培训体系平阴一中英语教师培训讲义.docx

1、培训体系平阴一中英语教师培训讲义Manuscripts for Teachers Development ProgramNo. 1 Middle School of Pingyin平阴一中英语教师培训讲义ByMbecha Ferdinand Awunglefac&David FangContentsSection 1 3Section 2 6Section 3 10Section 4 14Section 5 19Section 6 25Section 7 26Section 8 34Section 9 38Section 10 40Section 1 CONTEMPORARY APPROACH

2、ES TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHINGDAY 1: TEACHERS BELIEFSOUTLINE:-Introduction-Teachers beliefs about learners:resisters, receptacles, raw material, clients, partners, individual explorers, democratic explorers.-Teachers beliefs about learning.-Teachers beliefs about themselves.-Conclusion.INTRODUCTION

3、In this section we shall be examining teachers beliefs about learners, learning and themselves as teachers.Everybody has beliefs. These beliefs are closely linked to the individuals values, his or her views of the world and his or place in it. Teachers are greatly influenced by their beliefs. These

4、beliefs can affect the way they plan their lessons, make decisions and their general classroom practice. Research has shown that teachers beliefs about how languages should be taught will affect their classroom action more than a particular methodology or course book recommended to them. These belie

5、fs may be implicit or explicit.1. TEACHERS BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNERSBefore we look into the various ways teachers conceive their learners to be lets have a little exercise here. Observe the situations below and select which of them best describes your belief about learners.SITUATION 1A farmer meets his

6、 neighbor on the way to the fields. The latter has a goat with a rope tied round its neck which he is pulling hard. The goat is resisting going with its master. FARMER: Whats the matter?NEIGHBOR: This goat is very silly and stubbornFARMER: Huh?NEIGHBOR: Theres greener pasture over there but it prefe

7、rs this barren field FARMER: Why dont you look for a whip? Thats the only language it understands.NEIGHBOR: What a good idea!SITUATION 2We are at a party. It is soon coming to the end. The generous host has decided to give each guest some wine to take home. He has a large jug of wine while each gues

8、t has mug. But the mugs are of unequal sizes. The size of each guests mug reflects their drinking capacity. The host thinks that it is useless to give people more than they are able to take in.SITUATION 3Z: Man, this is a great feat! I cant believe you put up this house!Y: Well, last year when I tol

9、d you that I had bought land in the swamps you thought I had lost my mind.Z: I would never have believed that anything good could come from such mire.Y: All the magnificent houses you see rose from nothing. With courage and careful planning you can turn any clay into the most magnificent work of art

10、.Z: I believe you. Thats how great sculptures and paintings were made. Cheers to your courage! (They drink up). SITUATION 4A: Good morning. Anything, please?C: Yes, Id like some oranges and apples.A: How many kilos?C: How much do you sell a kilo?A: The oranges are 3 Yuan and the apples are 2 Yuan.C:

11、 They are a little expensive. Id like four kilos of each if youd sell them for 1.8 Yuan a kilo.A: Could we say 2 Yuan?C: In that case Ill take 3 kilos of oranges and two kilos of apples.A: Thats ok. Here you go.C: How much are they altogether?A: 10 Yuan.C: Here you are.SITUATION 5FATHER: Hey childre

12、n, where do you think we can go for this vacation?DECLAN: Lets visit China.FATHER: Jack, is that your opinion too?JACK: I cant figure out where we should go.MOTHER: I think China would be the best place to visit. We can go to the Great wall.FATHER: I want everybodys opinion so we can decide together

13、 how we can all benefit from our trip together.JACK: Ill go wherever everyone wants us to go.SITUATION 6GUIDE: Hello everyone! Attention please. Lets get a few points clear before we start our exploration of these exciting caves. First, Ill give each of you a map of the caves. Then Ill explain a few

14、 things about them after which the task of negotiating your way through the caves becomes entirely yours. Each of you would be given a walkie-talkie so you can always call on me for clarifications where you may face some difficulties finding your way through. Please come up one after the other and g

15、et your maps, compasses and walkie-talkies. Good luck!SITUATION 7 FOREMAN: Ok everyone. Listen to our task. We are now ready to excavate this hill to search for treasure. We shall work in groups. Each group shall set its own agenda and decide on how to work. All or part of my expertise is available

16、for you to draw from at any moment should you need it. Otherwise, feel free to pursue your own goals as you consider appropriate for you. At the end of the exploration I expect each team to present its findings to the whole group. Good luckDISCUSSIONHere, lets examine the merits and demerits of each

17、 point of view.2. TEACHERS BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNINGBefore we reflect on teachers beliefs about learning, I would like you to read my little experience below. I believe it can give us a good point to begin.I have had the opportunity to communicate with many Chinese on the internet as well as in the rea

18、l society. Most of the people I meet online are very excited and eager to make friends with me. For me, its a chance to make friends with Chinese people from varied backgrounds and locations. At the end of the chat session, to take the new friendship a step further, we usually exchange telephone num

19、bers. But, guess what? Most of the time when I give somebody a call the telephone conversation is not as exciting as was the online chat. Can you guess why? Teachers belief about what learning is will undoubtedly influence their teaching and the goals they want the learners to achieve. This is of gr

20、eat importance to the foreign language teacher. Since our beliefs influence the way we plan and teach our lessons, this will also in turn affect the way learners perceive the learning of English. Hence, as teachers of English as a foreign language we must be clear as to what we want the learners to

21、do with the language skills they acquire. Basically, teachers beliefs about learning a new language will fall under one or both of the following:(i) Learning is to pass exams;(ii) Learning is a lifelong process with broad socio-cultural and educational implications.In a setting where the teachers su

22、ccess is measured by how well their students can perform in end of course exams they will undoubtedly lean more toward the idea that learning is for the purpose of passing exams. In this case, teachers plan their lessons based on past exam questions. Some teachers may even go as far as asking their

23、students to memorize the answers to these questions. While, it is important to make students realize the importance of their end of course exams, it would also be necessary to build in them an awareness of the importance of English language in their life after they leave school. From the experience

24、I recounted above and other observations I have come to realize that the inability of most of my Chinese friends to communicate with me orally stems from two factors. They hardly ever have the chance to practice their oral communication skills since they live in a society where oral English is rarel

25、y used in daily communication. Most of them, while studying English, have hardly ever been/made aware of its importance beyond the classroom. Due to the highly competitive nature of the Chinese college entrance exam most teachers and students focus their attention only on written skills.In this semi

26、nar we shall limit our discussion to the teaching of English in the primary and middle schools with the exclusion of language centers and adult teaching.A synthesis of the two beliefs would guide us through out the discussion. That is: “while learning English to pass exams it should also serve a pur

27、pose beyond the walls of the classroom. Learning English should prepare the learner to face the challenges of the global society where it plays a very dominant role as the language of communication.”3. TEACHERS BELIEFS ABOUT THEMSELVESWell begin our reflection on this topic with a quotation from Wil

28、ga M. Rivers.I remember my first language class. I was eleven at the time, living in a country where the language was never heard, except in a small expatriate club lost in a big city. We were many thousands of miles away from where the language was spoken and our teacher had certainly never been th

29、ere. Along with some thirty-five others.I had the experience of my life. We all remember our young teacher with great affection.We performed actions; we handled objects; we drew large pictures and labeled them; we sang; we learned poems; we read little stories which we acted out and improvised upon.

30、 I rushed home after the first lessonand read aloud in French to my monolingual mother . I couldnt wait to share with her the exciting information that our flag was red, white and blue whereas the French flag was blue, white and red. (Rivers 1997:3)From the experience above, one is moved to ask: How

31、 did the teacher succeed in arousing such a great enthusiasm in her learners for a language that seemed so remote from their daily experiences?In as much as the teachers methodology could have been a very good one, we would not fail to recognize the influence that her personality exerted on her lear

32、ners. And this is what her students still treasure many years after.Rivers says that the teachers methodology “wasactive, imaginative and clearly reflected our teachers individual personality.”You cannot give what you dont have. From Williams and Burden 1997:62-63 we have paraphrased the following points about the impact that teachers beliefs about themselves can have on the teaching-learning process. Teachers wh