Text Reciting And Senior English Teaching And Learning

English is learnt by Chinese as a foreign language, so it's difficult for students since there is not such a language environment. And there were many teaching methods from ancient times. After trying them and failing, teachers begin to find new ways. While, as a language, Chinese is taught very successfully in China. And the traditional teaching method is reciting the texts. Believe it or not, all those experts in Chinese language can recite a large number of famous articles, poems, verses, even plays. Then we can think about this question: They are both languages, why can't we use the same way to learn them?In the new syllabus, large amount of material and practice input is emphasized, especially the material input. Many kinds of means of input, like listening, speaking, reading and writing are used, but not the traditional one, that is, text reciting. The reasons lie in two facts. One is that there isn't any item in the exam to test how a student can recite the text, so students never take it seriously. The other reason is that roting has been criticized for many years, making reciting overlooked. So first we should make clear that "recite" and "rote" are different. "Recite" means to repeat aloud or declaim from memory. It is based on understanding. While the latter means mechanical repetition(in order to memorize)/from memory without thinking. Many people mix them together so that they think it's a dull method, and it's only suitable for those who are stupid.Text reciting is considered a precious means of teaching and learning. Just like the phrase people use to describe it: lots of reading and lots of reciting. It is, in fact, a kind of input. But it is often neglected in our Chiese English teaching, especially for senior students. Because they are too busy to spend much time in reciting texts. Many teachers and students all think it's not worth doing so. Some think probably it's useful, but they won't take trouble to try.But the use of text reciting can't be overlooked. It is a very important teaching method, especially in senior English teaching. It is a real kind of input and an effective way to improve one's language ability. It can also strengthen students' memory. Only by reciting the texts can we learn the vocabularies and phrases in the texts by heart. Learning English by reciting the texts is an effective way for senior students because it can not only help them to master a lot of basic English knowledge, but also can cultivate their language sense, and improve their language skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, etc. It can also help to internalize English, making it natural and free for students to use English.Thus this article is mainly written to change the attitude of teachers and students, and call on them to carry out this simple teaching and learnig method in their ordinary life.