Week 5 - How should the relationship between accuracy and fluency be dealt with in primary English teaching?
From what I gathered, learning English in Hong Kong is very different from learning English in an English speaking country. English grammar is heavily emphasized even from the kindergarten level. My daughter, who is now in K3 had her first grammar lesson this week, learning about the gender pronouns.
Knowing the grammar of the English language helps students to accurately construct a sentence. Hence, grammar is very important. Knowing grammar leads to the accuracy of the language, but does it lead to the fluency of the language? I don’t think so.
Accuracy in the head is different from accuracy through the mouth. Head knowledge is important maybe for writing, but for speaking, students must open their mouths and try speaking out the sentences. The more the students practice, the more fluent they become in speaking the language.
In order to be fluent in English, the students must be immersed in an English environment, with ample opportunities to speak what they have mastered from their grammar lessons. Students need to practice speaking within the English environment, building on their confidence. If necessary, correction can be made fine-tuning the imperfect sentence structures. Once the students are confident with speaking English regardless of accuracy, then they are on a road to fluency.
I think accuracy and fluency complement each other, that is, we must have accuracy and fluency. They are circular. We will still teach primary students grammar, and at same time expose as much as possible the students to English surroundings, people, cultures and arts, which can provide plenty of opportunities for students to practice speaking using the learnt grammar structures.
In primary schools, maybe English language can be made the social language, where students and teachers must speak English even during recesses, lunch hours or anytime when verbal interactions take place. I was impressed when Paul showed us a class demonstration, in which the students spoke English throughout their group work. Without making a conscious effort, the students switched to speaking English, and it became a second nature to them to use English in their conversations. This was successfully done, because the class teacher made it a rule that students must speak English to each other in the English lesson. Over a length of time, the obligation to speak in English became a norm, and it seemed that students became accustomed to the requirement. Perhaps, this rule can be enforced beyond the classroom, into the playground, during lunch hours, and anytime where verbal interaction is taking place.
Speaking fluent English with accuracy is like driving a car safely. Students need much practice in speaking, like a driver he needs much practice driving on the road before driving becomes a second nature to him, that is, driving without consciously thinking of what to do next. You just do what needs to be done, so is with speaking English, you eventually just do it.
From what I gathered, learning English in Hong Kong is very different from learning English in an English speaking country. English grammar is heavily emphasized even from the kindergarten level. My daughter, who is now in K3 had her first grammar lesson this week, learning about the gender pronouns.
Knowing the grammar of the English language helps students to accurately construct a sentence. Hence, grammar is very important. Knowing grammar leads to the accuracy of the language, but does it lead to the fluency of the language? I don’t think so.
Accuracy in the head is different from accuracy through the mouth. Head knowledge is important maybe for writing, but for speaking, students must open their mouths and try speaking out the sentences. The more the students practice, the more fluent they become in speaking the language.
In order to be fluent in English, the students must be immersed in an English environment, with ample opportunities to speak what they have mastered from their grammar lessons. Students need to practice speaking within the English environment, building on their confidence. If necessary, correction can be made fine-tuning the imperfect sentence structures. Once the students are confident with speaking English regardless of accuracy, then they are on a road to fluency.
I think accuracy and fluency complement each other, that is, we must have accuracy and fluency. They are circular. We will still teach primary students grammar, and at same time expose as much as possible the students to English surroundings, people, cultures and arts, which can provide plenty of opportunities for students to practice speaking using the learnt grammar structures.
In primary schools, maybe English language can be made the social language, where students and teachers must speak English even during recesses, lunch hours or anytime when verbal interactions take place. I was impressed when Paul showed us a class demonstration, in which the students spoke English throughout their group work. Without making a conscious effort, the students switched to speaking English, and it became a second nature to them to use English in their conversations. This was successfully done, because the class teacher made it a rule that students must speak English to each other in the English lesson. Over a length of time, the obligation to speak in English became a norm, and it seemed that students became accustomed to the requirement. Perhaps, this rule can be enforced beyond the classroom, into the playground, during lunch hours, and anytime where verbal interaction is taking place.
Speaking fluent English with accuracy is like driving a car safely. Students need much practice in speaking, like a driver he needs much practice driving on the road before driving becomes a second nature to him, that is, driving without consciously thinking of what to do next. You just do what needs to be done, so is with speaking English, you eventually just do it.
1 comment:
Mimi
I love your car-driving metaphor =). And perhaps Eng books/ movies/ newspaper/ songs ~= our petrol.
Cheers
Winnieeeeee
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