学位论文-中国大学生英语课堂沉默现象及其对策研究.pdf

摘要中国大学生英语课堂沉默现象及其对策研究.沉默，同言说一样，是人类交际的重要手段之一。,作为一种广泛存在的社会现象，沉 默不仅仅是交流过程中的间歇或空白期，更传递着丰富的信息并承担一定的交际功能。要 想解读沉默的含义，不分析其周边的所有相关因素就无法揭示其真相。因此，对沉默的研 究牵涉到心理、认知、语用、社会及文化等诸多因素，沉默已逐渐成为人类学、社会学、心 理学、语言学等领域的研究对象(Leech,1983;Levinson and Brown,1987;Jaworski,1993;Kurzon,1995)。然而，从一般的人际交往走向特定的交往领域一一外语课堂教学，沉默则成为这一领 域里主要的消极现象之一。课堂教学活动是一个师生间交互作用的过程，以语言交流为教 学目的的英语课堂需要以师生间，同学间频繁的互动、热烈的讨论、不断地提出问题和解 答问题的方式来进行，而一旦在英语课堂上出现了长时间的沉默，就会阻碍课堂上的语言 交流，影响学生口语训练的效果。长期以来，中国大学英语课堂一直面临学生沉默被动的 尴尬局面，大学生在英语课堂上不愿发言，拒绝发表看法，缺乏参与课堂活动的积极性和主 动性的现象极为普遍，成为英语教师所共同面对的一个难题。沉默不仅会导致教师与学生 的情绪受挫，课堂气氛沉闷，教学效果降低，亦不利于大学生英语综合能力的发展，有悖 于大学英语教学改革的本质与目标。对于这一问题的解决无论对学生还是教师而言，都具 有举足轻重的意义。要想解决问题；首先应当挖掘导致问题的原因，方可对症下药。学习 者的课堂沉默现象引起了许多教育工作者的关注。国内外大量的调查研究习惯于将中国学 生的沉默行为归因于根深蒂固的传统文化的影响，尊重教师课堂上的主导权威，保全面子 以防说错。然而随着经济的飞速发展及其带动的思想的多元化，当代九零后大学生的思想 和行为日趋呈现复杂化，文化的强势作用是否仍是导致学生消极沉默的主导力量还有待研 究。同时许多学者提出的解决手段缺乏具体性，时效性和持续性，在实践中不易操作，因 此有必要在前人的基础上做进一步的研究，对于探索其成因及解决方式也十分有必要从实 证的角度来进行，从而帮助师生构建更加有效的课堂互动模式，激活沉默的课堂，为提高 大学生英语应用能力提供实证依据。基于以上目的，本研究旨在探讨以下问题：学生在大学英语课堂的沉默达到何种程度？1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved.,vhttp:/|引发大学生英语课堂沉默的因素主要有那些？(3)设计各种任务型口语教学活动对于消除或减少大学生英语课堂的消极沉默现象有怎样 的效果？本研究采用调查问卷法、学生教师分别访谈法、课堂观摩法进行多角度观察研究，进 行了一个学期的课堂教学实验，统计出了实验班和控制班的相关数据，并进行了比较分析，最终得出相关结论。.首先通过对吉林大学2009级大二非英语专业的128名本科学生进行问卷调查，对回收.的有效问卷进行数据分析，并结合对5位大学英语老师及4位大学本科生的访谈来探索学 生在大学英语课堂的沉默程度及引发沉默最主要的影响因素。调查发现影响学生沉默行为 的因素既有主观因素又有客观因素。但最主要的还是学生的口语表达能力。情感因素及教 师的授课模式对学生英语课堂参与的程度起着关键性作用，是引发他们沉默、被动的主要 制约因素。而所有的影响因素又是相互交织，互为因果的，直接或间接地影响着学生的课 堂表现。由于受制于有限的口语交际水平，对所谈的话题想说说不出来或不感兴趣，缺乏 自信，害怕说错被同学嘲笑，久而久之形成懒于张口的恶性循环；同时学生容易焦虑、紧张 以及信心不足又都源于有限的语言能力。情感因素中对二语习得有着重要影响的学习动机 在一定程度上因受到社会变革的影响而发生改变。由于深受中国传统的应试型教育的影响，大部分学生学习英语的动机都属于以考试和找工作为主的工具型动机，受此动机的驱动，学生们喜欢急功近利的通过短期学习而收到最大的效益，当然对于锻炼口语这种需要投入 大量时间和参与努力的活动缺乏兴趣。最重要的一点，由于传统教学模式的深入人心，同 时受制于教学条件；班级规模及教师个人的业务能力，大学英语课堂大体还是以教师讲授 为主，并未真正地落实以学生学习为中心的教学理念，学生在课堂上缺乏锻炼语言输出的机 会和时间，当然会影响口语交际能力的提高，变得更加沉默被动，不愿也不习惯参与活动。针对以上的主要影响因素，笔者认为作为课堂教学的主导者与管理者，教师应该有责任制 造更多的机会让学生大胆发言，多说多练，提高口语能力。所以组织开展丰富多样的课堂 活动无疑是教师能力所及的最迅速且实效的对策。教师通过任务的多样化来激发学生兴趣，强化学生动机，降低学生课堂焦虑感，提高自信，那么困扰教师的学生课堂沉默现象应该.得到解决或至少在一定程度上有所缓解。但为了保证课堂活动顺利实施，教师可在设计活 动时，就要真正从学生的实际能力出发，设置难度适当的任务，周密灵活地组织活动，才能确 保大部分学生的有效参与。任务型教学以其先进的教学理念及科学任务设计原则为教师设计并开展富有成效的课 1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved,http:/堂活动提供了理论依据和实践指导。那么设计各种任务型口语教学活动对于消除或减少大 学生英语课堂的消极沉默现象收效如何呢？本研究将根据教材中的课文及口语练习，在实 验班精心设计并组织开展任务型课堂活动，以各种交际任务为教学手段创造更多机会让学 生增加语言输出量，加强同学间的合作与交流，最大限度地激发了学生学习英语的动机和 兴趣，增强其兴趣，降低其焦虑感，从而提高了学生的语言综合运用能力，发展了学生的创 新精神和实践能力。通过实验前后数据的对比分析，结果显示，实验班之前稍微严重的学 生沉默现象得到比较显著的改善，沉默现象明显减少。此次实验证明，通过设计并实施有 效的课堂任务来激发学习者的积极情感，降低其消极情感并提高其语言运用能力能够迅速 有效地消除或减少大学生英语课堂的消极沉默现象。关键词：大学英语课堂，学生沉默，影响因素，任务型课堂活动v,9 1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved.http:/ContentsContents.IChapter On e Introduction.11.1 Research Background.11.2 Purpose of the Research.31.3 Significance of the Research.31.4 Organization of the Thesis.4Chapter Tw o Literature Review.62.1 Definitions and Classifications of Silence.62.2 Major Perspectives of Silence.72.2.1 Psychological Perspective.72.2.2 Pragmatic Perspective.82.2.3 Socio-cultural Perspective.82.3 Researches on Students5 Silence Abroad and at Home.92.3.1 Researches on Students Silence Abroad.92.3.2 Researches on College Students,Silence at Home.11Chapter Th ree Relative Factors of Students*Silence in EFL Teaching.133.1 Importance of Student Participation in Classroom Interaction.133.2 Factors Influencing Student Learning in EFL Classroom.143.2.1 Leamers,Affective Factors.143.2.2 Cultural Factor.153.3 Ways to Facilitate Classroom Interaction in EFL Class.163.3.1 Task-Based Instruction.163.3.2 Designing Effective“Tasks in College English Classroom.18Chapter Fo ur Methodology.204.1 Research Questions.204.2 Subjects.204.3 Instruments.214.3.1 Questionnaires.214.3.2 Interviews.:.234.4 Research Procedures.244.4.1 Questionnaire and Interview Investigation.244.4.2 Selection and Designation of Experimental and Control Classes.244.4.3 Actual Implementation of Task-based Classroom Activities.25Chapter Fi ve Results and Discussion.285.1 Analysis of the Pre-test Research Findings and Discussion.285：1.1 Analysis of Silence Degree in the Pre-test Research and Discussion.285.1.2 Analysis of Major Factors Affecting Silence in the Pre-test Researchand Discussion.295.2 Design and Application of Task-based Activities in the Experimental Class 435.2.1 Solution to Reducing Students5 Silence.435.2.2 Design of Task-based Activities Based on the Textbook.445.3 Analysis of the Post-test Research Findings and Discussion.495.3.1 Findings of Classroom Observation.491 1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved,http:/5.3.2 Findings of Post-test Questionnaire.505.3.3 Findings of Post-test Interview.54Chapter Si x Conclusion.566.1 Research Review.566.2 Pedagogical Implications of the Research.576.3 Limitations of the Research.586.4 Suggestions for Future Research.59Bibliography.60Appendix I:Pre-test Questionnaire.64Appendix II:PosMest Questionnaire.68作者简介.70Acknowledgements.71nII 1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved,http:/Chapter One IniroductionChapter One Introduction1.1 Research BackgroundSilence,the same as speech,is one of the means of human communication.As a widespread social phenomenon,silence not merely refers to the intermittent or blank period during communication,but conveys a wealth of information and assumes certain communicative functions.However,to interpret the meaning of silence,one can not be close to its truth without analyzing all its surrounding factors.Therefore,research focusing on silence is related to the integrated application of linguistics,sociology,anthropology,psychology,ethnography,aesthetics,and other disciplines.From the general interpersonal communication to the specific communication area classroom teaching,silence,as a form of human communication,not only exists in classroom teaching,but also has become one of the major negative phenomena in this area.It must be admitted that classroom teaching is a process of interaction between a teacher and students.The three basic elements of a successful foreign language classroom are Engage,Study and Activate(Harmer,2000),which all can not be achieved without the active participation of the students and effective classroom interaction that occurs between teacher and students,and among students such as discussion,asking and answering questions,and debates in the classroom.Researches(eg.Allwright,1980)show that classroom interaction plays a very important role in improving students language competence.And“students who actively participate in the learning process learn more than those who do not?1(Robert R.Weaver and Jiang Qi,2005:570)because learning is not a spectator sport and students active involvement in class nurtures critical thinking and facilitates students intellectual development(Smith,1977).Only when students become the real fbcus of the teaching activity can their imagination,enthusiasm and creativity be fully aroused.However,one of the most frustrating and disconcerting phenomena that prevails among the undergraduate student population in China is their silent or reticent behaviors during classroom hours.Over the years,a lot of studies at home and abroad have defined Chinese students as reticent and passive learners affected by the traditional culture,claiming that teachers in the 1 饵 1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved,http:/Chapter One Introductionclassroom enjoy a high authority,and dominate the entire teaching process,leading to the fact that the Chinese students in English class tend to remain silent(Brick,2004;Erbaugh,1990,etc.).Just as Cheng Xiaotang(2000:435)said,“In recent ESL/EFL literature,Asian(especially East Asian)learners of English as a foreign/second language have been arguably reported as reticent and passive learners.The most common allegations are that these students are reluctant to participate in classroom discourse;they are unwilling to give responses;they do not ask questions;and they are passive and over-dependent on the teacher”.In one of the famous classroom silence studies made by Amy B.M.Tsui(1996,cited in Cheng,2000:437)by asking ESL teachers of secondary schools in Hong Kong to identify a particular problem that might become the basis for classroom action research,more than 70%of a group of 38 teachers identified getting more students5 oral responses as one of their major problems.According to the experience of teaching college English fbr many years,the author can feel deeply the deep-rooted existence of students5 silence in English class:students too often do not volunteer to speak up in class;they seem uncomfortable,even resentful when called on;they appear unwilling to speak to partners and in small groups;they seem to strive fbr only single-word answers whenever possible.And also frequently the author has heard countless colleagues complain students5 silence in tones ranging from resignation to desperation,They just don t talk.How can I get them to/convince them to/inspire them to speak in class?I want to hear their voices(quoted from teachers interview).As to the students5 silence in college English class,it is not an individual phenomenon,but a very widespread problem.The long-standing silence in EFL learning especially in the college classroom has invoked unfavorable influence upon Chinese leamers,English proficiency and their English communicative competence,which will even go against the improvement of the students overall language competence.With the international cooperation and competition becoming increasingly fierce,the demand for the talents with good English competence in contemporary China has been increasing in quality as well as in quantity.This poses much higher requirements on English teaching and various requests and challenges are imposed especially on colleges and universities in terms of the output and development of high-quality talents.Just as Ken Petress(2001:104)has ever pointed out that“silence impedes student learning,teacher effectiveness and classmate benefits from learning from silent students insights,observations,and experiences/5 To be more exact,student silence,withdrawal,fear of engaging in dialogue,or2 19-94-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved,http:/6Chapter One Introduction reluctance to contribute to discussion in the classroom not only deprives them from sharing their mutual knowledge and experiences,but also denies the teacher and other classmates from benefiting from the diversity of thoughts gained from the students,experience.The most direct effect brought about by the negative silence of students is that it can result in atmosphere tedium in the class,hinder ones thinking activity,inhibit the development of human personality,and reduce the effect of teaching and learning.Teachers improper treatment to students5 silence in college English class is most likely to trigger psychological confrontation between teacher and students and aggravate the inactive classroom climate,which all make teaching into a vicious circle.Hence,successful communication between teacher and students in foreign language classroom demands teachers to fully comprehend the meanings of students silence,successfully decipher the soundless code of their silence and take appropriate measures to build more effective interaction patterns in EFL classroom.1.2 Purpose of the ResearchWith the college non-English majors as the main sutyects,this research aims to explore to what extent students in college English classroom remain silent and systematically investigate what major factors cause students silence and passivity in college English class,especially identifying the most influential and related ones and try to change and reduce the phenomenon of students silence by the greatest extent via designing or planning the class teaching carefully so as to help the students break the hard ice of silence and actually prefer an active speech role in class learning.To fulfill the purposes,some carefully planned task-based oral activities will be applied and implemented in college English class as the most specific and effective solution to the phenomenon of students silence in Chinese EFL context.1.3 Significance of the ResearchThe ultimate goal of English Language Teaching(ELT)is to enable students to communicate effectively in English(Paul and Eric,2002).To achieve the goal,the primary task of classroom teaching is to cultivate students5 interest in English study by offering the authentic language material and communicative activities to direct them to learn.Therefore,designing effective tasks fbr classroom interaction in EFL setting is of certain significance to mobilize the enthusiasm of3 1994-2013 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.All rights reserved,http:/Chapter One Introductioncollege students and improve the general teaching quality of college English.The current research is significant both theoretically and practically.Theoretically,this research demonstrates the effectiveness and feasibility of well-designed oral tasks in college English class under the guidance of task-based approach in reducing students,silence by means of a systematic investigation and a comprehensive analysis of silence in college English class.So the explanatory power of the successful communication in the classroom can be found from theoretical aspect and then a theoretical foundation can be laid to improve classroom silence.Practically,this research has directive significance for the general classroom teaching mode of college English.On the one hand,it enables the instructors to enhance the understanding of students,silence by analyzing the reasons behind the silence,and then to strive to help students break the silence in classroom interaction with a clear aim so as to improve their efficiency of English learning and strengthen their ability to use language.On the other hand,this research results can directly serve for teaching practices because it makes contributions to some pedagogical directions and applications fbr teachers and students in an attempt to avoid the undesirable situation of deafening silence in EFL classroom life by offering the systematic,appropriate and effective tasks in designing the lesson.On the whole,the research hopefully can shed insights on teachers awareness of classroom silence and interaction patterns in the Chinese EFL context and help teachers design more active and lively lessons in which students enthusiastic involvement and language proficiency can be raised.1.4 Organization of the ThesisThe thesis consists of six main chapters with supplementary materials provided in the appendices and bibliography list and the main contents are as follows:Chapter One briefly presents an overview of the whole research including research background,purpose,significance and organization of the p