A Research On The Application Of Situational Teaching Method To English Reading Teaching In Junior Middle Schools

Reading ability is an important index to measure students' comprehensive English ability.The improvement of students' reading ability is inseparable from the teaching of English reading.However,in China,the traditional teaching mode for English reading is still widely used by teachers.In fact,in the society of highly developed information and technology,this mode highlights the drawbacks so much so that it should keep pace with the times as well.For example,in most English reading classes today,teachers focus more on grammar knowledge in teaching,while ignore to create a natural language environment for students to help them cultivate interest in reading.Many students consider reading class boring and lose their interest in English learning gradually.How to change the low efficiency of English reading teaching in junior high schools is a problem that junior high school English teachers should concern about.Under the influence of Constructivism Learning Theory and Krashen' s hypothesis of second language acquisition,the Situational Teaching Method is proposed.According to the teaching content,teachers can create a real or semi-real language environment in class.Students no longer just listen and watch in class,but actively participate in class activities.Compared with the traditional teaching methods,the Situational Teaching Method is more intuitive and vivid,which can greatly improve the enthusiasm of students in learning English.Therefore,whether the Situational Teaching Method is effective and feasible in junior middle school English reading teaching is the question to be discussed in this research.The author proposes to solve the following three problems in this study:1.Can the application of the Situational Teaching Method in English reading teaching improve the interest of junior middle school students in English reading learning?2.Can the application of the Situational Teaching Method in English reading teaching improve students' English reading comprehension ability?3.How can teachers help junior high school students improve their English reading achievements by applying the Situational Teaching Method in English reading teaching?To answer these questions,the author conducted a 16-week experiment in the Junior High School affiliated to Liaoning Technical University.97 students were investigated.The students come from Class 2 and Class 3 in Grade 8.Among them,Class 2 is the experimental class,where the English teacher teaches reading applying the Situational Teaching Method in English reading teaching.Class 3 is a controlled class.The students in Class 3 are taught by traditional teaching methods.The data is collected by the research instruments,two questionnaires,two reading tests and one interview,which combine qualitative and quantitative.The data is analyzed by SPSS 17.0.By analyzing the data of the experiment,the author concludes that the application of the Situational Teaching Method in English reading teaching can not only improve students' interest in English reading and develop their good habits,but also improve their reading comprehension ability,so as to improve their reading achievements.Therefore,the Situational Teaching Method is a kind of teaching method which is suitable for English reading teaching,and can be widely used in teaching English reading in junior high schools.