The Effect Of The View Of Activity-based English Learning On The Teaching Of English Reading In Junior High School

For language learners,reading is an important channel for acquiring language knowledge and developing thinking ability.Thus,reading is regarded as one target skill of English language teaching.The view of activity-based English learning proposed in English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools(2017 Edition)offers a new perspective for the teaching of English reading.Although the new standards are targeted at senior high schools,it also provides enlightenment on English language teaching in junior high school.Hence,this study attempts to apply the view of activity-based English learning to English reading class in junior high schools by designing and carrying out three types of activities,namely comprehension,application and innovation activities.This study aims to explore the effect of the view of activity-based English learning on the teaching of English reading in junior high school.The research questions are:1.What is the effect of the teaching of English reading guided by the view of activity-based English learning on student engagement in junior high English reading class?2.What is the effect of the teaching of English reading guided by the view of activity-based English learning on junior high school students’ English reading achievement?The study lasts for 12 weeks.A total of 90 9th graders from two classes of a junior high school in Hubei province participate in the study.In the experimental class,activity-based teaching of English reading is conducted.While in the control class,traditional teaching of English reading is carried out,which focuses more on acquiring language knowledge.Data is collected by questionnaire,English reading comprehension tests and interview.Data analysis is conducted by SPSS.Results of the study show that the teaching of English reading guided by the view of activity-based English learning is effective and feasible.First,activity-based teaching of English reading can significantly improve student engagement in English reading class,including behavioral,cognitive and emotional engagement.In terms of the behavioral engagement,a series of theme-related,student-centered,step-by-step and practical reading activities can significantly promote students’ active conduct of individual effort,teacher-student interactions and peer interactions in English reading class.Students participate in classroom learning and relevant reading activities more actively.As for the cognitive engagement,reading activities based on strategy instruction can significantly enhance students’ use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies while reading in class.With regard to the emotional engagement,novel and interesting reading activities can significantly improve students’ affective reactions in the reading class,including learning interest,positive emotions and sense of belonging.Moreover,according to the analysis of the interview,it is known that students deem the activity-based teaching of English reading helpful in improving their engagement in the reading class,especially their behavioral engagement and emotional engagement.Second,activity-based teaching of English reading can significantly enhance students’ English reading achievement,including the scores of items concerning inferring,guessing word meaning,summarizing and selecting details by the context.Moreover,according to the analysis of the interview,it is known that students deem the activity-based teaching of English reading helpful in improving their English reading achievement.For one thing,through activities of character analysis,word meaning guessing competition and critical thinking,students learn how to infer,guess word meaning and summarize,which assists them in completing relevant items in reading comprehension tests.For another,students state that reading strategies mastered through certain classroom activities are useful for improving their reading achievement.