大学英语课堂教学设计——以“Remembering and Forgetting”单元为例

张 文

(安庆师范大学外国语学院，安徽 安庆 246133)

《新编大学英语》第1册第2单元Remembering and Forgetting是关于记忆和遗忘的话题，为促进学生英语口语能力的提高，老师可让学生小组讨论后对图画进行口头描述，具体按照下面三个步骤进行课堂操练。

STEP ONE

Direction：Work in pairs to explain the following phrases related to memory.

1.It’s on the tip of my tongue.

If a word，expression，etc.is on the tip of your tongue，you usually know it but have difficulty remembering it at that moment.

2.My head’s like a sieve.

When you say someone’s head is like a sieve or someone has a memory like a sieve，you mean that they forget things very easily.

3.My mind’s gone blank.

If your mind goes blank or has gone blank，you are suddenly not able to remember a fact or piece of information at a time when you need it.

4.Go in one ear and out the other.

If a piece of information goes in one ear and out of the other，it is heard but either ignored or quickly forgotten.

STEP TWO

Direction：Look at the pictures and discuss with your deskmate what approach the man is using to memorize his shopping list in each of the cases.

Picture 1

The man is forming a picture of the items he wants to buy in his mind.

Picture 2

The man is saying the things he wants to buy repeatedly.

Picture 3

The man is trying to keep his shopping list in mind by making up a story.

Picture 4

The man is forming meaningful links between the items he wants to buy and the letters in the word “CANDY”.

STEP THREE

Direction：describe one of your embarrassing experiences

1. I once had a very embarrassing experience.One day，when I was walking on the street，I saw a young man looking and smiling at me and I began to wonder who he was.When he came near，he asked me about my life at college.Although I didn’t know whom I was talking to，I told him everything，including the fact that I could seldom see my advisor and had no one to turn to for help.An odd smile crossed his mouth and he looked a little bit upset.Then he offered me a phone number along with his name.It was then that I realized he was in fact my advisor.

2.Well，I think all of us have felt embarrassed when we have ignored some important things.I had such an experience about three years ago.One of my friends，Tim，invited me to her home on the following Sunday，and I promised I would be there on time.When I arrived，I saw a few of our classmates were there and each of them had brought a present for Tim.It turned out that that day was her birthday.I felt very embarrassed，but I thought I had to do something to hide my embarrassment.So，I went up to her and said，“Gosh，Tim，you never seem to age，so I never remember your birthday.”