Organized Chaos Language teaching in a large class 第五届中国英语教学国际研讨会 基 础 英 语 论 坛 论 文 Organized Chaos Language teaching in a large class 高占富 汤一宇 大庆外国语学校

Preface ---- class size in USA / UK / Canada ---- class size in China / some famous school in its region ---- my teaching experience ---- some foreign teachers’ experience ---- some famous experts mentioned in their speech yesterday Prof. Wang Qiang Prof. zhanglianzhong Pro. Gong yafu

One of the inevitabilities of teaching English in most parts of China is large class size, especially in a famous junior high school. Faced with sixty students or more and a forty-five-minute class time, what is one to do? Panic? Obviously, yes. but after the panic passes, what’s the next?

What to do ---- an attempt to build a framework for a praxis of teaching large classes, based on educational theory and the teaching experiences. ---- also concern itself mainly with the problems of teaching oral language, where the need for real-time language production is paramount. ---- the essence of learning the oral language is practice. - - - -

How to do One of the cornerstones of practical teaching in a communicative framework is group activity. Group activities: (mainly) ---- pair work in class ---- four-in-one group ---- row group for repeating ---- line group for practicing ---- girls group ---- boys group ---- team work ---- half class ---- presentation from group ---- the whole class - - - - - -

How to select group randomly selecting groups through some multi-culture game like “scissors-paper-rock” “ tossing a coin ” “ odd or “ the same surname ” “ the same name ” the goal : to maitain the Ss the interest to join the group activity actively

Advantages ---- the introduction of group work to our large class has immediately improved its effectiveness through increasing practice time. ---- group work practice is the essential component to language learning. ---- practice builds confidence ---- group activity helps Ss gain collaboration competences ---- more individuals outputs - - - - - -

group activity increases Ss’ practice time Example: group activity increases Ss’ practice time If one of four students can talk simultaneously, the opportunities to practice increase 15-fold, from 15 minutes a week/ student to 225 minutes/w/s. In pair work the practice time is extended to 450/w/s. If the teacher is actively involved in the group, talk time will be effectively doubled again up to 900 minutes.

Disadvantages(mainly) ---- Firstly, the noise level. ---- Secondly, patrolling the class, the teacher will rely very heavily on the sound of the language being spoken, rather than its content. ---- Thirdly, peer-assisted learning is another very tangible benefit of the group-based teaching environment. ---- Finally, the topography of the classroom places some limitations on group activity. Tip: the teachers have to think of the above before entering the classroom to do the group activity.

Conclusion The challenges of dealing with a large class can be effectively met through group work and teamwork. The strengths of group and teamwork are the multiplication of opportunities for practice simulating the real world.

Thank you ! Thank you !

希望能得到您的批评与帮助！ 大庆外国语学校 高占富 dennisgaozf@yahoo.com.cn