An Experimental Study On The Application Of Schema Theory To The English Reading Teaching In The High School

The term "schema" was first evolved out of the Gestalt psychology and Bartlett'stheory concerning human memory. Many years later, it was introduced into reading byRumelhart (1980), Carrell, P. L. & Eisterhold (1983). Since then, more and morelinguists have showed their interests in the discussion and study of schema theory thathas usually been utilized in researches such as ESL or EFL education. Schema isusually taken to mean the general postulated knowledge structure in Readers' mind.Schema theory proposes that readers possess different conceptual frameworks whichthey bring to the reading of a text and which they use to make sense of what they read.In other words, schema theory is an explanation of how readers use prior knowledge tocomprehend and learn from reading materials. The theory claims that the nature ofreading comprehension is counted as an active process. In this process, the reader startsfrom the visual stimuli in the text through activation and mobilization of prior schematain his mind and obtains a proper interpretation of the text, which is consistent with theintended intention of the author and has an impact on the reader. Efficientcomprehension requires the ability to relate the textual material to the reader's ownprior knowledge. In order to find out whether the widely known schema theory and its instructionmodel can be applied effectively in high school students, the author starts with adiscussion about a questionnaire on students' prior knowledge, followed by tentativeanalysis. And an experiment is then introduced to testify the effect of schemata onstudents' reading. The result of the questionnaire shows that most students in the highschool lack prior knowledge desired for reading comprehension instead of languagepoints such as grammar. The following experiment proves the necessities of teachers'providing students with related background knowledge before reading. Therefore theauthor decided to write a thesis on the feasible instructional patterns of this modelbased on her research about achievements in this field and an experimental study sheactually carried out in Jinan No. 2 Senior High School. Conducted from September toDecember, 2005 in Jinan No. 2 Senior High School, in this research the author adoptedthe schema-oriented instruction model, aiming to promote schema activation andschema building in English reading instruction.Two classes of the subjects each consisting of 50 students were chosen respectivelyas the control group and the experimental group for their same level of Englishproficiency. While in the experimental class, schema-oriented instruction model wasadopted, while in the control class, traditional teaching method was utilized as usual.Data collection involved both objective means such as questionnaire surveys andpre-test, post-test. Data analysis focused on 1) students' performances before and afterthe experiment 2) differences in achievements in pre-test and post-testThe results of the research indicate that in this teaching framework, the students inthe experimental class have improved their English reading abilities more explicitly andrapidly than those in the control class. Their reading strategies and awareness ofschemata building and activation also develop very quickly. The teacher involved in theexperiment has begun to apply more schema-oriented class activities than thetraditional ones in the reading class.All these demonstrate that schema-oriented instruction model is of great value inimproving high school students' English reading comprehension. It can help studentsdevelop reading efficiency and form good reading habits;and it can be mastered byhigh school teachers easily and quickly if the procedures of training are structuredclearly. Thus, the author concludes that it is both feasible and beneficial to useschema-oriented instruction in the English classes in Chinese high schools. Sincestudents all have a unique personal storage of knowledge gained through pastexperience, it may be necessary for teachers to meet every student's need inunderstanding texts.Finally, a short conclusion offers a generalization of this dissertation, emphasizingthe significance of schema theory applied in English reading teaching in high schools,pointing out the limitations in the experimental study and proposing several efficientsuggestions on reading teaching based on schema theory, and indicating the necessityand importance of a further research in this aspect. So powerful is the influence ofschema on comprehension that teachers should make efforts to help students with thecreation, modification and construction of their schemata through some strategies andpractical ways.