Research On The Application Of STEAM Education Concepts In Junior High School English Instruction

The dual instrumental and humanistic nature of English curriculum in junior high schools lays a foundation for students’ lifelong development.However,there still exist some problems in junior high school English instruction at present,which are not conducive to the efficient English instruction and the implementation of quality education.With the issue of developing Chinese students’ core attainment,constant reforms have been taken in junior high school English instruction,and junior high school English instruction has developed towards a more comprehensive direction.In the context of paying more attention to the multidisciplinary integration and the development of students’ comprehensive attainment,the introduction of STEAM education concepts has increased and promoted the development of English instruction in China.STEAM education concepts emphasize that students discover problems in real situations that are closely related to real life,and use interdisciplinary knowledge to explore and solve problems,so as to develop the comprehensive quality.It is obvious to see that STEAM education concepts are consistent with the goals of junior high school English curriculum and the requirements of developing students’ core attainment.Therefore,it seems that applying STEAM education concepts in junior high school English instruction may be a feasible teaching attempt.Based on the theories of constructive learning,situational cognition and learning and multiple intelligences,this study adopts the methods of classroom observation,questionnaire survey,and statistical analysis,and takes a total of 106 students in two classes of Grade Seven in a junior high school in Zhangzhou city as the research subjects for one-semester English instruction experiment.Class One,the experimental class,adopts the English instruction under the guidance of STEAM education concept,and Class Two,the control class,adopts the traditional English instruction.After the experiment,SPSS23.0 statistical software is used to analyze the obtained data.This study attempts to solve the following three questions:1.Can the application of STEAM education concepts to junior high school English instruction enhance students’ English performance?2.Can the application of STEAM education concept to junior middle school English instruction help to improve students’ motivation to learn English?3.Can the application of STEAM education concepts to junior high school English instruction improve students’ participation in English class?The results of the experiment show:（1）The average scores of the two classes before experience are almost the same（P>0.05）.After the experience,the average score of the control class increases from 89.68 to93.75,while the average score of the experimental class increases from 89.30 to 102.43.There exists a significant difference between the pre-test scores and post-test scores of the two classes（P<0.001）,indicating that both the traditional English instruction and the instruction under the guidance of STEAM education concepts can improve junior high school students’ English scores.Through the comparison of the post-test scores of two classes,it is found that the post-test scores of the experimental class are significantly higher than those of the control class.There is a significant difference between the two classes in English post-test scores（P<0.001）,showing that compared to the traditional English instruction,the instruction under the guidance of STEAM education concepts can improve junior high school students’ English performance better,and the improvement is significant.（2）The data analysis of the questionnaire shows that students’ sense of identity to English learning motivation changes significantly after the teaching experiment（P<0.001）.In terms of English learning motivation,students’ sense of identity to the questions contained in the questionnaire is improved after the experiment,indicating that after the application of STEAM education concepts in junior high School English instruction,the English learning motivation of students in the experimental class has been significantly improved.（3）The data analysis of the questionnaire shows the students’ sense of identity to English class participation changes significantly after the teaching experiment（P<0.001）.In terms of English class participation,the sense of identity to the questions contained in the questionnaire is improved after experiment,showing that after the application of STEAM education concepts in junior high School English instruction,the English class participation of students in the experimental class has been significantly improved.Based on the above research results,this study suggests junior high school English teachers fully understanding students in class,developing diversified methodsfor lesson preparations,grasping the core teaching objectives,and making good use of modern teaching information technology to apply STEAM education concepts to English instruction so as to improve teachers’ instruction quality,enhance students’ English practice ability,and finally promote the development of students’ core attainment...