On English Study Strategies

On English Study StrategiesAbstract:Nowadays one of the essential points of the course reform is how to promote the reform of students’ study method. It relates to our educational quality, national quality and comprehensive national power. We should tra nsform students’ study ways by promoting the study ways whose major points are taking part in English study actively. And explore it pleased communicating and cooperating with others. Besides, English Course Standard makes English study strategies as one of English Course contents. So this thesis expounds the questions of English study strategies referring to the teachers and students which are in senior school. In English Course Standard, study strategies refer to the actions and steps which students take in order to study and develop efficaciously. English study strategies include cognition tactics, adjustable tactics, communicating tactics and resource tactics and so on. Teachers should help students form their own suitable ways. Cognition tactics show that students take the steps and ways in order to finish study task. Adjustable tactics refer to the strategies that students make plans, put it into effect, reflect it, evaluate it and adjust it. Intercourse tactics are the strategies that students hold communication and improve the communicating effectiveness in order to attain more communicating opportunity. Resource tactics are the strategies which students make full use of the multimedia to learn and apply English. The study strategies are flexible and diversified. The usage of strategies suit measures to different persons, different time and different things. In English teaching, teacher should help students form their own study strategies consciously and have the abilities of adjusting their study strategies continually. During the implementation of English Course, helping students apply English strategies actively not only let students hold the study direction, take the scientifical approach to improving study efficiency but also help them form study ability on their own for the foundation of lifelong study.The key words:the plain principle; the quantity principle; the repetition principle; the imitation principle; the interest principle1. The introduction:In English Course Standard, study strategies refer to the actions and steps which students take in order to study and develop efficaciously. English study strategies include cognition tactics, adjustable tactics, communicating tactics and resource tactics and so on. Teachers should help students form their own suitable ways. Cognition tactics show that students take the steps and ways in order to finish study task. Adjustable tactics refer to the strategies that students make plans, put it into effect, reflect it, evaluate it and adjust it. Intercourse tactics are the strategies that students hold communication and improve the communicating effectiveness in order to attain more communicating opportunity. Resource tactics are the strategies which students make full use of the multimedia to learn and apply English. The study strategies are flexible and diversified. The usage of strategies suit measures to different persons, different time and different things. In English teaching, teacher should help students form their own study strategies consciously andhave the abilities of adjusting their study strategies continually. During the implementation of English Course, helping students apply English strategies actively not only let students hold the study direction, take the scientifical approach to improving study efficiency but also help them form study ability on their own for the foundation of lifelong study.That students can master and apply the study strategies are the process that the skills got. As the study strategies are complexity, the process is influenced by many elements. The elements which influences the study strategies are separated into two aspects: One is the students’ inherent element, the other is the students’ external element. The inherent elements include the students’ age features, intelligence level, old knowledge background, study attribute to study ways and ego efficiency feeling. And the external elements include the difficulties of the study materials, the length time, the feedback of the teaching information, teachers’ elemen ts and family background, ect. All the elements influence students to master and use the study strategies.Michael thinks some students can get and use the study strategies effectively, but the majority of students can’t. So it needs teachers teach student s how to apply study strategies. And teachers will sometime influence the students master and use the study strategy, especially teachers’ strategy teaching experience and their teaching methods.2. Changing the teachers teaching strategy:Teachers’ strat egy teaching experience is very important for students mastering study strategies. Because the rich teaching experience can promote and quicken students to get and use the study strategy.3.Geting the following experience:1). Being good at distinguishing the important study strategy. During the teaching actities teachers can recognize which study strategies are important for students in some ages and which study strategies are necessary for some study materials. So teachers can teach students proper strat egies on the basis of students’ age features and tasks clearly.2).Being good at exploring new study strategies. With the theory deepening and the teaching practice experience summarizing, the study strategy is necessary to be renewed and be discovered. The experienced teachers can explore and seek for new study strategies continually and afford them to the students timely according to the teaching necessity. Let them have a good grip of study strategies.3). Doing well in choosing the proper study strategy practice materials. Firstly, the chosen material should be close. In other words, the chosen material should be close to the students’ cognition feature, individuality character and the contents which they learn. It is easy for students to understand and accept. Secondly, the chosen materials should be typical. Namely material is typical. It not only can illustrate the study strategies which the students train, but also arouses the students’ study pleasure. It is difficult to forget and easy to memory.4). Doing well in turning the imply demand of teaching contents into appearance demand. Teachers can teach students study strategies explicitly and consciously.5). Teachers can apply the teaching external in order to improve the students’ study andconsciousness level of mastering the strategies when students learn and apply the strategies’ at the subconscious level. Teachers can prompt them to have intentional level and apply strategies self-consciously, improve their own studies and summarize themselves, accumulate themselves. Finally improve their study efficiency and result.ing the proper teaching methods:But how to utilize the study strategy properly, it is valuable for teachers to think discuss. Study strategy is an inside study skill. Whether the teachers’ teaching method is proper or not decides that the students master study strategy and the use level. The proper teaching method is following:1).If teachers understand the feature of teaching process better, they can offer students necessary strategies in the crucial time.2).Teachers use the inspiriting teaching instead of taking everything for students, pouring everything into students. Let students infer other things from one fact.3).Teachers can use the proper teaching ways to make students ponder, making the abstract content specific and the continuous thought process procedural. Let students have examples to believe and processes to follow.4).Teachers can use diversified teaching methods according to students’ ago features, cognition features and teaching tasks to improve the teaching efficiency.ing the following study principles:But as Chinese senior students how to learn English well and get good marks in the exams is worth exploring. They should follow the six principles. They are the plain principle, the quantity principle, the repetition principle, the imitation principle, the assault principle and the interesting principle.1).The Plain Principle.Learning English should begin from simplicity. And using English should step by step, too. Only from simplicity, is it easy to learn and have interest in English. It is easy to go on learning English. Students can read some English simple reading materials which are about famous English works. Foreign English literature works can bring us into a different country, different cultures and life. We can make different friends. In this way we have an intense desire which we want to do some reading. After understanding the works. Students would have more confidence, successful feeling and in terest. It’s most important to study for the sake of application.But many Chinese students wave the simple language aside. They always seek for the difficult contents. Although they learned much deep contents, they wouldn’t use them. In fact, it’s the mos t important for students to use the language flexibly and correctly. For example, in oral English people it’s important for people to use whether they can use the simple words, sentence patterns and grammar to express their feelings and ideas, instead of the deep words. In English-spoken countries people use the limited words and simple sentences to communicate.Plain English has become the trend. People use plain English to communicate with each oter in their spoken-English and written-English. Although many Chinese students use the complicated words, it’s difficult to make themselves understood. If you understand theplain words and the plain expression thoroughly, you can communicate with plain English freely.Learn plain English, digest it and apply it. That’s the key thing.2).The Quantity Principle.Chinese students do too much intensive reading, listening and speaking when they learn English. But they do little extensive reading and listening, least of extensive speaking. If there is no quantitative change, there is no qualitative change. So Chinese students should pay more attention to extensive study. Only there are quantities is there quality by leaps and bounds. It’s a wrong way for English learners to be eager to success much too. Learning a kind of language is developing a kind of sense, but the sense depends on the quantity. If the quantity is enough, the language sense comes into being. At this time, we should raise the sense to theory, then put this theory to our thought. We can apply English freely in this way. It’s the most important to pay more attention to the basic stage of quantitative accumulation. The charm of the Pyramid is the perfect construction structure. Only it has the firm foundation, can there be the glory of the spire. Learning English well is the same way.In the stage of quantitative accumulation, we should follow the correct study methods. Give an example of reading now. When you are reading a novel, you needn’t be nice about grammar just have an understanding of the grammar function. Pay more attention to understanding the general idea of the novel. We get more information about the new idea, culture and life in English.You only put your attention into the novel. You can read quickly. Don’t look into the languange, just set t he idea that the quantity is the first. Try your best to read it quickly. If you can insist on reading for three or four months, your English reading level will be improved rapidly.3).The Repetition Principle.There is a proverb. Repetition is the mother of skills. You can recall the process which you learn any skill. No matter which you learn to swim or cycle, you would repeat the same action. Any skills include English this language need repeating. People do the same thing too much, they will have the feeling and deep certainty. So when we develop English this language skill, we should follow the repetition principle. For example, when we begin to practice oral English, this principle is very valuable. The repetition principle and the quantity principle are unity. We should practice our listening ,reading, speaking and writing again and again. You may master some words and sentence patterns which you can understand exhaustively, you can use them to communicate freely. Please pay attention. Those vocabulary and sentence patterns which you repeat over and over again become your parts.Repetition is the most important approach to memory of human being. Repetition makes people understand the thing essence and severe rules accurately and deeply. The quantities principle need we do more listening, speaking, reading and writing. It emphasizes extensive study. However the repetition principle need you do the same thing many times , it also emphasizes intensive study. It looks as they are contradictory. In fact the contradictions are logical. Because only the two contradiction things can develop. The good English study ways should unify the two contradictions.4).The Imitation Principle.Language is the identical signs which people form in the long time practice. That children learn language is a imitation Principe. They imitate such people as their parents, people around them, TV programmer, ect. Besides they imitate vividly，one day they stop imitating and form their own language style gradually. As an English learner, person must imitate the existing knowledge. Originality proceed from imitation, which is the basic of learning English and originality. For example, when we learn pronunciation, we must practice pronouncing phonetic symbol, words, sentences and passages. During the practice, try to imitate the sentences tone and rhythm. When we learn oral English, the imitation is also very important. We should imitate the article which you read and listen as more as possible. Certainly if you have already imitated the repetition principle, the result will be better. If you want to learn to write in English, you must read different types articles and famous writers essays. After repeating many times and understand really, you should imitate them with conscientious thoroughness. That is English study common knoweldge, One of my friends speaks English very excellently. When talking about the secret of his oral English study, he always says that the foreigners how to speak English, does he so, the foreigners how to write, he writes in the same way. That is the real secret of English study.5).The Assault Principle.If we want to learn English well, we should take the fifth principle. They speeded-up strategies one by one. We can have the feelings that we play the role quickly. Only in this way, can we have enough impetus and interest to insist on studding English. Do you remember how you learned to ride, swim and drive? Did you master the skills by a lot of practicing in short time? Of course, learning English is more difficult than learning riding and swimming.When I learn English, I use this assault method. Firstly, it spent me three months to solve the reading problem. From plain reading materials, I insisted on reading a lot of materials every day. And by this way I not only master many vocabulary and grammar phenomenon, but also know many western life, culture and thought. Secondly, I intensified my listening ability. After three months, I reinforced reading ability again. Then I intensified listening, oral English. According to this priciple, I reinforced reading, listening, speaking and writing in order, which made me great progress. Learning English is the process of reinforcing correct thoughts which include words pronunciation, words usage, sentence patters and organized idea from some aspects. For example, you would plan fifteen days which is a stage to break through pronunciation. During this period, you should practice phonetics, listen to it and imitate it. After fifteen days, if you feel you make progress, you can stop practicing. At the same time, you can record your pronunciation by yourself to find the problems that you still have, and correct them. After five or six time’s practice like this, your phonetics will be very good. You can use the same way to improve your other aspects. A person’s vigor is limited. If the person does the same thing again and again, he or she will feel dull. So he or she should take the interval intensified method.6).The Interest Principle.As we know, interest is the best teacher. We’d better develop our interest in English at the beginning of our study. To develop interest in English study is not very hard. We may have the feeling of satisfaction and achievement from our English study when we are able to say something simple in English, talk with others or foreigners in English and act as others'' interpreters.For English study, firstly we should take interest in English and try to develop it. If you have no interest in English, you can’t continue studying it and have no motivation. On the contrary, once you have interest in English and try to develop the interest, then you will be anxious to reading English material, speaking English, writing English and listening to English unconsciously. You even find partners to practice oral English on your own initiative. Use every chance to improve your English level. It’s unaware. So interest plays the important role in your study. However, few people develop the interest consciously. And don’t know how to develop the interest in English. At first, discover and unearth interest in English. If a person can make sure what is his or her interest, he or she can combine the interest to a long-term aim. And the aim is easy to put into effect. So a person who likes seeing films would see English films. A person that likes reading novels would read English novels. If he or she is fond of listening to broadcast, a person should listen to English. As long as he or she does the things which he or she likes by media, a person is leading to success in English study.Secondly, interest should come into existence and develop in practice.If two persons talk about swimming together, they will be bored soon. But if they can try to learn to swim in the pool, they will love this kind of sports gradually. Once they love swimming , they must go swimming even they mustn’t.And the interest comes into being and develops after practice. You have a deep love for it in practice. And your feelings becomes deeper and deeper. Specifically you should apply English as soon as you learn. If you want to improve your listening level, you happen to like listening to news. So you should insist on listening to English news every day. In this way you can improve your listening ability quickly.Thirdly, you should have a aim if you want to success. Once you have aims, you will have enough time and vigor to learn English well. Certainly, you should have more short-term aims, which are passing exams. In order to pass the exam , you do your utmost to learn English well. Your short-term is also to go to study, travel or work in an English speaking country in the world. We know Chenlong who is a famous film start. He not only can shoot films in China, but also can shoot films in English world. If a person can imagine how very well his or her future is, he or she will be persistent to learn English even he or she meets any frustration.Fourthly, invest time and money in increasing interest. I am interested in painting works. When I buy more art works, I like them more deeply. Because I have the chances to study the things which I like very much. So if you like listening to English music, you could buy English songs, tapes and CD. In this way, your interest will increase with enjoying different music. If you like reading, you can buy all kinds of English books, magazines and novels. It’s a good way that you should take part in different training courses. All the inverstments can bring us the interest of English and make you discover the wonderful English world.When you experience the interest of English and the information world, your English study interest will be improved quickly and naturally.Above all, the interest is the most important to do everything.6.Finally giving some English study methods for the senior students:As we all known, English abilities include four aspects, they are speaking ability, listening ability, reading ability and writing ability. Now I give some advise from the four aspects to the senior students which still have some wrong study ways.At first, plans are always very essential, so we must make some elaborate and workable plans before study. And we should certainly carry out these plans to the letter. Notes should be made whenever we study any book. We may follow this advice: Don’t read book without making notes. As we know that notes are the summarization, the core content, our understanding and the abbreviations of the books. Our notes are much thinner than the books so that we can learn them by heart easier and can often review and read them. We may also record our notes on tapes so as to often listen to them easier, to deepen our impression and to lighten our burden of memory. Sometimes it is needful to draw some tables and illustrations that are very impressive, visual and concise. Never just memorize single English words. Learn by heart the whole sentences and the phrases that contain the new words so we may know how to use the words. If time permits, we may read Mini Chinese-English dictionary carefully from cover to cover, which may help us widen our sight and master knowledge in all aspects.Secondly, Watching English movies, English TV programs, listening to English songs and learning English on some special occasions are also excellent and vivid English learning ways as we may combine English with some certain scenes to deepen our memory. Thirdly, Excellent personality is one of the decisive factors in English study. Persistence, patience, self-confidence and determination are badly needed.1). Oral English:We study spoken English so as to make oral communications, so this order of importance of oral English study should be followed: Fluency, Accuracy, and Appropriateness. That is to say, we have to pay more attention to practical communicating ability instead of only laying emphasis on the grammatical correctness. Try to find some partners practicing oral English together and English corner is a good place as where we may exchange English study experience, widen our sight and improve interest in English. If English partners are not easy to get, then we have to create an English environment ourselves by speaking English to ourselves. This methods very effective and easy to insist on interpreting Chinese-English novels or books. First we read the Chinese parts and then try to interpret them into English and then compare our interpretation with the original versions in the novels or books so that we can find out the mistakes, shortcomings and progresses in our interpretation. Interpreting what you hear—Changing Roles: There people make a group: one speaks Chinese, one speaks English acting as the foreigner, one acts as interpreter. Then change roles. This is a good interpreting training method and is good for studying from one another. In addition, it may improve the responding ability and seed of students. The advanced stage of this method is simultaneous interpretation. Oral composition and 3- minute training method: This method is suitable for intense training. Making an oralcomosition about a certain for one minute the first time and record the composition in tape at the same time. Then listen to the composition and find out the room for improvement. Then make the same composition for two minutes for the second time and also record it. And at last repeat the above- mentioned for three minutes.Retelling exercise: Retell some articles or English stories in our own words. If possible, we may read some English tongue twisters loudly and quickly with one or two cakes of candy in our mouth (just as the Chinese cross – talk actors do) to train our oral cavity muscle and tongues suitable for English pronunciation. Thinking in English.2).Listening skills:We may improve our aural ability by speaking English in the native and idiomatic way. The pronunciation, intonation and sentence structure should not be in Chinese style. Keeping a relaxed, natural and steady mood when listening to some materials. Namely, to establish self-confidence and to develop excellent psychological quality are essential in the improvement of aural ability. We may make some simple notes while listening, for examples, the names of people and places, time, age, distance, occupation, figures and so on to get a better understanding of the content. Catching the drift of the content instead of understanding every word and never waste too much time on single words. Pay close attention to CONCESSION and TRANSITION so as to correctly understand the attitudes of the speakers. The following words are most important: even though, even so, in spite of, unless, although, no matter, however, whatever, no, nor, neither…nor, but…. If we may learn by heart new words by listening some word tapes, the results must be satisfactory.3).Reading skills:At first the intensive reading: When we read the intensive articles, we should make notes of the new words and phrases and good sentences. After reading them, we may ask ourselves some questions about them by using such words: Who, What, Why, When and Where. Then try to answer them in our own words.Secondly, the extensive reading: We must train our ability to scan, skip and read fast. Namely, the ability to catch the key words, the topic sentences and the drift of the articles. Thirdly, pay attention to the reading speed: Three ways to improve our reading speed: Reading the articles from the beginning to the end without intervals so to catch the rough idea of the articles on the whole. Never waste too much time on some new words and single sentences. We may keep time when reading articles. When reading articles, we can point at the words with our finger or pen point and our eyes move with the finger quickly so that we are able to read very fast.Finally, Newspaper as good reading materials can widen our sight and richen our knowledge.4).Writing skills.We have to accumulate abundant materials before we write something, say, learning by heart crowds of articles. Try to express one meaning in various ways. Keeping English diary if possible. Prepare some new words, expressions and good sentences to be used before writing something. And We may also make some English pen pals to establish English communication relationship through some media like newspaper and magazines.In a short word, the study methods that are suitable for you are the best ones. Believe everyone can do very well in English study.Bibliography:【1】张平：《论英语学习方式的转变》【2】考试资源网：《英语学习的六大原则》 2003-33-06【3】济南教育：《论英语学习方法》 2004-3-15。