妙笔生“画” “画”中有“话”
——小学英语主题化写作初探
一直以来,如何开展小学生英语写作成为困扰英语教师的一大难题。学生的英语作文言之无物、语言空洞,写作兴趣也不高。《义务教育英语课程标准》(2011年版)指出:“通过英语学习,使学生形成初步的综合语言运用能力,促进心智发展,提高综合人文素养。”近几年,我带领团队教师基于单元主题,用简笔画引导学生先画后写,以画促写,从基于文本的仿写到一定积累后的改写,到依托画创写,让英语写作更加真实有趣。
一、以画激趣,激发写作欲望
学生升入三年级之初,英语学习的积极性很高;但随着时间的推移,兴趣会慢慢有所下降。究其原因,主要还是学得多、实践得少。所以,英语教学伊始,就要有意识地引导学生学以致用。只有将所学与生活实际相结合,学习才会变得有趣。如教学三年级上册《What’s this》一课,学习了玲玲的自我介绍后,教师就引导学生仿照课本内容作自我介绍。介绍前,先简单画一画自己想表达的内容,再看画,介绍给同伴听,最后鼓励学生尝试写下来。有的学生就写出了:
This is me. I’m a pupil. I’m nine. This is my school. This is my classroom. This is my English teacher, Ms Ning. She’s 31. I love her.
从课本上简单的4句话,学生联想到了8句话。刚开始接触写作时,很多学生会有畏难情绪;先画后写,效果就不同了,画为学生的表达提供了相对真实的语境,对他们而言,写作便不再是一种负担。
二、以画叙事,让写作更富生活气息
教材中的话题大多与我们的日常生活息息相关,如野餐、旅行、运动等,学生不乏真实的生活体验。写作中,学生要想写出真情实感,教师的引导很重要。如在写作“A trip to ”这类半命题作文时,我就在黑板上画出自己的旅行经历,画完后叙述给学生们听。
A trip to Yishan
Last Sunday it was sunny. I went to Yishan with my family. It’s about 45 kilometers from here. So we went there by car.
We climbed the mountains. We watched Baizhangya waterfall. We took some photos. At noon we had a picnic. It was great. The wind was cool. The air was clean. We saw some birds. They sang beautifully. We were very happy.
教师的旅行经历唤醒了学生的旅行经历,他们纷纷拿起笔,或写或画。每个人都有自己的想法,每个人都有与众不同的旅行经历和感受。
三、以画抒情,让写作更生动
《课程标准》对小学阶段“写”的要求比较低,在语言技能二级目标中有这样的表述:“能根据图片、词语或例句的提示,写出简短的语句。”实际写作中,特别是先“画”后写,整个写作过程就变得轻松愉悦,学生们聚精会神,连平日里那些听讲不认真的学生也认真参与。对他们来说,仿写早已成为过去式,他们更喜欢把学到的知识加上自己喜欢的元素,自由表达。遇到没学过的单词,他们就查字典;遇到不会表达的句子,就不断举手提问。他们用心体验写作带来的乐趣。
如,六年级上册学完“hobby”这个话题后,学生这样来描述自己的爱好:
My hobby
I’ve got lots of hobbies: riding a bike, playing basketball, reading books...
Of all the hobbies, I like swimming best. As a child in Grade 2, I began to learn how to swim. After 12 days, I could swim. How happy I was!
So every Saturday afternoon, I go swimming with my mum and dad. In the swimming pool, the water is clean and clear. I can see the bottom of the pool. I jump into the water, like a leisure bird. I swim in it, like a free fish. I swim in it, like a fast ship...
About half an hour, how relaxing I am...
学生通过简笔画,把游泳时所看、所想、所思表达到了极致,学生在水中畅游,身体和精神都得到了放松。拥有爱好的学生,其生活也更具挑战性。
四、以画启智,激发多样表达
简笔画以直观形象的特点,深受学生的喜爱,能拓宽学生的想象空间,让他们的思维更加灵动。在进行看图写话训练时,只呈现图片的一部分,让学生发挥想象,先创作画,再写作。奇思妙想的图画加上童真的语言,读后令人忍俊不禁。
比如,讲完“There be”结构后,让学生根据远处山和太阳的提示,创作一幅家乡的秋景图,并进行表达。有的学生就完成了下面的创作:
My hometown in autumn
This is my grandpa’s house. It’s in the countryside. It is small, but beautiful.
There is a river near the house. There is a boat in the river. There is an apple tree and a pear tree next to the house. I like picking up them with my grandpa.
There are some birds in the sky. They are going to the south. In front of the house, there is a paddy field. Grandpa plants some rice in it. There is a cat, too. It’s playing with the flowers.
I love my hometown. I love my grandpa, too.
北雁南飞,秋天的家乡美丽动人,近处还有小河和成熟的稻田……学生的想象力无可比拟。
利用简笔画,通过引导学生画一画、描一描、写一写,从生活入手,以画激趣,以画启智,让学生置身真实的语境中,引导他们想表达、能表达、爱表达,从而提升其核心素养。这便是小学英语主题化写作的应有之义。