3月(yuè)28日，英語組進行英語基本功比賽即興演講研討(tǎo)。周老師圍繞六個(gè)指定話(huà)題進行了(le)三分(fēn)鐘(zhōng)即興演講，老師們對(duì)如何進行創新型教師進行了(le)思維碰撞，李老師認爲應該充分(fēn)利用(yòng)多(duō)媒體帶來(lái)的(de)便利，龔老師則認爲“創新”則應該注重于對(duì)教師這(zhè)一身份的(de)創新。下(xià)面是此次研討(tǎo)的(de)研討(tǎo)成果：

1:Will English teachers be replaced by AI teachers?

According to Mckinsey: by 2030, at least 14% of employees globally might need to change their careers due to digitization, robotics, and A.I. advancements. However, I BELIEVE, we, English teachers are not gonna be replaced by AI. I am very confident about that. Here’s why.

The most important part in English teaching is not just passing down the knowledge to students or grading at the papers. Actually, English teachers guide the social process of teaching. We understand each student, we help students get from point A to point B. And it’s not a straight line. If you just gave a class from Chatgpt in August, and say we are gonna see in April. Maybe two kids will do the stuff. They actually learn out of it. Students can copy-paste in Chatgpt, get answers from chatgpt, grade by Chatgpt. The Chatgpt can do so many things, but it’s just an assistant. Students need us, the pandemic showed us that. They need us to guide them.

The ultimate goal of English learning, is to help students to cope with different situations in real life, not just the language itself. English teachers will beat AI not because they have higher IQ. It’s because English teaching is a highly personalized and interactive process that involves creating a learning environment that is conductive to student growth, something that AI is not capable of doing.

See? AI cannot and will not replace English teachers. Because English teaching is an inherently human endeavor, which is built on collaboration and relationships. It incorporates curiosity and creativity. It includes empathy and understanding. And those are the things that we do every single day.

2:How to teach vocabulary in your class?Can you share your ideas and experiences with us?

      Every time I present new vocabulary to students, I tend to use flashcards or some pictures. This is because pictures are so vivid and easy to understand. Especially for lower grade students, flashcards are very useful. When I use flashcards, I will let the students read after me several times. And I tell them how to pronounce the words by using phonics. And flashcards can also help the students to review vocabulary. During the class, I often take out some flashcards and give students some time to memorize them, and cover them up. After that, I ask students to recall the words and read out loudly.

Apart from helping students know how to read and memorize the vocabulary, I think the most important part in vocabulary teaching is to let students know the meaning of the vocabulary, not just know Chinese meaning, but use English to interpret each new word, to think in English. It’s a good idea to think about how students will recall a word when sitting for an exam and I use this as my starting point to determine how I want my students to understand the new words. I always create a contextual experience in the process of vocabulary teaching (an interesting story, a series of images, a dialogue) , which leaves a deep impression on the students. They’ll be able to access these words with little trouble, and build up their own vocabulary throughout each class!

3. How can you teach grammar in your class?Can you share your ideas and experiences with us?

 In my class, I always let students conclude the grammar rules. After that, I adopt different ways for students to use the grammar rules. Grammar is best learned in the context of language use--reading, writing and even speaking. There are many creative ways to teach grammar concepts.

During the class, I usually Create a series of sample sentences that display the grammar concept I am teaching. All of the sentences should follow the concept correctly — except one. I  display them all together on the screen and ask students to identify which one is wrong. Then, either explain why it’s wrong or have students discuss and provide their own answers as to why it’s wrong.

Once most of the students have mastered the grammar concepts, I will give them a detective mission. For us, teachers, we always laugh our head off because of students’ funny grammar mistakes.So I come up with an idea, I ask my students to write those mistakes down or take a picture to share with the class. I often share these funny examples at a certain time each week or have a contest for who can find the most or the funniest.

4.Raising cultural awareness is a challenging task. Would you explain how you mingle cultural elements in language teaching.

I believe that in some Englishclassses, there is a strong focus on language skills, but culture is overlooked. This represents a missed opportunity for student engagement: Without cultural contexts, students are robbed of a full and engaging language learning experience.Cultural elements refer to things like the beliefs, values, customs, and the communication styles of a given culture or society. Here are the ways that I incorporate cultural elements into my classes.

Before I can teach students something about English culture, I always do a lot of research. If we don’t do this, we may give some stereotypes to students. This is often done unintentionally, but it can have harmful effects. We should also avoid making blank statements about culture, such as, “Americans often have cereal for breakfast.” Instead of that, we’d better present the cultural point as a piece of information:” The word cereal has its roots in Latin, and it is the name of the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture and grain crops.In the US, cereal is very popular. Because it’s easy to prepare and very sweet. Americans love sweet food. So cereal have become Americans’ staple breakfast food.  But now, more and more Americans choose to not eat cereals because they want to have a healthy diet with less sugar.” The students are so interested into my telling, which encourages me to do more research on the cultural background.

From time to time, I give students some slangs and idiomatic expressions. These are excellent resources to start understanding a culture, and students are very into it. It is also a good idea to design some exercises with the cultural elements.

5.Do you think it’s necessary to guide students to do some extended reading like reading some picture books? If so, what can teachers do?

 I love picture books. I love their weight in my hands, the promise held in a few pages. I love that you have to hold them up to really share them with others. And I love all the ways they can be brought to life in classrooms!

  Teachers can use picture books to start the day. While not all picture books are short, there are plenty of short and sweet picture books out there. Why not try to start the day off with a picture book? A short text allows students to settle into the routine of the day. It gives time for late students to make their way into the classroom. It can be tied to the theme of the day or touch on a behaviour we’d like to improve. Students can even take turns to be the reader, which allows us the time to get beginning of the day jobs done. And by starting the day with a book, you’re showing your students that you prioritize English reading.

It is okay to just have fun with picture books. We can put a collection in the classroom which students can explore in their own time. Students can admire the artwork and the way the author put the words together. We can also invite other teachers to share a picture book with the class.

  I ask my students to read picture books not because I want them to get higher grades, but because I want them to admire the language itself.