论文部分内容阅读
Abstract：Cultivation of the ability to think in English has been a hot topic in recent years.How to cultivate students’ability to think in English has becomes increasingly important，especially for students in EFL classroom.
Key Words：thinking ability；think in English；EFL classroom
1Introduction
It has been widely acknowledged that cultivating thinking ability is the task of science.However，this wrong concept has draw attention of foreign language teachers.There are three levels of teaching in modern education：the memory level，the comprehension level and the thinking level.And the thinking level is considered as the highest level of intellectual development.It may not difficult to find that due to social influence and the College Entrance Examination，most students are trained to be examination-oriented.And in EFL classroom，teachers put emphasis on memory，understanding and communicating.So，there is a lack of the cultivation of thinking ability.The New English Standard has pointed that it is very important to cultivate students’ability to think in English.Modern education aims to foster students who not only equip with knowledge and ability，but also the innovative awareness.And the core of innovative awareness is the cultivation of thinking ability.
2Methods for Cultivating the Ability to Think in English
2.1Imitating
Imitation is the main means of learning language.Psychologists think that language start from hearing.If a child live in a native language environment，then he can master a fluent language when he grows up.Eckersley（C.E.1974）had said that there is no doubt that imitation is one of the keys，perhaps the golden key to success.English learning to a large extent is decided by teachers’pronunciation and learner’s imitation.If students follow English teachers to read just one time，there would be little progress.Therefore，one must insist on imitating，repeating and practicing.
2.2Think in English
To cultivate the ability to think in English，one must get rid of the influence of mother tongue.In EFL classroom，in order to think in English，teachers should do the following aspects：
2.2.1Teaching in English
English teachers should insist on speaking in English.Besides，teachers can analyze teaching materials and take flexible teaching methods.In this way，not only a good language environment is settled，but also students’internal motivations are aroused.
2.2.2Creating environment To change students’thinking pattern，creating English language environment is necessary.If one lives in English environment，it would be easy to think in English.such as objects，cards，recorder，projects and multimedia.Outside the EFL class，the ability to think in English can be used in after-class activities，such as setting English wall paper，English corner，English radio station，speech competition，ect.
2.3Presentation
Presentation is a popular teaching method for training students’imagination and thinking ability.For example，before class，teachers can assign a specific topic based on the teaching content.No matter what form it is，students should demonstrate their views clearly，logically and effectively.At the same time，teacher can encourage students to challenge others’views.
2.4Speech Feeling
The famous linguist and psychologist Chomosky said that speech feeling is the core of language.If one has strong speech feeling，then he can creatively use knowledge and language.Speech feeling is quite an abstract concept that only when people practice enough can he produce speech feeling.If one reads more，speaks more and he will equip with the speech felling.Here are some suggestions for cultivating speech feeling.
2.4.1Listening
In EFL class，students should listen to their teachers’instructions，tape recorder or listening materials，such as the conversations of native English speakers，whether forecast，latest news and ads.
2.4.2Reading
Reading original English articles can shape the ability to think in English.Many students may encounter a case that although they are know all words，they still can not figure out the meaning of the whole sentence.The reason，on the one hand，lacking of enough lexical knowledge.One may know the common meaning of a word，but he doesn’t know its other meanings in different context.For example，cell means “the smallest independently functioning unit”in biology，“battery”in physics and”telephone” in communication engineering；on the other hand，cultural and language differences lie in native language and target language.Therefore，exposing to original articles is an ideal way of developing speech feeling.
2.4.3Reciting
Reading aloud and processing thinking pattern help to consolidate memory.In this way，students can sustain language input and develop the ability to think in English.Some studies have proven that students who recite a lot can get high scores in multiple choices，close reading and error correction. 3Conclusion
3.1Changing Teaching Concept
In real teaching practice，much attention has focused on grammar and text comprehension.Most students are trained to be examination-oriented.However，the New English Curriculum Standard points out that the key of English curriculum reform is to turn the students’language competence to emphasize students’interest.It further explained that curriculum should center on students’life experience and cognitive level so that students can get better learning methods，like experiencing，practicing，participating，cooperating and communicating.“To make the language learning be a process where students can form positive attitude and emotion，active thinking，cultural awareness and self-study ability” Therefore，without changing the teaching concept，we can not meet the demands for today’s education.
3.2Refining Teaching Design
Because students are junior or senior high school students，they have a limited cognition and thinking ability.Therefore，in teaching process，teachers’question and task design should conform to students’logical order of cognition，social experience and knowledge structure.If the teaching design is too easy，students will feel bored；If it is too difficult，students will be at a loss.So there should be a more clear and well- organized teaching design in teaching process.
3.3Respecting and Encouraging students’imagination
It is a common phenomenon in EFL class that when a teacher asks a question，there would be rare students to answer.The reason is that they are afraid of making mistakes.Teachers should ask more open questions and tell students that there is no unique answer.Sometimes，we find that students’imagination is so rich that even beyond our prediction.Therefore，given more positive encouragement，students will be able to develop imagination as well as the ability to think in English.
In a word，cultivation of the ability to think in English in EFL classroom needs lots of time and effort.And it is also a brand new challenge for English teachers in junior or senior high school students.As an English teacher in future，one should endow with not only solid theory foundation but pragmatic teaching practice.
Reference：
[1]Ellis，Rod.The Study of Second Language Acquisition[M].Oxford University，19994.
[2]中華人民共和国教育部.英语课程标准（实验稿）[M].北京：北京师范大学出版社，2007.
[3]王乐平.英语思维是这样炼成的[M].广州：华南理工大学出版社，2010.
作者简介：
张雯静（1993.10—），女，汉族，四川自贡人，研究生在读，四川师范大学，学科教学（英语）。
Key Words：thinking ability；think in English；EFL classroom
1Introduction
It has been widely acknowledged that cultivating thinking ability is the task of science.However，this wrong concept has draw attention of foreign language teachers.There are three levels of teaching in modern education：the memory level，the comprehension level and the thinking level.And the thinking level is considered as the highest level of intellectual development.It may not difficult to find that due to social influence and the College Entrance Examination，most students are trained to be examination-oriented.And in EFL classroom，teachers put emphasis on memory，understanding and communicating.So，there is a lack of the cultivation of thinking ability.The New English Standard has pointed that it is very important to cultivate students’ability to think in English.Modern education aims to foster students who not only equip with knowledge and ability，but also the innovative awareness.And the core of innovative awareness is the cultivation of thinking ability.
2Methods for Cultivating the Ability to Think in English
2.1Imitating
Imitation is the main means of learning language.Psychologists think that language start from hearing.If a child live in a native language environment，then he can master a fluent language when he grows up.Eckersley（C.E.1974）had said that there is no doubt that imitation is one of the keys，perhaps the golden key to success.English learning to a large extent is decided by teachers’pronunciation and learner’s imitation.If students follow English teachers to read just one time，there would be little progress.Therefore，one must insist on imitating，repeating and practicing.
2.2Think in English
To cultivate the ability to think in English，one must get rid of the influence of mother tongue.In EFL classroom，in order to think in English，teachers should do the following aspects：
2.2.1Teaching in English
English teachers should insist on speaking in English.Besides，teachers can analyze teaching materials and take flexible teaching methods.In this way，not only a good language environment is settled，but also students’internal motivations are aroused.
2.2.2Creating environment To change students’thinking pattern，creating English language environment is necessary.If one lives in English environment，it would be easy to think in English.such as objects，cards，recorder，projects and multimedia.Outside the EFL class，the ability to think in English can be used in after-class activities，such as setting English wall paper，English corner，English radio station，speech competition，ect.
2.3Presentation
Presentation is a popular teaching method for training students’imagination and thinking ability.For example，before class，teachers can assign a specific topic based on the teaching content.No matter what form it is，students should demonstrate their views clearly，logically and effectively.At the same time，teacher can encourage students to challenge others’views.
2.4Speech Feeling
The famous linguist and psychologist Chomosky said that speech feeling is the core of language.If one has strong speech feeling，then he can creatively use knowledge and language.Speech feeling is quite an abstract concept that only when people practice enough can he produce speech feeling.If one reads more，speaks more and he will equip with the speech felling.Here are some suggestions for cultivating speech feeling.
2.4.1Listening
In EFL class，students should listen to their teachers’instructions，tape recorder or listening materials，such as the conversations of native English speakers，whether forecast，latest news and ads.
2.4.2Reading
Reading original English articles can shape the ability to think in English.Many students may encounter a case that although they are know all words，they still can not figure out the meaning of the whole sentence.The reason，on the one hand，lacking of enough lexical knowledge.One may know the common meaning of a word，but he doesn’t know its other meanings in different context.For example，cell means “the smallest independently functioning unit”in biology，“battery”in physics and”telephone” in communication engineering；on the other hand，cultural and language differences lie in native language and target language.Therefore，exposing to original articles is an ideal way of developing speech feeling.
2.4.3Reciting
Reading aloud and processing thinking pattern help to consolidate memory.In this way，students can sustain language input and develop the ability to think in English.Some studies have proven that students who recite a lot can get high scores in multiple choices，close reading and error correction. 3Conclusion
3.1Changing Teaching Concept
In real teaching practice，much attention has focused on grammar and text comprehension.Most students are trained to be examination-oriented.However，the New English Curriculum Standard points out that the key of English curriculum reform is to turn the students’language competence to emphasize students’interest.It further explained that curriculum should center on students’life experience and cognitive level so that students can get better learning methods，like experiencing，practicing，participating，cooperating and communicating.“To make the language learning be a process where students can form positive attitude and emotion，active thinking，cultural awareness and self-study ability” Therefore，without changing the teaching concept，we can not meet the demands for today’s education.
3.2Refining Teaching Design
Because students are junior or senior high school students，they have a limited cognition and thinking ability.Therefore，in teaching process，teachers’question and task design should conform to students’logical order of cognition，social experience and knowledge structure.If the teaching design is too easy，students will feel bored；If it is too difficult，students will be at a loss.So there should be a more clear and well- organized teaching design in teaching process.
3.3Respecting and Encouraging students’imagination
It is a common phenomenon in EFL class that when a teacher asks a question，there would be rare students to answer.The reason is that they are afraid of making mistakes.Teachers should ask more open questions and tell students that there is no unique answer.Sometimes，we find that students’imagination is so rich that even beyond our prediction.Therefore，given more positive encouragement，students will be able to develop imagination as well as the ability to think in English.
In a word，cultivation of the ability to think in English in EFL classroom needs lots of time and effort.And it is also a brand new challenge for English teachers in junior or senior high school students.As an English teacher in future，one should endow with not only solid theory foundation but pragmatic teaching practice.
Reference：
[1]Ellis，Rod.The Study of Second Language Acquisition[M].Oxford University，19994.
[2]中華人民共和国教育部.英语课程标准（实验稿）[M].北京：北京师范大学出版社，2007.
[3]王乐平.英语思维是这样炼成的[M].广州：华南理工大学出版社，2010.
作者简介：
张雯静（1993.10—），女，汉族，四川自贡人，研究生在读，四川师范大学，学科教学（英语）。