1.挖掘富有英语文化气息、妙趣横生的语言素材,充实课堂,让学生插上想象的翅膀,收获学习的乐趣。如:英语里有很多有关动物的习语:“as busy as a bee; as cunning as a fox; as stupid as a donkey;” 这些中英相通的表达让学生“一见如故”。而那些英文中独特的习语:“a dark horse; Every dog has its day; Love me, love my dog; a black sheep; rain cats and dogs; eat like a bird; eat like a wolf; crocodile tears;”等等又让学生不禁惊叹人们想象力的多姿多彩,语言的无穷魅力。笔者日常爱看英文报刊时文,常把刚学到的富有时代感、生动活泼的语言带到课堂“现炒现卖”,学生对此反应热烈,他们耳濡目染,也学会了“活学活用”。形象思维的发展激活了课堂,让学生的语言慢慢变得鲜活起来。
3.在听力训练中,发展学生的形象思维。形象思维帮助大脑在听力训练中快速转化信息、记忆信息,在提高反应速度方面也有着不可小看的作用。请看下面的句子: Recently, every morning or evening, whenever I see school kids with school bags walking in twos or threes, hand in hand or shoulder to shoulder, I always envy them for enjoying happy friendship, and inwardly offer them my best wishes. 这么长的句子,你能否听完一遍就理解并记住呢?但如果你能把“in twos or threes, hand in hand or shoulder to shoulder”很快转换成一幅画面来理解、记忆,长句的难度就大大减轻了。这种形象记忆法对叙述性的(讲故事)和描写性的长句和篇章很有效。
4.借助现代信息技术手段创设情境,丰富学生的想象力。网络资源和教师制作的多媒体课件都是创设情境的优秀教学资源。它们形式生动,极易调动学生的思维。例如:网上下载的“The Merchant of Venice”话剧英文版; “A Famous Detective”有关福尔摩斯的侦探短剧;还有Charlie Chaplin 的电影 “City Light”和 “Modern Times”。这些情境或用在导入时激发学生兴趣,或在阅读完后,用形象验证理解,巩固所学知识,加深记忆。
在教学过程中,教师通过设疑启智,通过大量的开放性问题,培养学生的发散性思维,营造创新氛围。例如:笔者在与学生一起读完选修英语第2册“New Concept English Book2”中的“Sticky Fingers”一文后,针对短文内容提出问题,考查学生对文章的理解及要求他们对此做出合理的想象。
Teacher: Why did the writer feel dismayed when she heard Helen Bates’voice on the phone? What kind of person do you think Helen is?
S1: She likes talking on and on. She is so talkative that she seldom cares whether the other person is interested in her talk or not. She must be boring.
S2: Maybe she is troublesome and always likes to trouble others.
S3: Perhaps she is gossipy. She cares about others’ business more than her own.
S4: I guess she is so free that she has a lot of time to kill. Calling friends is a good way sometimes...
之后,又设计了一个情景:If you were the writer, how would you persuade Helen to call back ten minutes later while she just talked on and on without understanding your situation at all? Please make a dialogue with your partner. One is the writer and the other is Helen. Try to make your dialogue interesting and real.
Foshan No.2 Middle School will receive a $10,000 gift from an anonymous donor, it was reported today. The money may be used for any purpose to improve the school, according to the school principal Mr. Deng.“We haven’t decided how to use the money yet,” the principal said, “Perhaps we should elect a student representative to decide how to use it.”
Work in groups of four
1. Decide how you think the money should be spent in our school.
2. Write a campaign speech which tells your group’s opinion.
3. Choose a campaign slogan( a short phrase carrying a message).
4. Choose a member of your group to make a speech to persuade others to vote for you.