A Study On The Application Of Thinking Visualization Tools In English Reading Teaching Of Junior High Schools

It is known to all that reading is a significant way for human beings to acquire information.As a crucial part of four basic skills of English learning,English reading is of great importance in language learning.Therefore,how to improve students’ reading proficiency with effective teaching methods and strategies,becomes a vital question for both researchers and teachers.Mind map,thinking map,cognitive map and concept map are visualization tools,which can make the invisible thinking seen by people.These graphical forms use different lines,color,pictures and words to show the connection between the different elements,which helps students understand,organize,and produce information,so as to improve students’ language competence and thinking quality.After literature review,the author of the present thesis found that most of the studies at home and abroad focused on the effect of a certain kind of visualization tool in classroom practice,but there were few study investigate the application of several main thinking visualization tools in junior high school English reading teaching.Based on the knowledge theory,this study selected six junior high school English teachers,trying to investigate junior high school English teachers’ understandings of the thinking visualization tools,teachers’ use of visualization tools to improve students’ thinking quality,and find what factors influence teachers use of thinking visualization tools,in order to give the teachers some reasonable suggestions.Based on this,this thesis raised three research questions:（1）What are teachers’ understanding of thinking visualization tools?（2）Which visual tools do teachers use to improve students’ thinking quality in junior high school English reading teaching ?（3）What factors will influence teachers’ use of thinking visualization in junior high school English reading teaching?In order to make the research results more reliable,this study utilized teachers and students of all grades in Shucheng Middle School in Chongzhou city as objects,and carried out the research through interviews and observation.First,the author interviewed teachers to find out their understanding of visualization of thinking.Secondly,through classroom observation,we can know what kind of visualization tools are most commonly used by teachers and what factors will affect teachers’ use of visualization tools.The results show that:（1）Most teachers choose to use visualization tools in more structured and logical stages,such as the presentation stage and the summary stage,in order to improve teaching efficiency and effect.Meanwhile,teachers all agreed that the proper use of visualization tools have a great influence on cultivating students’ English language learning competence and thinking quality,especially the higher-order thinking ability.（2）Because it is easy to understand and easy to operate,teachers prefer to use mind maps and concept maps the most.However,there are some problems in teaching practice due to teachers’ uneven understanding of thinking visualization tools.（3）The factors that influence teachers’ use of visualization tools include the types of reading materials and the stages of reading teaching.Finally,based on the analysis of the data collected from interview and observation,this study presents several suggestions on how to optimize the application of thinking visualization tools in junior high school English reading teaching:（1）Create perceptual situations to activate students’ thinking.（2）Use diversified thinking visualization tools to Enrich students’ thinking experience.（3）Respect the student’s principal status,and promote the development of students’ thinking.