On Out—of—class Activities and Improvementof English Communicative Competence

【Abstract】As for college students， English become more and more important in many aspects .Out-of-class activities play avital role in improving the English Communicative Ability. American society linguist Dwell Hymes thinks： Communicative competence not only includes the understanding and grasp to a form of language， but also includes the understanding and mastering in when and where， and how and to whom to use language appropriate form of the communication systems of language. The essay tries to study the out-of-class English activities， for the purpose of attracting students interest in English communication， developing the college students learning strategy， the essay will a recommended plan based on the results of this investigation

【Key words】college students； communicative competence； learning strategies； out-of-class activities

Ⅰ. Introduction

As the development of the economy， culture and so on， English is used by people all over the world. In order to learn advanced scientific and technological knowledge， to strengthen economic trade with foreign countries， to exchange culture， we could learn English well. It is obvious that people all know the importance of English and Chinese students learn English from the primary school， but in the recent years people usually think the English condition of Chinese students as “mute English” or “deaf English”. Out-of-class English activities may improve their skills and develop their quality.

Ⅱ. Literature Review

The renowned philosopher in ancient Greece—Plot， studied on the topic of out-of-class activities， he advocates “the child play-ground” educational mode.“Direct experience” was raised by Rousseau in 18th century and had been accepted widely. In the 19th century in the United States， the first school in the world which uses activity curriculum theory as teaching guidance and the traditional courses began to be criticized. The experiment had profound effects.

Ⅲ. The Drawbacks of Present English Teaching

First， because of examination-oriented education model， teachers and students put the importance on scores exceedingly. Students can get high scores easily， but they cant communicate with people using English. Second， students are just passively receiving the knowledge and recording the massive notes. Third， teachers often teach and explain by using Chinese.

Ⅳ. Out-of-class Activities and Development of Communication Competence

A. Current Situation of College Students Out-of-class Learning

As we know， English learning is not restricted in class， and out-of-class learning is also a very important part. As pointed out by professor Zhe， from Beijing University， there are only 288 class periods for college students， while language learning is arduous work. Class time isvery limited， so we should teach students how to learn English rather than teach English.But for a long time， influenced by our traditional teaching and learning， college students out-of-class learning is far from being satisfactory.

B. A Suggested Framework for Strategy Study

In order to improve out-of-class learning， I have a suggestion in detail. I have proposed to set up a flexible self-access language learning center which will give students free access to a variety of language learning and provide necessary guidance and technical support. Thus the college students can use the resources at their own level and pace in their spare time.

Ⅴ. Conclusion

This essay attaches importance to communicative ability in out-of-class English learning. With the development of society， it is important to raise students spoken English in the out-of-class activities. For this topic， many scholars have made lots of researches， but there are still plenty people who do not understand the true meaning of it. In order to improve students out-of-class learning， an out-of-class English learning center is necessary to provide with strategy training.

References：

[1]A.S.Hornby.Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary.The Commercial Press，1997.

[2]Nida.Meaning Across Cultures.Ordiss Press，1981.

[3]Yousef，F(xiàn).S.Cross-cultural Communication.Human Organization，1974.

[4]蔣磊.英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)的文化觀照與對(duì)比[M].武漢大學(xué)出版社， 2000.

[5]賈玉新.跨文化交際學(xué)[M].上海外語(yǔ)教育出版社，1997.

作者簡(jiǎn)介： 姜妍（1995.02-）， 女， 漢族， 山東嘉祥人， 本科， 研究方向：英語(yǔ)。