Hit the Nail on the Head教案

Hit the Nail on the Head教案 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级教研室 Text I Hit the Nail on the Head I. Teaching objectives 1. Understanding the various aspects related to the usage of words. 2. Cultivating a sense of appropriateness in style 3. Learning to use analogy as an expository means. II. Warm-up questions 1. Does the title strike you as a bit unusual? 2. Have you ever heard of the English proverb ―Hit the nail on the head‖? What does it mean? 3. Whose job involves hitting nails? Is the text concerned about the carpenter? Then, what’s the major concern of the author? 4. What similarities does the author recognize in the job of a carpenter and the work of a writer? 5. How much do you know about style? Do you find it an interesting topic? 6. How do you like the text? Do you find it difficult or easy? Did it take you long to prepare before you come to the class? Are there many new words in the text? 1 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 III. Organization of the text Section I (paragraph 1-3): Raising the subject:Importance of choosing the right word Para 1: Introducing the topic by drawing an analogy between the carpenter hammering a nail and the writer using words. Para 2-3: Elaborating on the importance of choosing the right word –It is a process of realizing, defining and clarifying your thought. Section 2 (paragraph 4–10): Explaining the various aspects in the profile of a word Para4-7:I Illustrating how words with common roots have different meanings (Semantic aspect) Para 8: Illustrating how words with similar meanings may have different associations (Connotational aspect) Para 9: Illustrating how words with similar meanings may have stylistic differences. (Stylistic/situational 2 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 aspect) Para 10: Pointing out that a general notion may be expressed by a variety of specific words (Variation in expression ) Section 3 (paragraph 11): Conclusion: Quality is more important than quantity in learning vocabulary (with an analogy to echo the beginning) IV. Textwork and language points Section I (paragraph 1-3) Paragraph 1: 1. Call students’ attention to the use of analogy by asking questions such as , How does the author introduce the subject? , What expository means is used in the first paragraph? , Can you explain the difference between ―comparison‖ and ―analogy‖? 2. Ask students to read the passage on page7 with the following questions in mind: 3 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 , WHAT is the purpose of drawing an analogy? , WHEN is it often used? , HOW is it different from ―comparison‖? 3. Ask students to identify the use of comparison and the use of analogy in para.. 1 Comparison: A clumsy man a skillful carpenter A good writer a skillful carpenter Analogy: A writer choosing the right word A carpenter hammering a nail 4. Sum up the main points: Analogy is a special kind of comparison and a more concrete way to explain things. The purpose of analogy is to explain something abstract and remote. With analogy, of the two things being compared, one is usually a familiar subject, which helps to explain the other, which is usually a difficult and abstract subject, something hard to define. 4 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 Paragraph 2-3 1. Ask questions to check students’ understanding of the text a) How is paragraph 2 linked to the previous one? What does the word ―this‖ refer to? b) Is it easy to find the word that expresses precisely what a writer wants to express? Why? Do you have this problem in writing? i. Words are many in number ii. Words may have subtle differences in them (semantic, stylistic) c) Does a big vocabulary guarantee the ability of using the right word? Why? d) Do you agree with the author that there is a great deal of truth in the seemingly stupid question ―How can I know what I think till I see what I say?‖ [The question sounds irrational, but is true. Unless we have found the exact words to verbalize our own thoughts, we can never be very sure of what our thoughts are. Without words, our thoughts can not be defined or stated in a clear and precise manner.] defining your thought Choosing words is a process of clarifying what you 5 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 mean. realizing your meaning 2. Call students’ attention to the author’s generalization (line 11- 16: ―Words are many and various …those who hear or read our words.‖; (line 19-21)―It is hard work …we are dealing with‖) Ask them to read aloud. Remind students the importance of generalization after illustrations. Language points 1) (line 4) drive something home: force (the nail) into the right place; make something unmistakably clear. e.g. , The person who wins the argument is the one who drives home his points. , Advertisers keep repeating the names of the product in order to drive the message home. (also: drive home to sb, sth.) , You must drive home to John where the difficulty lies. , You must drive it home to John that we don’t have enough money. 6 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 1) (line 4) hitting it squarely on the head: directly, used both literally and figuratively, examples: , The boxer hit his opponent squarely on the jaw. , We must face the problem squarely. 2) (line 7) clean English: English which is precise and clear (in contrast with vague, slovenly language) 3) (line 10) scrupulous writers: writers who are very careful, paying attention to details 一丝不苟的作家. ―scrupulous‖ generally means painstaking, meticulous (i.e. paying great attention to small things). It may be positive or negative in association, e.g. , He is scrupulous in his business dealings. (positive, 正派， 谨慎) , The nurse treated him with the most scrupulous care. (positive) , The paper is not entirely scrupulous in setting its assumptions. (negative) , He pays scrupulous attention to style. (positive) Compare: ―unscrupulous‖ 不择手段的 (usually 7 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 negative in association) 4) shades of meaning: slight differences in meaning. 5) Some useful sentence patterns in this section , (line 13) It is not only a matter of …, it is also … , (line 19) It is hard work + doing sth , (line 23) …hesitate doing sth (also .. hesitate about doing sth, hesitate to do sth. hesitate at sth.) Sentences for paraphrase 1. ―A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective, will not satisfy a writer who aims at clean English.‖ : i.e. A writer who is particularly concerned about the precise expression in English will never feel happy with a word which fails to express an idea accurately. 2. ―Choosing words is part of the process of realization, … for those who hear or read our words.‖ : i.e. The process of finding the right words to use is a process of perfection where you try to search for words that may most 8 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 accurately express your thoughts and feelings, and words that may most effectively make your listeners and readers understand your thoughts and feelings. 3. ― It is hard work choosing the right words, but we shall be rewarded by the satisfaction that finding them brings.‖ : i.e. Finding the most suitable word to use is in no sense easy. But there is nothing like the delight we shall experience when such a word is found. Relevant information: The allusion to Flaubert (Note 7, page 5) Gustave Flaubert (1821 – 1880), French novelist, was associated with, though not representative of, the movement of naturalism and known as one of the greatest realists of the nineteenth-century France. He devoted his life to long hours spent in heavy toil over his work. His writing is marked by exactness and accuracy of observation, extreme impersonality and objectivity of treatment, and precision and expressiveness in style, or the principle of the mot juste. 9 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 Section 2 (paragraph 4 – 10): The various aspects in word usage (I) The semantic aspect of words (paragraph 4-7) 1. Ask students to make comments on the three pairs of examples given in this section Compare and contrast their differences in meaning. human: of, or relating to man, 1) e.g. human being; human nature; human rights humane: . characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion. e.g a humane judge/officer human action = action taken by man humane action = merciful action human killer = person that kills humans humane killer =that which kills but causes little pain, esp. instruments for the painless killing of 10 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 animals anxiety: associated with worry/fear 2) eagerness:full of interest or desire singularity (of mind): oddity, peculiarity, sth that singles a person out from others 思想奇特、古怪 3) singleness (of mind): holding steadfastly to the purpose in mind, without being drawn aside by less worthy objects. 思 想专一、坚定 2. Point out what may happen if we confuse words with a similar form. (one possible consequence: malapropism). Explain: Malapropism is the use of a word in mistake for one sounding similar, resulting in comic effect, e.g. ―allegory‖ for ―alligator‖; ―delusions‖ for ―allusions‖ The word has its origin in Mrs. Malaprop, a famous character in Sheridan’s comedy the Rivals (1775). She is 11 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 noted for her blunders in the use of words. ―As headstrong as an allegory (alligator) on the banks of the Nile‖ is one of her grotesque misapplications. She also requests that no delusions (allusions) to the past be made. She has given us the word malapropism as a name for such mistakes. Ask students whether they can recall other names of fiction characters that have entered the English dictionary as Mrs. Malaprop, (e.g. Mr. Micawber, Rip Van Winkle …etc) 3. Ask students to give further examples of confusing words, i.e. words that look similar in form but different in meaning, such as ―credulous‖ and ―credible‖, etc. Language points: 1) distinct: adj. A. different in kind e.g. , We should keep the two ideas distinct. 将两个概念 区别开来 , Donkeys and horses are distinct animals. 不同的动 物 12 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 B. clearly marked, plain, e.g. , a distinct improvement 明显的 , a distinct pronunciation 清晰的 2) afield: adv. away from one's home or usual environment. e.g. , Don’t go too far afield. In the text, it may be interpreted as: There is no need for us to make an effort to find proof of bad carpentry in language.‖ Namely, ― You can find examples of bad usage everywhere around you.‖ 3) rife: (predicative only) widespread, common, increasingly prevalent. e.g. , Superstition is still rife in the country. (Not: rife superstition) , The country was rife with rumors of war. , Crime and violence were rife in this city before liberation. , Disease used to be rife in this country. (II) The connotational aspect of a word (paragraph 8) 13 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 1. Ask students to sum up the main point of the paragraph. 2. Call attention to the cohesive link in the topic sentence (from ―malapropism‖ to move to a new point -- inappropriateness resulting from an ignorance of the word’s connotation ) 3. Discuss the different connotations in each of the following: - imprisoned – force, coercion, compulsion, against will - contained – more general, neutral - epitomized – literary, formal - summed up—general - distilled --- more formal, Illustrate the usage with further examples, e.g. , The charter includes some conditions that imprison (限制) the industrial workers today. , He epitomizes (概括、凝聚)the good qualities of his family. (be a perfect example , typify) , Water can be made pure by distilling it.(提炼) 14 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 4. Give further examples to illustrate that words with similar or same meaning may have different connotations, e.g. happiness joy delight rapture ecstasy 5. Call attention to the generalization (line 56-60) which well sums up what’s been discussed in the paragraph. Language points: Coercion: to do sth. under coercion; to get sth. by coercion Coerce: to coerce sb. into doing sth. , He paid the money under coercion.被迫 , The terrorists got what they wanted by coercion. (Longman) , The terrorists coerced the pilot into accepting their demand not to land. 胁迫(Longman) 15 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 (III) The situational aspect of words (paragraph 9)_ 1. Introduce to students the concept of register, and level of formality (e.g. Martin Joo’s Five Clocks: frozen – formal – consultative –casual – intimate) 2. Ask students to comment on the stylistic differences in the two pairs of examples given in the text. 3. Ask students to give further examples to illustrate the differences in style, such as: : - poor - face - begin - poverty-stricken - mug - commence - penniless - visage - inaugurate - broke - initiate 4. Discuss: , What are the factors that decide the style? (subject matter, participants, circumstances etc.) , Is it right to consider a style as more superior to another? (e.g. formal style is better than informal style.) What criteria should we use when evaluating 16 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 the style? Refer to Randolph Quirk’s A Grammar of Contemporary English: - A scale of styles exists in all our use of English. Each of us works not just with one style but different styles. - A haphazard knowledge of several styles may be worse than useless if we do not know the occasions when we are shifting from one to another. - It is the height of naivety to go round with a single yardstick, measuring English as “good” or “bad” (IV) Variation in expression: generic vs. specific (paragraph 10) 1. Ask students to sort out the specific verbs for ―walk‖ according to the different connotation or manner involved. Classify them into sensible categories, such as - walking without making a noise (creep …) - walking in a showy way (strut, stalk…) - walking without a definite aim (loiter, ramble… 17 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 - walking with leisure (stroll, saunter, meander, lounge ) - walking with big steps (stride, march, …) - walking with difficulty (plod, tramp, trudge, …) - … etc. 2. Refer students to the exercise on page 8-9 (Workbook) for practice. Summary: Profile of a word—the various aspects Grammatical Semantic Connotational WORD Situational (Stylistic) Cultural Section 3: Conclusion 1. Call students’ attention to the analogy used in the last paragraph. Identify the two subjects being compared and the parallel elements. 18 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 2. Paraphrase the concluding sentence ―A good carpenter is not distinguished by … cleanly on the head.” To judge whether a carpenter is good or bad, we would not just see how many tools he has. What counts is his skills. In the same way, a writer is not judged by the number of words he knows, but by his ability in using such words. In other words, quality is more important than quantity in learning vocabulary. Language points 1) alliteration in discouraged and dismayed …(line 87) to have a good control and command over … (line 93) similar to ―safe and sound‖ 2) take courage: be brave, be confident e.g. , It’s a challenging job, but take courage and work hard at it, and you’ll be rewarded. V. Classroom discussion 1. What have you learned from the text about the English vocabulary and the English rhetoric? Do you find such 19 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 knowledge useful or not? Explain with illustration. 2. What aspects do we need to consider when we are confronted with several words but not certain about which to choose? 3. What contributes to appropriateness in style? Text II The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts I. Teaching objectives 1. Understanding the creative nature of writing and revision 2. Developing some skills for doing revision in writing 20 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 II. Warm-up questions 1. Do you think it is necessary to do revision after finishing your writing? 2. Are you in the habit of revising your composition before handling in? 3. How do you revise your writing? 4. What should be taken into consideration when doing revision? What skills are needed? 5. Do you find the advise given by the author useful or not? III. Relevant information 1. The author -- Donald M. Murray, U. S. writer, has made the art of writing well his work for decades. He has been an editor of Time magazine. In 1954 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his editorials in the Boston Globe. He has published novels, short stories and poetry, but is perhaps best known for his writing on writing. His Write to Learn is a popular college composition textbook in the U.S. The text given here is a revision of the original that appears in the ―The Writer‖. 21 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 2. The title ―The maker’s eye‖ --- The word maker suggests the use of appropriate material as an instrument through which one gives form to one’s own ideas. The word eye means the faculty of intellectual or aesthetic perception or appreciation. The Maker’s eye may be interpreted as ―the power of judging whether a piece of writing is intellectually and aesthetically excellent on the part of the writer whose task it is to use appropriate words to express his ideas‖. IV. Comprehension questions 1. What’s the main message that the author intends to get across to us‖ (WHY revision is important, HOW to revise your draft) 2. In what way do professional writers differ from student writers in their attitude towards their first draft? (para 1-2) 3. Why is revision essential, or even indispensable in writing? (para 3) (Elaborating on the Nature of writing ) , Writing as process rather than product 22 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 , Writing as a creative, generative and recursive (not linear) process (in which one discovers what to say and how to say in the best way.) In writing, one so frequently arrives at a destination not originally envisaged, by a route not planned for in the original itinerary --Widdowson Writing is a process of thinking, of generating ideas, and of making changing. It is a recursive mental process in which new ideas and spontaneous insights occur form time to time. So the final result of the writing may turn out to be quite different from what was previously planned. Learning to write is, therefore, also a process of leaning to negotiate with oneself and to make revisions. , Writing as finding out possibilities and making choices (Introduce Halliday’s concept of ―Meaning potential‖, ―network of choices‖ to emphasize the needs of 23 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 working and re-working in writing) (Conclusion: Revision as a necessity, a condition in writing ) 4. What approaches does the author suggest for doing revision? (para4 – 9) 5. How do writers vary in their habits of revising their own works? (para 11) , formal rewriting , reviewing invisible drafts before writing down , page by page revision simultaneously with writing 6. What are the common sequence followed by most writers in revising their works? What are the specific areas they look for when doing revision. (para 12-20) Eight points are discussed: a) Information -- specific, accurate, interesting,内容是 否具体、正确、有趣 b) Meaning in the information – significant , relevant选 24 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 材是否有意义 c) Audience – reader-oriented 内容是否顾及读者的需 要，能否为读者所理解，所接受， d) Form (genre) – appropriate to subject & reader 体裁 是否适合主题与读者 e) Structure – good ordered, well- linked, logical 文章 的组织结构是否合理，符合逻辑 f) Development – adequate, no more, no less各个段落 的扩展是否得当，适中 g) Dimension – in good proportion, well-balanced 文章 各部分比重是否协调， h) Voice 文章的语气是否一致，有自己的特色。 V. Organization of the text Part I (para 1- 2):Making a start: raising the topic of revision in writing Part II (para 3): Explaining WHY it is necessary to do revision (owing to the generative and recursive nature of writing) 25 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 Part III (para 4-9 ) Suggesting proper approaches to do revision. - Be one’s own enemy, be cool-mined in facing criticism & praise (not carried away by praise, nor downcast by criticism) (para 4) - Be detached from one’s own work and critical; (para 4) - Be ready to cut off what you most admire, learning to become one’s own reader (para 6) - Not to be overly critical (para 7), learning to read critically but constructively, to cut what’s bad, to reveal what’s good. (para 8) - Be ready to put in efforts and time in doing revision (para 9) Part IV (para 10 – end ): Illustrating how to do revision - Revision as a necessity, a condition of writing (para 10) - Variation in revision habits (para 11) 26 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 - General sequence followed by most writers when doing revision (para 12- 20) (eight areas to look for) , Information (para 13) , Meaning in the information (para 14) , Audience (para 15) , Form (para 16) , Structure (para 17) , Development (para 18) , Dimension(para 19) , Voice (para 20) - Revision as an endless top-down and bottom-up process - (para 21-end) page line- sentence clause word _ VI Language points 1. journey man: a trained workman whose work is fairly 27 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 (but not very ) good 2. craftsman: a person skilled in job 3. prolific: 1) producing offspring or fruit in great abundance; fertile. 2) producing abundant works or results, e.g. a prolific artist 4. a schizophrenic process: a maddening or disorderly process 5. overly: to an excessive degree, e.g. overly protective 6.constructive: serving to improve or advance; helpful, e.g. constructive criticism. 7. prune: to remove or cut out as superfluous. 8. spontaneity: spontaneous behavior, impulse, or movement. 9. virtuous: having or showing virtue, especially moral excellence, e.g. led a virtuous life. 10. genre: a category of artistic, musical or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content. 11. in short runs: in short periods of time 12. spine: strength of character; courage or willpower. 13. dimension: 1)extent or magnitude; scope, e.g. a 28 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 problem of alarming dimensions. 2) aspect; element. 14. subtract: to take away; deduct. 15. at a stretch: without stopping. 16. connotation: ideas that are suggested by a word, rather than the actual meaning of the word. Compare: denotation: the thing or idea that is actually named or described by a word. 18. rub: 1)to suggest the action of something that moves back and forth with friction and pressure. 2) to irritate; annoy, (informal) e.g. His laziness was beginning to rub me. VII. Difficult sentences for paraphrase 1. It is, I suppose, a schizophrenic process, to begin passionately and to end critically, to begin hot and to end cold; and more important, to be passion-hot and critic-cold at the same time. : i.e. The process is a maddening one. At the writing stage the writer should be passionate enough, but when doing the rewriting the writer should be cold and 29 A New English Course (Book 5) Lecture Notes Unit 1: Hit the nail on the Head 漳州师范学院外语系高级英语教研室 critical towards his/her own work. More importantly, the writer should have passion of creation and be critical at the same time. 2. Each word has its own potential for connotation and denotation. : i.e. Each word is capable of turning out many connotative meanings as well denotative meanings of its own. VIII. Topic for classroom discussion Compare the way you write and rewrite with the way Murray proposes. In what way do you think you will be benefited in your writing practice if you follow his suggestions? IX. Assignment 1. Based on Text I, write a passage on ―How does one develop a sense of appropriateness in using words?‖. 2. Write a précis of Text II. 30