运用词块,提高学生的英语写作能力

引言

在平时的高中英语写作教学过程中，我发现当前高中学生在英语写作中存在着诸多问题：审题不仔细，遗漏要点；过渡不自然，单纯翻译；逻辑不恰当，有悖常理；表达不丰富，结构单调；语言不地道，汉式思维；用词不贴切，缺乏积累；语法不正确，错误不断；书写不规范，多词少词。因此，我认为在日常的教学过程中多引入词块并让学生理解词块的运用势在必行，从而达到快速有效地提高学生英语写作的基本技能。

下面是一位学生就命题作文“学好汉语的重要性及如何学习汉语”所写的文章：

Dear Tom，

I’m glad to hear that you have joined the Chinese Learning Group in your school. We all know that we are living in a world. There language is so important that we can never pay attention to it too much.

A good saying goes， “No pains， no gains.” Though studying Chinese is so hard， you shouldn’t give up. It’s vital that studying Chinese well can help you learn more Chinese culture. What’s more， learning Chinese well is good for chatting with Chinese.

I think you should set a goal to help you learn. Meanwhile， you should try to chat in Chinese and you must believe you can do it well！I think you can do it！

Best wishes，

Li Hua

从这篇文章中我们可以看出这位学生在写作中存在一些问题。虽然要点都具备，层次也够清晰，但表达欠丰富，过渡也不够自然，语言不够规范、欠地道等。究其原因，就是它没有运用以整体形式出现的词块，不能很好地体现句与句之间的逻辑关系，从而使得文章显得不够连贯和流畅。那何为词块呢？词块是介于习惯短语和自由搭配之间的半固定结构，若常以同样的形式多次出现，在语法功能和语境含义上都较固定，如此便形成了词块。来看改写后的这篇文章：

Dear Tom，

I’m glad to hear that you have joined the Chinese Learning Group in your school. It’s normal that you’ll have difficulty learning Chinese at first. As far as I’m concerned， if you put your heart into it， there is nothing impossible. I hope you won’t give up.

Learning Chinese well will be of great importance to you. Firstly， it can help you learn more about Chinese history and culture. Moreover， it can help you communicate with Chinese people better.

To learn Chinese well， you need to practice speaking it as often as possible， especially with native speakers. In addition， listening to Chinese songs or learning to sing them is a good way to memorize Chinese words. Why not have a try？ If there is anything I can do for you， do tell me.

Best wishes，

Li Hua

从这篇文章可能看出相对修改前的来说较准确，地道及流畅。究其原因，就是它运用了以整体形式出现的词块，从而无需过多考虑词与词之间搭配的语法规则和结构的逻辑性，通过运用 I `m glad to hear that you ...， As far as I’m concerned， Firstly， Moreover， in addition， as often as possible， especially with，Why not have a try？使文章结构完整，层次分明，语言流畅。

因此，词块的学习与掌握在语言学习和运用中有着重要的作用。在平时的写作教学过程中多涉及词块的教学，可以是实意词的固定搭配运用，也可能是句型的套用，同时辅助一系列的关联词。通过阅卷来看学生在写作中是否运用词块与写作的成绩息息相关，高分作文里必定具有很丰富的词块知识。那么如何在阅读训练和写作教学中运用词块教学呢？以下分别从词块的选择和积累及词块的巩固和运用两个方面来介绍

1. 词块的选择和积累

以人教版BOOK 8 Unit 1 A land of diversity精读文章中的一段为例：

Exactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California， no one really knows. However， it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. In the 16th century， after the arrival of the Europeans， the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition， many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However， some survived these terrible times， and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state.

从这120字左右的一段文章中我们能看出一些较为固定的结构，由于它们的存在使得文章结构完整，语意清晰，语言流畅。我们可以把它们分成几类：？固定句型结构：It is likely that....， sb. believes that...， What we now know as ...， No one really knows...？ 常用名词和动词的搭配： cross ...to...， by means of， in...times， after the arrival of...， die from， brought by...， survive something， any other something.？句子间的连接词： exactly when， However， in addition。如此我们在日常实际的教学写作中应特别重视搭配性词块的选择积累。写作是用书面语言来表达我们思想的过程，我们会下意识地搜索各种搭配来丰富自己思想。若能在平时的教学过程中加以选择并多多积累，在写作过程中也能运用自如，从而取得更好的写作成绩。

2. 词块的识记和运用

在阅读教学中，我们要尽力介绍与课文相关的词块让学生认识并识记，并结合语境对语言知识进行初步的学习，直至学生能创造性地运用该词块造句并写出精彩的文章来。我们可以通过以下几种方式来进行教学：

（1） 通过选词填空来认识并理解和识记该词块的语境（happen， occur， take place ，break out）。如：

Great changes have taken place in Wenchuan since the earthquake on May 12， 2008.

She happened to be out when I went to see her.

The name of the film occurred to / came to / struck me suddenly.

（2） 通过提示首字母或汉语填空来加深词块的应用。如：

You have the （抉择） of fighting or being taken prisoner.

You have the choice of fighting or being taken prisoner.

（3） 通过学生用词块进行创造性地造句。以 forbid sth./ doing sth./ sb. to do sth. / sb. sth./ that....为例：

The new law forbids smoking in offices.

Their father forbade them to go.

Smoking should be forbidden in public places.

By the road， there is a board， saying “Parking forbidden/ No parking！”

The school forbids the students to smoke.

He is forbidden to enter the room.

（4） 通过给出部分选项进行选择增强词块的理解。如：

Eugene is never willing to alter any of his opinions. It is no use with him.

A. to argue B. arguing

C. argued D. having argued

解析：It is no use doing sth.是固定句型，故B。

（5） 通过提供相关单词的正确形式填空促进对词块的理解。如：

I （wait） for an hour but he still （not turn） up.

（6） 通过对短文的语境进行综合填空达到对词块的运用。如：

As we all know， China is a big country， on the one hand， China has its own laws， and the leaders have the responsibility to make the country become stronger and stronger. On the other hand， people in China also have their responsibilities. For example， our parents have to take care of us， who are the most important to them and must be done. As students， we have two main responsibilities. Firstly， and we must study hard and obey the rules in the school. Secondly， we should look after our parents when they are older.

除此之外教师也可以通过词块串记背诵范文加以识记和巩固。在教学过程中不断总结运用词块教学方法，从而有效地帮助学生在学习过程中恰当的运用词块。

总的来说，合理运用词块可以提高英语写作能力，词块使用效率越高，写作能力提高得越快；系统、有效的词块学习对于写作成绩的提高起着积极的作用；即使对于阅读成绩比较好的学生来说，重视并加强词块学习，其写作水平也能得到提高，因为阅读水平的提高并不一定能提高写作水平。因而，在教学中重视词块，加强学生词块意识的培养，对高中英语写作成绩的提高将起到事半功倍的效果。

参考文献

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（作者单位：江西省九江市彭泽县第一中学）