A Study Of The Lead-in Methods In The English Classes Of Vocational Schools In China

This thesis explores the appropriate lead-in methods for English classes of vocational schools in China whose students generally do not have a solid English foundation. "A good beginning is half the battle". "Lead-in" methods in the classroom teaching play an important role. They can play a positive role in motivating the students and make learning more effective. However, the ways of traditional lead-in methods are concerned mainly with the knowledge points of English, which makes the effect of teaching rather unsatisfactory. In this paper, according to the current education theories, I compare the existing research results and analyze the lead-in methods used by many English teachers and the mistakes in the current classroom lead-in methods. In the light of my own teaching practice and vocational-students' psychological characteristics, I mainly use literature study method, action research method, questionnaire method, survey method, observation method and experiment method through which I formulate four lead-in methods. After that, five principles, i.e. the principle of interest, the principle of applicability, the principle of novelty, the principle of conciseness and the principle of interaction, are further discussed and explored. In order to verify the effectiveness of the experiment test, the aggregate-organ test and wheel-set experiment and the related data analysis are done. Experimental results show that the new lead-in methods help enhance students' learning performance and improve their English scores. The questionnaire result also shows that the new lead-in methods help stimulate students' interest in English study.This research proves that the reasonable design of classroom lead-in can stimulate the student participation in class activities, help them enter good study condition and improve teaching efficiency. In the process of the research the teachers also improve their classroom management as well as their teaching ability, particularly their ability to make good use of textbooks.