be presented by the change of verbs. Many students often ignore these points when they communicate with others. As a result, some unnecessary mistakes will occur. For example, a student wants to express this “I have bee n to Beijing.” Not knowing the difference between “have been to ”and “have gone to”. S o he says, “I have gone to Beijing.” If he knows the difference, he will not make this mistake.
3.3.Mental barrier
An American psychologist did the following had experiment among three thousand people: He asked What do you worry about most? There are all kinds of answers, such as death, dump, loss of relatives, diseases, etc. But to our surprised, about forty percent of people think that what people worry about and frighten most is to speak before people. From this experiment, we know that some uncomfortable feeling will occur the situation which is communicated with one?s mother tongue.And the uncomfortable
feeling will be more serious in the second language. Most students will have some mental barrier or psychological barrier during the speaking training or the speaking communication, and we often find that the students will amplify well in the warm-up in class. However, in real occasion, they will only have a look at the other person without any word even if they meet the same situation as that in class. Maybe they also want to speak to other freely. Just because of lack of the confidence, they can?t speak well, and they would rather listing instead of speaking. In their opinions, they should speak English purely and fluently and should have are no grammatical mistakes, so that the communication will be continued, otherwise others may laugh at them. In English class, this aspect is often appeared. Some students worry about their pronunciation and intonation. S o they will only say “I?m sorry” as the answers to the teachers? questions. All these will influence the improvement of their speaking ability. Their speaking ability will never improve if they don?t train themselves initiatively.
Of course, the above mentioned barriers are not the only factors to obstruct the improvement of speaking ability. And there are some other factors which also influence the speaking ability.
https://www.doczj.com/doc/3e15155860.html,ck of language environment
On the one hand, English teachers are not native speaker of
English. Most of the time they speak Chinese in class rather than English since many students can not understand English fully. They ask their teachers to speak more Chinese. On the other hand, students use Chinese for communication in their dayly life and seldom practice English with their classmates and teachers. Therefore, students have little opportunity for the exposure to English, and the occasional English class will be the only language environment for the students. In such a language environment, much time and effort should be taken to improve their English listening skills.
IV. Essential methods for improving students’ speaking ability.
4.1. Create a good language surrounding to arouse the st udents?
enthusiasm for English learning.（改成名词短语，语言表
答不对，改标题）
The traditional grammar-translation teaching method played a definite role in middle school teaching over the past decades, but this method of learning English through Chinese translation in class has not entirely catered to the new situation of learning a foreign language. We should bring the students to a full realization of the fact that always learning English through Chinese translation certainly does not help them improve their skills of using English. But we haven?t a good language surroundin g to speak English all the
time. This is always a big problem for our learners of English language. And we know, teaching in class is the basic form of English teaching. English in class can complex psychological to be learned, and let the students have the room to express in English. The teachers should help them learn to think in English and encourage them to answer the questions in English. To the beginners of English learner, teachers should often encourage them to answer the teachers? questions in English.So the teachers should encourage them with patience and let them overcome themselves. The teachers should conduct their lessons in English as much as possible so as to force the students to get used to listening, speaking and thinking in English. Before a new lesson, teachers can create some situations for the students to respond to them and then to paraphrase a few sentences or to retell a story etc. On the other hand, for their answers, the teachers should give them good estimate and let them have a successful feeling of getting the knowledge. Then they will be more and more glad to speak English. Thus the students feel in a real environment of English. Actually in such a lively atmosphere, the students can be motivated to convey their ideas in English. Of course, it is quite clear that the students? ability of speaking must be well and effectively trained. For example, a teacher can prepare many pieces of paper with “English corners” on the wall. Before class, he can let
them see some English film in order to feel the western cultures and customs and attract their interest for English learning.
Learn English should arouse students?interest, improve the interest measures as follows：three-minute speech before class. At the beginning of a class, students are often asked to come to the blackboard to give the others a duty report.Give more chances to the students to do the pairs work , making up their own dialogue. Make full use of audio-visual aids to create situations. Carry out some activities, such as: Speaking/reading competition, Chinese forbidden, English corner, etc. Play games .E.g. Pass the message, make more sentences as quickly as possible. Modify Li Yang?s crazily speaking English .
4.2.Help the students lay a solid base of English phonetics. （改成名词短语，语言表答不对，改标题）
If there is something wrong with a student 's pronunciation, then, obviously, he will not be able to understand what's on in the communication. And increasingly it will influence the student's confidence of communication. So teachers of English should help students lay a solid foundation of English phonetics, which includes accurate pronunciation, good intonation, sound linking, and strong and weak forms. It is proved that students with good pronunciation and intonation have obvious advantages in speaking, just as a writer's
opinions can be obtained by reading between the lines, a speaker ?s intention can be revealed from the intonation and tunes he uses. For example, the students of one of my classes aren?t often vigorous when I ask them to read after me. They often read slowly. Then I read loudly, and then the students read louder, too. What?s more, it is also proved that good pronunciation and tunes not only help the student develop the confidence of English learning, but also help students who are around him surrounding him try to improve their speaking ability.Most of them hope that they can have fluent and pure English , then they can become the focus and the admiring people in public, which make them have a better confidence in their lives.
4.3. Give more chances to the students to develop their speaking ability as well as the other three skills (listening, reading and writing) （改成名词短语，语言表答不对，改标题）
In class, the students should be given more time to speak and they can't be regarded just as audiences. If students will not have a good teaching effect, they speaking ability also can't be trained.The teachers should let the students take part in the class activities. In textbooks, there are many interesting dialogues and stories. So the teachers should let the students act the dialogue out or make another
dialogue with their own words. And there?re many riddles and chants in the textbooks. So the teachers can take the form of competition to let the students imitate and follow the tape and see who is the winner. Next, the teachers can also arrange for the students to retell the stories which they are more interested in.
4.4. From the prospective of the teachers（改成名词短语，语言表答不对，改标题）
New curriculum is characterized by colloquial English, communication, practical, and its content is very close to life. In most secondary schools, especially in rural schools, where there is an English language learning environment, students only have the access to English schools, and can only have felt the atmosphere of
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English in the English classroom. Therefore, English teachers should organize more accurate and easy understanding English combining with gestures and facial expressions and write more on the blackboard to help students understand the meaning of spoken English. This can activate the classroom atmosphere and inspire the enthusiasm, self-awareness and interest of the students in learning English. Secondly, teachers can ask one or two students per day to have a 5-minute free talk. Other students will be required to listen carefuly. After hearing a number of questions and answers, then the teacher should text the effect of the exercise.
A teacher can also ask students to repeat what they have heard sentence by sentence, or to write down them if necessary during the listening training. Of course, teachers should give a pause after a certain time. After finishing that, teachers should give the standard answers. So that the students can fully understand the contexts. This is also a good way to improve the students? the listening ability and encourage students to foster the habits of reading and reciting listening draft, let them do it in the morning or in their spare time. The aim of it is to enable them to have a better understanding of many various topics and more importantly to cultivate their sense of English, which is a good preparation for their future listening tests and listening comprehension.
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4.5. From the prospective of the students（改成名词短语，语言表答不对，改标题）
It?s quite significant to keep good cond ition and consciously form good habits for the cultivation of listening. The level of psychological state will directly affect the result of listening comprehension test. Appropriate motivation and activity do help students to achieve good results, but too strong motivation and excessive anxiety will make students feel nervous. Therefore, teachers should not artificially create tension but try to alleviate their psychological pressure formed because of fear, pressure and
resentment. So they will increase their confidence and feel relaxed to do well in the relaxing atmosphere. Only when one feel relaxed during the listening test can one feel relaxed and free to speak English.
After all, the students are not as experienced as the teachers, and they may often feel confused during the studying process and need much help for understanding, so turning to the teachers for help is a good choice. Maybe they will be inspired and enlighten through the communication with the teachers. Besides, it?s communicate frequently with classmates for exchanging experience, practice listening to their share of income, and in turn, others will also share their income with you, then conduct a comprehensive analysis complement with each other.
V. Conclusion.
It is quite clear that speaking is very important to both the teachers and their students. As an English teacher, one should flexibly carry out the teaching approaches to improve the quality of the 45-minute class, get a way to explore new and effective teaching methods and take an active part in English teaching innovation. At the same time, as students of English, they should be aware of the importance of cultivating their speaking ability in their daily studies.
In conclusion, learning English just like building a house. It will take a lot of time, so be patient. Remember, Rome was not built in a day. With the help of the teachers, the speaking ability of students will be surely improved as long as students command a good knowledge of English grammar, and do more oral and listening practice.
Notes
1.Kean Qiu:“The English language,”The World of English, Sep, 1996, P.28
2. Language And Culture.P.4
3. Teaching syllabus for Middle School. P.2
4. Teaching syllabus for Middle Schoo. P.9
5. Modern Linguistics. P.17
6. Y uan Boping,Foreign language Teaching And Research,July,2003,P.261