A Study On The Application Of Self-Assessment To English Reading Teaching In Senior One Students

Improving English reading ability has been an important task in English language teaching,so reading instruction is playing an important role in English language teaching.In addition,reading comprehension weighs much in various examinations,making people realize the importance of it.With the increasing emphasis on learner autonomy,self-assessment has attracted more and more attention.Introducing self-assessment into English class can not only develop learners’ autonomy but also provide on-going and effective feedback for teachers.In China,however,there are not many studies on self-assessment especially in respect of reading teaching.According to China’s Standards of English Language Ability,the definition of English reading ability in this research refers to cognitive ability and reading strategies’ use.The present research explores the application of self-assessment in English reading teaching in high schools,aiming to help teachers effectively apply self-assessment into English reading class and to help improving students’ English reading ability.The study tries to answer the following questions:(1)Can self-assessment be effective enough to improve senior one students’ English reading ability?(2)Are there significant differences in English reading ability between students who use and those who do not use self-assessment in reading?(3)What are the students’ attitudes and views on the use of self-assessment?The experiment was conducted on 98 senior high school students from a county in Ningde City,Fujian Province,lasting three months.Students in the experimental class applied self-assessment throughout the experiment,while the control class did not.The researcher examined the senior one students’ English reading ability through questionnaires,reading comprehension tests and interview,and the results shows:(1)Self-assessment effectively enhanced students’ awareness of reading cognitive ability and improved students’ reading strategies’ use;(2)Through the data from pre-test and post-test,it was found that there was significant difference in reading scores between the students who use self-assessment and those who do not;(3)Most of the students interviewed in the study had a positive attitude toward the application of self-assessment.The results imply that after self-assessment,students’ reading scores are greatly improved,and their awareness of English reading cognitive ability and strategies’ use are also enhanced.Therefore,introducing self-assessment into English reading teaching,which can not only help teachers to know students’ reading ability and then provide corresponding guidance for students,but also help students to understand their own language proficiency in time to achieve better learning.