Research On The Application Of Interactive Reading Model To English Reading Teaching In Rural Junior High School

For decades,China has laid much stress on English education.Chinese students are required to learn English from Grade 3 in primary school to graduating from college.We learn any language from listening,speaking,reading and writing,so does language test.In China’s English examinations,the reading comprehension part has always taken up a large portion.However,the reading comprehension ability of the students is not so good,especially the students in rural junior high schools.At present,most of the teachers are used to adopting the bottom-up reading model in reading class.They pay more attention to linguistic knowledge like vocabularies and grammar but ignore the reading strategies.Gradually,students are tired of English reading and their reading abilities are lower and lower.The present reading model is not good for students’ development,it is a top priority to find a more effective model to English reading teaching.Based on the above,the author intends to apply the interactive reading model to English reading class in rural junior high school.The interactive reading model is a combination of the top-down model and the bottom-up model.It is based on the schema theory and the constructivism theory.Compared with the bottom-up model,it not only pays attention to the teaching of vocabulary and grammar,but also lays stress on high level of understanding and develops students’ reading strategies.This thesis aims to study the existing problems of English reading of Zaima Middle School and the effectiveness of the interactive reading model.The research questions are as follows.(1)What are the existing problems of English reading in ZaimaMiddle School?(2)Is the interactive reading model effective to improve students’reading ability in Zaima Middle School? If yes,what readingstrategies do the students enhance?The author chooses two classes of Grade 9 in Zaima Middle School as subjects to compare the bottom-up reading model with the interactive reading model.The control class adopts the bottom-up model in reading class while the experimental class applies the interactive model.The experiment lasts for a school term.The research instruments and methodology that use in the thesis are the questionnaire,test and class observation.Before the experiment,all the subjects need to complete a questionnaire in order to learn about the existing problems of English reading.After the experiment,the subjects in the experimental class are asked to fill in a questionnaire in order to know about their changes and views on the interactive model.In addition,the author asks all the students to complete reading comprehension tests before and after the experiment.In the process of the experiment,the as to make the data reliable.The research shows that the existing problems of English reading in Zaima Middle School are mainly the teacher’s inapplicable teaching method and the students’ bad reading habits.Students in the experimental class have increased their interest in English reading,enhanced their reading speed and mastered some reading strategies,such as skimming and scanning after applying the interactive model for a term.Furthermore,there is significant difference in reading comprehension ability in the experimental class according to analyzed results of the two tests.It indicates the effectiveness of the interactive model.The thesis provides some thoughts and implications on English reading teaching for English teachers in rural junior high schools while helps them know more about the interactive model.Moreover,it can improve students’ reading ability.There are,however,some weaknesses in the research due to the author’s limited capability,limited time and the small sample size.