张红唯《ESA教学模式在初中英语阅读教学中的应用》.docx

ContentsChinese Abstract3English Abstract31. Introduction41.1 Research Background41.2 Research Significance42. Literature Review52.1 Analysis of ESA Teaching Model52.2 Theoretical Basis of ESA Teaching Model72.3 Review of ESA Teaching Model Abroad and at Home83. ESA Teaching Model in English Reading Classrooms103.1 Deficiency of Traditional English Reading Teaching103.2 Current Implementation of ESA Teaching Model104. The Application of Three Types of Lessons114.1 The Application of Straight Arrows Sequence114.2 The Application of Boomerang Sequence124.3 The Application of Patchwork Sequence135.Conclusions14References15ESA教学模式在初中英语阅读教学中的应用摘 要英语阅读是巩固英语语言知识的重要途径，也是获取信息的重要途经，学习者在阅读课中的参与情况对学习效果有着举足轻重的影响。然而在当前的初中英语阅读课的学习中，学生往往处于一种被动的学习状态：阅读兴趣不高、阅读效率低下。在这种情况下英国教育家杰里米·哈默提出了ESA教学模式，即在英语教学中投入、学习和应用三种要素必不可少，根据此三种要素顺序变换和不同组合，创造三种不同的教学模式。本文把ESA教学模式结合在初中英语阅读课教学中的具体应用加以阐述，探究ESA理论在实际阅读教学中的可行性。关键词：英语阅读；ESA教学模式；初中英语The Application of ESA Teaching Model in English Reading of Junior Middle SchoolAbstractEnglish reading is an important way of getting information as well as consolidating English language points. Besides, in the reading process learners motivation, participation, and autonomy have a critical influence on learning effect. However, in the current English reading teaching of junior middle school, students are often in the passive learning state: low reading motivation and reading efficiency. Therefore, in junior middle school, it is exceedingly necessary to create efficient reading teaching model and methods. Then Harmers ESA theory holds that in the teaching of English language: Engage, Study, Activate are the three essential factors involved. This paper illustrates the practice of ESA theory in junior Middle English reading with particular examples, which further proves that this is really an effective and practical approach in language teaching. Key words: English reading teaching; ESA teaching model; English in junior middle school1. Introduction1.1 Research BackgroundNew English Curriculum Standards for Junior Middle School, pointed out that on the basis of developing students comprehensive language competence, Students need to use English to acquire, process, and analyze information as well as gain reading strategies(教育部, 2017).Reading is the most basic way for people to acquire a sea of information, and it is also the main input way of language learning. Therefore, the reading teaching in the general junior middle school English teaching has always been in a basic position, in other words, it is the main skill of learning English and the basis of the development of listening, speaking and writing skills.However, the situation of reading teaching is not very satisfactory in junior middle school, instead, the current daily teaching of English reading in junior middle school is still the continuation of the traditional teaching model, such as reciting and cramming, which makes students be averse to English and suppress their interest in learning English. To change these situations, the current teaching model of junior middle school English reading needs to be reformed. Students in junior middle school have various problems in English reading, improving their reading ability is critical. When they are reading, they usually dont know how to use strategies to make reading more effective; it may cause a weaker reading motivation. At the same time, teachers in junior high school should think about what to teach in reading class, and how to stimulate students motivation in order to improve their reading proficiency.In short, traditional reading teaching model cannot fully satisfy students development and improve their reading proficiency, so it is imperative to adopt the new effective model of teaching. There is a more effective reading model; Jeremy Harmer (2000), famous in English teaching, first put forward the ESA teaching model in his book How to teach English, which inspires us in English reading teaching.1.2 Research SignificanceIn the first place, as for the students, the research contributes to improving the students reading proficiency and interest in reading. Compared to the dull teacher-centered teaching model, the ESA teaching model emphasizes cultivating the ability of independent learning of the students, stresses the students active participation and practical experience, meanwhile, it also guides the students to think and construct knowledge actively.Secondly, people who play a role in a teacher, it will be a good fortune for them if ESA teaching model is accepted by more and more people, for teachers dont follow the traditional teaching model. In fact, the teacher is just a guide for the students activities and study, the main study task is done by students themselves.Thirdly, the ESA teaching model English reading teaching will fully enrich English reading teaching, the application of the ESA teaching model in junior middle school is beneficial to students as well as teachers. By using the ESA teaching model, the structure of students knowledge can be built; particularly students own experiences can be promoted. The teacher can gain practical teaching strategies to change the original reading teaching ideas. Accordingly, the level of English reading teaching will be improved in various aspects for the sake of the two sides of teacher and student.The ESA teaching model is beneficial to students, teacher and the English reading teaching; it guides students to participate in English reading actively, and regards students as the centre of process of studying. Meanwhile, teacher can use it to provide students with more active activities, so that the correlativity between teachers and students , teaching and learning will be more harmonious, as a consequence, it is worth to explore.2. Literature Review2.1 Analysis of ESA Teaching Model 2.1.1 Three components of ESA teaching modelBased on the New Basic Education Curriculum Reform, many scholars and people have proposed the separated theories, for instance, Information Processing Model (Bottom-up Model), Psycholinguistic Model (Top-down Model), Discourse Analysis Theory, and PPP teaching model, etc. Besides, in 2000, the British expert, Jeremy Harmer, who is famous around the world in English teaching, puts forward the ESA teaching model in his books “How to Teach English.” He points out that the teaching of language should get the students to engage as much as they can, and there should be lots of communicative activate, presenting in all or almost classes English teaching and Harmer emphasizes the combination and flexible use of the three elements: straight arrows sequence, boomerang sequence and patchwork sequence.Harmer finds it is very difficult to acquire nature language in the classroom because of the limitations of its teaching environment. Besides, the elements Harmer raised can help students learn effectively. And these three elements can be abbreviated to ESA for short.Engage means that during teaching teachers try to arouse the students interest, so as to stimulate their emotions (Harmer, 2000:25). At the Engage stage, teachers can engage students by various kinds of activities and materials, such as interesting games, stimulating pictures, and funny music, etc. Meanwhile, these activities will supple the background information and also connect with the relevant knowledge, so students may get the general idea of the material; in fact, the engage stage is more suitable for students who are in primary stage.If students are interested in the topic at the beginning of teaching, study activities requires students to pay more attention to the language itself, besides, how the language is presented will be essential for students learning. During this stage, activities can be organized from practicing one single word to the text structure. In this process, the relationship between students and teachers is harmonious and corresponding. Student acts in central teaching, and teacher is the guide of teaching, as a result, all activities will focus on the construction of language, after that students can express themselves freely.After students gain information from teachers, how to apply this information may become a painful problem, in other words, like Harmers statement: activate is an element which describes exercises and activities that are designed to enable students to consolidate language points and use language as freely as possible. Importantly, students learning goal is not only to focus on language points, but also to try to use every chance to speak with others in a real situation by using different language strategies. Meanwhile, teachers dont focus on the grammatical structure, the application of language is essential for students.The ESA teaching model concentrates thoroughly on the learning process and students participation. Its necessary to obtain language knowledge include develop students reading strategies, skill, and communicative competence.2.1.2 Three types of lessons attached to the ESA teaching modelStraight Arrows sequence is more suitable for primary language learners, teachers should first arouse students interest in learning, and guide them into the learning state, then learn the relevant language information, and make students apply what they have gained flexibly, that is, Engage-Study-Activate, which resembles the approach of Pre-learning, While-learning and Post-learning. Straight Arrows lessons can be adapted to students who are in lower level, but it is unsuitable for more advanced learners to learn complex language. Instead, here is a “Boomerang” procedure.Boomerang sequence means that the teacher first guides the student to engage in one topic, then crosses the study stage to enter the application stage directly, lets the student study before learning the language content, then the teacher find out language errors of the activities to guide the students to correct error, and finally flexible application of the actual activities in the learning test, until the students fully master, namely Engage-Study-Activate. This model fully considers the students cognitive rules and language needs. Teachers discover the language problems of students through activities to start teaching, so that the relationship between teaching and learning is more closely. Thus, the Boomerang sequence is very suitable for intermediate learners. Of course, higher requirements could be put forward by teachers. In Straight Arrows sequence, teachers can organize his or her teaching in an E-S-A procedure, while in the Boomerang sequence; classes can be organized in an E-A-S-A procedure. However, many lessons are intricate, and there would be more than one Engage, Study and Activate in one lesson. So “Patchwork” lesson is full of fixed process. Patchwork sequence is propitious to more complicated teaching. The combination of the three elements of E-S-A does not have a clear boundary. Comparing with the Boomerang sequence teaching model, Patchwork sequence is more flexible and effective. There are a number of ESA combinations of the order, Engage-Activate-Activate-Study-Activate-Study -Engage-Activate. Patchwork is more reasonable in practical teaching and beneficial to the students language learning. The subjectivity of students is more prominent, so the teaching is more flexible, the students study interest also stimulates in each link and effectively maintains.As mentioned above, three types of lessons attached to the ESA teaching model are practical for teachers according to various situations in teaching. The most vital thing for teachers is to stimulate students really needs when choosing teaching materials and design teaching activities, the more active students are in classroom teaching activities, the more successful teachers are.2.2 Theoretical Basis of ESA Teaching ModelFirstly, Input Hypothesis is one of the ESA teaching models basic theories and it is relative to linguistics. Stephen Krashens (1985) Input Hypothesis stresses the significance of input in the process of Second Language Acquisition. We can infer is background knowledge leads to a key part in language learning according to Input Hypothesis. In ESA teaching model, before learning a topic, students will be expose to information of the certain topic, which gets students know some background knowledge about language material. Due to the input of comprehensive background knowledge, students target language will be extended, so they can understand the language material fully and acquire the language successfully.While constructivism reveals a further development of cognitive theory than behaviorism, and constructivism is formed by Jean Piaget in 1960s. Constructivists argue that all knowledge is temporary and unstable; each learner is a unique individual with unique needs and backgrounds. So they emphasize the construction or knowledge system based on learners experience, existing knowledge and inner cognitive structure by themselves (苗若楠, 周琳, 2010:63). The whole process of ESA teaching model expresses that teacher is just a guide, actually, the most important is student, they will gain more useful knowledge by their intrinsic structure and their understanding with the help of teacher. In short, ESA teaching model correspond with Constructivism ideastudent-centered.Thirdly, Motivation theory is the theory and doctrine used to explain the nature of behavioral motives and their mechanisms of production. It consists of many kinds of theories describing motivation such as reinforcement theory, need theory, goal theory, etc. Different researchers have various opinions about motivation. In Harmers viewpoint, motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages people to carry on a series of action and it comes from goals one holds. In the Engage period of ESA teaching model, motivation is critical to students, the stronger motivation they have, the higher learning efficiency they will be. So teacher should master students motivation and then design class.2.3 Review of ESA Teaching Model Abroad and at Home2.3.1 Studies on ESA teaching model abroadIs there a teaching model that not only pays attention to the reading process and results, but also focuses on improving students reading ability? In 1998, Jeremy Hammer first proposed the ESA teaching model in his book How to Teach English which includes three basic elements of classroom language teaching, they are: Engage, Study, and Activate. No matter what the teaching content are, the three elements are indispensable (Johnson & Sinatra, 2013:28). According to the ESA teaching model, three kinds of lesson patternsstraight arrows sequence, boomerang sequence and patchwo