摘 要
在新课程改革背景下，小学英语课程的总体目标是使学生的综合语言运用能力得到全面发展，使学生学好英语，培养学生积极的情感。所以情感教育在小学英语教学中占有重要地位。然而，当前英语课堂教学中过分重视语法和词汇知识的讲解和传授，忽视对学生积极情感态度的培养，导致学生对英语学习缺乏兴趣、自信心以及乐于与他人合作的品质。这与新课改的理念是背道而驰的，不利于学生的发展。因此，为了较好的实践新课改的理念与目标，小学英语课堂中教师要不断加强对学生情感的投入，促进学生和谐和健康的情感的发展；与此同时，教师自身也要保持良好的情感态度，做到言传身教，最终要达到促进学生综合语言运用能力的发展目标。
关键词：情感； 教学； 小学
A Study on Emotional Teaching in English in Primary School
ABSTRACT
Under the background of the new course reformation, the overall goals of the Englishcourse in primary school are to develop students'comprehensive language abilities, let themlearn English well, and cultivate their positive emotions. Therefore, emotional education plays animportant role in primary school English teaching. However, some English teachers put toomuch emphasis on the knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in classroom teaching andoverlook the cultivation of students'positive emotions, which lead to their lacking of interest instudying English, self-confidence and the trait of cooperating with others. It is contrary to theidea of the new course reformation and is not conducive to the development of students. The facturges that primary school English teachers should enhance the input of emotional teaching inclass and promote students'to develop harmonious and healthy emotions. Meanwhile, teachersshould also maintain a good emotional attitude, teach by precept and example, and eventuallyreach the goal of developing students'comprehensive language abilities.
Keywords：Emotional； teaching； primary school
TABLE OF CONTENTS
摘 要
ABSTRACT
Chapter One Introduction
Chapter Two Problem of Emotional Attitude in English Teaching in Primary School
2.1 Lack of motivation
2.2 Lack of interest
2.3 Lack of self-confidence
2.4 Lack of cooperation
Chapter Three Solutions of Emotional Teaching in Primary School English
3.1 Stimulating students’ learning motivation
3.2 Exploring students’ learning goals
3.3 Creating friendly and harmonious atmosphere in English
3.4 Making efforts to unearth the teaching contents
Chapter Four Conclusion
REFERENCES
Chapter One: Introduction
American education expert Bloomfield's emotional education theory thinks that manydifficulties in the schools are artificial, but not individually inherent. As long as students areprovided with adequate time and the proper help, 90 percent of them are able to learn a discipline.
A student with a positive emotional learning motivation has higher learning level than those wholack enthusiasm. Students who are interested in learning are more relaxed, more efficient thanthose students who feel anxiety and fear of learning materials. Fearful mentality was harmful fornormal mental activities: the perception, memory, thinking and language (Lai & Wang, 2007 ).
Students in the normal state can fully answer the questions correctly, while in a state of fear andpanic they may become stupid. That is to say, if they feel nervous, they cannot expressthemselves well.
Besides that, the English curriculum standard, emotional attitude gets closely with theEnglish learning. To maintain a positive emotional attitude toward English learning is the key tosuccess. To promote interpersonal communication is one of the important functions of humanlanguage. During interpersonal communication, emotional attitude is essential. Appropriate useof language can help to improve communicative feelings, friendships, and respects. Emotionalattitude directly or indirectly affects many aspects of English learning. Positive emotion andlively personality will help students take an active part in English learning and grasp morelearning opportunities. Strong emotion to learn and bold spirit to practice can help students toenhance learning efficiency. Strong will and self-confidence help students overcome difficultiesencountered in the learning of English.
Responding to the reform of the new curriculum, educators and teachers enhance theimportance of students themselves. Teachers should put emotional attitude of the students intoacademic education and training. A basic education not only accumulates the languageknowledge and develops the skills of students, but also has the responsibility and obligation tocultivate a positive emotional attitude. Compared with other areas, language and emotionalattitude are related closer. Emotional language in large part needs to be expressed and conveyed.
Communication and solving emotional problems need to use language. Appropriate andreasonable using of language will help students to communicate feelings, friendships and mutualrespects well. Thus, at present, a growing number of scholars and teachers begin to pay more attention to exploring the emotional teaching,because strengthening the quality of education gives teachers a new mission.
The new mission - the teaching process is not only a two-way process of informationtransmission and communication between teachers and students, but also a two-way process ofemotional interaction. According to some surveys, the performance of students in English classvaries widely. In fact, there are a number of students having difficulties in speaking English andeven producing unwillingness to speak English. The purpose of emotional teaching in primaryschool is to optimize teaching course, to fulfill teaching aims; to bring up pupils'interests inlearning and speaking English and to active attitudes towards English learning; to improve theirEnglish learning results; to develop their sound personal characters in primary school; and tostart a good beginning in English learning ( 英语课程标准研制组, 2008 ). From the angle ofthe Humanism and according to emotional theories on emotional language teaching at home andabroad countering traits of primary school pupils, primary school English teachers and primaryschool English curriculums, the thesis makes a great deal of theoretical research and realisticinvestigation on the possibility and necessities of carrying out English emotional teaching inprimary school. The research has been done through interviewing teachers and talking with theprimary school students in Changshu Shimei Primary School. All the contents were collectedand analyzed. It shows the pupils'interests in English, the pupils'attitudes to their Englishteachers and the pupils'experiences of the English teachers'love in practical teaching haveobvious influences on their English learning results. And the emotional teaching in primaryschool English has the following characteristics: it can effectively foster the primary schoolEnglish beginners'interests in English, active attitudes towards English, improve the pupils'
English learning results, and make them take a delight in learning English. It can arouse empathyamong pupils and their English teachers that has obvious influences on pupils'English learningresults.
The thesis shows that emotional teaching in primary school English has four specialpowerful functions: function of cultivating motivation, function of developing interest, functionof building confidence and function of arousing cooperative spirit. Therefore the emotionalteaching in English in primary school is possible and necessary.
Chapter Two: Problems of Emotional Attitude inEnglish Teaching in Primary School
2.1 Lack of motivation
Motivation is the factor that affects the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence ofbehavior (中华人民共和国教育部, 2003 ). Teachers must link students'experience and createappropriate condition to stimulate students'motivation and reach the class learning goals.
Interest is the best teacher. Interest in English learning is necessary for students. Good teachersmust find something interesting in everywhere and at all times the diversity of teaching methods.
Interesting and meaningful contents can stimulate students'interest and motivation in learning.
TV, electronic and multi-media teaching can increase students'interest in learning. Furthermore,English speech competition, oral competition and other activities are beneficial to increasestudents'interest, so teachers should design and organize class activities carefully ( Lai & Wang,2007 ). Positive evaluation that teachers give students should be some stimulating words, forexample: “good”, “good job”. Such encouraging words are warm current that filled in students'psychological development. It will promote students to learn hard and continuously improvetheir learning efficiency. In doing games, if teachers let them do simple performance andstudents perform poorly, at this time teachers should seize the opportunity to say: “it does notmatter. Think it over.” When they are wrong, the teachers should say with a smile “Be carefully,you will do it better.” Or “Never mind, I am sure you can do better next time.” Thus, theirpotential will be tapped, and this will enhance self-esteem and self-confidence. If things go onlike this, the teachers transfer such expectation to students openly or covertly, it would certainlyaffect the academic performance of students and teachers in the evaluation of students ( 人民教育出版社师范教材中心, 1998 ). Learning motivation provide impetus and direction to learners.
Teachers should begin to use words to express the emotional content of teaching, and teachersshould be full of passion. Psychologists'research indicates that if the teachers love the studentsand have good expectations that will encourage the students greatly. It would encourage moreteachers to give students trust, the sincere respect, confidence and determination. The educator,Skinner, the American psychological expert, shows that the awards may be borne in mind that can not punish, refuse to act. Teachers shouldlet students know the importance of learning English. In short, the teaching of English is an art,and interest and passion is the center of this art. It can open children's minds to rectify thechildren's attention towards learning so that children can have a good learning motivation, andthe quality of foreign language teaching can be improved2.2 Lack of interest
Interest here, briefly, which belongs to affection, is related to motivation and is theimportant support of will. Einstein said interest is the active emotion which is the best teacher.
At present, many students do not have interest in English learning, therefore, they do not havestrong desires to knowledge and high concentration in class. They seldom take an active part inthe classroom activities enthusiastically if they do not have great interest in learning contents.
What's more, they may show violent resistance to all the activities.
Thus, many primary school students suffer from bad affection in their English learningprocess. Some lose interest in it or even hate it. It's common that a lot of students arepsychologically unhealthy. The present criteria on curriculum of English for basic education ispromulgated and put into practice, aiming at the students'comprehensive and harmoniousdevelopment ( Zhu, 2001 ). But some teachers don't pay attention to arousing and developing thestudents'interest in English learning. The basic education stage in the present criteriaemphasizes the students'exam results during English learning process. Students'affectioncultivation is not put at an important position of the teaching target. Teachers are not good atturning the teaching fashion from the traditional accept-pattern to a task –based pattern andencouraging the students to take a concentrative part in activities and study actively. Teachingmaterial is seldom edited according to the students'living experience and interest, let alonefocusing on the students'long-term development during their lifetime.
2.3 Lack of self-confidence
Self-confidence is normally assumed to have an influence on successful learning (B·A·Cyxomjnhcknn ). When emotional factors are explicitly discussed, there seems to be aconsensus that the general notion of self-confidence may be a crucial factor in the learner'sability to overcome occasional setbacks or minor mistakes in the process of learning a secondlanguage ( Guo，2002 ). As self-confidence is so important in English learning, teachers shouldenhance students'development in self-confidence. However, in today's English class, teachersdo not pay great attention to students'self-confidence. Instead, they want students'high grades. Thus, students have difficulties to expressthemselves in English freely for they are afraid of making mistakes. And without self-confidence,today's primary school students tend to underestimate their learning abilities and can hardlycultivate their positive emotion towards English learning. In short, lack of self-confidence is apersonal judgment of worthless that is expressed in the attitudes that the students hold towardsthemselves. It is a negative experience which the students convey to others by verbal reports andother expressive behavior, while self-confidence is the positive one. From the definition, we cansee that self-confidence plays a very important role in students'behavior. Self-confidencemanifested in foreign language learning includes both learners'assessments of their overalllinguistic competence and their assessments of a specific skill.
2.4 Lack of cooperation
Cooperative relationship refers to the classroom climate in which teachers and learnersshare the same purpose, have the intention to include each other and show affection to each other( 中华人民共和国教育部, 2003 ). So teachers should try to create a light and easy Englishteaming environment. Show concern for everyone, especially the nervous and the inactive. Butin fact, many teachers are not so sensitive to students'affective needs, and they are not sosympathetic, warm and ready to help their students, instead, teachers are more likely to stimulatestudents'strong will of being the top students. In some degree, this may water the breeds ofbeing selfish, and unwilling to cooperate with each other. In today's class, it is common to seethat students work alone, they are unwilling to share their learning tips with each other. This mayresult from teachers'failing of making students feel that they are working on something togetherwith the teacher, not the teacher is going to teach them something alone.
It is pointed out in Decision about Basic Educational Reform and Development of the StateCouncil that encourage cooperative study, promote mutual exchange and common developmentbetween students and promote teaching benefiting teachers as well as students. Point out again inEnglish course standard of full-time compulsory education. Advocate teaching mode of task type,let student under the guidance of teachers, through perceive, experience , practice , participate inand cooperate, realizing the goal of the task, it is successful to experience. What here put forwardis it regards cooperating in studying as a basic emotional teaching activity. It makes use ofcooperation between the dynamic factors of teaching to promote and study. It regards group'sachievement as the top criterion, reaching the teaching goal together.
Chapter Three: Solutions of the Emotional Teaching inPrimary School English
3.1 Stimulating students'learning motivation
Tao Xingzhi once said that motivation is the factor that affects the initiation, direction,intensity, and persistence of behavior. Teachers must pay close attention to students'experienceand create appropriate condition to stimulate students'motivation and reach the class learninggoals. Einstein said interest is the best teacher. Interest in English is necessary for students. Agood teacher must find something interesting in everywhere and at all times the diversity ofteaching methods. Interesting and meaningful learning materials can stimulate students'interestand motivation in learning. TV, electronic and multi-media teaching can increase students'interest in learning. Furthermore, English speech competition, oral competition and otheractivities are beneficial to increase students'interest, so teachers should design and organizeclass activities carefully. Besides, positive evaluation that teachers give students should be somestimulating words, for example: “good”, “good job”. Such encouraging words are warm currentthat filled in students'psychological development. It will promote students to learn hard andcontinuously improve learning efficiency. In doing games, if teachers let students do simpleperformance and students perform poorly, at this time teachers should seize the opportunity tosay: “it does not matter. Think it over.” When they are wrong, the teachers should say with asmile “Be carefully, you will do it better.” Or “Never mind, I am sure you can do better nexttime.” Thus, their potential will be tapped, and this will enhance self-esteem and self-confidence.
If things go on like this, the teachers transfer such expectation to students openly or covertly, itwould certainly affect the academic performance of students and teachers in the evaluation ofstudents. Learning motivation provide impetus and direction to learners. Teachers should beginto use words to express the emotional content of teaching, and teachers should be full of passion.
Psychologists'research indicates that if the teachers love the students and have goodexpectations, it will encourage the students greatly. It would encourage more teachers to givestudents trust, the sincere respect, confidence and determination. This is called the “Pymalion.”
The educator, Skinner, the American psychological expert, shows that the awards may be bornein mind that can not punish, refuse to act. Teachers should let students know the importance oflearning English. In short, the teaching of English is an art, and interest and passion is the centerof this art. It can open children's minds to rectify the children's attention towards learning so thatchildren can have a good learning motivation, and the quality of foreign language teaching canbe improved.
3.2 Exploring students'learning goals
Goals of learning English are to communicate with foreigners and know foreign culture andhistory. Teachers should help students know the importance and values of learning English inmodern life. Teachers can introduce some experience to enhance the status of learning English instudents'heart. With the globalization of world economy, English has become more importantall over the world, and each day there are millions of people learning English as second languagein China. Today human knowledge of science and culture has gained an increasingly fast paceand updating. In class, teacher can show some pictures of foreign countries and foreigners to letstudents know more about English countries. In a word, let students know how importantEnglish is. Then, students can try their best to learn English.
3.3 Creating friend and harmonious atmosphere in English
English as a second language is lack of communicative environment in China. Thisrequires teachers to give full scope to their exemplary role in the classroom as much as possibleto use English, which can be formed in the classroom atmosphere. But even some simple terms,are still difficult for beginners. Therefore, non-verbal communication becomes an indispensableteaching technique in English teaching. Teachers should make full use of silent languages ( facialexpressions, body language, etc. ) properly. Through this, teachers can easily convey their ideas.
For example, teachers: “Who can answer the question, please? Put up your hands.” and thenraise their hands. Meanwhile cheerfully looking at the whole class, teachers say: “Say ittogether.” Non-verbal factors in the expression sometimes are more thorough than linguisticfactors, which play a better effect than “My silence is better than sound.” Human communicatesemotions partly through tone of voice and body posture or movement, but mainly through facialmovements and expressions. The human face can create thousands of different expressions (Izard, 1971 ). So the teachers should let students grasp the opportunities to speak, find somesmooth communicative channels, find a good relationship between teachers and students, andcreate harmonious, democratic, united atmosphere. Teachers in the classes should not only graspthe teaching point, but also concentrate on difficulties that may arise. Teachers should know thedifference between emotional teaching and traditional teaching in class. The former focuses onknowledge, skills, the ideological content of the lesson, and the latter focuses on experiences,showing the content of the course. Teachers and students should exchange consultation of theways, time and place of English teaching. Communication is the key of English learning, andwhen students practice their oral English, they should be brave enough to communicate withothers.
3.4. Making efforts to unearth the teaching contents
Do everything possible to make the teaching of English lively. Teaching materials arebound to be boring to students. It will affect the enthusiasm of students. Teachers must makethese teaching materials specific and vivid. It helps to arouse the interest and enthusiasm ofstudents, deepen their understanding of the English language knowledge, and improve the abilityto apply knowledge of English language. In the classroom teaching, teachers should use multi-media and other means of educational software to create a pleasant atmosphere for English learnand communication, and encourage students to speak and take part English learning actively.
Teachers should take advantage of network resources to download some pictures, music,histories and other information about the topic, and give students a voice and time thinking inEnglish and communication. Multimedia teaching is not only one intuitive visual teachingmethod to give students a profound impression that evokes their interests, but also can make theconcept understood quickly, memorized firmly. And object and drawing are economical andpractical. This teaching method could significantly establish a link between language and reality,for example: pen, book, pencil, ruler, the direct physical demonstration. We can use diverseteaching methods. Fully reflect the diversity of teaching method, if some students are tired. Wecan vary the teaching contents from listening and speaking to reading activities to attract students.
In students'view, the assistance provided by teachers will help students learn more relaxed andstudents want to have the next scheduled class with that teacher. Such activities can cultivate astrong interest in their learning.
Chapter Four: Conclusion
Emotion is a transitory, valuable experience that is felt with some intensity as happening tothe self, generated in part by a cognitive appraisal of situation, and accompanied by both learnedand innate physical response ( Bernstein, 1997 ). Emotional teaching in English is related to thegreat efforts that teachers make in order to establish the harmonious relationship betweenteachers and students. So teachers had better educate students with affection, and encouragestudents to use their minds to bring up the warmth and spirit of learning, thus to enable studentslearn better.
However, the fact is just on the opposite. Today's English class is so eager for emotionalteaching. Students are thirsty for learning motivation, learning interest, self-confidence andcooperation. Lacking these learning emotions in English class can bring great damage to studentslearning processes and results. What is more, lacking positive learning emotion in English classmay easily influence students'long-term development. Students are likely to lose interest inlearning all subjects and develop the pessimistic attitude towards learning, even their viewstowards life.
So we need immediate steps to meet students'need. According to some famous educators'views and ordinary high school English curriculum standard, this paper proposed severalstandpoints, for example, the importance of the emotional teaching. The realization of theimportance of interest、self-confidence and cooperative relationship urges teachers to takemeasures to cultivate students'learning spirits. The measures include stimulating students'learning motivation；exploring students'learning goals; creating harmonious and friendatmosphere; making efforts to unearth the teaching contents. In other words, these emotionalfactors in the use of English teaching refer to transferring students'emotion into meeting theemotional needs of the students in English learning. Keeping a good emotion is helpful instudents'English learning. In order to well practice those actions, English teachers should updatetheir concepts of educate, know exactly the functions of emotional factors for the students tolearn and the enormous roles of the healthy emotion. Thus, Emotional teaching is gifted withintelligence and education. It is teachers'duty to help students develop a healthy psychological,emotional stability and good moral character and create a complete personality.
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