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[Abstract]Experiencing English is a new and unique teaching and learning material published by Higher Education Press, which is compiled in the terms ofthe “experiencing” and“practical”notion. This article attempts to analyze its teaching approach and unique characteristics,and highly compliments its advanced notion and guiding function in college English reform.
[Key words]Experiencing English;teaching approach;practical; experiencing
1. Introduction
From the year 2002 to 2004,Higher Education Press published a series of new College English textbooks called Experiencing English. The word “experiencing” deserves our thinking. In the process of compiling the textbook, some people once suggested to name it New College Practical English. If any textbook must be based on a certain foreign language teaching theory, what will be the underlying theory of Experiencing English? This paper attempts to analyze the prominent notion of experiencing and practical revealed in the name of the textbook.
2. The history and new development of foreign language teaching theories
From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, TG (Transformational generative) Grammar replaced the dominative position of structural linguistics in the linguistic circle. Almost in the same time, cognitive linguistics replaced the dominative position of behaviorism in psychology. The combination of linguistics and psychology formed a new hyphenated discipline called psycholinguistics. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, sociolinguist Chomsky put forward the notion of communicative competence with the birth of another new discipline--sociolinguistics, which caused heated debate in foreign language teaching circle and gave rise to the development of communicative language teaching. In the 1980s, the combination of cognitive science based on psychology and linguistics formed a new discipline called cognitive linguistics, which was a frontal linguistic research field. Since the first international cognitive linguistic conference was held in Germany in 1989, many scholars have done research in this area and published a series of books. Viewed from the trend of this discipline, cognitive linguistics will be a significant linguistic research area in the 21st century. (ZHAO Yan-fang, 2001).
The appearance of sociolinguistics and cognitive linguistics changed the direction of foreign language teaching and marked a brand-new period away from the traditional one. First, traditional foreign language teaching was teacher-centered and students passively acquired knowledge and skills, while cognitive approach emphasized that teaching must be conducted according to the students’ learning cognition. The communicative language teaching focuses on the cultivation of communicative competence, and makes the students become active classroom learners. Secondly, the cognitive approach advocates creative thoughts, while the communicative language teaching approach emphasizes the social communicative competence. Therefore, the two approaches will be replaced by cognitive and sociolinguistic one.
[Key words]Experiencing English;teaching approach;practical; experiencing
1. Introduction
From the year 2002 to 2004,Higher Education Press published a series of new College English textbooks called Experiencing English. The word “experiencing” deserves our thinking. In the process of compiling the textbook, some people once suggested to name it New College Practical English. If any textbook must be based on a certain foreign language teaching theory, what will be the underlying theory of Experiencing English? This paper attempts to analyze the prominent notion of experiencing and practical revealed in the name of the textbook.
2. The history and new development of foreign language teaching theories
From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, TG (Transformational generative) Grammar replaced the dominative position of structural linguistics in the linguistic circle. Almost in the same time, cognitive linguistics replaced the dominative position of behaviorism in psychology. The combination of linguistics and psychology formed a new hyphenated discipline called psycholinguistics. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, sociolinguist Chomsky put forward the notion of communicative competence with the birth of another new discipline--sociolinguistics, which caused heated debate in foreign language teaching circle and gave rise to the development of communicative language teaching. In the 1980s, the combination of cognitive science based on psychology and linguistics formed a new discipline called cognitive linguistics, which was a frontal linguistic research field. Since the first international cognitive linguistic conference was held in Germany in 1989, many scholars have done research in this area and published a series of books. Viewed from the trend of this discipline, cognitive linguistics will be a significant linguistic research area in the 21st century. (ZHAO Yan-fang, 2001).
The appearance of sociolinguistics and cognitive linguistics changed the direction of foreign language teaching and marked a brand-new period away from the traditional one. First, traditional foreign language teaching was teacher-centered and students passively acquired knowledge and skills, while cognitive approach emphasized that teaching must be conducted according to the students’ learning cognition. The communicative language teaching focuses on the cultivation of communicative competence, and makes the students become active classroom learners. Secondly, the cognitive approach advocates creative thoughts, while the communicative language teaching approach emphasizes the social communicative competence. Therefore, the two approaches will be replaced by cognitive and sociolinguistic one.