A Comparative Study On The Types Of Activity Design In Senior High School English Reading Instruction Between Novice And Proficient Teachers From The Perspective Of Activity-based Language Learning Approach

The revised National English Curriculum Standards for General high School put forwards the perspective of activity-based language learning approach,emphasizing that teachers should embody the integration of Activities for Learning and Understanding,Activities for Applying and Practising,as well as Activities for Transferring and Creating.In addition,reading instruction is of great significance in high school English instruction.There are many researchers who have been committed to studying the current situation of the implementation of activity-based language learning approach in the reading class of high schools,but few of them have paid attention to the comparative study of different types of activity design in high school reading instruction between novice and proficient teachers from the perspective of activity-based language learning approach.In order to enrich this field,this study is undertaken to explore the current situation of the types of activity design in high school English reading instruction between novice and proficient teachers through classroom observation,video observation,and interview.The research questions addressed in this study are:1.What is the current situation of Activities for Learning and Understanding designed in senior high school reading teaching?1)What is the difference of the frequency of Activities for Learning and Understanding designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?2)What is the difference of the duration of Activities for Learning and Understanding designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?3)What is the difference of the specific forms of Activities for Learning and Understanding designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?2.What is the current situation of Activities for Applying and Practising designed in senior high school reading teaching?1)What is the difference of the frequency of Activities for Applying and Practising designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?2)What is the difference of the duration of Activities for Applying and Practising designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?3)What is the difference of the specific forms of Activities for Applying and Practising designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?3.What is the current situation of Activities for Transferring and Creating designed in senior high school reading teaching?1)What is the difference of the frequency of Activities for Transferring and Creating designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?2)What is the difference of the duration of Activities for Transferring and Creating designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?3)What is the difference of the specific forms of Activities for Transferring and Creating designed in senior high school reading teaching between novice and proficient teachers?The researcher observed 30 English reading lessons taught by 6 Grade one teachers of a senior key high school and videotaped their regular English classroom teaching for three months.The 6 Grade one teachers included 3 novice teachers and 3 proficient teachers.After collecting the data,the researcher watched the videos of the 30 English reading classes over and over again,for the purpose of exploring the current situation of the Activities for Learning and Understanding,Activities for Applying and Practising,as well as Activities for Transferring and Creating designed by novice and proficient teachers including the frequency,duration,and specific forms of the three types of learning activities.The researcher also conducted an interview with 10 teachers as a supplement.In addition to interviews with 6 teachers observed in the classroom,4 teachers in this school were selected randomly.Based on the analysis of the statistical results collected from classroom observation,video observation,and interview,the major findings are summed up as follows.Firstly,there are some differences between novice and proficient teachers in the current situation of Activities for Learning and Understanding in senior high school reading teaching.For frequency,novice teachers employ Activities for Learning and Understanding more frequently with a total of 84 times which takes up 61.3 1%than proficient teachers with a total of 69 times which accounts for 46.62%.For the duration,novice teachers spend more time on carrying out Activities for Learning and Understanding with 469.5 minutes which takes up 62.6%than proficient teachers with 355 minutes which accounts for 47.33%.For specific forms,both novice and proficient teachers show diversity in the choices of specific forms of Activities for Learning and Understanding.But novice teachers tend to focus more on linguistic knowledge while proficient teachers pay more attention to thinking quality and cultural knowledge in terms of designing specific forms of Activities for Learning and Understanding.Secondly,there are some differences between novice and proficient teachers in the current situation of Activities for Applying and Practising in senior high school reading instruction.For frequency,novice teachers employ Activities for Applying and Practising less frequently with a total of 45 times which takes up 32.85%than proficient teachers with a total of 61 times which accounts for 41.22%.For the duration,novice teachers spend less time carrying out Activities for Applying and Practising with 254.5 minutes which take up 33.93%than proficient teachers with 318.5 minutes which accounts for 42.47%.For specific forms,the diversity in the choices of specific forms of Activities for Applying and Practising can be shown by both novice and proficient teachers.However,proficient teachers tend to take practical situation and operation difficulty that may be encountered in teaching into consideration compared with novice teachers.Thirdly,there are differences between the two types of teachers in the current situation of Activities for Transferring and Creating in high school reading instruction.For frequency,novice teachers employ Activities for Transferring and Creating less frequently with a total of 8 times which takes up 5.84%than proficient teachers with a total of 18 times which accounts for 12.16%.For duration,novice teachers spend less time on carrying out Activities for Transferring and Creating with 26 minutes which takes up 3.47%than proficient teachers with 76.5 minutes which accounts for 10.20%.When it comes to the diversity of specific forms of Activities for Transferring and Creating,proficient teachers adopt various forms of Activities for Transferring and Creating while novice teachers sometimes even ignore them in activity design.Based on the findings above,this study offers some pedagogical implications for both novice and proficient teachers.Teachers should have a good understanding of activity-based language learning approach,conduct balanced and diverse learning activities,and keep in mind that all the learning activities are around the theme and text.Besides,they should strengthen exchanges,share best practices and learn from each other before and after class.