In the reading course, especially the so-called intensive reading course or integrative English reading course, there are some vocabulary exercises which intend to consolidate the active vocabulary emerging in the rea...In the reading course, especially the so-called intensive reading course or integrative English reading course, there are some vocabulary exercises which intend to consolidate the active vocabulary emerging in the reading passages. Mostly, these exercises are in the form of blank-filling or rewriting sentences with the words given. The problem with such exercises lies in the de-contextualization of the sentences. On the one hand, without the proper context, it is not easy for students to fill in the blanks, even though they know the meanings of the words. To finish the exercises, most students have to resort to the teacher＇s reference book for help. On the other hand, students will forget the words soon after they have finished the exercises for lack of the context to aid their recalling of the vocabulary. The author therefore finds that doing such exercises in class is unproductive and time-consuming. In order to solve this problem and make the vocabulary exercises more productive, the author attempts to reform the traditional exercises by transforming them into collaborative writing activities. Students are required to work in groups to write a short passage with the words given. After a 2-year practice, the author has concluded that the collaborative writing activities not only help students learn to use the words in a discourse, but also offer the opportunity to learn interdependently and help each other. Students have learnt to negotiate meanings in the course of the activity, which is a necessary skill in their daily life. Moreover, they have learnt to monitor their production in the course of revision and edition.展开更多
Introduction In this article, I’d like to describe a writing activity I use to improve my students’ writing ability. The activity is a type of journal-keeping for college-English students. I ask the students to writ...Introduction In this article, I’d like to describe a writing activity I use to improve my students’ writing ability. The activity is a type of journal-keeping for college-English students. I ask the students to write something at regular intervals. It can be of any length. If they don’t have anything specific to write about, they can write summaries or discussions about texts from their English class. They then submit the assignment by a fixed deadline. The results have been satisfactory. Most students handed in some sort of work on time, covering a wide range of topics from personal matters (such as worries and ambitions), interests (such as hobbies, friends and hometowns) to something related to their English class (summaries, discussions or even transcriptions of model paragraphs). Stimulated by immediate feedback from the teacher, the activity has continued through the whole college-English learning period.展开更多
文摘In the reading course, especially the so-called intensive reading course or integrative English reading course, there are some vocabulary exercises which intend to consolidate the active vocabulary emerging in the reading passages. Mostly, these exercises are in the form of blank-filling or rewriting sentences with the words given. The problem with such exercises lies in the de-contextualization of the sentences. On the one hand, without the proper context, it is not easy for students to fill in the blanks, even though they know the meanings of the words. To finish the exercises, most students have to resort to the teacher＇s reference book for help. On the other hand, students will forget the words soon after they have finished the exercises for lack of the context to aid their recalling of the vocabulary. The author therefore finds that doing such exercises in class is unproductive and time-consuming. In order to solve this problem and make the vocabulary exercises more productive, the author attempts to reform the traditional exercises by transforming them into collaborative writing activities. Students are required to work in groups to write a short passage with the words given. After a 2-year practice, the author has concluded that the collaborative writing activities not only help students learn to use the words in a discourse, but also offer the opportunity to learn interdependently and help each other. Students have learnt to negotiate meanings in the course of the activity, which is a necessary skill in their daily life. Moreover, they have learnt to monitor their production in the course of revision and edition.
文摘Introduction In this article, I’d like to describe a writing activity I use to improve my students’ writing ability. The activity is a type of journal-keeping for college-English students. I ask the students to write something at regular intervals. It can be of any length. If they don’t have anything specific to write about, they can write summaries or discussions about texts from their English class. They then submit the assignment by a fixed deadline. The results have been satisfactory. Most students handed in some sort of work on time, covering a wide range of topics from personal matters (such as worries and ambitions), interests (such as hobbies, friends and hometowns) to something related to their English class (summaries, discussions or even transcriptions of model paragraphs). Stimulated by immediate feedback from the teacher, the activity has continued through the whole college-English learning period.
