| As one of the four basic skills in English learning,English reading plays a vital role in English language teaching.English reading can not only cultivate students’ sense of English language,expand vocabulary and improve writing skills,but also improve students’ comprehensive language ability.However,the current high school English reading mode mainly adopts a teacher-centered teaching method,emphasizing the explanation of grammar and the analysis of long and difficult sentences.Students always learn English language knowledge passively.On the one hand,students’ learning initiative and enthusiasm cannot be developed;on the other hand,students’ English reading attitude and reading ability will also be affected to a certain extent.According to the requirements of the new curriculum reform,introducing PBL to English reading teaching is a good way to solve the above problems.Problem-based learning(PBL)is currently a popular teaching method in the world,which is student-centered and problem-oriented.It requires teachers to create problem situations reasonably,and gradually guide students to discover problem and encourage students to propose problem according to their current cognitive level,so that students can gradually master the basic knowledge of English,develop English thinking ability and cultivate English reading skills in the process of analyzing and solving problems.Based on constructivism theory and cooperative learning theory,this research applies PBL to the teaching of English reading in senior high school and mainly deals with the following two research questions:(1)Can the application of problem-based learning(PBL)improve senior high school students’ English reading achievements?(2)Can the application of problem-based learning(PBL)improve senior high school students’ English reading attitude?In order to answer the above two research questions,108 students who are from two parallel classes in Grade 1 of Nanyang NO.4 Senior High School are selected as research subjects,including 54 students in Class Seven and 54 students in Class Ten.The Class Seven is chosen as the control class(CC),which uses traditional English reading method for teaching.The Class Ten is taken as the experimental class(EC),which uses problem-based learning to teach English reading.The duration of the teaching experiment is four months.In this experiment,research methods such as questionnaire,tests and interview are adopted by the author.Before the experiment,the author carries out a reading pre-test in two classes to ensure that their reading levels are similar.At the same time,a questionnaire is conducted for the students in two classes,which intends to know students’ attitude towards English reading learning including reading interest,reading motivation and reading habit.After the experiment,the author conducts a reading post-test in two classes,and a post-questionnaire and an interview are used for the students in the experimental class.SPSS 22.0 is employed to organize and analyze all collected data in the experiment.The results of the research indicate that: Firstly,the application of PBL in English reading teaching is conducive to improving English reading achievements of senior high school students.After adopting PBL,the mean value of English reading in EC is higher than that of CC.Besides,there is a significant difference between the two classes in English reading achievements.Secondly,in terms of English reading learning attitude,applying PBL to classroom teaching can effectively improve the learning interest and enthusiasm of senior high school students,thereby changing students’ attitudes towards English reading.In the three dimensions of the questionnaire,the mean value of the post-questionnaire has increased to different degrees than the pre-questionnaire.Thirdly,the results of interview with the students in the experimental class demonstrate that the application of PBL can improve and enhance students’ independent learning ability,cooperation ability,problem-solving ability and expression ability.The research proves that PBL is practical and feasible in senior high school English reading teaching,and it is of great significance to promote the development of senior high school English reading teaching. |
