高中英语与大学英语的衔接

The Connection of English T eaching between Middle School

and College

Abstract

As an old saying goes, a good beginning means half success. The first year of college plays a key role in the adaptation from the stage of middle school to college and determines to certain extent the whole study during their college life. However, with the reform of English teaching, the problems produced by the disconnection of English teaching between middle school and college become more obviously. This article briefly introduces the reforms of English teaching in middle school and college, the analysis of disconnection between English teaching in middle school and college, some differences in English learning between middle school and college. Also, it demonstrates some tactics of English teaching connection between middle school and college, and some teaching methods used mainly in college English teaching.

Key word: connection, differences, teaching methods

I. The Reform of English Teaching Model

In order to solve the transition and connection between English in universities and middle schools successfully, and improve students?comprehensive abilities of using English when they go to universities, English curriculum in universities and middle schools has been carried on a series of reforms to adapt to the demands of social development.

A. The Reform of English Teaching in Middle School

There are some points illustrated in 《The Standard of General English Curriculum in High School》which is issued by National Education Department: 1) English course in high school should be based on students?cognitive characteristics and their need of study development. We should attaching importance to improving students? abilities of getting and dealing with information, and analyzing and solving problems in using English, and at the same time developing students? basic abilities of

using English. So students can think and express in English consciously. 2) The key of reform lies in training students?abilities of applying English language, communicating in English properly, getting and dealing with information, and analyzing and solving problems in using English. 3) In teaching methods, we emphasize the comprehensive language abilities of expressing and communicating through participation, practice and discussion. Also, teachers can do research in teaching and care for students?demands and development through transferring their roles and ideas. Teachers should choose the approaches fitted for students?demands and their own teaching features to accomplish their teaching tasks creatively according to teaching objectives.

B. The Reform of English Teaching in College

The Educational Department and the experts of project group draft the 《The Teaching Requirement of English course in College》in 2004, which demonstrate the following points of teaching models clearly. Each college should make the most of the technology of multimedia and Internet and employ the new teaching models to better the past simple teachers-instruction-oriented model. With the support of modern information and Internet technologies, the new teaching models can make English teaching develop into individuation and self-study without the limitation of time and places. From the above requirements proposed by National Education Department, the most vital point is students?formation of individuation study and the training of their self-study?s abilities. Changes in teaching models are not only the transfer of teaching activities or methods, but of teaching concept which is simply the impartation of knowledge and skills from teachers-centered to students?-centered study.

II. The current situation of English teaching in middle school and college The reform of middle school English teaching has implemented in some schools early years, and proposed the new teaching models such as “Task-based Method” and “Communication Teaching Method” with the new curricular standards. But actually, in the present pressure of entering a higher school, the majority English teaching still belongs to exam-oriented education, ignoring students?comprehensive

abilities of using English. English teaching in middle school mainly are carried on by teachers?instruction, which leads to students?passive acceptance. The fundamental function of class lies in inculcating new knowledge so that students get the habit of passive and dependent study. However, in the stage of college, teachers play the role of guidance with fewer but refined lectures and emphasize the students? participation in class. Most teachers use English to teach, minimize the explanation of grammar, pay attention to the expansion of words, discourse analysis and cultural background knowledge, and enhance the training of oral speaking and listening. Teachers are both the directors and participants in colleges?English teaching. The role of English teachers gradually changes from leaders and instructors into administrators, organizers and guiders in colleges? classes.

III. The analysis of disconnection between English teaching in middle school and college

A. From Students

Many students have difficulties in adapting themselves to new environment and study contents when they enter colleges. Some students lose their interest in and even have a sense of boring for English due to the inadaptation to colleges? English study. On the other hand, in the same class of middle school, the ranks of students?English grades are almost in the same level and teaching methods in the same region are similar to each other. Nevertheless, students?English levels are different to some extent because they come from various places around the countries. Though some students coming from remote districts have high English grades, they nearly never take listening and speaking classes, which leads to the common phenomenon of “High Grades, Low Abilities”.

B. From Teaching Materials

Teaching materials are relatively unified in middle schools compared with those which are flexible in colleges. From the point of theories, the variations of teaching materials are better for teachers? options and not contradictory with unified syllabus. But the compile of syllabus didn?t strictly consider the connection between middle

school and college. Take the example of words, the syllabus of middle school requires 1200 words and certain numbers of idioms and set phrases which they can use in oral speaking. Also, students?must study about 750 words and idioms which they can understand their meanings in discourses. But there is big difference in quantities of college?s syllabus, which requires comprehending 4200 words and regular phrases made up by these words. What?s more, students should have the abilities of identifying new words according to basic words formation. Both in syllables and meanings, the 1200 words are easily understood than those in college. On the other hand, the significance of English in middle school is equal to Math and Chinese, but in college it has upgraded into a position called “Public Courses”which cannot compared with the role played by the national exam?s 150 grades. Students take advantage of mechanical memory that has astonished potentials if been enhanced and directed in middle school. Thus, we should accelerate the words?input properly of middle school students, which will undoubtedly have influences on the digest of these words beyond calculation. However, there exist obstacles of in reading and using because of the lack of words in current colleges? students.

IV. Some differences in English learning between middle school and college

A. The difference of teaching goals

Middle school and college are two stages with their own emphasis in the process of learning English. The goals in middle school English teaching are: 1) consolidating and enlarging students?basic knowledge; developing students?basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. 2) cultivating students … communicative abilities of using English in oral or written forms. While the goals in colleges are: 1) cultivating students?comprehensive abilities of using English, especially the abilities of listening and speaking, can make them using English effectively to communicate information in their future jobs and social contacts. 2）enhancing students?ability of independent study and improving their integrative cultural qualities to adapt to the requirements of economy development and international communication. Thus we can see that English in middle school

emphasizes reading but stresses communication in college.

B. The difference of teaching models in class

The famous linguist Alexander describes four steps in language accquisition, that is “Nothing should be spoken before it has been heard. Nothing should be read before it has been spoken. Nothing should be written before it has been read”. So listening and speaking are preconditions in using language. The environment of learning English for Chinese students is mainly English class. So if we cannot ensure certain language input in limited classes, students? abilities of listening and speaking will not be achieved. In the middle school stage, teachers affected by exam-orientation education mainly give lectures in Chinese, stress vocabulary, grammar, and sentence, and study the techniques in solving questions. Teachers value reading because of gaining high grades in national examination, which results in ignoring students?development of reading abilities and just thinking highly of their reading results. In addition, language is the barrier of culture. So it is necessary to introduce some language cultures in English class. The key problem exposed by freshmen is their lack of English and American cultural background. Teachers in colleges?English class primarily use English in their process of teaching and attach importance to discourse analysis and introduction of cultural background. Many freshmen having poor level of listening and speaking cannot understand the content, keep abreast of teachers? pace, or grasp the key points. Therefore, they become fearful of English learning.

C. Inadpatation to learning approaches

During middle school period, students form the habit of studying under the supervision of teachers and their parents. However, English teaching in college emphasizes self-directed learning, which pays attention to vocabulary-expansion, knowledge-accumulation, and horizon-expansion. Also we demand higher level of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation. Therefore, because of the different study goals, contents, environment, approaches, and teaching methods make students are at a loss.

D. The problems in arrangement of teaching materials

The arrangement of teaching materials should not only be scientific, systematic, practical, and interesting, but also correspond with students? cognitive patterns. So far, English teaching materials in college has many versions but little combination with teaching materials in middle school. First, the numbers of vocabularies increase sharply with 1000 words in the first year of college life, but only about 2000 words during six years in middle school what?s more, the repetition rate of knowledge is low, which to some extent doesn?t meet the cognitive patterns of learners.

E. Being unfamiliar with English teaching contents for teachers in college

Teachers in college should both study the English syllabuses and teaching materials in college and in middle schools, which can be helpful for teachers to understand teaching goals in each stage. However, the majority of college?s teachers know little about teaching syllabuses and materials in middle schools, resulting in aimless of teaching English in college classes.

V. Five main teaching methods used in English class

Directed method, the opposite to grammar-translation method, appears in the second half of 19th century in Western Europe with the obvious feature of explaining word?s meaning and sentence in audio-visual method using actions or pictures without mother tongue. It involves three aspects: directed study, directed comprehension, directed application. In 1950s, situational method came into being in France. Making the most of radio tape, projecting apparatus, movie, and video, this method puts students into the real scene to learn English. And this method emphasizes practicing sentences through situations only with target language. Later, in 1960s, with rapid development of international communication and competition, audio-visual approach cannot satisfies the requirement for advanced foreign language talents, cognitive approach which views language learning as intelligence?s activity emerged. It pays attention to making students understand teaching materials and grasp language learning?s patterns under the influence of intelligence. One of the most influential schools of foreign language teaching is communicative method, formed in 1970s according to the theories of Halliday and Chomsky. In 1980s, there produced a new language teaching method called task-based language teaching method which

unde rlines “learning by doing?.

VI. The Tactics of English Teaching Connection between Middle School and College

Teachers should apply diversified teaching methods to the English Teaching connection between Middle School and College.

A. Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude

After national examination, the freshmen who lose their inherent motive power in English Study have experienced a period called “Study Goals V acuum”. Moreover, college?students are different in many ways individually in that they are educated distinctly various schools and selected from diverse regions. As for the above situation, college?teachers can know students? status and needs through the methods of admission test, questionnaire, communication individually so that with different levels can be educated individualized. For the freshmen, especially those who are lack of basic knowledge and skills, strengthening the training of preparing lessons before classes, words reading, grammar, listening and speaking to make students adapt to English study in college quickly is a measure to guarantee the connectivity and continuity between the stages of college and middle school.

B. Motivating Passion and Cultivating interests

Proper study motive is the source and vital psycho-factors of positive study. Also, it is the impetus of increasing the will and confidence to overcome difficulties. Students?study motivation is complex. Psychologists studied the English study motivation from different perspective and get the result that the most influential motivations affecting students at the beginning of entering college are instrumental motivation and integrative motivation. The former one means students learn English in order to achieve certain practical goals, such as entering higher school or finding a better job, which reflects the concrete values and utilities of learning English. The latter one refers to the wish of learning target language in order to engage in the social group of target language. Learners are interested in the communities?cultures and hope to communicate with them. Thus, if we take the integration as the goal, the

initiative of learning English will be up so as to develop the overall abilities of listening, speaking, reading and writing and maintain high enthusiasm of study in the long term. However, if we take the instrument as the objective, learning English will be a passive state so that students will stress certain aspects according to different self-goals but not the whole. This motivation last short time and the study drive will disappear once they gain their goals, for example, they pass CET4/6 examination. So it is necessary for English teachers in college to help the freshmen establish long term study goals and emphasize the continuity of learning English during four years? study, but not assess students simply from exams which they pass or don?t.

C. Paying attention to strategies and making the best use of the circumstances.

Teachers should observe students?learning strategies and provide necessary guidance or consulting in the process of carrying on strategies? training. Teachers can communicate with students as cooperative partners or friends and demonstrate the learning strategies in daily teaching. American applied linguist Brown proposed several principles in teaching language, such as decreasing depression, encouraging adventure, building students?confidence, advocating cooperative study, and making students serve themselves from taking advantages of their mistakes, which are meaningful for English teaching. College?English teaching is a systematical project involved multi-factors. Teachers should keep reasonable and open teaching attitudes and employ various teaching methods flexibly so that they not only impart knowledge and skills, but also teach students learning strategies. Teaching students how to study and cultivating their effective learning strategies can be both beneficial to students and teachers which further improve their teaching levels.

D. Stressing autonomy

As a kind of study model, autonomous study is a challenge for traditional teaching concepts. Learners possessing the ability of learning individually can clearly define their study goals, contents, materials, methods, time, places, and progress. Also they can assess their study. Considering our English teaching characteristics, we think that college students learning English independently can determine their study objectives and formulate their study plans with their own choices based on the

understanding of teach ers? teaching goals and requirements. What?s more, students can effectively use learning strategies and monitor their English learning process individually.

E. Making the most of Teacher?s role in English teaching

1. Teacher as a goal-setter

It is the teacher who should act as the goal-setter for the students：the goal for language learning and the goal for the specific steps in enhancing their learner autonomy．With the goal．the students will know what to study and practice both in and out of the English classes, and what to do in the language learning and develop their ability to learn English autonomously step by step．

2. Teacher as a motivation-arouser

The students in middle school do not have a clear understanding of the importance of English learning, and thus do not develop their ability with clear motivation．Generally speaking．their lack of motivation will result in their reluctance in participating in classroom learning and outside-class autonomous practice activities．In a sense，the success of autonomous learning is determined by the time of learner?s exposure to English materials and activities．So it is necessary to arouse their motivation before cultivating their ability to learn English autonomously and the teacher becomes a motivation-arouser.

3. Teacher as a partner

Teacher's teaching strategy should be converted to be a partner in the students?language activities both in and out of classroom．When problems emerge．the teacher appears to handle them cooperatively．One thing a teacher should keep in mind is that he is only a partner' and his support should be appropriate. The opportunity to practice English should always be kept for the students．

4. Teacher as a evaluator

The teacher is an evaluator．The withdrawal of the teacher's dominant role doesn?t mean that the teacher will not at all be responsible for the students7 learning of English．On the contrary，the teachers should provide"scoldin97 for their learners，

critically evaluate their learning result，and gradually help the students learn English autonomously and accurately．Firstly，the teacher should be conscious about what the students should do by themselves and what and when the teacher should appear to interfere with in the learning process．With the teacher's correct and appropriate guidance and evaluation，the students will gradually learn to learn autonomously．

VII. Conclusion

English teaching itself is a systematic project. Thus, college English teachers should be more active in study teaching methods intensively and coordinate the connection of English teaching in middle school and college, improving the stable transition during the two stages. What?s more, teachers can mobilize and maintain students? study motivation to the largest extent, which stimulates study autonomy and innovation. In addition, students can change their habit of taking in knowledge passively into studying individually in college with the guidance of teachers so that they advance their comprehensive abilities of using English.

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