The Necessity Of Combining Grammar-Translation Method And Communicative Language Teaching In The Teaching Of English Reading In High School

With the increasing exchange between different countries in our globalized world, it becomes essential for people to use English to communicate. Thus, learning English well is an urgent task for us to undertake. Meanwhile, ever though our country gives special attention to English teaching, the majority of our students’ English level is far from being able to meet our social need. In English teaching, the teaching of reading is one of the most important parts. And it should hence be set as a major aim of English teaching in our country, and no effort should be spared in fostering the students’ reading ability.Since the model of Communicative Language Teaching(CLT) was introduced into China, people have always given special attention to communication-centered teaching and to applying the model to English classrooms. However, in China’s exam-oriented education environment, the Grammar Translation Method(GTM) has been in a dominant position, not to be replaced by the Communicative Language Teaching model. As excessive use of GTM necessarily leads to the decrease of students’oral communication ability, people have been debating over the pros and cons of these two teaching methods. In order to make full use of the advantages of these two teaching methods, the scholars from domestic and foreign countries has already carried out many experimental researches about the combination of these two methods. However, most of the researches before were focused on English learning as a whole (vocabulary, grammar, listening and speaking), not specifically targeting the teaching of English reading in senior schools, and empirical researches in this regard were especially rare. In English reading teaching, the Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching both have important roles to play, yet every teaching method has its advantages and disadvantages, and the best we can do is apparently an integrated use of GTM and Communicative approach, for it can not only make full use of the advantages of each method, but also can complement for each other’s disadvantages. This being the case, to ensure the effectiveness of English teaching, we should explore the ways to combine the Grammar Translation Method an Communicative Language Teaching.GTM or CLT are based on distinct theories. Although they seem opposite to each other, they are in fact mutually complementary. We can combine Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching and make full use of the cons of each method to make sure the effectiveness of English teaching. A comparison of their characteristics shows clearly that combining GTM and CLT can indeed improve the ability of students’reading. Through an experiment in the teaching of English reading, the utility and feasibility of a combined approach to teaching English reading in Chinese high schools are further confirmed.