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3 Warming-up Activities in Intensive Reading Course for English Majors
As one of the most important courses for English majors, intensive reading course is aimed at cultivating the learners’ language competence and communicative skills. The this paper is to conduct a thorough research on the intensive reading course so as to get the conclusions on the application of TBLT to warming up activities in FL learning.
3.1 Functions of Warming-up Activities in Light of Constructivism Learning Theory
As the “appetizers” of classes, warming-up activities are aimed at putting students in the best learning state within the shortest time. The proper warming-up activities based on the constructivism learning theory have the following functions. First, warming-up activities can create positive classroom atmosphere. Warming-up activity is a way to evoke students’ interests in the participation of English learning, and it can create an equal and comfortable classroom atmosphere. Second, warming-up activities can improve the learning efficiency of students. Because of the positive influence of warming-up activities at the beginning of a lesson, it will keep students concentrating on the class and behaving actively and lively in the class, and it will lead to the excellent results of the lessons. Third, warming-up activities can stimulate independent study. In warming-up activities, students get the opportunities to understand the theme of the lesson, express their thoughts about the contents, and it will arouse their critical thinking on a specific issue. Fourth, warming-up activities can provide students with cultural and moral education. In warming-up activities, teachers can take the opportunities to produce and offer the conditions for students to cooperate with others, and advocate collaboration among students and guide students to understand some life philosophy, get the power to overcome all the difficulties and courage to go forward.
3.2 Classifications of Warming-up Activities
First, the background information-oriented warming-up is the most common one used by teachers. In order to make students be ready for the learning of some specific material, teachers usually introduce the background information first. For example, for text of Unit 14, Argentia Bay, in Advanced English(Book 1) (张汉熙, 1995:251), the biographic introduction of the author, Herman Wouk, and historical introduction of the his book, The Winds of War, which the text is chosen from, are needed.
Second, the questioning-oriented warming-up is also commonly used in the classes. At the beginning of the English classes, teachers can also ask questions to draw students’ attention. Let us take Ships in the Desert in Advanced English (Book 1) (张汉熙, 1995:27)for example. It is a text about environmental protection, so asking students questions, such as what they can do for the environmental protection or what they can do to promote public awareness of environmental protection, will arouse their interests.
Third, the task-oriented warming-up is increasingly popular. In the preparation of the task, students have to gather and select some complementary materials. In the learning of Shakespeare in History and Anthology of English Literature, a simple task, a role play of the Romeo and Juliet may get all the students involved in the works of Shakespeare, and lay a solid foundation of the studies of the features of the characters in the works of Shakespeare and writing techniques of Shakespeare.
Fourth, the multi-media-aided warming-up plays an important role in the practice of a large number of English teachers. The society of today has entered into the information era, and the multi-media materials have great appeal, and its influence on the results of teaching should not be underestimated. An excellent example of this fact is the use of Emerging British in The Rise of Great Nations as the warming-up activity in the teaching of English history in Understanding the US and the UK.