A Survey On The Task Design And Its Effectiveness In High School English Reading Classes

The development of reading ability is one of the main objectives of English learning, and English reading class is where this ability can be effectively trained and developed. Therefore, the effectiveness of English reading classes has been of great concern of linguists and teachers. This study is undertaken to investigate the current situation of task design and its implementation in English reading classes and try to find out the effectiveness of different tasks in terms of the accomplishment of teaching aims, the input of teaching content, the development of reading skills, the cultivation of reading interests and the application of knowledge, and so on.On the basis of constructivism theory, input and interaction hypotheses, this thesis puts forward three research questions:1.What is the status quo of the design of reading tasks in English reading classes?2. What are the most frequently used tasks in different phases of English reading classes?3.What is the effectiveness of different tasks designed by teachers in English reading classes?In order to find the answers to the questions above,this study employs three research methods:classroom observation, questionnaire survey and interview. The subjects of this study were 178 students and 16 English teachers from the high school affiliated to Yangzhou University.The instruments of this study were a classroom observation scale, two questionnaires and an interview draft.Firstly,the author observed 30 English reading classes; then questionnaire survey for teachers and students were conducted respectively; lastly, the author interviewed 8 English teachers through face-to-face communication. All the data in this study were collected by the author, and she organized the information and analyzed the data.Major research findings are listed as follows:1. Most teachers are in favor of using tasks in English reading teaching.They are aware of the importance of task design. However, some teachers do not design tasks meticulously due to limited time or energy, and therefore, such factors as students’ English level and interests fail to be given due attention to in their task design. As a result, some problems still exist in the difficulty of tasks, the diversity of task forms, and the relationship between tasks and real life.2. As for the most frequently used tasks in different phases of reading classes, the author finds out that during pre-reading phase, teachers usually use tasks like brainstorming, free talk, and answering the related questions. For while-reading, teachers often employ such tasks as summarizing the meaning of text, finding out the topic sentence, dividing the structure of the text, doing true or false exercises. For post-reading process, role play, discussion and debate, interview and communication are most frequently used tasks.3. About the effectiveness of tasks, most teachers think using tasks for reading teaching does have some effects on teaching quality. Compared with the traditional teaching method, using tasks does bring about some benefits, but it does not have overwhelming advantages.The comprehension-oriented tasks are more helpful to the accomplishment of teaching aims, the input of teaching content and the development of reading skills. The application-oriented tasks are more useful in the cultivation of reading interests, the stimulation of students’enthusiasm and participation, the mobilization of class atmosphere, and the application of knowledge.Based on the findings of the survey, some suggestions are put forward for teachers’using tasks in English reading classes in terms of task design, task implementation and task evaluation. Firstly, teachers should have a clear awareness of the significance of task design. They need to take students’English levels and interests into consideration when designing tasks, and special attention should be paid to the logicality of tasks, and the relationship between tasks and real life. Secondly,teachers should choose the most suitable tasks in different phases of reading class in accordance with the situation of the class,the situation of students and the teaching aims.Besides, to ensure the effectiveness of the tasks,teachers should play different roles as an organizer sometimes, an assistant sometimes or a participant some other times, for their performance does have some effects on the effectiveness of task implementation.Thirdly,teachers are supposed to do reflections after the class, and experience can be noted down for latter teaching.This study also has its limitations. For example, the number of subjects is not enough. All the students and teachers are just from one school. So the results may not reflect the whole picture as regards the use of tasks in reading classes in all the other senior high schools.