Application Of Thematic Progression In English Reading In Senior High School

Reading shares the core positions in language skills,and even influences the development of other skills like listening,speaking and writing.While the current English reading teaching model in senior high school is traditional and monotonous,students often pay much attention to individual language points instead of the discourse structure.As a result,many of them spend much time on reading exercises but still find it hard to improve their reading proficiency.Based on the current status,the author tries to explore a new model of English reading teaching based on the Thematic Progression theory so as to improve the effectiveness of English reading teaching and promote the students' interest in English reading as well as reading ability.The author made a comprehensive analysis of the instructional elements and analyzed the theoretical basis of Thematic Progression theory,picking up one class in the second year of their senior high school to carry out the instructional design of English narrative reading—taking "Roy's Story" as an example.Based on the interviews and questionnaires from the students,the suggestions from the supervisors and the author's self-reflection,the meaning and effectiveness of this class was analyzed.The result suggests that the application of Thematic Progression in English reading teaching could raise students' interest in English reading.The properly-used Thematic Progression theory can help students to better understand the structure and main idea of the passage,as well as the author's writing intentions.Besides,low-achieving students may find it hard to master the usage of the method at first,so proper help should be provided after class.