The Application Of ARCS Model To English Reading Teaching In Junior High School

Reading is a communicative process in which students engage in multiple dialogues with the author,text or language.English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2022 Edition)states that students should "develop their own strengths and talents,discover their own interests and potential,and enhance their sense of learning self-efficacy"(Ministry of education,2022:51).The development of students’ emotional attitudes should be integrated into subject education.English reading teaching paves the way for the cultivation of students’ English core literacy.However,there exit several problems with students’inattentiveness to reading,unremarkable associative thinking,inadequate reading self-confidence and low recognition of reading self-satisfaction.In response to the above phenomenon,the ARCS model is introduced,involving four components:attention,relevance,confidence and satisfaction.This study works to address specific problems in English reading teaching through the application of ARCS model.Scholars at home and abroad have conducted researches on English reading proficiency and reading motivation from different research perspectives,but there are relatively fewer theoretical studies.This study aims to investigate the effects of the application of ARCS model on junior high school students’ English reading proficiency and reading motivation with the help of the constructivist learning theory.Specific research questions include:(1)Does the application of ARCS model in English reading class produce any effects on junior high school students’ overall English reading proficiency?If so,do the effects differ among junior high school students of high-level,middle-level and low-level?(2)Does the application of ARCS model in English reading class have any effects on junior high school students’ English reading motivation?If so,do the effects differ among junior high school students of high-level,middle-level and low-level?This study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods,including reading tests,questionnaires and the interview.The subjects of the study were selected from Grade 7 in a junior high school in Yangzhou.Class 3 was the control class and class 2 was the experimental class,with 49 students in each class.Before the experiment,the pre-test and the pre-questionnaire were conducted to verify whether there were significant differences in reading scores and reading motivation between two classes.The top 25%of students were classified as high-level students while the last 25%of students were viewed as low-level students,and the rest were considered as middle-level students according to their pre-test scores.The control class was taught by PWP teaching model,while the experimental class was taught based on the ARCS model.At the end of the experiment,the researcher carried out post-test,post-questionnaire and the interview to investigate whether students’ English reading proficiency and reading motivation had improved.The researcher came up with the following conclusions based on the collected data:(1)The statistical data collected from English reading scores showed that the experimental and control groups differed significantly(p<0.05),so that English reading class based on the ARCS model had a significantly positive impact on junior high school students’English reading proficiency;The ARCS model affected English reading proficiency of students of different levels to different degrees:medium score group(3.87)>low score group(3.70)>high score group(2.23).(2)The data collected from English reading motivation questionnaires showed that the mean score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group with p-value less than 0.05,indicating that students’ overall English reading motivation was enhanced;The interview also confirmed that students after the teaching experiment had stronger mind sets and emotional levels;The ARCS model affected English reading motivation of students of different levels to varying degrees:low score group(0.54)>medium score group(0.48)>high score group(0.25).The pedagogical implications of this study are:(1)The ARCS model has different effects on students at different levels,and the ARCS model tends to motivate and maintain students’ English reading motivation both internally and externally;(2)The teachers should flexibly use four motivational strategies of the ARCS model in conjunction with teaching resources to create an inquiry-based learning environment for students to develop their comprehensive language skills.There are limitations in this study,such as students’ cognitive biases,students’incomplete adaptation to new teaching models,which are to be improved in subsequent studies.