A Brief Analysis of the Self—correction Model

She+Ali

【Abstract】Based on postmethod pedagogy and teaching practice， this paper proposes a new teaching model and explains it from the theory of text linguistics.

【Key words】self-correction model； text linguistics

1. Introduction

The theories of the second language acquisition （SLA） have been developing almost for 70 years， but most of them are western theories based on Indo-European langugaes. The Self- correction Model， proposed by this paper， is to explore the way of learning English in Chinese classrooms and it is hoped to be rewarding for the Chinese English teaching.

2. The concept of the Self- correction Model

This “Self-correction Model” can be divided into the following six steps. Step 1， translating. The learner translates the native language into the target language. Step 2， comparing. the learner compares the learners language with the target language to find out the differences. Step 3， analyzing. The learner analyzes the causes of these differences. Step 4， correcting. The learner corrects the differences or error places according to the rules and forms of the target language. Step 5， memorizing. The learner abandons the error sentences and keeps the correct sentences of the target language in mind. Step 6， reproducing. The learner uses the correct sentences of the target language in other similar situations.

3. The text linguistics and the Self-correction Model

Richards defines text and discourse as follows：

Text： a piece of spoken or written language. A text may be considered from the point of view of its structure and its functions， e.g. warning， instructing， carrying out a transaction. A full understanding of a text is often impossible without reference to the context in which it occurs. A text may consist of just one word， e.g. danger on a warning sign， or it may be of considerable length， e.g. a sermon， a novel or a debate. Discourse： a general term for examples of language use， i.e. language which has been produced as the result of an act of communication. Whereas grammar refers to the rules a language uses to form grammatical units such as clause， phrase and sentence discourse refers to larger units of language such as paragraphs， conversations and interviews. （Richards et al， 1992/2000）

Wang Zongyan， editor of the “English Chinese Dictionary of Applied Linguistics”， defined text and discourse as follows：

Text， a unit of oral or written， short or long. A discourse may have only one word， such as writing at the exit of the Exit， also may be a long speech or text， such as a sermon， a novel or a debate.endprint

The domestic and foreign scholars are controversial on the concept of the definition of discourse and text. According to De Beaugrande and Dressler （1981）， the definition of “text” should meet the 7 communication event. If any one of them is not satisfied， the “text” does not have the communication. The 7 criteria are： cohesion， coherence， intentionality， acceptability， informativity， situationality and intertextuality.

Foreign language teaching in the world， as De Beaugrande and Dressler said， are in a “not reliable” state. After learning English for several years， even many yeaes， most learners can not say a few correct or appropriate sentences except some knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. The teaching is still in the traditional way. The teacher explains the words first， and then the text. The language knowledge is also taught isolately， rather than in the text.

After the students translating-comparing- analyzing-self-correcting-memorizing”， the teachers analyze and summarize the whole passage according to the theory of text linguistics to help the students to understand the article from the text level and “reproduce” the article from the perspective of discourse， rather than stay in a simple way of remembering words.

Conclusion

In the Self-correction Model， the teacher analyzes the text from the textlinguistic view and changes his way of teaching from words or sentences to the text. The students independent learning awareness is improved. The enthusiasm， initiative， confidence and motivation are also enhanced， which is beneficial to the cultivation of the students learning habit and independent ability.

References：

[1]de Beaugrande，R.，&W.Dressler.Introduction to Text Linguistics.London：Longman.1981.

[2]Richards，J.C.，Platt，J.& Platt，H.Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguguistics[M].Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Researching and Research Press，1992/ 2000.

[3]劉辰诞.教学篇章语言学[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社， 1999.endprint