Research On The Application Of “Reading Circles” To The Teaching Of Junior Middle School English Reading

One of the most difficult problems in English teaching in China is the lack of language input due to the lack of target language environment,and reading is an important way for students to increase their target language input.However,the students’ reading effect in junior middle school is not ideal,and students lack interests and initiative in reading.In the numerous attempts of reading teaching,“Reading Circles” teaching mode has been paid much attention by researchers in recent years.“Reading Circles” is also known as the “Literary Circles”.The specific steps of “Reading Circles” teaching mode are “reading-thinking-connection-sharing – evaluation”.In this mode,students actively participate in reading activities,experience the pleasure of reading,learn to cooperate and share.By applying it to the teaching of junior middle school English reading,the author expects to cultivate students’ independent reading habits and independent thinking ability,or students’ autonomy.This study focuses on three questions:(1)How “Reading Circles” can cultivate students’ autonomous reading habit?(2)How “Reading Circles” can cultivate students’ independent thinking ability?(3)How “Reading Circles” can help students to develop the habit of independent learning? This study mainly adopts the method of quantitative research and qualitative research,and a teaching experiment is conducted among a group of students in grade seven for one semester.The results of this study are as follows: “Reading Circles” teaching mode stimulates students’ interests in reading to a certain extent,and students gradually have the consciousness of being masters of their own,that is autonomy,which includes autonomous thinking ability and the habit of autonomous reading and learning.Although there are still some limitations in “Reading Circles” teaching mode,the author hopes that more teachers can pay attention to the cultivation of students’ autonomy and apply the mode of “Reading Circles” to the teaching of junior middle school English reading.