An Action Research On Fostering Senior High School Students’ English Reading Autonomy With The KWL Model

With the development of information technology enabling lifelong learning,the demand for education evolves,and different subject goals have been placed on the practice of English teaching.According to The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards(2017edition,revised in 2020),learning ability is defined as one of the core competencies of the English subject.It is suggested that teachers assist students in developing autonomous learning abilities in the process of English learning.Reading is not only one of the most common ways for high school students in China to be exposed to the English language input but also one of the main ways for students to use English to learn other school subjects.The development of English reading autonomy helps students lay the groundwork for lifelong learning.One of the key features of autonomy is that learners take responsibility for their reading,control,and organize the process.The KWL(Know-Want-Learned)model emphasizes the subjectivity of students in the reading and learning process as well as the interaction between the reading texts and students’ personal experiences,students can set reading purposes based on prior knowledge,actively evaluate their reading gains and give feedback.Currently,the practice of the KWL model in English reading instruction in senior high schools is relatively limited,and studies of its effects on students’ English reading autonomy are relatively rare.In this thesis,an action research was conducted on a senior high school Grade 10 class with a total of 40 participating students,lasting for one semester.The purpose of this research is to comprehend the effect of the KWL model in teaching English reading in senior high school and explore a reasonable way to apply the KWL model to senior high school English reading instruction in light of actual teaching experience.More specifically,this research seeks to answer the following questions:(1)How should the KWL model be applied to English reading teaching in senior high school?(2)What are the effects of the KWL model on the English reading performance of senior high school students?(3)What is the impact of the KWL model on the development of English reading autonomy of senior high school students?This action research was carried out in two rounds,combining the actual teaching experience to explore the teaching steps and the suggestions for implementing each step in the application of the KWL model in senior high school English reading teaching and using questionnaires,interviews,and tests to collect data before and after the action in order to understand the changes in students’ English reading performance levels and their levels of English reading autonomy before and after the action.The research found that(1)The application of the KWL model is conducive to developing students’ English reading performance.After two rounds of actions,improvements were found in students’ English reading test scores,and their habits of word-by-word reading were changed,along with an increase in reading speed.(2)The application of the KWL model aided in the development of senior high school students’ English reading autonomy,with favorable tendencies shown in the dimensions of cognitive,metacognitive,affective-motivational,action-oriented,and social factors.This was reflected in the improvement of students’ awareness of reading purpose,self-reflection,use and monitoring of reading strategies,as well as in their ability to manage their emotions and willingness to work cooperatively when given reading tasks.At the same time,this research suggests that teachers should take notice of students’ confidence in English learning at the bridging stage of junior and senior high school,pay attention to the instruction of putting reading strategies to use,and avoid the tendency of copying native language teaching model and ignoring language knowledge in English reading teaching.