The Application Of Jigsaw Method To Senior English Reading Class

The quality of reading is an important indicator to measure the proficiency of foreign language learners.As for the current situation of senior English reading teaching,there are many problems and deficiencies in senior English reading teaching.Many teachers use traditional reading teaching model which focuses on the explanation of grammar,vocabulary and sentence structure,neglecting the teaching of students’ reading strategies,thus reducing students’ interest in English reading,and also affecting students’ reading enthusiasm and reading ability.In the 1970 s,Aronson pointed out that the jigsaw method is a more effective method than the traditional reading teaching method.However,few empirical researches employing jigsaw method to arouse students’ English interest and alleviate students’ reading anxiety in senior English reading class.Therefore,in order to explore the effectiveness of the application of jigsaw method to senior English reading class.Based on the theory of Zone of Proximal Development and the Cooperative Learning,this research proposes three research questions: 1)Can jigsaw method arouse the English reading interest of high school students? 2)Does jigsaw method applied to senior English reading class alleviate students’ reading anxiety? 3)Does the application of jigsaw method to senior English reading class improve students’ English reading proficiency? This research was carried on a sample of 107 students from 2 classes in grade two of Qin’an No.2 High School in Tian shui,Gansu province.There are 53 students in experimental class and 54 students in control class.The experimental class,class one used jigsaw method for English reading teaching.The control class,class three used the teacher-centered method for English reading teaching and the research lasted for eight weeks.The author uses FLRAS,the test in Qin’an No.2 High School,the questionnaire and the software SPSS.21 as the instruments.Through descriptive statistics,independent samples test and paired samples test of the data,it indicates that,firstly,there are significant differences on students’ reading interest in experimental class between pre-questionnaire and post-questionnaire,that is to say,the application of jigsaw method to English reading class can arouse students’ reading interest.Secondly,there are great significant differences on students’ reading anxiety between the experimental class and control class after the experiment,that is,the application of jigsaw method to English reading class can alleviate students’ reading anxiety.Thirdly,there are big differences on students’ reading scores between EC and CC after the experiment.To be specific,the application of jigsaw method to English reading class can improve students’ English reading proficiency.Therefore,we can conclude that the jigsaw method is feasible and effective in senior English reading class.According to the findings of the research,we can get some implications of foreign language teaching: first of all,the teacher should select reading materials reasonably.Second,the teacher should combine jigsaw method with English reading teaching in accordance with modern educational goals and students’ physical and mental development characteristics.Finally,the teacher should combine modern educational technology with jigsaw method.