An Action Research On Cultivating Students’ Critical Thinking Ability In Junior High School English Reading Teaching

Reading is an important way for people to obtain information and it is a process in which the reader communicates with the text and constructs meaning.As an important form of language input,reading is a crucial way to cultivate students’ critical thinking ability.In traditional English classrooms,teachers pay more attention to language knowledge and text meaning,lacking in-depth exploration of texts and ignoring the cultivation of students’ critical thinking ability.However,with the reform of the new curriculum and the development of key competencies,it is an inevitable trend to integrate the cultivation of critical thinking ability into English reading class in junior high school.Under the guidance of the “Delphi” model and constructivism theory,this research explores how to cultivate students’ critical thinking ability in English reading teaching.The author sets reading questions according to the six cognitive skills of critical thinking(interpretation,analysis,inference,explanation,evaluation,and self-regulation),adopting reading activities(group debate,group performance,brainstorming,etc),and reading strategies to promote students’ critical thinking.There are three questions to be answered:(1)How do teachers cultivate students’ critical thinking ability through English reading teaching?(2)What are the changes in students’ cognitive skills of critical thinking after the action research?(3)What are the changes in students’ affective tendencies of critical thinking after the action research?Questionnaires and tests were adopted in this action research.The 12-week action research on English reading teaching was carried out in Class 801 of Z Middle School in Hangzhou.Before the action research,students’ current cognitive skills and affective tendencies of critical thinking were known through reading tests and questionnaires.After the two rounds of action research,the conclusions are drawn as follows:(1)In the English reading teaching in junior high school,students’ critical thinking ability can be significantly improved through the question setting that directed to critical thinking ability,the implementation of different teaching activities and reading strategies.(2)After the action research,data from paired-sample T-test show an overall significant improvement in students’ cognitive skills of critical thinking.Among them,the analysis and interpretation skills have been greatly improved while inference and evaluation have been slightly improved.From the perspective of gender difference,boys’ performance in inference are significantly strengthened while girls’ performance in interpretation are effectively enhanced.(3)After the action research,the paired sample T-test data show that the students’ affective tendencies of critical thinking are markedly enhanced.Among them,openmindedness,self-confidence,curiosity and cognitive maturity have been significantly improved,while truth-seeking,analysis and systematization have been slightly improved.From the perspective of gender difference,boys’ performance in analysis are greatly improved while girls’ ability in truth-seeking are effectively enhanced.To sum up,this research plays a significant role in English reading teaching in junior high schools and provides more references for future English reading teaching.