An Empirical Study Of The Grammar-translation Method In The Teaching Of Long And Difficult English Sentences In Senior High School Reading

The development in education requires reforms in teaching methods.As one of the traditional teaching methods,the Grammar-Translation Method is constantly developing and perfecting itself.The new college entrance examination reform has put great emphasis on the tasks of reading in the English test.Yet long and difficult sentences in English reading materials have long been a major problem affecting students’ reading ability.Based on the understanding of this traditional teaching method,this thesis analyzes the significance and maneuverability of the Grammar-Translation Method in English reading in senior high schools by analyzing its characteristics and their effects.In order to verify the validity of this method,the author selected ninety-eight students from two classes in Grade Two of a senior high school in Gaotang County as the subjects.And the experiment lasted four months.The students’ scores for their English reading in the same grade were compared in order to select the parallel classes for the experiment.The first questionnaire was distributed to all students in the experimental and control classes to know the students’ reading level.The second questionnaire was only for the experimental class,and was issued before and after the experiment to know the changes in their attitudes towards long and difficult sentences and the changes in their meta-cognitive competence as to English reading.During the experiment,the Grammar-Translation Method was adopted in the experimental class,whereas the Task-based Approach in the control class.After the experiment,the author collected the experiment data through tests to verify the positive effect of the Grammar-Translation Method on the students’ learning of the long and difficult English sentences.The SPSS 26.0 software was used to analyze the data collected.It aimed to illustrate the positive effect of this traditional method on the senior high school students in their learning and understanding of the long and difficult sentences in their English reading.Interviews were also conducted to confirm the students’ acquisition level in the process of using the Grammar-Translation Method.It was found that the Grammar-Translation Method could promote the development of high school students’ reading ability and reading performance,and it is worthy of being used in the senior high school English reading in China.