TheFunctionofEnglishProverbsUsedinTeachingAstheRoleofLead-in

TheFunctionofEnglishProverbsUsedinTeachingAstheRoleofLead-in

罗洪英

罗洪英四川剑阁中学

1.Introduction

Withtheglobalizationofeconomicandthedevelopmentofscience,theworldhasgotsmallerandsmaller.SoEnglishisconsideredasoneofthemostvitalcommunicativelanguageintheworld.Itisnowplayinganincreasingimportantroleintheworldcommunication.Underthepressure,ChinesestudentstryhardtolearnEnglishwell.However,itisdifficultforthem;eventheycomeintoadilemma.Thatistosay,theydesiretostudywell,butontheotherhandtheycan’tmasterEnglishwell.Consequently,theyloseinterestinEnglishthatissoboringintheireyes.Asanoldsayinggoesthat“Wellbegunishalfdone.”Sodoesintheteaching.Inordertostimulateinterestwemustattractthestudents’attentiontothesubject,anddoitinsuchawaythattheyhaveafeelingofpleasure.Tokeeptheirinterestalive,wemustarrangefortheirattentiontobeactiveandnotmerelyreceptive.

IdiscoverthatrecitingorusingEnglishproverbsisaveryeffectiveteachingmethodinaccordancewiththemainaimsofanewlesson,particularly,astheroleoflead-inofanewlesson.InordertomakesurethestudentsunderstandthemeaningofEnglishproverb,IimmediatelyfollowitbyasimilarChineseone.BecausesomeEnglishproverbsmayhaveasimilarcounterpartinChinese.Thesignificantsimilaritiesareexcitingandcanbeusedinteaching;itiseasytobeunderstoodbystudents.IalsofindthatusingEnglishproverbscouldhelpthestudentstolearnandunderstandthelanguagefaster,whilehavingfun.Tosumup,theuseofEnglishproverbsastheroleoflead-inisbeneficialtothestudents’study.

2.Abriefillustrationoflead-in

EveryexperiencedEnglishteachercantellinthefirstfewminuteswhetheralessonisgoingtobesuccessfulandpleasingorwhetherheandtheclassaregoingtohaveaslowandheavyhalf-hourwithverylittlepracticaleffectonprogress.BoysandgirlshavethisfeelingevenmorestronglythantheEnglishteacher.

Agoodstarttellsthemthattheymaybesureofahappyandprofitabletime.Ifthereisnothingremarkableaboutthewayinwhichthelessonopens,theyknowthattherewillbenothingremarkableaboutthewholeofthelesson.Theysighandlookatthetable.Theinterestoftheclassisawakenedinthefirstfewminutesofalesson,oritislost.Thepupilsatoncemorehappilyforwardinthedirectiontheteacherwantsthemtogoortheysinkintoafullmudoflistlessnessandonlyasuperhumaneffectbytheteachercanarouseatonceifalessonistobeprofitable.

2.1Theimportantroleoflead-inofanewlesson

Theroleoflead-inofanewlessonisakeylinkofclassroomteaching.SoexperiencedEnglishteacherspaygreatattentiontotheartistryofEnglishteachingmethodwhichusedtoleadintoanewlessonatthebeginningofanewlesson.IftheEnglishteachercanuseappropriateandsuccinctlanguageandinterestedteachingapproachtoleadin,itnotonlycanattractstudents’attentionstimulatethemtothinkandintensifytheirthirstfornewknowledge,butalsocangivestudentsausefulandimportantkeytoopenthedoorofthenewlesson.Thatcangettwicetheresultswiththehalfeffectinteaching.Justasaplaycanappealtotheaudiencesithasanenchantingprologue.Aclasscanalsofascinatestudentsdeeplyifthereisaperfectlead-inteachingapproach.Wecanseethatthelead-inofanewlessoncan’tberemoved.Thattheartistryoflead-ininteachingapproachcan’tbeoverlookedorneglect,anditisworthattachingimportantroletothislink

Todesignandorganizeperfectlyandsmoothlylead-inofanewlessonalsocangetthebettereffectsoastobuildagoodfoundationofthewholeteaching.It’sessentialforteachertodesignaneffectivelead-in.iftheteacherguardsthestudentsaccuratelyandcleverlyintoanewlesson,itcanstimulatestudents’interestinstudyingandthirstfornewknowledge.

2.2Applicablerequirementsoflead-in

Whendesignsthelead-in,theteachermustfirstlystudythetextbookfurther,thendesignaccordingtothenatureofthetextbook,theaimsofthenewlessonandthestudents’ageandtastes.

2.2.1Todesignlead-ininthelightofthecontext

Whentheteacherdesignsthemethodsoflead-in,heorshemustbeinaccordancewiththecontextofteaching,andstateclearlythemainaims,thesignificanceandthemainideaofthecontextaspossibleasheorshecan.Atthebeginningofaclasstheteachershouldmakeeffortstobringstudentsintoanewknowledge.Atthesametime,theteachermustpayattentiontothesystematizationofthetextbook,becausetheformerknowledgeistheprerequisiteandthefoundationofthenewknowledge,inturnthenewknowledgeistheexpansionandintensificationoftheformerknowledge.

Sothelead-inofanewlessonisbasedontheformerknowledge.Onthecontrary,ifthelead-inisporcedformtheformerknowledge,teachingcannotbeeffectiveeventhoughthelead-inisverypeculiarandattractive.

2.2.2Todesignlead-inwithenlightenment

Theteachershouldleadstudentsintoanewlessonwithenlightenmentsoastomakestudentsunderstandhowtotransplantknowledge,andmakethembeenlightenedfromasimpleandpreciseevent.Whatismore,thelead-inwhichfullofenlightenmentcanarousestudentstofindouttheproblemsandseektheresolution,stimulatetheirinitiativeofthinkingandpromotethemtofurtherunderstandwell.Theenlightenmentreliesonenlighteningstudents’thoughts,whichisdevelopedfromfindingoutproblemstosolvethem.Oncestudentshaveproblems,theywanttosolvethem.Thisisjusttheprerequisiteforthemtograspnewcontextsuccessfully.

Therefore,itisthekeytosuccessorfailureinteachingwhichdependsonwhetherthelead-incanarousestudents’initiativeofthinkingornot,whetheritcancausecontraryintheirthoughtsornot,whetheritcanbringtheircuriosityornot.

2.2.3Todesignlead-inwithinterest

Thelead-inofanewlessonmustbeenchanting,novel,andvivid,thusitcanarousestudents’interestandinitiativetosupremeextend.Thatishelpfultoguardandpromotetoteachnewknowledge,andmakestudentsovercomewearyfeelingthatcausedbyboringstudying.Itisprovedbypsychologicalresearchthatsomeonewhoforcedtolearnsomethingcannotrememberanythingforlong.Ifstudentsareinterestedinit,theywillbeactiveandtakeinitiativeinit.Asaresult,theywillregardstudyingasenjoymentbutnotboring.

Forthisreason,theteachermustpayattentiontodesigntheelaboratelylead-inwhichcancausesstudents’curiosityinpsychology.Meanwhile,theteacherusesvividanddramaticlead-intoarousestudents’interest,attracttheirattentionandkeepthemmaintainthebestpsychologicalinordertolayperfectfoundationforthewholeclass.

Nomatterwhatmethodsofthelead-intheteacheruses,heorshemustmakestudentsknowclearlythecontexts,requirementsandthewayhowtolearn.

3.UsingEnglishproverbsastheroleoflead-in

LearningEnglishproverbsnotonlygivesusaninsightintothemindsandthethoughtprocessesofadifferentculture,itisanexcellentwaytoconsolidatethelearningofvocabulary,aseachproverbisasmallsentencecompletewithnouns,verbs,andsometimesadjectivesandadverbs.Lotsofdifferentverbtensesareusedinproverbstoo,sothatisgreatpracticeforthestudentslearninglanguagewhichgoestoprovethepointIamtryingtostate,thatisusingEnglishproverbsastheroleoflead-in.

3.1SomeaspectsofEnglishproverbs

Websterdefinesaproverbas:“Ashort,traditionalsayingthatexpressessomeobvioustruthorsimilarexperiences”.Proverbsarerichinmeaningandcommunicatemuchwithfewwords.Despitethis,proverbsdidnotseemtoonlyasshort,interestingphrases,whichusedtoornamentconversation.Theyarealsosymbolicofthehistoryandcultureofapeoplerepresentingtheexpressionsofcenturiesofexperiencesoftheancestorsandrevealingmuchabouttheirworldviews.

Englishproverbsaretheformerknowledge.AndproverbialexpressionsarestillverymuchaliveineverydayEnglish,andthedailyconversationwouldseemratherdullwithoutthem.ManyproverbialsayingsowetotheBible,toShakespeareandtoothermajorauthorsofthepast.Thesesayingsorquotationshavebeenreadilyacceptedbythepeopleandhandeddowntothepresentdaybecausetheyhaveauniversalvalue.Englishproverbsexpressatruthinfewwordsthatrelatestoeverydayexperience.Wecanfindproverbsthatfitanyhumansituationandthisgivesthemgeneralapplication.Englishproverbsareusedtogiveawordofadviceorofwarning,orawisegeneralcommentonasituation,andtheydothisinaprecise,poignantstylethatmakesthemeasytorememberanduse.TherearemanyhundredsofEnglishproverbsandproverbialsayingsthatareparticularlycommonbecauseoftheirwildgeneralapplicationamongallclassesofpeople.

3.2WhycanuseEnglishproverbsasthelead-in

Asthelead-inistheessentialpartofasuccessfulclass,theteachershouldmakethelead-ininteresting,dramaticandvivid.AccordingtothefeaturesofEnglishproverbs,itcanfulfilltheapplicablerequirementsoflead-in.

3.2.1ThefeaturesofEnglishproverbs

Englishproverbsareaspecialcategoryofidioms,andhavefixedstructure.Theyhavebeenhabituallyusedbythemassesofthepeople.Theyconsistoftheterseandconcisewordsthatconveythemostcontent.SopetphraseinEnglishproverbscanbefoundeverywhere,suchas“Nevertoolatetolearn”,“Timeandtidewaitfornoman”,“Clothesmaketheman”,and“Lookbeforeyouleap”.ComparedwithChineseproverbsthatlaystressonsynonyms,Englishonesratherlaystressontherepetitionofwords.Forexample,Englishproverbslikethese“Letbygonesbebygones”,“Merrymeet,merrypart”.

Intermsofcollocationofsentencepatterns,Englishproverbsalsohaveaspecialandobviousfeaturethatisthesymmetryofsentencepatterns.Thebalancedisplayedbythesymmetrybringsaboutunifiedandharmoniousbeautyfromnotonlyvisualsensebutalsoaninstinctivefeelforthelanguage.Igiveanexamplethat“antithesis”whichcanfullyillustratethebeautyofthebalanceofthelanguageconveyedbysymmetry.Forinstance,“Easycome,easygo”,“Nopains,nogains”,“Allshallbewell,JackshallhaveJill”,“Artislong,lifeisshort”,”Outofsight,outofmind”.Alltheseproverbscanbepidedintotwoparts,whichhavesymmetricalsentencepatterns,thesamepartsofspeech,aswellasthesamenumberofsyllables.

AnothernotablefeatureofEnglishproverbsisthattherearerichandvariedrhetoricsuchasrepetition,antithesis,andmetaphorandsoon.RepetitioncanmakeEnglishproverbsterseandconcise.Andtherepeatedwordconveysmuchmoremeaningthanthewordappearingfirst,anditstressesthetonedeepenstheimpression,justliketheseinfollowingproverbs“Soonripesoonrotten”,“Outofdebt,outofdanger”,“Diamondcutdiamond,crookcutcrook”.MetaphoroftenusedinEnglishproverbsmakesthelanguagevivid,livelyandclear.Forexample“Loveme,lovemydog”,“Neveroffertoteachfishtoswim”.

OnthebasisofthefeaturesofEnglishproverbs,itiseasyforstudentstolearnthembyheart.TheycaneasilyrecitethemsoastoovercomethepsychologicalfearoflearningEnglish.

3.2.2Fittingtherequirementsoflead-in

Englishproverbsarethewisdomofthought.TherearemanyEnglishproverbsthattalkaboutmanyaspectsoflifeexperiences.WecanchoosesomeEnglishproverbsinaccordancewiththeaimsoftextbook.TakesthefirstunitofSeniorEnglishforChinaStudents’Book1A,whichtalksaboutfriendsasanexample.IfweusesomeEnglishproverbsinthelead-in,wecanachievegreateffect.Forinstance,

Lifewithoutfriendisdeath.

Withoutafriend,theworldiswilderness.

Friendlessisthedead.

Agoodfriendismynearestrelation.

Anearfriendisbetterthanafordwellingkinsman.

Itisgoodtohaveafriend.

Afriendinneedisafriendindeed.

Afriendisbestfoundinadversity.

Friendshipcannotstandalwaysononeside.

Inthisway,itnotonlycanattractthestudents’attention,butalsogivesomeadvicetothestudentshowtodefineanddealwithfriendship.Letthemknowthathowimportantthefriendshipisinourlife,thatwhatagoodfriendshouldbelike,thatwhatqualitiesyourfriendsshouldhave.Thenletthemdiscussthosewiththeirpartners.Theclasswillbecomeactiveandfunny.Whatismore,thestudentswillenjoythislesson.Atthesametimeitalsogivestipstostudentsformakingfriends.

Foranotherexample,ifweteachthegrammarofUnit4–theattributeclausesthattalkaboutpeopleandthings,wecanchoosethefollowing:

Hewhorisksnothing,gainsnothing.

Hethatwillthrivemustriseatfive.

Hewhoisashamedofaskingisashamedoflearn.

Hewhoplayswithfiregetsburnt.

Themanthattravelsfarknowsmuch.

Thatisagoodbook,whichisopenedwithexpectationandclosedwithprofit.

Thatisnotgoodlanguagewhichallunderstandnot.

Thatisgoodwisdom,whichiswisdomintheend.

Nooneisinformedbutwhoinquires.

Theunderlinedwordsaretheattributeclauses.Itiseasyforstudentstounderstandandmasterthisgrammar.Onthecontrary,iftheteacherdoesn’tuseE.P.,onlyusessomecommonexamples,studentsmayfinditisboring.Themoretheteacherteaches,themoreconfusedstudentsbecome

4.ThefunctionofEnglishproverbsastheroleoflead-in

TherearethousandsofEnglishproverbs,theyarebriefandtothepoint.InEnglishteaching,itnotonlycanenhancestudents’interestandtheaccomplishmentbutalsoraisetheappreciationandtheexpressionability.

4.1Toconsolidateknowledgeaboutthelanguage

Thecoreofknowledgeaboutlanguageisvocabulariesandsentencestructure,whichareessentialtostudyalanguagewell.Ifwedon’tknowsentencestructure,evenifwecanrecitethousandsofEnglishvocabularies,wecan’tsayacompleteandcorrectEnglishsentence.Whileinturnifweknowsentencestructurebutwelackenoughvocabularies,wewillfallintodirestraitsthat“Onecan’tmakebrickswithoutstraw.”Itisprovedthatoneofeffectivewaystohaveagoodcommandofknowledgeaboutlanguagesistostudywordsorvocabulariesinsentences.Apartfromourtextbooks,proverbsaregoodstudyingmaterialforincreasingvocabulariesandunderstandingfullythesentencestructure.Becauseproverbsareregardedascompletesentencesbutnotwords.Andtheyareterseandsuccinct.Itiseasygoodforstudentstounderstandthetruthofproverbs.Soitisverygoodforstudentsstudyingandconsolidatingvocabularies.Intermsofgrammaticalstructure,Englishproverbs’isaccurate,normalandwellknit,iftheteachereverydaycangivestudentsseveralproverbsthatcarefullychosenaccordingtothegrammaronthetextbooksoastohelpstudentsconsolidatetheknowledgewhichtheyhavelearned.

Ifstudentsarepersistenttomemorizetwoorthreeproverbseveryday,inalongrun,theywillbebenefitedmuchinthisway.Andtheirbasicknowledgeiswellconsolidatedaswell.

4.2Toimprovetheabilityofexpressing

Weallknowthatthefunctionoflanguageistobeusedtocommunicate.Andtwomainaspectsofcommunicationaretounderstandothersandtobeunderstoodbyothers.Thequalityofexpressionhascloseconnectionwiththequantityofinfluxoftheinformationaboutthelanguageandthequantityofthestoredinformation.“TobefamiliarwithTangpoem300,cannotwritepoetrybutcanmakeup”isthistruth.Similarly,itisessentialforEnglishbeginnertobefamiliarwithmassiveEnglishstudyingmaterialsandlearnbyheart.Havingharmoniousandtinklingsounds,Englishproverbsareterseandforcefulandsuitabletoberecitedbystudents,suchas“Nopain,nogain”,“Graspall,loseall”,“Outofsight,outofmind”andsoon.Ifstudentscankeepmemorizingtwoormoreproverbseveryday,graduallyasquantitativechangeturnstoqualitativechange,theycanblurtoutinspecificlanguageenvironmentresultinginunexpectedeffectssuchasbeingappropriate,vividorlively,humorousandfunny.

What’smoreitisalsohelpfulforstudentstoaccumulateavastamountofsentencepatternsthatprovidemodelsforstudentstoimitateindiscriminatelyandadapt.Inall,ithasbeenprovedbypracticethatproverbscanhelpstudentsimprovebothspokenandwrittenEnglish.

4.3Tohelpstudentsunderstandthewesterncultures

Languagesarethecarrierofcultures.Tounderstandthewesternculturesandabsorbitsessenceisateachinggoalinmiddleschool.Besidestheproverbscreatedbyunknownpersonsoracceptedgenerallybypeople,theEnglishproverbsaremainlyoriginatedfromHolyBibleandtheworkofgreatliteraturemaster,Shakespeare.SomeproverbscomefromEnglishidiomsandwidelyknownsentencesthathadbeenwidelyhandeddownandgraduallyimprovedassotobecometheessenceofEnglishandthecrystallizationofthewesternculture.Forinstance,proverbslikethat“ToomuchcuriositylostParadise”,“Forbiddenfruitisthesweetest”,stemformtheAdamandEve’sstoryinHolyBible:thetwopersons,AdamandEve,stoletheforbiddenfruitduetotheircuriosity.Asaresult,theywereexpelledfromtheGardenofEden.

Throughstudyingmassiveproverbs,studentsarepromotedtounderstandandabsorbthewesterncultures,enhancetheiraccomplishmentinEnglishandtheabilitiesofreadingandcomprehending,andreduceoreliminatecommunicationbarrierscausedbyculturaldifferences.Moreover,itlaysperfectfoundationofEnglishfurtherstudyingandusesit.

4.4Topromotestudents’accomplishmentofmoralcharacters

Inteaching,theteachershouldpositivelyandeffectivelyseepstheguidanceforthinkingandcharacters,thisisoneofbasicrequestsofEnglishprogram.ManyEnglishproverbshavemoremeaningthanthatliteralone.Themeaningofthemcanbeextendedtofurtherprofoundanduniversallivingtruthandphilosophy.Itteacheshumantovaluetime,bekindandseekfacts.Itadviseshumantoleadasimplelifewithoutworldlydesires,havehighaspirationanddaretokeepforgingahead.IfstudentsoftencomeintocontactwithencouragingEnglishproverbsfullofcorrectthoughts,andtheyareimperceptiblyinfluenced,itcanhelpthemcorrecttheirformerunsoundpsychology,improvetheirmorality,andcultivategoodhabits.SoletourteachersmakefulluseofEnglishproverbsinEnglishteaching.

5.Conclusion

Asweknow,interestisthefirstprimarymotivesthatdrivepeopletoexplorenewexperience;wemustmakegooduseofthisadvantageinEnglishteaching.Itplaysacriticalroleinencouragingstudentstoacquirenewknowledgesoastodeveloptheirintelligence.Asthesayinggoes,“Agoodbeginningisahalfbattle.”Therefore,agoodlead-inofanewlessonisindispensableofaneffectiveandinterestinglesson.

FrancisBacon,anEnglishwell-knownwriter,oncevaluedproverbslikethat“Genius,witandspiritofanationarediscoveredbytheirproverbs”.Englishproverbs,asoralcreativeworkofthemasses,areacrystallizationofcollectivewisdom,theessenceofEnglish,fullofimagesandfiguresofspeech,richinstrongnationalcolor.Theyareusedinactualeverydaylifeandinactualeverydayconversation.OnthebasisofthefeatureofEnglishproverbs,itcanaccomplishthefunctionoflead-in.Asaresultthestudentscanlearnandacquireknowledgeinalightandhappyatmosphere.

EnglishproverbsareagreattreasureofEnglish.InourEnglishteaching,iftheteacherscanapplyproverbsappropriate,itisnotonlyhelpfultoarousestudents’interestandimprovetheiraccomplishmentaboutlanguages,butalsotohelpthemknowthephilosophyoflifeofthewesterncountries,enrichtheirknowledgeandthevision.