整合多元文本 构建三维课堂

2015-07-08 16:36朱东阳姚宝梁
关键词:虚拟语气语法形式

朱东阳+姚宝梁

Larsen-freeman提出语言的三分法,即形式、意义和功能(语用),这三者缺一不可,是动态相互作用的整体。[1]因此,英语教学中如何将语法项目的形式、意义和功能三个维度整合起来,培养学生的语法能力就成了教师亟待解决的问题。此外,仅仅思考如何教还不够,更重要的是教什么。一旦为学习者备好“料”,记忆和保持就更长久,课堂也更容易吸引学生的注意。这里的“料”就是指多元文本。如果教师可以根据教学目标的需要,补充多样化的文本作为语法教学的素材,把师生共有的生活经验、文化体验融入学习中,这样不仅能激活课堂氛围,而且能将学生的积极情感融入学习中,从而达到事半功倍的效果。因此,教师应开发多元文本作为教材的补充,设计由浅入深的活动达成对于一个语法项目“形式、意义、功能”三个维度的掌握,从而促进学生语用能力的发展。

多元文本可以是真实未经加工的语言素材,如报纸、杂志、广播影视节目、网络资源、文学作品等,也可以是其他版本的教材,甚至是教师自编自创的诗歌、故事,学生的作业等等。[2]未经加工的素材真实地道,具有时代性,但这类材料往往信息密度大,存在不熟悉的词汇和干扰理解的句式,因此要根据教学目标进行一定的取舍;而来源于学生或教师自编的文本,具有生成性,对学生有强烈的吸引力,涵盖了学生所学的内容,无形中起到了复习的作用。当然,这类文本没有前者语言地道,也需要经过筛选和加工才能使用。

下面就以虚拟语气中与过去事实相反的教学内容为例(在此之前已经完成了与现在、将来事实相反的虚拟语气的学习),在实践操作层面说明如何整合多元文本,构建三维语法课堂,提升语法教学效果。

一、经典片段呈现  提取语法意义

在教学之前,笔者先播放一段电影《泰坦尼克号》主题曲“My Heart Will Go On”的小视频。该电影是每一个学生所熟知的:来自于不同阶层的两个人——穷画家Jack和贵族女Rose抛弃世俗的偏见坠入爱河。在邮轮即将沉没时,Jack把生的机会让给了Rose。学生被故事的场景和音乐所吸引,随即笔者引导学生转换视角,提问:Suppose you were Rose, what would you like to convey if Jack could read your letter in the heaven?学生纷纷陷入了沉思,随即笔者分享了一首事先准备好的小诗。

How I wish ...

How I wish that I could have become a snowflake,

Telling you my heart melts the moment you look into my eye.

How I wish that I could have become a bonfire,

Warming the icy ocean and brightening your pale face.

How I wish that I could have become a bunch of sunflowers,

Sending out fragrance and bringing a bright color in the darkness.

How I wish that I could have become a seagull,

Silently circling around you, whether it is cloudy or clear.

How I wish that I could have become a clock,

Setting my hand on the day before the disaster till eternity.

这首自编的小诗迅速吸引了学生的注意力,随即笔者让学生根据诗的内容回答以下问题:

1. Am I a snowflake?

2. Can I actually warm the icy ocean?

3. Is it likely that I become a bunch of sunflowers?

4. Could Rose accompany Jack no matter what the weather is? Why not?

5. Why cannot I stop time?

这一系列的问题都属于Concept Checking Questions,旨在通过提问的方式确认学生是否真正理解了含义。由于“我”既不是雪花,又不是篝火、海鸥或钟表,因而my wish也就无法实现。这一步对于学生对虚拟语气意义的理解是至关重要的,对后面的教学也起到了铺垫作用。

二、学生作品欣赏  关注语法形式

Scott Thornbury [2]认为,学生文本是最有效的学习资源。比起那些由教师或教材介绍的内容,学习者对同伴的创作更感兴趣。由于其中使用了他们熟悉和接受的语言,也更容易记忆。于是在确认意义理解的基础上,笔者将上一届学生创作的小诗作为学习材料予以呈现。

阅读后,学生不难看出这首小诗讲述了作者没被告知征兵的消息,所以没有发生后续的这一连锁反应。在共同欣赏了小诗的内容后,笔者再次呈现这首诗,将画线部分挖空并给出动词原形,要求学生独立完成,目的是让学生关注与过去事实相反的虚拟语气的典型形式。endprint

在这个环节,允许学生在独立思考的基础上,与邻座同学核对答案,同时讨论虚拟语气与过去事实相反的典型形式。教师可以提示学生,为了和陈述语气相区别,虚拟语气要用动词的特殊形式来表现。经过思考,学生回答这首诗在主句部分都使用了“主语+would have done ...”的形式。这时教师反问:“只能用would have done吗(重读would)?如果表示可能性很小呢?(用might have done) 表示过去本来应该做的事,但最后没做成呢?(用should have done) 或者表达原本能够或可能呢?(用could have done)”在这一系列问题的引导下,最后学生总结道:If引导的与过去事实相反的虚拟语气的形式是:If+主语+ had done ... , 主语+ would/could/should/ might have done ... 在此基础上,再次回到语篇中体会并强化虚拟语气的典型形式。最后在屏幕上将这些关键部分用红色突出,要求学生诵读、记忆。

三、巧用历年真题  理解语法功能

为了进一步让学生体会虚拟语气是形式与功能统一的整体,并深入理解虚拟语气的言外之意,可以将近几年的高考和各区模拟题改编加以利用。例如,让学生比较、选出以下每组中更能强化说话者感情色彩的句子。

1. a. I would have gone to my cousins birthday party last night, but I was not available. ( √ )

b. I didnt go to my cousins birthday party as I was not available last night. (    )

2. a. —It rained cats and dogs this morning. Im glad we took an umbrella.

—Yeah, if we forgot to take one, we would get wet all over.  (    )

b. —It rained cats and dogs this morning. Im glad we took an umbrella.

—Yeah, we would have got wet all over if we hadnt.  ( √ )

3. a. Without joint effort of all the members, we couldnt have accomplished the task in such a short time. ( √ )

b. With joint effort of all the members, we accomplished the task in such a  short time. (    )

在核对答案的基础上,结合以上三组句子,让学生讨论:1.选出来的句子都有什么共同特点? 2.选出的句子分别都表达了什么情感?3.何时需要使用虚拟语气?

通过思考,学生能够说出每组中选出的句子都采用了虚拟语气的形式,体会到虚拟语气不仅仅出现在单项选择题中,更广泛地应用于日常交流中。当人们要表达诸如“愿望、后悔、遗憾、庆幸、歉意、感激”等情感时使用,有时亦可以推断某个设想的后果。虚拟语气的使用是为了强化感情色彩或使表达更加委婉。通过回答以上三个问题,学生逐步认识到虚拟语气是形式和功能的结合,这有利于在后面的语言输出环节选择恰当的语言形式进行表达。

四、博采文学经典  整合语法“三维”

优秀的文学作品是语言的精华,涵盖了大量可供模仿与学习的真实语料。对于学习者而言,经典作品可以极大地唤起学生的学习兴趣,弥补传统语法教学沉闷繁杂的弱点。在前三步教学的基础上,应进一步整合语法的“形式、意义、功能”三个维度,深化学生对于语法项目的理解与使用。例如在下题中,首先需要根据上下文的语义确定空格中空缺的词,其次判断该句应采用的语气,从而填写出正确的词形。

根据语境选词填空,并根据需要变化其形式。

Assassination of John F. Kennedy

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the United States, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while he was riding in an open car. Many people think it was foolish of him to be in an open car. He should      1       a covered bulletproof car, as most world leaders do today. His death could      2      . Immediately after the assassination, a suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested. Two days later, as Oswald was being transferred to a jail, he himself was killed by a gunman in the crowd.endprint

An investigation      3       to find out the truth behind the assassination. After examining a lot of evidence and questioning many people, the investigating committee determined that Lee Oswald must have been the person who shot Kennedy. However, many theories have been made about why he did it. Some people think Oswald could have been a crazy person who thought he could      4       by killing a famous man. Another theory states that he might       5       the agent of another government, possibly Russia or Cuba. According to another theory, organized crime (the Mafia) may have been behind the assassination. Some witnesses report gunshots coming from two different directions. If this is true, Oswald could not        6       alone; there must have been more than one gunman. Even though the assassination occurred many years ago, people are still fascinated with this event.

【答案:1. have had; 2. have been prevented; 3. took place; 4. get attention; 5. have been; 6. have acted】

这段文字记录了肯尼迪总统遇刺后各方的推测,可以说保持了语言的原汁原味,负载了许多可供借鉴的表达方式,折射出社会生活的许多层面。因而适当选取经典作品作为教材的补充,不仅关注了语法项目的形式、意义与功能,而且有助于为学生提供最佳的语言输入材料,了解西方文化。

五、回归电影场景  深入内化所学

体会虚拟语气是形式、意义与功能相统一的语法项目后,教师应增加练习内化所学,并将练习形式由完全控制转向半控制甚至是完全开放。在这一环节上,我们将视线再一次拉回到电影《泰坦尼克号》邮轮沉没的片段,并在Jack付出生命挽救Rose的一刻将镜头静止。然后让学生设想在生死关头,Jack会想些什么,完成这段心理独白。

学生的输出如下:

在展示学生作品后,笔者引导学生思考“为什么这段文字要使用虚拟语气而不是陈述语气”。通过上一环节的学习,学生能够回答“因为在Jack看来,为了真挚的爱情即使牺牲了生命也是无怨无悔的。为了表达强烈的决心,就需要用虚拟语气”。而虚拟语气的使用恰恰加强了戏剧的张力。

最后,笔者提出:If you were Jack, what would you say to Rose at the last moment? 学生通过思考,彼此交流了自己的想法,随后笔者展示电影中的台词:Jack said, “Rose, if we were alive, I would marry you some day. If we married, we would live a happy life in the future.” 电影的主题不是描写灾难,而是人性,不是反映社会的不平等,而是宣扬超越了贫富差异的爱情。

笔者最后总结道:We all know the end of the story. So there is no “ifs” in reality. As we all know, Jack sacrificed his own life for Roses. But it is because of so many “ifs” that our life is full of hopes and wishes, tragedies and comedies. 从而升华了学生对虚拟语气形式与功能的理解。

六、借助其他教材  综合运用所学

除人教版高中教材外,北师大版、外研版及译林版相应学段的教材亦在课文中巧妙融入了虚拟语气的语法项目,成为教材外很好的课程资源。例如,外研版高中教材模块6就有以下语篇,教师可将其改编为练习,巩固所学。

The D-Day Landings

The soldiers of Able Company crossed the English Channel in seven boats early on the morning of 6 June 1944. When they were about 5 kilometers from the beach, the Germans started firing artillery shells at them but the boats were too far away. The Germans continued firing and Boat 5 was hit one kilometer from the beach. Six men drowned before help arrived. Twenty men fell into the water and were picked up by other boats. As a result, they missed the fighting on the beach. They were lucky. If they had reached the beach, they would probably have been killed.endprint

What do we know about the soldiers of Able Company?

A. They were killed by Germans.

B. They were beaten but survived the battle.

C. They reached the beach and conquered the Germans.

D. They reached the beach but suffered heavy loss.【答案为B】

最后,笔者设置完全开放的写作任务,让学生在书面表达中巩固语法形式,体会虚拟语气的语用功能,如要求学生在下列题目中任选一个写作。

1. If I had/had not done ...

2. I wish I had been/had done ...

3. If only ... had done/had been ...!

以下是一位学生以少年Pi为第一人称创作的小诗。

综上所述,对于语法教学的认识应由单纯的知识传授转变为培养学生的语用能力。相应地,在教学中教师应有意识地从“形式、意义、功能”三个维度设计任务,全方位地提升学生运用语法项目的能力。具体到一节课的设计,可以遵循“提取—整合—应用”的路径。在提取阶段,从学生熟悉的内容或方式入手,激活学生头脑中对于该语法项目形式和意义的记忆,通过对比、讨论等方式,逐步深化学生对于语法功能的理解;在整合、应用阶段,同样关注“形式、意义、功能”这三个维度,设计恰当的情境进行练习,巩固内化所学。

如果说语法教学的目标是从三个维度全方位地掌握语法项目,提升学生语言运用能力,那么多元文本就是促进有效教学的途径。《英语课程标准解读》指出,在教学中除使用教科书外,还应将其他课程资源作为教学的补充,尽可能让学生从不同渠道接触、学习和使用英语。[3]教师应巧妙改编教材资源和习题集,积累报纸、歌曲、影视作品等真实语料,开发教师文本和学生文本,将其融入语法教学之中,从而真正提高学生的综合语言运用能力。

参考文献:

[1] 桂诗春.外语教学的认知基础[J].外语教学与研究,2005,37(4):247.

[2] THORNBURY S.如何教语法[M].邹为诚,编译. 北京:人民邮电出版社,2011:90-91.

[3] 中华人民共和国教育部.全日制义务教育英语课程标准(实验稿)解读.[M].北京:北京师范大学出版社,2002:142-143.endprint

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