I can still attend composition classes like this. In foreign high schools, I have access to materials such as composition
From elementary school to middle school, the writing training we receive often takes the form of Chinese language classes where the teacher explains the basic knowledge and skills of writing, and then presents a topic for writing in class. Usually, there are two consecutive essay classes, and one essay is submitted before class ends. In the Chinese department of university, although it is no longer required to submit homework in class, it is still required to submit the manuscript within the designated time after completing the writing class.
During my previous teaching experience at a university in Melbourne, I had the opportunity to accompany education experts from domestic universities to visit several local high schools in Melbourne. The preferred essay class that can still be clearly remembered is the one that has been observed. In my opinion, the teaching method of writing classes is quite unique in Melbourne's high schools.
This is a composition exercise for seventh grade students in a local private school. The teacher first presents the central topic of the essay to the students: "Receiving Visiting Guests.". The specific title is determined by the students based on the content they have written. This activity can be conducted by students alone or freely combined, forming groups of 2-3 people. With the consent of parents, it can be implemented at a student's home, and the activity content can be written into an essay. Before the activity, the instructor first issued a long book list, which covered the etiquette of receiving guests, the repair and layout of indoor and outdoor environments, the production and baking of Dim sum, and various chamber music. The purpose was to help students prepare for receiving guests by reading these books. This kind of reading volume is usually quite large. The student union will borrow various books from the library according to the book list provided by the teacher. At the same time, after discussing, the students will create an outline of recognized reception matters, which the teacher will review one by one. Finally, the teacher specifies the date and content for submitting the essay, including one essay, one audiovisual material, and an evaluation form designed by the students themselves.
We participated in a group activity consisting of two girls. They independently designed an evaluation form, which includes two major items: preparation work and receiving guests. Preparations include cleaning and arranging rooms, going shopping, making Dim sum and other preparatory work. The reception process includes welcoming guests, introducing each other, offering tea, communicating with guests, impromptu activities, and seeing off guests.
The actual operation of students is basically carried out according to the items set on the evaluation form. In addition to inviting a few Chinese teachers, the two students also invited some of their friends. On the day of the event, they warmly welcomed us and introduced us to other Australian friends. Due to our arrival, China naturally became the center of everyone's discussion. Australian high school students are very interested in the lives of Chinese high school students, and they have raised many questions. Everyone is exchanging with great interest. The two students invited everyone to taste coffee and small Dim sum made by themselves, and finally took a group photo in the garden. As we were about to bid farewell, they took out their self-designed evaluation form and earnestly asked us to evaluate the event they hosted.
After the activity, the two students will write an essay about the process of the activity. Due to the accumulation of reading various books and practical operations in the early stage, students generally feel that writing is not difficult, with abundant materials and a lot of content to write about.
Finally, the students handed in a complete set of homework: the main topic was an essay, along with various photos of them tidying up the garden, decorating the living room, baking cakes, and playing background music when receiving guests. At the same time, a rating table for the visiting event was also submitted, which listed detailed items such as reception etiquette, topics of communication, background music, satisfaction with the invitation, etc., presented in a five degree rating.
In addition to correcting the composition itself, the teacher also carefully reviews the evaluation form and various activity materials, and only begins to evaluate after completing all of this. Essays are the focus of evaluation, and successful ones will be displayed in the classroom for everyone to observe. For photos and audiovisual materials, the focus is on introducing some innovative works and guiding students from an aesthetic perspective. For evaluation forms, teachers do not give more comments on the results of specific project execution, but rather compare several different design patterns of evaluation forms, focusing on expanding students' thinking. According to the teacher, similar writing exercises will be conducted two to three times a semester.
The entire process of this essay teaching first integrates reading and writing resources, allowing students to face real living and social environments and complete specific tasks. Through language practice and application, acquire new language knowledge and improve language skills. At the same time, teachers review the writing outline, pay attention to guiding the writing process, give students full autonomy, greatly mobilize their learning enthusiasm, and improve their interest and initiative in learning. By leveraging the strengths of each student in task activities, it effectively changes the traditional teaching situation of teacher led instruction and passive acceptance by students. Students have clear learning objectives, with specific activities to complete tasks and solve problems as the starting point, and their ability to express themselves in writing is trained. The teaching effect can be said to be immediate.
Developing students' ability to observe things, narrate the development process of events, and express events through writing. Generate new meaning through narration and presentation. The process of creating is a cultivation of abilities, and the process of forming these abilities cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence.
Of course, due to the goal of classroom teaching, which is to complete and meet the standards and requirements specified in the entire teaching syllabus within a limited time, the implementation and implementation of such teaching methods will consume more class time, and controlling the teaching progress will also have certain difficulties. Furthermore, if there are a large number of students in a class with varying language proficiency and abilities, conducting such teaching can easily lead to significant differences in the benefits and improvement of each student.
From this perspective, no teaching method is perfect. Only by using multiple teaching methods, complementing each other, and collaborating to complete teaching tasks, can we better help students improve together.
