Learning about Language优秀教案说课稿

Unit 4 Pygmalion 课时教案

pre-reading & Reading

Teaching goals教学目标

1. Target language 目标语言

重点词汇

adaptation, plot, professor, Pygmalion

2. Ability goals 能力目标

Enable the students to talk about the Greek story Pygmalion.

3. Learning ability goals 学能目标

Help the students learn how to talk about the Greek story Pygmalion. Teaching important points 教学重点

Help the students learn how to retell the story.

Teaching difficult points 教学难点

Help the students know the similarities and differences between the story and the play Pygmalion. Teaching methods 教学方法

Discussion. Teaching aids 教学准备

A recorder, a computer and a projector.

Teaching procedures & ways 教学过程与方式

Step Ⅰ Lead-in T: Has anyone heard of “the Pygmalion Effect”？What is it? S1: The Pygmalion Effect is that people tend to behave as you expect they will. If you expect a person to take responsibility, they probably will. If you expect them not to even try, they probably won’t. T: Good. How did you know? S1: I have once read some Greek stories. And I have read the story Pygmalion before.

T: You’re great. If someone is good at writing, we often say he or she is a lucky

dog of the Muses. Do you know where the saying comes from?

S1: It also comes from the Greek story. Step Ⅱ Warming up T: Yes. Today we are going to learn about a Greek story Pygmalion. First, look at the pictures on page 28. Please work in pairs and work out the story.

After a few minutes.

T: Now let’s have a look at the first picture. Who can tell me what’s in it with your own words? S1: Let me try. Pygmalion was a very gifted artist. He spent a long time making a stone statue of a beautiful woman. It was so beautiful that he couldn’t help loving it and wanted it to be his wife. T: Wonderful! And who can follow it? S2: But it was only a stone. How could he make his dream become true? He thought and thought and at last he asked the Greek Goddess to help him to bring it to life. T: You did a good job. But did his dream become true at last? S3: Yes! The Greek Goddess agreed to help and his wish was granted. T: Now who can present the complete story based on the above description?

S4: Let me try. Pygmalion was a gifted artist. One day, he decided to make a stone statue of a beautiful woman. He worked day and night and at last he finished. Then he clothed the figure, decorated it with the jewellery, and even named it the Sleeping Love. The work was so beautiful that he couldn’t help thinking that if the statue could be brought to life, he’d very much like it to be his wife. Therefore, he asked the Greek Goddess to help make it alive. Finally the Goddess was moved by his sincerity. His wish was granted. Pygmalion threw himself to his feet, the girl smelt down at him. Afterwards, they fell in love with each other and married. T: Wonderful! You did a good job! Now let’s have a discussion. Do you think that Pygmalion and his statue-wife will be happy together? S: No, I don’t think so.

T: What problems do you think they will have? S1: Maybe they can’t understand each other, because they come from different world. S2: It’s very hard for Pygmalion to understand his wife, because his wife is made from a stone. She doesn’t know the words, behavior, anything about him.

…

T: Good. How do you think they might solve them? S3: Pygmalion loves the girl so much that he decides to teach her how to speak and how to behave herself. Little by little, they understand each other well and live happily. T: Good imagination! The story is so interesting that it was made into a film My Fair Lady, which was based on the play by Bernard Shaw. Do you know this famous playwright? Step Ⅲ Discussion

Make a brief introduction about Shaw. T: George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist, literary critic, a socialist spokesman, and a leading figure in the 20th century theater. Shaw was a freethinker, defender of women’s rights, and advocate of equality of income. In 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Shaw accepted the honour but refused the money. He was a very humorous playwright. Here is a story about him. One day, Shaw took part in a grand party, in which he met the then Prime Minister Churchill. Churchill was very fat at that time whereas Shaw was very thin. Churchill said to Shaw very sharply, “When people see you, they will know how poor your country is”. And then Shaw answered very quickly, “When people see you, they will know the reason why our country is so poor.” From it we can see how witty Shaw is! T: Have you seen the film My Fair Lady？

S1: Yes. It was about a flower girl who became a lady in the upper class, helped by the expert in phonetics, Professor Higgins.

T: Do you like the film? Why?

S1: Yes, I do. What makes “My Fair Lady” special is the great musical score by Mr. Loewe with lyrics by Mr. Lerner. Most of the songs are by now, standards that have delighted us since they were written and have been sung by practically all the best singers of the world. Ｔ: Very good. They both have the same theme. In the play, a poor-educated flower girl in the street at last became a lady, just as surprising as a stone became a beautiful woman in the Greek story. Now can you tell me the similarities between the Greek story and the play? You can discuss it with your partner. S2: Both women made big changes. In the Greek story, the statue was brought to life; while in the play Pygmalion, the flower girl Eliza was brought up to the upper class. T: Good. What else?

S3: In the Greek story, Pygmalion is a gifted artist, whereas in the play Pygmalion, Higgins is an expert in phonetics.

Step IV Revision and lead-in Review the story Pygmalion.

T: Last period, we learned something about the Greek story Pygmalion and the play version by Shaw. Of all of Shaw’s plays, Pygmalion is without the doubt the most beloved and popularly received. Several film versions have been made of the play, and it has even been adapted into a musical. In fact, the film version of 1938 helped Shaw to become the first and only man ever to win the double prize: the Nobel Prize for literature and an Academy Award. Do you still remember the story? Now who can retell it to all of us? A sample retelling version:

Pygmalion was a gifted artist. One day, he decided to make a stone statue of a beautiful woman. After that, he spent day and night carving it, and then he clothed the figure, gave it the jewellery, and even named it the Sleeping Love. How he wanted to bring it to life and made it his wife. Therefore, he asked the Greek Goddess to make it alive. And finally the Goddess was moved by his sincere feeling. His wish was granted. Pygmalion threw himself to his feet, the

girl smelt down at him. Afterwards, they loved each other and married. T: Can you tell me the theme of the story? S: People tend to behave as you expect they will. T: Excellent! Based on classical myth, Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion plays on the complex business of human relationships in the social world. Phonetics Professor Henry Higgins tutors the very Cockney Eliza Doolittle, not only in the refinement of speech, but also in the refinement of her manners. When the end result produces a very ladylike Miss Doolittle, the lessons learned become much more far reaching. OK, today we will read a story about it. It’s written by the famous English playwright, George Bernard Shaw. Step V

Reading Deal with the Reading part. Play the tape for the students to listen. Then analyze the play. Ask the students to read through the text. While reading, pay attention to the writing style.

Skimming

Ask the students to read the play quickly and answer the questions. T: Now please read the play. After a few minutes, I’ll ask you some questions.

After a few minutes.

T: Who would like to answer the first question: How many characters are there in the play? S1: There are three characters in the play. They are Eliza, Professor Higgins, and Colonel Pickering. T: What is the weather like when the play begins? S2: When the play begins, it is pouring with rain. T: Very good. Do you think Eliza a well-educated woman? Why? S3: No, I don’t think so. In fact, she is poor-educated. We can know it clearly from what she said. For example, come over’ere, cap’in, and buy me flowers off a poor girl. For another, I ain’t done nothing wrong by speaking to that gentleman. T: Also, we can learn it from her behavior. For example, “pushes it back at him.”

OK. Next one: Why did professor Higgins want to make notes of what Eliza said? S4: He wanted to make a speech, because it’s his profession. T: Very good. Next: What’s the meaning of “the age of the newly rich”?

S5: It means people begin their working life in a poor neighbourhood of London with 80 pounds a year and end in a rich one with 100 thousand. Scanning

Ask three students to read the play.

T: Next I will ask three students to read the play again. One will be Eliza, one Professor Higgins, and one Colonel Pickering. OK? Now begin! After several minutes.

T: Great. Now I have some more questions. First: According to Higgins, if a person is very poor, he or she can still be better off at last. Do you agree with him? If so, how to realize the aim? S1: Yes. I agree with him. However, in order to realize the aim, he or she must get educated. T: Who can complete the last sentence: in the first line on page 29: Now once taught by me...? S2: Let me try. Once taught by me, she will soon become a lady in the upper class. T: Well done. What other things show one’s statue in society apart from how one speaks? S3: One’s clothing and behavior can also show his statue. T: Do you think Pickering is of the upper class? S4: Yes. I think he is well educated. We can learn it from the way he speaks. For example, “May I ask?”

T: Great! Now please listen to the tape carefully and try to catch the main idea of this act. Step VI Comprehending

This time the students should listen to the tape as carefully as possible. They should not only pay attention to the pronunciation and intonation but get the main

idea of the play as well. T: Pygmalion is a play about recognizing a person’s position in society by the way they behave and speak.

Sample answers to Part 2: Relationships between characters Henry Higgins: 1. Attitude to Colonel Pickering (H) 2. Attitude to Eliza (L) Is the statement above true? Colonel Pickering: 1. Attitude to Henry Higgins (H) 2. Attitude to Eliza (L) Is the statement above true? Eliza: 1. Attitude to Henry Higgins (H) 2. Attitude to Colonel Pickering (H)

Is the statement above true? Step VII Homework T: Today’s homework:

1. Read the play repeatedly and try to act out the play.

2. Preview the grammar part. Evidence from the play 1. My dear man 2. Dismissively, ignore, carelessly

throw The statement is true. 1. May I ask… /

Let me

congratulate you 2....

The statement is not true. 1. Pushes it back at him 2....

The statement is not true.