朱東陽+姚寶梁
Larsen-freeman提出語言的三分法,即形式、意義和功能(語用),這三者缺一不可,是動態(tài)相互作用的整體。[1]因此,英語教學中如何將語法項目的形式、意義和功能三個維度整合起來,培養(yǎng)學生的語法能力就成了教師亟待解決的問題。此外,僅僅思考如何教還不夠,更重要的是教什么。一旦為學習者備好“料”,記憶和保持就更長久,課堂也更容易吸引學生的注意。這里的“料”就是指多元文本。如果教師可以根據教學目標的需要,補充多樣化的文本作為語法教學的素材,把師生共有的生活經驗、文化體驗融入學習中,這樣不僅能激活課堂氛圍,而且能將學生的積極情感融入學習中,從而達到事半功倍的效果。因此,教師應開發(fā)多元文本作為教材的補充,設計由淺入深的活動達成對于一個語法項目“形式、意義、功能”三個維度的掌握,從而促進學生語用能力的發(fā)展。
多元文本可以是真實未經加工的語言素材,如報紙、雜志、廣播影視節(jié)目、網絡資源、文學作品等,也可以是其他版本的教材,甚至是教師自編自創(chuàng)的詩歌、故事,學生的作業(yè)等等。[2]未經加工的素材真實地道,具有時代性,但這類材料往往信息密度大,存在不熟悉的詞匯和干擾理解的句式,因此要根據教學目標進行一定的取舍;而來源于學生或教師自編的文本,具有生成性,對學生有強烈的吸引力,涵蓋了學生所學的內容,無形中起到了復習的作用。當然,這類文本沒有前者語言地道,也需要經過篩選和加工才能使用。
下面就以虛擬語氣中與過去事實相反的教學內容為例(在此之前已經完成了與現在、將來事實相反的虛擬語氣的學習),在實踐操作層面說明如何整合多元文本,構建三維語法課堂,提升語法教學效果。
一、經典片段呈現 ?提取語法意義
在教學之前,筆者先播放一段電影《泰坦尼克號》主題曲“My Heart Will Go On”的小視頻。該電影是每一個學生所熟知的:來自于不同階層的兩個人——窮畫家Jack和貴族女Rose拋棄世俗的偏見墜入愛河。在郵輪即將沉沒時,Jack把生的機會讓給了Rose。學生被故事的場景和音樂所吸引,隨即筆者引導學生轉換視角,提問:Suppose you were Rose, what would you like to convey if Jack could read your letter in the heaven?學生紛紛陷入了沉思,隨即筆者分享了一首事先準備好的小詩。
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.
這首自編的小詩迅速吸引了學生的注意力,隨即筆者讓學生根據詩的內容回答以下問題:
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?
這一系列的問題都屬于Concept Checking Questions,旨在通過提問的方式確認學生是否真正理解了含義。由于“我”既不是雪花,又不是篝火、海鷗或鐘表,因而my wish也就無法實現。這一步對于學生對虛擬語氣意義的理解是至關重要的,對后面的教學也起到了鋪墊作用。
二、學生作品欣賞 ?關注語法形式
Scott Thornbury [2]認為,學生文本是最有效的學習資源。比起那些由教師或教材介紹的內容,學習者對同伴的創(chuàng)作更感興趣。由于其中使用了他們熟悉和接受的語言,也更容易記憶。于是在確認意義理解的基礎上,筆者將上一屆學生創(chuàng)作的小詩作為學習材料予以呈現。
閱讀后,學生不難看出這首小詩講述了作者沒被告知征兵的消息,所以沒有發(fā)生后續(xù)的這一連鎖反應。在共同欣賞了小詩的內容后,筆者再次呈現這首詩,將畫線部分挖空并給出動詞原形,要求學生獨立完成,目的是讓學生關注與過去事實相反的虛擬語氣的典型形式。endprint
在這個環(huán)節(jié),允許學生在獨立思考的基礎上,與鄰座同學核對答案,同時討論虛擬語氣與過去事實相反的典型形式。教師可以提示學生,為了和陳述語氣相區(qū)別,虛擬語氣要用動詞的特殊形式來表現。經過思考,學生回答這首詩在主句部分都使用了“主語+would have done ...”的形式。這時教師反問:“只能用would have done嗎(重讀would)?如果表示可能性很小呢?(用might have done) 表示過去本來應該做的事,但最后沒做成呢?(用should have done) 或者表達原本能夠或可能呢?(用could have done)”在這一系列問題的引導下,最后學生總結道:If引導的與過去事實相反的虛擬語氣的形式是:If+主語+ had done ... , 主語+ would/could/should/ might have done ... 在此基礎上,再次回到語篇中體會并強化虛擬語氣的典型形式。最后在屏幕上將這些關鍵部分用紅色突出,要求學生誦讀、記憶。
三、巧用歷年真題 ?理解語法功能
為了進一步讓學生體會虛擬語氣是形式與功能統(tǒng)一的整體,并深入理解虛擬語氣的言外之意,可以將近幾年的高考和各區(qū)模擬題改編加以利用。例如,讓學生比較、選出以下每組中更能強化說話者感情色彩的句子。
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. ( ? ?)
在核對答案的基礎上,結合以上三組句子,讓學生討論:1.選出來的句子都有什么共同特點? 2.選出的句子分別都表達了什么情感?3.何時需要使用虛擬語氣?
通過思考,學生能夠說出每組中選出的句子都采用了虛擬語氣的形式,體會到虛擬語氣不僅僅出現在單項選擇題中,更廣泛地應用于日常交流中。當人們要表達諸如“愿望、后悔、遺憾、慶幸、歉意、感激”等情感時使用,有時亦可以推斷某個設想的后果。虛擬語氣的使用是為了強化感情色彩或使表達更加委婉。通過回答以上三個問題,學生逐步認識到虛擬語氣是形式和功能的結合,這有利于在后面的語言輸出環(huán)節(jié)選擇恰當的語言形式進行表達。
四、博采文學經典 ?整合語法“三維”
優(yōu)秀的文學作品是語言的精華,涵蓋了大量可供模仿與學習的真實語料。對于學習者而言,經典作品可以極大地喚起學生的學習興趣,彌補傳統(tǒng)語法教學沉悶繁雜的弱點。在前三步教學的基礎上,應進一步整合語法的“形式、意義、功能”三個維度,深化學生對于語法項目的理解與使用。例如在下題中,首先需要根據上下文的語義確定空格中空缺的詞,其次判斷該句應采用的語氣,從而填寫出正確的詞形。
根據語境選詞填空,并根據需要變化其形式。
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】
這段文字記錄了肯尼迪總統(tǒng)遇刺后各方的推測,可以說保持了語言的原汁原味,負載了許多可供借鑒的表達方式,折射出社會生活的許多層面。因而適當選取經典作品作為教材的補充,不僅關注了語法項目的形式、意義與功能,而且有助于為學生提供最佳的語言輸入材料,了解西方文化。
五、回歸電影場景 ?深入內化所學
體會虛擬語氣是形式、意義與功能相統(tǒng)一的語法項目后,教師應增加練習內化所學,并將練習形式由完全控制轉向半控制甚至是完全開放。在這一環(huán)節(jié)上,我們將視線再一次拉回到電影《泰坦尼克號》郵輪沉沒的片段,并在Jack付出生命挽救Rose的一刻將鏡頭靜止。然后讓學生設想在生死關頭,Jack會想些什么,完成這段心理獨白。
學生的輸出如下:
在展示學生作品后,筆者引導學生思考“為什么這段文字要使用虛擬語氣而不是陳述語氣”。通過上一環(huán)節(jié)的學習,學生能夠回答“因為在Jack看來,為了真摯的愛情即使犧牲了生命也是無怨無悔的。為了表達強烈的決心,就需要用虛擬語氣”。而虛擬語氣的使用恰恰加強了戲劇的張力。
最后,筆者提出:If you were Jack, what would you say to Rose at the last moment? 學生通過思考,彼此交流了自己的想法,隨后筆者展示電影中的臺詞: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.” 電影的主題不是描寫災難,而是人性,不是反映社會的不平等,而是宣揚超越了貧富差異的愛情。
筆者最后總結道: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. 從而升華了學生對虛擬語氣形式與功能的理解。
六、借助其他教材 ?綜合運用所學
除人教版高中教材外,北師大版、外研版及譯林版相應學段的教材亦在課文中巧妙融入了虛擬語氣的語法項目,成為教材外很好的課程資源。例如,外研版高中教材模塊6就有以下語篇,教師可將其改編為練習,鞏固所學。
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.【答案為B】
最后,筆者設置完全開放的寫作任務,讓學生在書面表達中鞏固語法形式,體會虛擬語氣的語用功能,如要求學生在下列題目中任選一個寫作。
1. If I had/had not done ...
2. I wish I had been/had done ...
3. If only ... had done/had been ...!
以下是一位學生以少年Pi為第一人稱創(chuàng)作的小詩。
綜上所述,對于語法教學的認識應由單純的知識傳授轉變?yōu)榕囵B(yǎng)學生的語用能力。相應地,在教學中教師應有意識地從“形式、意義、功能”三個維度設計任務,全方位地提升學生運用語法項目的能力。具體到一節(jié)課的設計,可以遵循“提取—整合—應用”的路徑。在提取階段,從學生熟悉的內容或方式入手,激活學生頭腦中對于該語法項目形式和意義的記憶,通過對比、討論等方式,逐步深化學生對于語法功能的理解;在整合、應用階段,同樣關注“形式、意義、功能”這三個維度,設計恰當的情境進行練習,鞏固內化所學。
如果說語法教學的目標是從三個維度全方位地掌握語法項目,提升學生語言運用能力,那么多元文本就是促進有效教學的途徑?!队⒄Z課程標準解讀》指出,在教學中除使用教科書外,還應將其他課程資源作為教學的補充,盡可能讓學生從不同渠道接觸、學習和使用英語。[3]教師應巧妙改編教材資源和習題集,積累報紙、歌曲、影視作品等真實語料,開發(fā)教師文本和學生文本,將其融入語法教學之中,從而真正提高學生的綜合語言運用能力。
參考文獻:
[1] 桂詩春.外語教學的認知基礎[J].外語教學與研究,2005,37(4):247.
[2] THORNBURY S.如何教語法[M].鄒為誠,編譯. 北京:人民郵電出版社,2011:90-91.
[3] 中華人民共和國教育部.全日制義務教育英語課程標準(實驗稿)解讀.[M].北京:北京師范大學出版社,2002:142-143.endprint