网络环境下大学英语课堂教学模式的探索

网络环境下英语课堂教学模式探索On the Research of the English Classroom Teaching Mode under the Network Environment摘要随着网络技术的迅猛发展，传统的教育观念受到了很大的冲击，从而使大学英语的教学模式产生了深刻的变化。

关键词：网络环境；建构主义理论；课堂教学新模式AbstractWith the rapid development of network technology, the traditional concepts of education has been stricken greatly, thus resulting profound changes on the English teachingmodel. Confronting with the new network teaching and learning environment, it becomes more and more important on how to improve the quality of English Teaching and the ability ofstudents on making comprehensive use of language. Based on the constructivist teaching theory, I explore and research the English classroom Teaching Mode under the network environment from the perspective of the cognitive psychologyKey words: network environment; constructivism theory; classroom teaching mode1 IntroductionScience and technology change faster and faster after mankind enters the 21st century.Multimedia technology, communication technology, network technology have permeated all aspects of the society. It is the technology in an alarming rate that changes people’s work,learning, living, thinking and the way of communication. Confronting with the new environment, information education becomes an inevitable trend. English classroom teaching and learning are undergoing some profound changes. Multimedia network technology provides a broad space and market for the English teaching and learning. It has completely changed the simplex teaching mode which mainly depends on books to teach students. The multimedia college Englishteaching mode, which based on the computers and networks comes into being. Making full use of modern information networks and multimedia technology mobilizes the enthusiasm of the students’learning. It is an important subject of every English teacher on how to train students’ability of autonomic learning and how toimprove the quality of teaching. Teachers should change their teaching mind primarily and adjust their own role in guiding and promotingstudents to learn. At last, they can improve the effectiveness and quality of classroom teaching, which is the ultimate goal of the teaching.2 The advantages of classroom teaching in the network environment Network as a new type of teaching media has many advantages which the traditional media does not have.First, the classroom teaching in the network environment can break through constraints oftime and space, so that classroom teaching has become more active and efficient. From the view point of time, students can visit the home page of teachers through the Internet, so as to make effective preparation before class and they can also use the same method to review after class. Even if in the classroom, each student has a certain degree of flexibility on time, when they complete the task that the teacher mandates. From the view point of space, the networkclassroom has broken through the concept of the classroom in the traditional sense. Students can discuss with any a student in the classroom or even discuss with one person online freely. The advantage of traditional classroom teaching can not compare with it.Second, the classroom teaching in the network environment is conducive to help studentsexert the autonomy on learning. Dozens of students are taught by a teacher in the traditional class, because of the seats, personality, learning ability, and other factors, the students can not receive the same education and opportunity in the English classroom teaching. The English teaching in the network environment can make up for defect of the traditional teaching which is that teachers in large classroom can not give each student a detailed individual counseling on time. For example, students can learn the major festivals in China and the west: Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Day, Dragon Boat, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc in the Oxford English 7A Unit 3. In this process, students can learn new words freely according to their capacity with the help of the multimedia computers. Some students can listen and read less, but some studentsneed to listen and read repeatedly in order to grasp the basic voice and basic knowledge. There is no need to be afraid of being teased by other students when they say wrong.Third, network environment is conductive to producing information gaps for communication. The English teaching under the network environment transmit and disseminate informationthrough the network, thus forming gaps in both students-students and students-teachers. Stirred up by the information gap, students are eager to communicating with others in English, thereby promoting cooperation and exchanges between teachers and students. Teachers can distribute different files (different contents) to different students through the network to produceinformation gaps. In the promotion of information gaps, each student has a strongdesire to know the information and communicate with others in the communicative atmosphere. Thecommunicative competence of students has been trained up and improved by communicating in English.To sum up, the network environment provides a new teaching and learning environment for teachers and students. It really has a lot of advantages, compared with the traditional classroom environment. However, it is undeniable that this new type of classroom teaching still has a lot of problems, which need us to think about and discuss.3 The characteristics of the new English teaching mode in thenetwork environmentFirst, the new English teaching mode makes use of the online resources to create scenarios, so that English teaching becomes more vivid. In the network environment, sources of information are both varied and rich, at the same time, sources of information provide the most advanced organization ways of information. It can combine the text, graphics, images, video, sound,animation and other multimedia information organically according to different requirements of people and create scenarios to make teaching more intuitive. For example, on learning Senior English Students’Book 2A Unit 11 Hurricane, students are lacking of awareness of the image of the raging crazy acts of the hurricane. It is difficult for students from the shape, extent to have a stronger impression, thus affecting the understanding of the article. Teachers can make use of some hurricane photos on the internet whit animation and audio-related, so that students can feel the erosion of farmland, the destruction of their homes, thus deepening the understanding of texts.Second, the new English teaching mode makes use of network environment to broaden the teaching space of “listening, speaking, reading, and writing”. In the network environment, the teachers can use a variety of wonderful pictures and graphics, beautiful music, video and VCD, rich multi-media teaching software through multimedia computers for teaching students’listening, speaking, reading and writing.Third, the new English teaching mode makes use of network technology to develop thecreative mind of students and cultivate creativity of students. Modern education technologyenters into the English classroom teaching, so that the capacity of classroom teaching multiplies,which is beneficial to broaden the horizons of students. Taking advantage of the interaction of network technology in the classroom teaching makes students think independently and also increases opportunities of participation for students, from passive acceptance into independent thinking. The students improve the capacity of analysis and solving problems by the application pf knowledge when they are in access to knowledge. The application of modern education technology through modern teaching media makes the teachers and students carry on newconnections and new combinations by a new information channel to realize the transmission of new teaching information. The interaction of modern teaching methods and autonomic learning have established the new status of students in the process of teaching and learning, so as to cultivate the habit of independent thinking and innovation capabilities.4 The basis of English teaching theory under the networkenvironmentThe teaching theory of constructivism, also known as structuralism, is a great leap in research of the objective understanding of the world, which is on the basis of the further development of the cognition. Constructivism theory has formed a lot of branches in the development. Among them, cognitive constructivism and social constructivism are most influential. The founder of constructivism, Piaget, is the most influential psychologist in the cognitive development field. He thinks that human’s understanding of the outside world is to find a balance between the known and the unknown constantly. This balance achieves through assimilation andaccommodation, at the same time, it has been obtained continuous enrichment, improvement and development by the infinite cycle of “the balance-the imbalance-a new balance”. Later, theformer Soviet Union psychologist, Lev Vyogtsky, the United States psychologist, Jerome Bruner and other cognitive psychologists from the nature and the developing conditions of the cognitive structure, human social environment’s effect on the psychology development, as well as theimportant role of individual initiative in the process of building the cognitive structure, has made significant contributions, thus forming a relatively complete theory of constructivism. They have created conditions for the specific application of the constructivism theory on the teaching and learning. Even though the two schools of thoughts highlight different from flank emphasis, they have many collective views on learning and teaching. About learning activities, they believe that learning is a process that the learners take the initiative to construct through new information and original knowledge and experience to achieve a two-way interaction, not simply from outside to inside which the one-way input. Specifically, learners construct new knowledge and strengthen the comprehension of the new knowledge on the basis of the original knowledge or experience. Because the backgrounds of learners are different, so from different backgrounds andperspectives with the help of teachers and other people, they construct their own sense through the unique processing activities of information. This shows that learning is a process of active construction of learners. It includes not only the construction of the significance of newinformation of the learners, but also the reconstruction and reorganization of their own original experience. Learners gain the number of knowledge that depends on the capacity of learners in accordance with their own knowledge and experience to construct relative knowledge and not depend on the learners’capacity of memorizing and reciting the contents of teachers’teaching with regard to knowledge, they believe that knowledge is not an accurate representation ofreality and it is only an understanding, an assumption. Knowledge is not immutable, but it is of certain situation. In teaching, teachers should not force students to learn the knowledge of dogma. Students should be allowed to make their own choices, analysis and evaluation freely. This shows that the constructivism promote the learners-centered in the guidance of the teachers. It stresses the main role of the learners without losing sight of the guiding role of teachers.In contemporary English teaching, autonomic learning has become the goal of teaching.Since the 90s of the 20 century, the teaching theory and learning mode of construction is popular in the world. Constructivism is the base of the college English teaching mode under the network environment. It is a good illustration of the cognitive rules of human learning process and it also explains how to learn, how to construct the sense, how to form conception as well as some factors of the rational learning.First, the theory of constructivism emphasizes students-centered. It requests that students should turn from the passive acceptance of knowledge to the main role of the information processing and the active constructor of knowledge sense. It accords with the mode of the college English teaching, which also emphasizes the students-centered. Since early 2004, the Ministry of Education launched a “college English teaching refor m”. It has had more than four years. The college English teaching reform is focusing on the students and it improves the comprehensive practical ability of students. The college English teaching turn fromteachers-centered traditional, single mode of language learning to a new mode ofstudents-centered teaching, the latter not only impart general language knowledge and skills, but also pay attention to training the capacity of students to use language and autonomic learning. Second, constructivism theory requires teachers from initiators of knowledge turn topromoters who can help students to construct sense on their own and encourage students todiscover, to create, to solve problems. This new mode of teaching takes multimedia and network technology as a support. It makes the autonomic learning of computer network, classroomteaching and tutorship of teachers combined and embodies the concept of learners-centered in the teaching and also develops personalizes learning and the autonomic learning.Third，constructivism theory advocates that network information technology can serve as a cognitive tool under constructivism learning environment, so network can provide the adequate information and free environment for the learners to construct knowledge. It is conducive toconstructing the scene, collaboration, conversation and the meaning. The full expression of these four basic attributes provides the most ideal conditions for the realization of learningenvironment of constructivism.The learners themselves play the decisive role on the final outcome of the foreignlanguage learning. Therefore, in English teaching, educators must take full account of the individuality of the learners. They should create an open environment, provide a wealth of information, and promote students through mutual collaboration to use language creatively in the classroomteaching. English learning is no doubt rising to a newer height under the network environment. Network is not only creating a good communicational environment for the learners. Learners can construct knowledge on their own in some certain scenarios through collaboration, discussion, exchanges, mutual help and using the necessary information resources. But also teachers can extract the parts which can be understood from the corpus of the large warehouses.5 The English classroom teaching mode under network environment5.1 The advantages of network classroom teaching modeWith the advent of the Internet Age, creation, storage, ways of learning and using and all of these have taken place revolutionary changes by the civilization of Information Society. Thetraditional single classroom teaching which teachers teach on books mainly is obviously difficult to meet the needs of requirements of modern teaching, especially in communication with the purpose of language teaching. In view of expanding enrollment of China’s colleges anduniversities, the relatively limit situation of rapid growth in the number of students and available educational resources, it becomes an inevitable trend that bring network teaching into English classroom teaching. In recent years, the development of information technology and educational information provides conditions and technical assurance for promoting the English teaching reform which is based on the network and multimedia. Thereby, colleges and universities all over the country have taken advantage of campus network and multi-media classrooms toconduct university reform in English. Every school in accordance with its own conditions and circumstances of students designs a new teaching mode which bases on the Local Area Network and campus network and fit for schools. The new teaching mode, multi-media classroomteaching and network-based autonomic learning of students under the network environment of the college English has four advantages.5.1.1 The teachers timely use multimedia courseware in teaching to make the abstract and boring learning contents into the visual, interesting and dynamic contents which also can bewatched and listened. This not only mobilizes students to participate classroom activities with a variety of feelings, but also create a relaxed, interactive, dynamic and open teaching and learning environment for students.5.1.2 The interaction and intelligence of network has changed the disadvantage that Chinese students learn “dumb English” for a long time. Taking advantage of the powerful function ofmultimedia computers, the students can not only carry on dialogues with virtual characters which is set up well by the multimedia computers, but also can amend their own mistakes by basing on the judgment of computer(including voice, morphology,syntax, even phrases). It is beneficial to improve the ability of students’expression.5.1.3 Using multimedia computers in teaching can enhance the classroom capacity and enrich the teaching contents in class, thus guiding students in active learning. Innovative and lively form of multi-media teaching can inspire students’interest and enthusiasm, thus forming a virtuous circle of the learning process.5.1.4 Using the network teaching platform strengthens the teachers-students’learning andemotional exchanges and create the objective conditions for the realization of the constructivism mind. In teaching activities, students are the centers in classroom. Teachers are not only the initiator of language knowledge, more important is to mobilize the enthusiasm of the students’autonomic learning and as well as guide the students to play a “main” role.5.2 The requirements of network classroom teaching modeThe new classroom teaching mode turn the learning mode from the traditional textbooks,blackboard, chalk and teaching of teachers and listening of students to autonomy, personalization and collaborative learning mode under the network, multimedia classroom teaching. The new teaching mode takes modern information technology as a support, in particular, network technology makes the English teaching develop towards personalizes learning and activelearning. It alleviates contradiction which big classes lack of teachers in college English teaching for a long time. The new teaching mode reflects the principle of combining the practicality, culture and interesting into the English teaching, so it can fully mobilize enthusiasm of both teachers and students，particularly establish the dominant position of students in teaching process. So it has put forward higher requirements of both the teaching environment of schools and teachers.5.2.1 Requirements of the teaching environment of schoolsThe design of teaching is one process of establishing the overall scheme of teaching, thus playing a very important role in the entire teaching process. It decides the teaching process and the effect of teaching quality directly. The design should highlight the autonomy of learning in the networks and emphasize the teaching resources which are used to support and focus on the analysis of learning needs, analysis of the teaching contents and the comments, feedback and communication of the learning effect, especially emphasize on the design of learningenvironment based on the network and teaching-learning strategies. Students are required to learn more independently when they learn under the network environment, so the design of teaching is quite critical.First, the school should have a wealth of English teaching resources and establish a campus-based English website which is mainly for searching reference collection for searching and updating the English information resources on the Internet, in accordance with certain rules to sort out into the library, forming a fast and efficient database of English topics.Second, the school should have a modern network education platform. Network platform should include a good implementation of multimedia network environment,students’learning website and communication software which can provide students with real-time services, such asNet meeting. Modern network education platform is a main place of teachers-students interaction and the realization of online education. It provides students with integrated, interactive learning environment, as well as provides a variety of effective teaching tool for teachers. In addition, it should also have a teaching management evaluation function.Third, teachers and students should have the capacity of skilled operating of computers.Network teaching conducts teaching and learning activities by using the network technology and computers technology. So whether teachers or students must have considerable operatingcapability in order to make full use of network technology , equipments and software familiarly for the design, development, use, management and evaluation of the teaching-learning process and resources. Teachers should work out the courseware which is suitable for the teaching contents according to the characteristics of the contents which have received by students, so students can complete the learning contents online by make full of computers on their own.In short, we must strengthen the training of the online skills of both teachers and students in order to exert the advantages of the new English teaching mode under the network environment.5.2.2 Requirements on the teachers under the network English teachingTeachers should have general information capacity. They should be able tooperate information software in common use proficiently and they must be of capacity of solving problems easily in using information technology.Teachers should understand and control the special teaching method, network teaching. They should be able to use the irreplaceable advantages of network, according to thecharacteristics of subjects and learners. They also should be of capacity of designing networkcourses and the capacity of managing network courses by using various functions and services of network. They should communicate with students effectively on time by taking advantage of the network and give rational evaluation on students’learning and so on.Teachers should have their own role in the network teaching. Each teacher should have his or her role, so they must carry out the conversion of the role on time. Now, the teachers’responsibility is not only an initiator of knowledge, but more to stimulate thinking of students. Teachers must focus more time and energy on engaging in those effective and creative activities to make students know well and impact, inspire and encourage each other. To adapt to this change, every teacher should turn from a leader of knowledge learning, an initiator of cultural knowledge, an administrator of curriculum materials, a manager of education teaching to adesigner of future life, a constructor of knowledge systems, a researcher of curriculum teaching and an artist of interpersonal relationships.Teachers should learn about the latest teaching information from Internet. They must select the suitable information resources online as an effective complement of teaching to increase the number of teaching information as much as possible. They should make use of multimediasystem software to do courseware and develop new teaching resources actively. Teachers should encourage students to participate in the entire process of teaching and take a fair treatment ofevery student and also get along with students in a friend’s identity, keeping harmoniousrelations between teachers and students to carry on teaching activities freely in order to make sure the realization of the teaching goals.Teachers should exert the leading role sufficiently on teaching. They should enrich theperformance of teaching content to carry on the visual teaching. They should also adopt flexible teaching and optimize the structure of classroom teaching to train the autonomy andindependence of students and the spirit of mutual learning among students. They should enrich the teaching continuously, update their subject knowledge, enhance their own professional quality and integrated ability and pay attention to learning modern education, psychology and modern educational technology to meet the needs of the development of educational technology and modern education.6 Issues that should be paid attention to on the implementationof the new teaching modeIn the new English classroom teaching mode, only after we have a clear understanding of the following aspects of the problems, we can optimize the English teaching effectively, instead, the English teaching reform will be confronted with some difficulties.6.1 Multimedia teaching mode is not to replace classroom teaching mode.Multimedia technology in teaching is complementary. It can be difficult to replace teachers in the teaching role nowadays or even in the future. Teachers can adjust teaching rhythmaccording to the students’expression and response in class at any time. The expressions and charisma of personality are emerged in teachers’passion explaining to students when teachers talk to students face to face. Students participate actively in the impromptu question-and answer in classroom, even students cause the cachinnation in the classroom because of the wrong answer of the other classmates, all of this kind of interpersonal communication and such a livelyatmosphere can not be created by the multimedia classroom teaching mode. The goal of network teaching is same as the goal of the traditional teaching. The ultimate goal of both the network teaching and the traditional teaching is to enable the educators to get the teaching information and acquire knowledge. Either in the form or in the teaching mode, network teaching and traditional teaching coexist in parallel.But network technology provides much morepersonalized chances of choices and richer ways of implementation. Through the network, we have greater freedom to integrate various modes in order to expand the curriculum ideas and means of implementation in maximum limit. Teachers can retain the preface before class and summary after class as well as the important contents and nodus which are provided by the teachers in the classroom teaching according to the design theory of modern teaching, at the same time, they can make full use of the advantages of the network technology to carry onteaching with the teaching concept of the network teaching, “student-centered and teacher-led”. When learners accept the learning task, they should analyze problems and take advantage of the information tools to obtain relevant information and make classification, synthesis andconstruction. Through the network, students can contact with teachers and network servers or discuss with classmates, when they express their opinions and the same time listen to otherclassmates’different views, they can adjust their own data and reorganize the data after careful consideration, thus completing the learning task. Because learners can gain various information form the internet in the entire learning process, and make full use of the valuable information after filtration. Students can exert all the autonomy and initiative on the learning when they receive the appropriate guidance and inspiration of teachers. So learners can complete thelearning task better. Therefore, multimedia teaching and traditional classroom teaching can exert the advantages of them in maximum limit, only until multimedia teaching combines with the classroom teaching in appropriate ways and overcome their weakness. It is dangerous tounderstand that multimedia teaching mode for students is just as much as possible staying in the multimedia classroom.6.2 Students-centered teaching mode is not to substitute for the role of teachers.On the contrary, the new classroom teaching mode has put forward higher requirements of teachers. It is said that in the multimedia network conditions, the role of teachers has taken place great changes. Teachers as the initiators of knowledge which have played the role in the traditional classroom teaching for hundreds of years or even thousands of years have beenaffected by the network technology. Teachers are confronted with an unprecedented crisis and challenges under the courseware of computers and all of the teaching contents online. How from the simple explaining to designing the mission of theme, organization of the classroom teaching, instruction of the students’learning and assessment of learning activities have become a new topics in the new teaching mode.7 Views on the new network teaching mode7.1 The teaching concepts have changed.The new teaching mode is effective in promoting teachers to update and change their own concepts. The traditional English teaching mode which takes “teaching” as mainly change to the new mode, which takes “learn” as mainly, and set a “people-oriented” educational thinking. The teaching strategies, teaching approaches。