On Improving Spoken English in Junior Middle Schoo

On Improving Spoken English in Junior Middle School

Abstract: With the development of economy, oral English becomes more and

more important. The period in junior school is the sky period of learning English. This paper mainly deals with how to improve spoken English in junior students，Firstly, it analysis the reasons for junior students’ poor spoken English. Secondly it mainly discusses how to do as English young learners, they should become confident, don’t be shy and make full use of every chance to speak and practice, putting the theoretic knowledge into practice. Thirdly it introduces the teachers’ teaching affection. As teachers, they play an important role in direction. They should teach the students according to their characteristics using various teaching methods. They try to build up the students’ confidence and arouse their interests to improve junior students’ spoken through creating a favorable language environment. A lot of efficient teaching methods can be applied in English teaching by teachers namely, duty report, role play, free talk, games……

In the end, the paper comes to a conclusion that if the English learners and the English teachers work together hard and harmoniously, they will surely improve each other and make great progress in spoken English.

Key word: spoken English, junior students, teachers, teaches methods

摘要：随着经济的发展，英语口语变的越来越重要，中学阶段是学习口语的

关键时期。本论文主要讨论了中学生该怎样去提高英语口语。第一部分分析中学生口语表达能力差的原因。第二部分，主要论述了中学生自身该怎样去做，充满自信，不要害羞，充分利用每一个机会多说多练，把理论知识运用于实践。第三部分，介绍了老师的教学作用，作为老师，他们扮演了一个很重要的角色，老师应结合学生的特点和多种教学手段，通过创造好的语言环境，试图去建立学生的自信和培养他们的兴趣来提高中学的口语。老师还可以利用许多有效的教学方法，比如，值日报告，角色扮演，自由讨论，游戏……最后，本文最后得出结论：学好英语在于学者与教者的之间的融合，相辅相成，相互促进。当然学好口语并非一朝一夕，需要广大师生共同努力。

关键词：口语；中学生；老师；教学方法

Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………………i Contents……………………………………………………………………iii Introduction ……………………………………………………………1 1. An Analysis of Junior Reasons for Student’s Poor Spoken English…1 2. How to Improve Spoken English as English young Learners………3 2.1 Enjoying losing faces and being confident while speaking English…3 2.2 Taking every chance to speak and talk in English……………………4 2.3 Putting what you've learned into practice…………………………5 3. How to Help Learners Improve Spoken English as an English Teacher……………………………………………………………………5 3.1 Trying to create a favorable language environment in class…………5 3.2 Building up students' confidence and arousing their interest…………7 3.3 Efficient methods to improve students' spoken English …………8 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………14 Bibliography………………………………………………………………15 Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………16

Introduction

With the reforms and development in all walks of life and the carrying out of the open policies to the outside world in China in recent years，spoken English is becoming more and more important．But now in junior middle school，many of the junior students are good at reading and writing English，they cannot communicate well．They have difficulty in expressing themselves in their own words．Some of them even cannot say a word when they meet foreigners．So the traditional grammar-translation method of the foreign language teaching has been found unable to keep pace with the times. this has given rise to many new thoughts and concepts of it．As a result．The communicative approach is getting more and more widely used in English teaching．The application of it is based on the view that English should be taught as a communicative tool，not merely a kind of the knowledge of language．In this case．the students' speaking ability must be the most important thing for teachers to improve．However, it is a very difficulty job．How can we manage it? This is the very subject I want to deal with. Here In my essay, some issues related to improving spoken English are to be discussed in the following three parts．

1. The Analysis of Reasons for Junior Students’ Poor Spoken English

Many of the junior students who can get good grades in an English

exam are unable to communicate with people in English frequently．First this is because they don't have a good language surrounding to speak English as much as possible．They only have chances to practice their spoken English in class．As everyone knows，in China there are 50 or more junior students in each class．This makes it impossible for a teacher to give every junior student an opportunity to speak English in only forty five minutes．Secondly this is because lack of confidence. Junior students are not quite sure about what to say when they speak English．Their faces become red before they begin to speak English．They are afraid to make a lot of mistakes while speaking．They are afraid of being laughed at by others as well．So the more they think of this，the more they afraid to open their mouths．So the more they think of this，the more they afraid to open their mouths．Some of the junior students with low speaking ability don't have enough vocabularies and the ability of telling the grammar construction．Thirdly, we don't have a speaking test in Chinese junior middle schoo1.If a student can speak English fluently but he can't get high marks in English exams，he will not be considered to be a good student by his classmates，parents and even teachers．So a great number of junior students pay less attention to their spoken English than reading and writing English．So do many Of the teachers．

2. How to Improve Spoken English as English Young Learners

Since spoken English is a big disadvantage for Chinese junior students，you should try your best to change this situation．I think you'd better abide by the following suggestions if you really want to improve your spoken English.

2.1 Enjoying Losing Faces and Being Confident While Speaking English

You should enjoy losing faces．Many Chinese junior students are afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous．Perhaps this makes them afraid if starting conversations．But students should remember that their goal should be fluency not accuracy．You want to get your message across，to talk to somebody as quickly and as well as you can．And sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense，but it doesn’t matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances for many mistakes he hears. Making mistakes in a conversation is not a crime．English speakers actually make plenty of mistakes in their English，too．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing．In addition，be confident while speaking English．Don't fear that people may laugh at your pronunciation．In fact it is no problem if you have your own accent because there are many regional kinds of English．You don't have to sound like the Queen of the England or the President of the United States of America．But your accent must be close

to the standards．So In your spare time turn on your TV or radio and watch or listening to programs like hoping English，BBC or NBC and you will hear many different people from Germany, France and other non—English speaking countries·They all have good accents．This will help you a lot．And you must 1earn to speak in public．Your voice should be loud and clear．Don’t feel shy and don't be afraid of being laughed at．

2.2 Taking Every Chance to Speak and Talk in English

If you want to Improve your spoken English，you must take every chance to speak and talk in English in and out of class．Most junior students are reactive rather than proactive Language learners. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English，they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them．Native English speakers will not come to you and ask，“Would you like to practice English with me?” So what you have to do is to maximize your speaking chances and look for chances to speak and listen to English instead of passively waiting for others to teach you. If you have this proactive outlook，you will see opportunities wherever You go. Also sometimes there is too much emphasis on formal textbooks．I find some people have a good understanding of formal，proper English．But when they meet foreigner in real life who speak informal or slang English，they don't understand very much．I think that shows the importance of trying to find more opportunities to use your English，to practice and also more exposure to practical everyday English instead of

formal textbook English.

2.3 Putting What You Have Learned into Practice

You should put what you have learned into practice．When you have learned a word．a sentence pattern or a dialogue，you must try to learn them by heart．For example , when you've learned a word or a phase today, you should try to speak it and use it once until you've finally understood in what situation the word or phase you've learned should be used and don't be afraid of making mistakes．Try to think in English whenever possible．When you see something，think of the English word for it．then think about the word in a sentence．So in your daily life，when you come across something you don't understand，a new word or something，you're always learning，you re always practicing．In this way, you can remember ten or more sentences a day．But without using it，it will not be yours．And you will forget it as soon as time goes．The more you apply it in real situations，the more natural it will become．Your spoken English will surely be improved.

3. How to Help Learners Improve Junior Students’ Spoken English as an English Teacher

3.1 Trying to Create a Favorable Language Environment in Class

It is well—known to us all that the largest difference between mother language learning and foreign language learning is the environment．A child can soon learn his mother language well．He learns to say something after he

has heard a lot．Before he goes to school，he has already been a good speaker. But for a foreign language，most junior students meet it only in formal places，classes，for example．Otherwise，they can hardly have a chance to meet it．So the classroom teaching is one of the most important ways that junior students learn to speak English．Teachers should try their best to organize the classroom teaching in English as much as possible and communicate with junior students in simple English．Also teachers should try to create English situation in class since it's nearly impossible for junior students to get in touch with foreigners frequently．For instance，Lesson 58 of Book 2 is about making a telephone call．Before class，I asked every student to take a toy telephone to the classroom．Then I told them to make up their own dialogues and act them out by themselves．Some of them make dialogues like this：

A：Hello! 2727147!

B：Hello! May I speak to Lingling please? A：Sorry, she's out．Who is it calling?

B：Fan fan. Could you ask Lingling to call me, please? My phone number is 2615388.

A：OK．2615388.

B：Thank you very much．Bye! A：It's a pleasure．Bye!

In class，the students acted out their dialogues vividly. They all

concentrated highly on practicing and acting．These good languages not only help the junior students master how to make a phone call. But also train their ability to express their own opinions. They will find that it is not so difficult to speak English．

3.2 Building up Junior Students’ Confidence and Arousing Their Interest of Learning English

Einstein once said“Interest is the best teacher．” It is true that interest is the key to learning a foreign language．It can arouse their desire of learning，drive them to study and correct their attitude towards study．As a English teacher, it's your responsibility to arouse junior students’ interest of learning English．So English classes should be proceed lively and interesting．For example，once I taught the model verbs“can”and“can't”, I pretended to be hurt in the arm，and said when 1 went into the classroom，“Just now I fell off the bike and my arm got hurt．I can't write now．”When I spoke of“can”．I intentionally repeated it several times，then I said to a junior student with glasses，“Can you see the sentence on the blackboard clearly?”The student answered，“Yes，I can．”Then I said to him，“Now take off your glasses，please．Can you see the sentence on the blackboard clearly now?”The junior student answered, “No，I can't.”If you teach in this way in English classes，I think，the students are sure to be interested in what the teacher says．It can cultivate their interest and ability．Teachers should encourage junior students in time when they have made progress．In class，

when the junior students answer the questions correctly, you must express our satisfaction with“Well done!”“Very good!”“Excellent!”or“You’re very clever!”When the students are slow in answering the questions，you should be patient enough to help them out．Even when they can't answer the questions，you should remember to say“Don’t be nervous．Take it easy!”“Have a guess，it's ok even if you get it wrong．”Or“try next time! I think you will do it better．”These will encourage the junior students greatly and help build up their confidence．They will still want to be volunteers to answer questions next time．You shouldn’t get angry and blame them．If we do so，students will be unwilling to take part in any communicative activities again．As to those who are weak in English，don’t look down upon them．You must give them more care and encourage them to study hard and urge them to continue making efforts．Help them a lot and praise them even if they have made a little progress．If you do so, they will study harder than before.

3.3 Efficient Methods to Improve Junior Students’ Spoken English

Just like learning one’s mother language，a person must learn a foreign language by imitating．That's to say, he should practice more speaking，more reading and more listening．From another point of view, oral English and written English complement each other．In my teaching experience，I have tried the following approaches that proved efficient in improving junior students’ spoken English．

3.3.1 Duty. Report

Duty report is generally done by one or two students on duty at the beginning of an English class．The junior students should face the whole class while talking．The contents of the report are free，for instance，their daily life，likes and dislikes，a funny story, an important news．Teachers can also choose some suitable topics for junior students．But the topics must be fit for junior students’ level and tastes．Ensure that every student must take part in the activity．To those who have difficulty in expressing their opinions，teachers should help them if necessary．Although the whole report only lasts three minutes or more，It can play a very important role in improving junior students’ spoken English．It can also arouse their wide interest. It’s a good device of reinforcement． 3.3.2 Role-play

What is role-play? When students assume a role，they play a part （either their own or somebody else's in a specific situation．）In our junior middle school English textbooks，most of the texts are complied in the forms of dialogues，stories，and plays. So it is possible for teachers to ask the students to practice English according to the characteristics．Role play activity may be done in the following procedure：Firstly，choose the suitable dialogue or play, which the junior students are likely to encounter in their present or future communications．For example，shopping，making appointments，seeing a doctor, talking about a concert，asking the way and

so on．Secondly，give the role cards to the students so as to let them know what to do．Thirdly，allow them a few minutes to prepare．And finally, the role play activity begins．In the course of demonstration，the students can use any phrases，idioms and sentence patterns they've learned．Whether the performance is good or not，it will successfully create light atmosphere and make the students learn spoken English in entertainment．There is a saying by Franklin，“Tell me，and I'll forget．Teach me and I’11 remember．Involve me and I'll learn．”For instance，I once asked some students to act out the story A question of pronunciation in class．It was very interesting funny and successful．After a few years，the students told me that they still remembered the situation quite clearly． 3.3.3 Group Work

To work in small groups allows students to talk more informally and it also fosters a sense of cooperation in the classroom．You may assign students groups or allow them to choose their own．The easiest way to form groups is to have junior students who are sitting near each other pull their chairs together．However, to ensure that the groups aren’t always the same．Before beginning the activity, be sure that everyone understands the meaning of the new words and knows hoe to proceed．If anyone is unsure，you can explain the new words and present a sample activity with a few students’ help．Once the students are in group，help them choose a group reporter to report back to the class．You may also wish to assign a group

leader whose job is to keep everyone involved in the task at hand．By having students work in small groups，you increase the amount of time．Junior students are actually using the langue they have just learned．This makes the English vivid and active．And it also helps prevent boredom and provides a lot of practice in a short amount of time．So it is a useful way to train junior students’ spoken English．

3.3.4 Text Retelling or Story Telling

Retelling is an effective method to carry out oral practice．After learning a text, junior students can try to rewrite the whole text or story into their own words．And then they tell the other students in class．Or they may get some other materials and recast them into stories．This can benefit not only in written but also orally．For instance．after learning Unit 8 of Book 3 The pan，I asked the junior students to change the play into a story“Borrowing a pan”．They are required to say result，and what happened．Here is an example：

One day, a farmer arrived at a woman’ house．He borrowed a pan from her．Very soon he returned it to her．He gave her another small one and said it was a baby．The woman was very pleased and took it．A few days later, the farmer had visitors．He asked the woman to lend him the pan again．He did n’ t return it until the woman came to ask for it．He played a joke with her and said the pan died．But of course，he gave it back to her at last．

Through these activities, junior students not only master the new

language they have just learned，but also improve their ability to express their own opinions． 3.3.5 Free Talk

Free talk is a useful way to practice spoken English．In class，give junior students several minutes to have a free talk in pairs．At first it may be simple everyday English，such as greetings，introducing each other talking about weather and so on．As students learn more，then change into talking about one’s family, school or friends．Such small conversations train junior students’ peaking ability without their awareness．Through more practice of this kind，the junior students won’t feel nervous．They will be brave enough to open their mouths to speak English．They will not think it dull to learn English．They will consolidate the langue skill they learned and find the pleasure of success in the English communication． 3.3.6 Games

Games are one of the most Important ways to train junior students’ spoken English．We can play all kinds of games in class，such as guessing words，puzzle，contest，and filling in letters．I usually play games guessing the words．First，I prepare some words that have just been learned and get the student to do his best to explain them in English in class．Then get the other junior students to guess freely．We can also ask the rest of the students in the class to get some words ready and explain these words in their own words．The student on duty is asked to guess what each word is．Games

make the students find that learning English is very interesting．So when the time comes for them to play games next time，a lot of junior students want to act on their own initiative．They will certainly be more interested in learning English and their spoken English will surely be better and better． 3.3.7 Teacher Student’s Interview

An interview between a teacher and a student or a group of students can provide the junior students with sufficient chances to test their own spoken English．That's to say, if there are some mistakes in the junior students’ sentences，they will get some advice from the teacher after the interview．0n the other hand，a face。to．Face talk is really a great encouragement for the learners. All the junior students can do all kinds of free conversations. Consequently, they will be trained efficiently． 3.3.8 Topic Talking or Debate

This method is most used out of class．As we have observed，the dominant teaching mode in school is still quite traditional，with the teacher talking for most of the class time and the junior students sitting passively listening and doing exercises mechanically．So it is quite necessary to give opportunities to junior students for interaction with other people in meaningful communicative situations．I think we should better arrange a period in one or two weeks，and give a certain topic，then ask the junior students to be creative．If it is possible，the students may have a debate with their imagination．At this time，teachers should be supportive and

atmosphere should be relaxed．No matter they do it well or badly, we teachers must do more encouraging and help them often．

Conclusion

In conclusion，we should train more and more students with communicative competence in foreign language in order to keep up with the rapid change of our society . To improve spoken English requires the learners' hard work and more practice. It also requires techniques and efforts. If one really wants to master a foreign language, he should always search for scientific and effective ways through his long study. As teachers, they have important affection on improving the junior students oral English. They should use various teaching methods to help the junior student build up their confidence and arouse their interests. Finally, if the English learners and the English teachers work together hard and harmoniously, they will surely improve each other and make great progress in spoken English.

Bibliography

[1] 周流溪.中国中学英语教学百科全书[M].沈阳:东北大学出版社,1995:28-30. [2] 李庭芗.英语教学法[M].北京:高等教育出版社,1983:3.

[3] 白光.中学英语教学法[M].桂林:广西师范大学出版社,1988:58-59.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis. A special acknowledgement should be shown to Ms . I am particularly indebted all through my writing. Finally I wish to extend my thanks library assistant who supplied me with reference material of great value.