雅思学习制胜兵法:聊一聊你很着急的英语口语学习
看见话题你脑中空白,并不是你练得太少,而是你读得实在不多。今天小编给大家带来雅思学习制胜兵法,希望可以帮助到大家,下面小编就和大家分享,来欣赏一下吧。
雅思学习制胜兵法:聊一聊你很着急的英语口语学习
当我们在谈口语学习时我们在谈些什么?当谈到口语这个话题时,很多人往往会问“口语应该怎么练呢?”这个问题非常有代表性,在回答之前,我们不妨先思考另一个问题,口语真的是靠练出来的吗?
并不是。一个最常见的说法是,“我口语不好,说英语时头脑一片空白,一定是因为我练得太少了。”但事实可能并不是如此,你口语不好的真正原因并不是练得太少,而是读得太少听得太少了。语言是一个输入到输出的过程,听力和阅读属于输入,而口语和写作则属于输出。如果没有大量的听力和阅读输入,你的口语将是无源之水,根本得不到有效提升。不知道你有没有发现,身边口语好的同学可能不是练得最多的,但他们一定有可观的听力和阅读输入。
因此,提升口语最重要的一条基本原则是:输入决定输出,大量的阅读和听力输入是有效提升口语的前提。
确定了基本原则之后,我们还需要讨论更加细节的东西,比如口语的分类问题。我们可以把口语粗略地分为两类。一类叫 General English (生活英语),另一种叫 Academic English(学术英语)。生活英语非常好理解,日常生活中的衣食住行,购物旅游时用到的英语都属于生活英语的范畴。而学术英语则应用在相对正式的场合,比如深层次的交流,课堂学术讨论,演讲,辩论,采访,各种presentation等。
生活英语和学术英语的难度也是不一样的。我们可以用一条学习曲线来说明,口语的提升是遵循“先易后难”的原则的。
我相信关注这个公众号的朋友们对于自己英语水平的期望都有野心的,我们的目标不能仅仅停留在能日常生活出国旅行沟通无障碍的程度,那是欧美小学生的水平。正所谓取乎其上,得乎其中。能够讲一口用词得体,文法正宗的英文(Educated English),写一手漂亮文章才是我们的追求目标。
接下来我们将根据这条学习曲线来谈一谈口语的提升问题。对于口语提升来说,其大致的学习曲线是:先掌握基本的生活英语(初阶口语),然后再慢慢过渡到学术英语(高阶口语)上来。我们先来看看生活英语。
怎样提升生活英语水平?
假如你现在处于这样一种状态:平时几乎没开口说过英语,一碰到需要说英语时就头脑一片空白,磨磨蹭蹭说不出一句话来,好不容易挤出来一句可能还是" My English is poor." ,如果要让你达到能够日常生活沟通无障碍的程度,你需要做些什么?
初阶口语提升的关键,是口语素材的积累,而口语素材积累很大的一部分其实是词汇量的积累。也就是说,你说不出什么像样的内容来最根本的原因是你词汇量太小了,积累的口语素材太少了。 刷过单词的同学们可能会发现,短期内随着词汇量的快速上涨,口语水平也会有明显的提升,最直观的一个表现是自己能够表达的东西变得越来越多了。
所以我们的首要任务是提升词汇量。那多大的词汇量才能达到日常沟通的基本要求呢?5000?6000?10000? 最有效的一个方法是对语料库进行统计,看看日常生活中究竟有多少常用词。好在这件事国外早就有人做过了,各大词典出版社都有统计过,我们可以采用麦克米伦词典给出的一个数据:7500词。所以如果你想达到日常沟通的基本要求,词汇量怎么也不能低于7500吧?
所以现在我们又回到了背单词的问题上来了。
我一直提倡通过语境来记单词,在阅读中记单词,并使用英英词典来加深对单词的理解,这种方法效果最好。
有很多人会问“我能不能先通过背单词书,使用APP记单词的形式快速积累单词,然后再通过阅读的方法巩固提高?”这可以算是一种折衷的方法,关键的一步是背完单词后通过大量阅读巩固提高。通过背单词书得到的词汇还不是你的,它们只能算消极词汇,只有通过大量的阅读听力重现才可能让他们变成你的积极词汇。
在积累基础词汇的同时,我们还要通过大量的阅读和听力训练来积累口语素材。阅读和听力材料的选取应符合简单易懂,贴近日常生活的原则。听力材料推荐使用ESLPOD,ESLPOD语速适中,材料多为口语体,基本上可以现学现用,实用性很高。阅读材料推荐简单易懂,词汇量要求低的原版书,如果是畅销书更好,比如Charlotte's web,The Houseon Mango Street,The Seven Habits of Highly Efficient People 等。
通过学习美剧来提升生活口语水平
你可能会碰到这样的问题,学了十年的英语到了国外却连点杯咖啡都不知道怎么说,一句"How do you like your coffee?" 可能就让你觉得莫名其妙了。造成这种诡异现象的一个主要原因是学习材料与实际生活的脱节。从初高中到大学的传统教材其实都是偏向于学术英语,与实际生活英语有不少差别。
而互联网时代带来的丰富的影视材料可以从很大程度上弥补这个缺憾。比如美剧就可以作为一个很好的生活口语素材来源。并不是所有的美剧都适合用来提高生活口语,要选择那些与日常生活比较贴近、故事情节较强的影视材料,如肥皂剧。
推荐一部比较不错的,美国中产阶级肥皂剧 Desperate Housewives(绝望的主妇),该剧的语言比较简单规范地道,而且没有像情景剧那么多的惯用法、流行语和俚语,非常适合入门。
当然,利用美剧学英语也要按照基本法,不对,是科学方法,来进行。之前很多人想通过看美剧学英语,结果经常把持不住,只顾着追剧情去了,根本没心思放在英语学习上。建议可以参考下面的方法:
准备好一小集美剧以及其对应的剧本(这个很重要)
1. 先看一遍带字幕的版本,一遍不够看两遍,扫清剧情,以便让自己接下来的关注点落在台词上
2. 学习对应的剧本,把剧本中实用的台词记下来,做好笔记,遇到不懂的生词去查英英词典
3. 把这一集再看一遍,看的时候遮掉字幕,遇到听不出来的地方就停下看看对应的英文字幕
4. 前三步走完后你应该对剧情和对白都非常熟悉了,这个时候可以看第三遍,同时进行跟读练习
上面这个过程近乎自虐,但通过这种方法可以比较有效地学习一部电视剧中的精华,认真学习完几季Desperate Housewives 对生活口语的提高会有巨大作用。
除了上面这些输入练习,如果有条件的话,找一个母语人士聊聊,对生活口语也会有一个拔高和促进的作用。目前互联网上可以找到相应的资源,比如一些语言技能交换网站或者外教课程网站。自己去网上搜一下应该有不少。
怎样提高学术英语水平?
通过前面的训练之后相信你的口语已经有一定基础,日常基本交流应该已经问题不大了。接下来我们要慢慢过渡到学术英语上来,实现口语进阶。
高阶口语拼的就不仅仅是单纯的词汇量和口语素材了,还有逻辑,词汇和语法的多样性,对英美文化的理解,对上至国际政治下至名人八卦等知识的积累等。比如钓鱼岛视频中面对英国人的采访,大使很巧妙的运用了英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔的名言 "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.",有理有据,令人信服。而这些离不开平时的积淀。
这个阶段的任务除了继续广泛阅读外还要有意识地对说话的逻辑进行训练,在词汇的多样性和语法上面下功夫。
么训练?一个方法是精读外刊,比如说经济学人。这本杂志由全球顶级记者执笔,文章写得睿智幽默,逻辑严谨,用词往往精准得像巡航导弹。每周精读几篇经济学人文章(比如Leaders社论板块),学习它用词的多样性和精准性,感受逻辑层层递进环环相扣的严谨性,学习怎样对一个问题抽丝剥茧层层分析最终得到令人信服的结论。
举个用词的例子,比如要表达经济下滑,你能想到几个词?大部分人能想到的应该是"decline,drop,fall",我们来看看大神是怎么写的。经济学人今年1月份社论板块有一篇文章:
Eventually, America ran into trouble too. The tech-stock bubble burst in early 2000, prompting a broader share price slump. Business investment, particularly in technology, sank; and as share prices fell, consumers cut back. By early 2001 America, along with most of the rich world, had slipped into recession, albeit a mild one.
Germany’s growth rate has tumbled to around 1%.
But if the world economy does stumble, restoring stability will be harder this time round because policymakers have so little room for maneuver.
短短三段话中表示下降的词就有“slump, sink, fall,slip into, tumble, stumble”这么多。这些词难吗?并不难,完全可以用在口语中,口语中的用词的多样性和精准性就是这样体现的。
另一个需要注意的地方是语法,学术英语中往往会较多使用长句、复句、结构严谨的完整句,这要求我们具有良好的语法句法基础。因此在这个阶段有必要重新巩固一下语法。可以先通读一两本语法,完成书上的练习,后面在阅读训练中不断提高。
高阶口语平时的训练可以尝试一下用口头作文法。这种训练形式有点像雅思的口试中的卡片题,每次选取一个话题进行陈述训练,训练的过程中记得用上最近学到的句式词汇等知识点,并且要连贯地有逻辑地组织自己的观点。每个话题的陈述时间是5分钟左右,过程中可以录音。陈述结束后记得进行总结,对刚才说得不好的地方进行改进,重新陈述,直到满意为止。(之前我帮一位朋友准备雅思口语的时候就用到了这个方法,天天逼着他做话题陈述,后来他雅思口语考了7.5)
以上就是口语提升的主要方法。口语水平的提升并不是一个孤立的过程,在这个过程中也会伴随着词汇量水平,听力水平等综合英语能力的提升。理论上口语的提升是一个永无止境的过程,我们逆水行舟,奋力向前,究其一生也不过是渴望能够触碰到母语水平那条虚线而已。每一个单词每一个句子的学习,最后都是一种修行。
雅思口语高频话题part2:电子设备
Describe a time when you started using a new technological device (e.g. a new computer or phone).
It was at my six years old birthday party when I laid my hands on a computer for the first time.
That was 2002 when many families in the city I lived had not had the slightest idea of what a personal computer could do except processing text and screening stock market.
When my father told my to press the button mounted in a big plastic box, I couldn’t tell what my emotions exactly were. As I recall now, it should be a mixture of fear, excitement and expectation. The faintest idea I had about it was that I could write something using the keyboard and draw some simple pictures with a plastic equipment named mouse.
However, as I dived deeper into the computer world and got myself to be the most tech-savvy person in my family, I became very confident to say that greater potential were still to be discovered for the computer.
After a few days as a novice user, I gradually found the potential contained within the gray plastic box. I learnt to install gaming software and played it whenever my parents were not watching, for example the nights when everybody fell asleep.
对于这个雅思口语话题卡的part 3讨论,回答的长度如果不够,那么考官会用更”刁钻“的问题追问你。所以大家一定要努力完善自己的答案。试着从不同的角度 - 人群, 性格,职业等方面去拓展
What is the best age for children to start computer lessons?
可以将年龄分为两个维度:早和晚来思考这一问题,如果站在早的角度可以说儿童的学习能力强,更容易培养电脑使用能力,年轻一代的技能水平对于提升整个社会的技能水平也是至关重要的。
I cannot lock a particular age but I think children should begin to learn them as early as possible. What matters in this scenario is the great learning ability children have.
During their early childhood, children show great potential in learning many kinds of skills as long as they are exposed to such skills. However, young children are inclined to get distracted by other things like computer games or other entertainment. In this case, it’s parents who should step in to guide the children’s interests to the theories and mechanisms behind the games. In this way, children’s potential can be fully exploited so that the chances that they become tech-savvy will increase dramatically.
Do you think that schools should use more technology to help children learn?
实则谈在儿童教育中使用科技产品的利弊,可以结合上一题中提到的优点进行描述,但同时强调使用这些产品会占用儿童其他活动的时间,可能会造成一些不良影响,同时部分科技产品的成瘾性也不容忽视。
No. On the yes side, people are asserted that technology can be used as facilitators to justify themselves that technology should be used in schools. However, if technology was used by kids in schools, they would not be only to learn better, but will experience consequences that come with it, too. For example, as a group that tends to be distracted by technological devices, children may fall victim to overuse of computer games. Their physical well-being could be at stake because of the lack of exercise. Even worse, these children may be captivated by the violent elements and other contents that are improper in different ways.
Do you agree or disagree that computers will replace teachers one day?
在进行人类和电脑作为教师的比较时要从双方的共性和个性出发,比如双方都具备传递信息的能力,但目前电脑发展出和人类一样的共情机制依然是一个不可能完成的任务,从此观点出发可以持反对观点。
No. In some way, computers and teachers are all responsible for passing knowledge to younger generations. In other words, computers can be teachers in this scenario. However, there still lies a great disparity between a person and a computer as for being a teacher. Computer’s lack of empathy makes it impossible to know the progress of each student. Therefore, students can no longer be taught on an individual basis so that many of the children may get left behind. Additionally, human teachers can adjust his or her teaching pace whenever needed but computers can only function according to the programmes that have been engraved deep inside its so-called intelligence.
How much has technology improved how we communicate with each other?
首先明确是谈科技对人类交际的积极影响,选择商业和教育两个领域进行思考,分别谈科技在其中的运用。
Advances in technology have led to the birth of many new methods of electronic communication, such as social networking websites and videoconferences. The increase of electronic communication has helped to eliminate time and distance as obstacles to communication. This has been beneficial to many parts of society, including business and education. For business, electronic communication methods used in the workplace include email, voicemail, videoconferences, online newsletters and instant messages, which has increased the flow of communication within workplace. For education, technology has improved the field of cultural education by giving children the opportunity to speak with kids from different cultures. By interacting with children of other cultures through computer-mediated communication, such as instant messages and emails, children can learn first hand about other cultures.
Do you agree that there are still many more major technological innovations to be made?
站在正方观点,可以思考人类社会对科技进步是否依然有需求,一方面仍有大量的未知等待人类未来的探索,同时历史证明科技的进步回报丰厚,人类总结经验也会选择继续寻求科技突破。
Yes. Though we humans have made great progress in exploring the sea and the space, there still remain vast areas of both of them, hidden from our vigilant eyes. The reason they are masked behind mysteries is that we are still not capable enough to unveil these secrets. From this perspective, technological innovations are still waiting to be made. What’s more. Man has witnessed our society’s great advancements in all different fields thanks to the major technological innovations. Bearing such experience, humans will overcome all kinds of difficulties to keep moving forward. The needs for technological inspirations are so great that a future with staggering technology is hard to imagine.
雅思口语part3:favorite photo
1. What’s the advantages and disadvantages of taking photos with smartphones?
思路分析 : 优点更容易总结, 例如方便携带,更容易传输;缺点是失去了拍照的瞬间性,很多摆拍的照片没有更多的纪念意义
Well, the first benefit of taking photos with smartphones would be easy transmission. It’s very handy to share a picture with friends as long as there is internet available. It could be even easier if two mobiles are both iPhones, thanks to the airdrop.
Also, compare to the digital cameras which are usually quite bulky, smartphones on the other hand are very portable. And all the functions work automatically which means even if you don’t know anything about photography, there is still good chances to craft nice phones.
Talking about the disadvantages, the only thing I can think of would be that people may not treasure pictures as memories that much as before.
A snap shot serves to crystallize the important moment in your life and that moment lasts for the length of a breath. People are unprepared to be filmed and their emotions are open to interpretation afterwards.
But using smartphones, people tend to take several at the same time with the same pose, and to filter out the best one. I think it lose the real meaning of recording the true life to some extent.
2. What is the benefit of learning painting for children?
思路分析 : 发展孩子的想象力从而培养他们的创造力是学习绘画带来的最直接的好处,同时也可以让孩子还学去欣赏生活中的美好,进而更加尊重生命。
First of all, painting is the easiest way for children to express their imagination. So learning to do that would definitely strengthen their ability to think outside of the box which is significant for their later lives.
because imagination is the basis for creation and innovation, one can’t achieve more in any aspects without it. Apart from that, learning painting could be the best way to teach kids to appreciate beauty and therefore to treasure life.
雅思口语Part3 被认为是debate的形式,如果答案准备的不够全面充分就很可能会遇到被考官“质疑”追着问的情况,所以如果在最开始的回答时就可以尽量完整,那就不会给考官留下“穷追猛打”的机会啦
雅思学习制胜兵法:聊一聊你很着急的英语口语学习相关文章:
★ 英语学习
★ 英语口语