An Empirical Research Of Appraisal Theory-Based Reading-to-Write Approach In Senior High School English Writing Teaching

English writing is an all-round embodiment of the language,content and thoughts of English learners.At present,reading-to-write approach has aroused widespread attention in English writing teaching in senior high school.It is the characteristic of the reading-to-write approach to employ linguistic knowledge learned from reading to writing,but the themes of articles and the authors’ implied intentions are always ignored in this process.And Appraisal Theory can help readers comprehend writing purposes quickly and accurately.Therefore,based on Appraisal Theory,this study is to explore the effectiveness of the reading-to-write approach on writing achievements and writing motivation,trying to find an effective way in English writing teaching in senior high school.Two questions are answered in this thesis:(1)What effects does Appraisal Theory-based reading-to-write approach have on senior high school students’ writing achievements?(2)What effects does Appraisal Theory-based reading-to-write approach have on senior high school students’ writing motivation?In this study,80 students in two parallel classes in senior one of Zhouqu Middle School in Lanzhou City,Gansu Province are selected as subjects divided into experimental and control classes and there are 40 students in each class.The teaching experiment lasts for 14 weeks,moreover,tests,questionnaires and an interview are used as research instruments to explore the effectiveness of the Appraisal Theory-based reading-to-write approach in senior high school students’ English writing.The researcher conducts narrative and exposition teaching in both classes but the teaching models used are different.The teaching model which separates reading and writing is adopted in control class while Appraisal Theory-based reading-to-write approach is utilized in experimental class.Through the analysis of the writing models,writing skills and evaluative resources in the articles,students in experimental class are able to master the characteristics of different styles,interpret the themes and the authors’ points of view,and then learn how to use the evaluative resources in writing within a relatively short time.Before and after the experiment,the students of the two classes are tested and teachers grade according to Jacobs’ score level criteria(content,organization,vocabulary,language use and mechanics).With the help of SPSS 23.0 software,the data of independent samples and paired samples T-tests are used by the researcher to analyze and explore the effects of this approach on the writing achievements.In addition,questionnaires and the interview are carried out among the students in experimental class to explore the effects on writing motivation.Research results show that: first,the reading-to-write approach based on Appraisal Theory can better enhance students’ English writing achievements,and the improvement of each dimension is varied in different genres.In narrative writing,content,organization,vocabulary and language use have all been improved significantly;while in exposition writing,vocabulary and language use have been significantly promoted,and the effects on content and organization are not significant.In both styles,the scores in mechanics have not been raised significantly;second,the reading-to-write approach based on Appraisal Theory has positive effects on writing motivation,especially in self efficacy and intrinsic motivation.Following implications can be drawn through the research for English writing teaching practice in senior high school: teachers should stimulate students’ writing motivation by actively assisting students to pay more attention to the evaluative resources used in the articles during English learning,and students should also consciously accumulate and analyze evaluative resources to promote writing achievements.