English Learning Strategy Development Of Senior High Students

Textbook is the vital element in English teaching in China, as it lays the foundation for curriculum realization and classroom teaching activities. With the flourishing and deepening of senior high education reform, plenty of new English teaching textbooks are emerging. This requires textbook evaluation to facilitate the implement of educational reform and the improvements of Chinese learners of English.Textbook evaluation not only provides feedbacks to compilers for further adjustments, but also proposes suggestions to textbook users in the teaching and learning practice. Although there have been many researches evaluating Oxford English, however, so far there is no systematic evaluation of Senior High English, one series of strategy-development-oriented textbook published by Beijing Normal University in 2004.This thesis aims to find out the role this series of textbooks play in senior high school students'learning strategy development from the following two perspectives. First, it describes and evaluates the textbooks from the overall organization, types of the introduced learning strategies and their applications. Then interviews and questionnaires are held at the beginning and end of the semester, aiming to find out whether or not students'use of language learning strategies have developed and if so, what led to the developments. The subjects of the questionnaires are two hundred students of Fengtai No.1 Middle School, where the researcher worked as an intern. The questionnaire is a modified version by Fang Huihong (2008), based on Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Version for Speakers of Other Languages Learning English). Six students (three from each grade) and their two teachers were selected as interviewees.Results of textbook evaluation, questionnaires and interviews show that this series of English textbooks are helpful in students'English learning strategy developments, and this can be proved from four aspects: 1) the organization and activity design of this series fit students'needs and are consistent with students'ways of learning; 2) Grade One students use language learning strategies more frequently after one semester's study, and Grade Two students'level of strategy use is higher than that of Grade One students; 3) both grades'students consider this series of textbooks useful; 4) both teachers regard the textbooks as useful tools in English teaching and learning.Based on the above research findings, the researcher proposes some suggestions for textbook compilers and users.