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In the 1970s, C.Turney (1975) condemned the conception of lead-in in his book Sydney Micro Skill. The function of lead-in was pointed out by this book as follows: gaining attention, arousing motivation, establishing teaching goals, defining learning tasks and making links. To him, the most important thing at the beginning of new lessons is to arouse students’ attention. Curiosity is the most active and significant factor among students’ learning motivations. Lead-in should construct teaching aims and build connection between the old and the new knowledge.
In the 1980s, Roger Gower and Steve Walters (1983) also studied the methods to “Starting the lesson” in teaching techniques. Foreign language teaching emphasizes the importance to foster students’ communication skill.
Many scholars at home also wrote essays about lead-in from different aspects. HuShuzhen (1996) proposed that lead-in also means lecture-starting. She clarified the function, types and basic requirements of it. FuJianming (2005) presented a number of lead-in skill and principles in his book Education Theory and Teaching Technology.
From all of these theories, we can be aware of that they all put more attention on lead-in which can enlighten the English teaching. But one shortcoming lies behind it. The studies on junior middle school students are relatively less.
This paper is to search for more effective methods of lead-in in junior middle school; therefore, English class teaching efficiency can be highly improved.
This paper is made up of five parts. The first part is the introduction. Part Two focuses on the functions and principles of lead-in in English classroom teaching. Part Three analyses causes for lead-in problems in English class in junior middle school. Part Four introduces effective methods of lead-in in English class. Part Five provides the conclusion of the paper.
Ⅱ. The Functions and Principles of Lead-in in Junior Middle School
2.1 Functions of lead-in
Suhomlinski (2000) said: “If the teacher rushes to the instruction and totally forgets to awaken the students’ spirit and prepare them to learn, then this kind of instruction can only generate indifference and tiredness of feeling less brain work.” Lead-in can be used to arouse students’ interest, activate learning atmosphere and link the old and the new knowledge. A successful lead-in should have the functions as follows:
To stablize emotion. Students’ activities and emotions are various during the recess. They play games, have a chat, or romp together. When the bell rings, teachers should make their best to shift students’ attention from recess activities to the lesson. Lead-in is helpful for students to stablize their emotion and make them calm down. An excellent lead-in can put students into a learning mood within a short time.
To convey teaching objectives. Teachers’ lead-in can have a great influence on students’ behavior. By means of lead-in, students can have a clear idea about the teaching objectives and content of this lesson. Therefore, with definite learning objectives in their mind, students can get the key point of the text easily and the following teaching procedure can carry out smoothly.
To attract students’ attention. Effective lead-in is able to attract students’ attention to classroom teaching and make them go into a good study state. If students’ attention is concentrated, they will listen to the lesson more carefully. What’s more, active atmosphere can also provoke students’ interest and enable them to enjoy the process of learning. Diesterweg (2001) once said that: “Making students interested in what you are teaching is the art of successful education.” A valuable lead-in not only stimulates students’ interest and motivation in learning, but also improves their cognitive level.