思维能力对英语写作的影响

随着国内对二语写作研究的迅速发展，对学习者英语写作影响因素的探索逐渐升温。除了以上讨论的写作者的母语水平、英语水平的影响，其思维能力的强弱也直接影响着英语写作水平的高低。此处讨论的思维能力有别于上一节的英语文化思维能力，而是就写作本身而言的构思能力。从这个角度上讲，写作者的思维能力体现在写作的四个环节中:审题、立意、布局、论述。文秋芳、刘润清(2006)曾从写作的思维环节入手，确立了与写作思维过程的四个环节相对应的四个作文内容参数:审题，文章切题性;立意，论点明确性;布局，篇章连贯性;论述，说明透彻性。研究材料源于某重点大学英语专业四个年级的120篇英语作文。

该研究发现，从文章切题性来看，相当部分学生对题目的解读出现偏差，原因在于对抽象概念的加工不慎和对概念之间关系的判断有误。在论点明确性方面，相当普遍的问题是分论点不清楚。在说理透彻性方面，作者提出的论点要想有说服力，需要作者严密推理并提供恰当实例，而学生在这两个方面的思维能力比较薄弱。最后，篇章连贯性要求作者在谋篇布局时必须紧扣中心思想，将材料有机组织在一起，使中心论点和分论点之间、分论点与分论点之间保持较高的逻辑性。分析显示，四个年级学生作文当中，连贯性好的作文占总数的15%，其余存在不少问题。

以上问题的产生可归结为写作者两大思维能力方面的欠缺:逻辑思维能力和思辨思维能力。逻辑思维是指语篇的衔接与连贯，构思行文内在的逻辑性。思辨思维则主要是指语篇观点思想的新颖与思路的创新。英语写作对中国学生而言是二语写作的过程，他们一直面临着根据文化和语言表达习惯的不同去提取和整合词语的困难和任务。因此，学生的注意力往往会过多地用在寻找合适的词语、得体的方式来表达心中所想。那么，他们对语篇逻辑、内在的关系以及思想的挖掘等写作中更高层面的关注就会显得力不从心而无暇顾及，导致他们分析、判断、综合、论述的能力发展滞后、缓慢，也就不乏出现堆砌材料、推理不严、衔接不紧，甚至颠来倒去说不清楚的现象。

与遣词造句和语篇的衔接连贯与逻辑性相比，学生作文中的思想表达存在的问题似乎更大。关于思辨能力，黄源深(1998)早就指出这是外语学习者的软肋。在四、六级考试的指挥棒下，外语教师往往要求学生根据四、六级考试中作文的形式和要求进行平时的练习。一般是根据题目和提纲的要求写三段，一些学者戏称之为“三股文”(范惠茜，2012)，且有明确的字数要求。这必然会导致学生关注语言表达形式的正确性，而不是思想表达的深刻性与新颖性。常常是大学生写出的英语作文，其认知水平仅仅相当于中学生。这种现象就是黄源深(2010)曾提出的“思维缺席症”。学生的作文往往循规蹈矩、近乎千篇一律，显见新颖观点和突破。比如一谈到“如何保护环境”，一般都是乘坐公共交通、多植树造林等，多是罗列一些浮于表面、较为肤浅的东西，新颖而深入的探讨如同凤毛麟角般稀少。下面看两篇范文节选。

Sample 1

Sports in the U.S.

In many parts of the world，there are four seasons：spring，summer，fall and winter.In the U.S.，there are only three：football，basketball and baseball.That’s not completely true，but almost.In every season，Americans have a ball.If you want to know what season it is，just look at what people are playing.Eor many Americans，sports do not just occupy the sidelines.They take center court.

Besides“the big three”sports，Americans play a variety of other sports.In warm weather，people enjoy water sports.Lovers of surfing，sailing and scuba diving flock to the ocean.Swimmers and water skiers also revel in the wet stuff.Eishermen try their luck in ponds，lakes and rivers.In winter，sportsmen take delight in freezing fun.Erom the first snowfall，skiers hit the slopes.Erozen ponds and ice rinks become playgrounds for skating and hockey.People play indoor sports whatever the weather.Weightlifting and bowling are year-round activities.

Eor many people in the U.S.，sports are not just for fun.They’re almost a religion.Thousands of sports fans buy expensive tickets to watch their favorite teams and athletes play in person.Other fans watch the games at home，glued to their TV sets.The most devoted sports fans never miss a game.Many a wife becomes a“sports widow”during her husband’s favorite season.America’s devotion to athletics has created a new class of wealthy people：professional athletes.Sports stars often receive million-dollar salaries.Some even make big money appearing in advertisements for soft drinks，shoes and even toiletries.

Sample 2(www.xing528.com)

How to Conserve the Natural Resources？

The progress of modern civilization has a profound impact on the natural resources of our earth.Environmental pollution can be a serious issue for people living on the earth.Everyone needs a kind of green living style for a healthier environment，which can also benefit the global environment.Perhaps some people want to do something but don’t know where to start and how to start.Here are many minor environmental actions ordinary people can take in their daily lives to help conserve nature and natural resources.

Avoid energy waste.Be sure to turn off electrical devices after your use.All electricalappliances use electricity even when they are turned off.This causes a plenty of waste that can be avoided easily.At night，when you are finished with these electrical devices，you’d better cut electricity or turn off the power switch.It can not only avoid energy waste but is also very beneficial for your electricity costs as well.

Buy your necessities for life locally.Shipping goods like food over districts costs tremendous amounts of energy.Among all the energy it takes to farm food，keep it fresh and transfer it to your grocery store，the electricity and fuel burned is incredible.Buying locally，however，eliminates the shipping and storage costs.Moreover，take the containers or recyclable bags to the market or grocery store.Most market centers offer plastic bags，but you have an option to take the recyclable bags，for it can decrease white pollution to our environment.

Reduce the use of your vehicle.Air pollution in many cities has become more and more serious in recent years.It has many causes，including automobiles and some other blow offs.Cars not only produce a great deal of waste but also consume the limited resources.Eor ordinary people，to drive less as far as possible is very easy to do.When you want to go out，you can choose some other trip modes such as walking，riding on a bicycle or taking public transport means.Drive one day less can make more contribution to environmental protection.

Participate in recycling programs of your community.Cycling is a great way to help the environment by preserving natural resources and cutting down on the carbon footprint.And recycling can be as simple as putting each different item in its own container.Every day，you need to sort all of the garbage before you throw them into the dustbin.Not all types of material are useless，some of them are recyclable.So check with your local recycling center to be sure.Put each type of recyclable material into its appropriate container provided by your community center.

本文摘自《实用综合英语(法律方向)(3)》(2014)

两篇典型范文均以英文直线型思维模式构思，篇章的观点和各段落的论点都直截了当。范文一紧紧围绕“美国运动”的主题，从运动在美国人生活中的地位、美国人热爱的主要运动和他们热爱运动的原因三个纬度布局，衔接连贯、逻辑性强。观点论述透彻明晰的同时，用语地道，句型风格不拘一格。在第二段描述美国人各个季节所做的运动(画线句子)时体现得尤为明显。“除了这‘三大运动’，美国人还做许多其他的运动。天热时，他们喜欢水上运动。冲浪、驾帆船和潜水的爱好者群集于海中。游泳和滑水者也纵情于水中。渔夫在池塘、湖泊和河川里试他们的运气。冬季，运动员在冰天雪地里也玩得很开心。从下雪的头一天起，滑雪者便登上雪坡。结了冰的池塘和溜冰场成了溜冰和冰上曲棍球的场地。不论气候如何，人们都从事户内运动。举重和保龄球都是全年性的活动。”新颖活泼的句子表达是打破传统汉语中重人称的典范。第三段中论述美国人爱运动就像他们的宗教信仰一样。钟爱的球季到来之时，很多人“glue to their TV sets”（粘到电视机上)，“Many a wife becomes a‘sports widow’（很多妻子沦为‘运动寡妇’)”，如此描述让人耳目一新，耐人寻味，值得学习。

采用英文典型的“概括-具体型”或是“问题解决型”篇章模式，范文二除了在遣词造句和语篇的衔接连贯与逻辑性的规范外，其主要亮点在于观点的新颖别致，不落俗套。环保是个老生常谈的话题，而作者联系生活、深入挖掘，结合当前网购热的现实状况，提出了“Buy your necessities for life locally”的观点，以减少运输、保鲜等的方式节约能源、保护环境，着实让人眼前一亮，印象深刻。而对于众人熟知和公认的“乘坐公共交通，减少私家车的使用”和“垃圾回收利用”的观点，作者则在用词、表达和支撑句的论证上力求独树一帜。“Reduce the use of your vehicle（更全面、更辩证);Participate in recycling programs of your community.（更具实操性)"与“take public transportation；recycle the rubbish”等常见说法的区别也让文章感觉别有韵味。

因此，要提高学生的写作水平，除了注意语言和技巧的训练外，必须结合写作思维过程的基本环节，系统训练分析、比较、综合、抽象、概括、归类等形式的逻辑思维能力，同时还要训练学生的辩证思维能力，标本兼治。当然，思维能力的训练受制于多种因素，是个复杂的系统工程，需要循序渐进，难以在短时间内取得立竿见影的成效，但这种能力训练的意识要时刻保持。