中国和加拿大小学二语作业设计对比研究_英语论文

Designing Second Language Homework for Primary School Pupils: China V.S. Canada

摘要

随着基础教育课程改革的进一步深入，《新课程标准》重新规范着学校管理和教学实践，影响着教师的教学理念与教学过程。虽然英语教师根据《新课程标准》调整了教学内容，改进了教学方法，但新课标并没有真正影响教学中的作业环节，没有给英语作业的布置与设计带来实质性的变化。目前在中国，小学生二语作业指的是英语作业，大部分作业重复性强，难度系数不高，趣味性不强，因此小学生对做作业的积极性也不高，并没有发挥作业对语言学习的最大价值，没有起到课堂的延伸作用。此外，在布置作业时，教师自己编写内容太少，依赖现成作业较多，如练习册、单元复习卷等等，没有根据学生的特点布置一些个性化的作业，学生缺少自主选择性。

根据心理语言学家Lenneberg的“关键期假说”，他认为语言习得最佳时间是在两岁到青春期。可见小学是学习语言的关键时期，教师应该充分利用这个时期，在二语作业设计方面更加用心。

加拿大是以法语为第二语言的一个国家，而英语在我国的受重视程度也很高。本课题将通过对比研究中国和加拿大小学生二语作业设计，分析我国二语作业问题并找出问题存在的原因，最后提出我国小学二语作业设计的规范和标准。

关键词：作业设计； 中国二语作业； 加拿大二语作业； 关键期

Abstract

With the new curriculum reform of elementary education, the New English Curriculum Standards advocates students’ automatic learning, cooperation and creation in language learning. The reform has greatly influenced teachers’ teaching conception, teaching methods, and teaching behavior. English teachers have to adjust themselves to improve the overall teaching effect and quality. However, compared with the importance attached to improve teaching effect and quality in classroom, most teachers belittle the role and effect of English homework. The types and content of English homework have not changed so much. English homework features its repetitiveness and unattractiveness, giving more priority to the practice of grammar, substitution, and sentence transformation. In addition, teachers are inclined to choose homework in workbooks and exercise books designed by different publishing houses rather than design homework in accordance with their own ideas and concepts. Generally speaking, homework does not play an efficient role in improving pupils’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In accordance with Lenneberg’s Critical Period Hypothesis, there is an ideal time window to acquire language, from 2 years old to 13 years old, after which further language acquisition becomes much more difficult and effortful. Therefore, primary schools pupils are at their optimal time to learn language. Teachers should spend more time and energy designing English homework. Canada is a bilingual country. It attaches great great importance to second language teaching and learning. In China, we also put much emphasis on English learning. The paper intends to analyze some problems in designing second language homework in China, compare and contrast the types and priority of second language homework between China and Canada in order to summarize some points we can learn from Canada. At last, the paper gives some advice on designing second language homework. 

Key words：homework design; second language homework in China; second language homework in Canada; critical period