1、On Extra-curricular Activities and Cultivation of English Communicative Ability of College StudentsApplicant: XXSupervisor: XXFaculty: XXXMay 10, 2008XXX UniversityiContents摘 要 iAbstractii1. Introduction11.1 The Significance of Topic11.2 Research Methods12. Theory Research 12.1 Linguistics Rationale
2、 .12.1.1 Theory of Communicative Competence by D. H. Hymes12.1.2 Theory of Communicative Competence by Canale hardly train students communicative ability and language ability. Third, in teaching, to stress the accuracy of knowledge, teachers usually use Chinese to explain. So students have very litt
3、le opportunity to communicate using English. Obviously, the traditional English teaching is knowledge-based. Compared with the language plastic function, it pays more attention to the form of language and the grammatical function, rather than raises the communication and utilization ability of it.3.
4、2 Modern Interest TeachingCLT3.2.1 Definition of CLTThe content of communicative language teaching is mainly on the language functions. Emphasis carries on language teaching in the real scene, advocating teaching process to socialization, and cultivating the ability of application, studying for the
5、purpose of application. While prominent communicative language teaching, 5auxiliary by some grammar, translation, sentence and so on, is based on the goal to promote the culture language communicative competence.The core of communicative language teaching is to put the teaching process as a process
6、of communication. The basic principles of teaching may be summarized:The language is the information carrier, is the tool of communications. The language teaching must realize communication through each kind of activities.Language utilizations smoothness is more important than accuracy. Making mista
7、ke is natural and inevitable; we may correct them gradually in the learning process.Students should take the main part in teaching process. The teacher must stimulate the students enthusiasm and initiative participation; make students enhance communication ability in the language utilization. Commun
8、icative language teaching advocated the fully participation of the students. Teachers duty is to provide and create the real human relations scene, enable students to utilize the language freely and initiatively.3.2.2 The Content and Substance of CLTThe purpose of the communicative language teaching
9、 is to cultivate students communication ability. Its the heuristic method of teaching. Induce the students to speak English boldly. Provide as much as possible drill opportunities for students. But it does not mean that the communicative language teaching only pays great attention to the oral Englis
10、h, repelling the grammar teaching. The cultivation of communication capability should manifest in the form of four aspects of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Indeed, in communicative language teaching, some teachers pursue the spoken language simply, no matter whether the students can foll
11、ow and understand or not. As a result the majority of students only learn some spoken languages, but the knowledge study is not solid, and polarization appears obviously. This indicates that these teachers do not understand the communicative language teaching rightly and completely.In the teaching,
12、listening, speaking, reading, writing is inalienable and related 6closely. They are interactive with each other. The teacher should help student get knowledge, rather than instill it into the students. There have been interactions between teachers and students. They should coordinate closely, comple
13、te the instruction together.3.2.3 CLT in the Use of English Out-of-class ActivitiesAccording to students major character and employment need, make sure students understanding domain, emotion domain and skill domain, and then carry on the goal stipulation in detail. Arrange the out-of-class activitie
14、s content, thus establish English out-of-class activities target system. And the process of teaching is the process in which teachers and students interact with each other. The teacher should give students enough free space to display, do not criticize them eagerly, point out mistakes, make the summ
15、ary or decide the answer. This may avoid students being discouraged, but cause them to have the sense of achievement, form the interests in the communicative activities. The expression of students is limited; teachers should adopt various means to enable students to have sufficient information added
16、, and quickly change into actual communication ability. In addition, the design of English out-of-class activities is diversified. It can make teachers to teach through playing, cause the student to become the truly independent learner gradually.4. Out-of-class Activities and Cultivation of Communic
17、ation Ability4.1 The Role of Out-of-class Activities in Training of Communication AbilityOut-of-class activities are an effective way to develop communicative competence. The classroom instruction and the out-of-class activities are two important constituents in the foreign language teaching system.
18、 The foreign language classroom instruction is the basic teaching form, plays the leading role. However, it is undeniable that out-of-class activities play an active role in cultivating communicative ability. It can consolidate and strengthen the classroom knowledge, so that the 7knowledge can be im
19、proved further through out-of-class activities. The theme of extra-curricular activities can be combined with classroom teaching. They infiltrate mutually, the glossary is related to classroom subject, the sentence and language synthesis utilization ability which could be improved gradually in the p
20、ractice of out-of-class activities.The goal of foreign language extra-curricular activities is just to enhance the ability of students language communication. These hot topics of life as well as various practices, with the real natural language environment, could arouse students study enthusiasm and
21、 display their intelligence. Let students study and consolidate English in each kind of activities, enhance their foreign language communication skills.4.2 Current Situation of College Students Out-of-class LearningAs we know，English learning is not restricted in class，and out-of-class learning is a
22、lso a very important part. Especially for college students, their class time is very limited, so their English learning has to depend on their out-of-class learning. As pointed out by professor Zhe, from Beijing University, there are only 288 class periods for college students, while language learni
23、ng is arduous work. Class time is very limited, so we should teach students how to learn English rather than teach English. As we know, to a great extent, their English proficiency depends on their own learning. Compared with in-class learning, out-of-class learning is particularly important. It has
24、 its unique advantages: first, there is plenty of spare time to exploit for learners, which is the crucial condition for successful learning; second, out-of-class learning can provide learners real world practice. Additionally, they can help learners broaden their scope of vision and cultivate their
25、 learning ability. But for a long time, influenced by our traditional teaching and learning, college students out-of-class learning is far from being satisfactory. The disordered phenomena in learning are very serious, exactly, most college students just learn English blindly according to their own
26、interests, lacking systematical learning plan. Especially, for the freshmen and second-year students, they are often free at beginning and busy when an 8examination is coming, so their out-of-class learning is often at will and loose. That is to say they have no goals, no directions and no managemen
27、t. They often feel nothing to do or dont know how to do. Whats more, most of them are used to depending on the teachers and the textbooks and not accustomed to the learning situation without homework.On the other hand, to our disappointment, facing this serious situation, the colleges and the teache
28、rs dont carry out effective measures to organize and direct the students out-of-class learning. The phenomena become a big barrier for learners to promote their English proficiency. Therefore now, changing this unfavorable situation becomes an urgent task. 4.3 Analysis on the Causes for ProblemsAfte
29、r you have learned the current situation of the college students out-of-class learning, I think you cant help asking what the cause for this serious situation is. Of cause, the reasons are various. Taking the college students features of out-of-class learning into consideration, we find that the bas
30、ic cause is the students previous English learning experience.Before these students came to college, they had six or seven years of English learning. This learning experience has laid strong influence on their current college English learning. The teachers nearly dominate every aspect of the learner
31、s learning, including their out-of-class learning, and the students seldom get the real independent out-of-class learning, most of the out-of-class learning is devoted to homework or other tasks required by the teachers. In learning, the learners are usually led by their teachers and dont have to de
32、cide how long they should learn and what materials they should choose. Gradually, the learners began to depend on the teachers for everything in learning; as a result, students have long been accustomed to learn dependently. They tend to depend on one or two books and the teachers, while they are no
33、t aware of the crucial role of themselves. Inherently, this kind of learning experience leads to the lack of the learning strategies.We find that the students are exactly lacking three groups of learning strategies. 9First, they do not have the necessary meta-cognitive strategies, so they just blind
34、ly learn according to their interests. The situation inevitably leads to no plans, no goals and no directions. That is why many students claim that they get used to constant compulsion, supervision and assignment deadlines, for they feel unable to timetable themselves and take responsibility for the
35、ir own learning if no one forces them. Second, they have no appropriate cognitive strategies to approach their specific language learning and to solve the specific problems in learning. As a result, even though some students show their opposition to depending on the teachers; they are at a loss on h
36、ow to deal with them, when lacking the appropriate cognitive strategies. The same is true for their social affective strategies. In a word, the lack of strategies gets its way to their dependent language learning. 4.4 Carrying Out the Out-of-class Activities in Scientific and Effective WayHow to car
37、ry out the out-of-class activities scientifically and effectively? I think we have to pay attention to the following three aspects:First, the socialization of the activity courses. Oral language is the face-to-face communication, so information interaction is very important. Students and teachers (o
38、r students) talk about the social life which closely related to the hot issues. These topics often can lead to great interest in students, such as: love values, the pros and cons of computers and television, population growth, fake and shoddy, consumption, the increase of tuition, family relations,
39、and some plan of the future. We are very sensitive to these topics. So they often talk about them with highly interest, and the language is rich. It is of practical significance for students to study foreign language communication. Teachers also can organize the language practice, for example: weeke
40、nd excursions, shopping, picnics, and so on, organizing students to listen English news, watching films, videos and television, because these modern media can provide standard English and lots of western cultural. Simultaneously they can mobilize students to use their own eyes and ears. In addition,
41、 the organization of specialized foreign language activities is a pretty good choice for students with 10various forms of English reading contest, speech contest, English corner, extra-curricular study group, English theatrical performances, foreign language broadcastsGive students a environment whi
42、ch can help them to study English .Enable students to consolidate English in a variety of activities and enhance the foreign language communication skills.Secondly, the reality of the activities courses. Language is the carrier of culture. In a certain sense, to learn a language is to learn another
43、culture. As pointed out by Brown: “When you teach a language, you have to transfer a complex culture, practices, values, and ways of thinking, emotional and behavioral systems.“ This is why today foreign language teaching especially focuses on cultural awareness training. The significance of introdu
44、cing the real text is: making students contact with foreign culture directly, training students cultural awareness; requiring the students to participate in the meaningful communication in the way of learning mother tongue, not only displaying the grammar or glossary knowledge. In addition, the desi
45、gn of learning tasks should provide clear and real language information, so that students can study English in a natural, authentic context, master the language applied. Out-of-class activities should be looked as the same as the activities in the real life. We must create an environment similar to
46、real society; cultivate students ability to use English in work and in the real life.Thirdly, the humanity of activity courses. Out-of-class activities are the exchanges of emotions, ideas, and information between teachers and students. It is a two-way exchange of teachers and students as a linking
47、bridge. The teacher counsels student to inquest the teaching process, gives back to the students in class. The consciousness of the students are fully respected and strengthened. Thats for laying a foundation of cultivating self-confidence, developing individual potential and displaying creative thi
48、nking. The role of teachers in extra-curricular activities practice should be encouraged as participants and collaborators. The dominant position in the out-of class activities is students; they should play the main role. Because the students carry on the activity under the active learning condition
49、. Being free from classroom environment, teacher and time, mentality of students will always be in 11stable condition, full of imaginations. They no longer feel that learning foreign languages is the result of the imposition of the outside world. Therefore, the initiative will be enhanced greatly with enthusiastic unprecedented upsurge, and English study is no longer a burden but a pleasure.4.5 A Suggested Framework for Strategy Study4.5.1 IntroductionAs pointed out above, no empirical evidence has yet been provided to determine the best method for conducting strat
