An Action Research On English Continuation Tasks In Senior High School Based On Micro-writing Teaching

The English continuation task is a new writing task proposed by the Reform of the College Entrance English Examination which closely combines reading and writing.At present,there exist problems in the teaching of English continuation tasks in senior high school,such as too large and general teaching objectives in the writing class which leads to unsatisfactory writing results.Micro-writing teaching starts with the focus of fragmentary learning content and simplified teaching process.But this mode of instruction has been applied relatively little in senior high school English writing.Based on the Input Hypothesis,Output Hypothesis,and Micro-learning Theory,this study carries out the action research on the English continuation task in senior high school based on micro-writing teaching to mainly answer the following research questions:（1）What is the impact of micro-writing teaching on students’ writing ability in the English continuation task?（2）What is the impact of micro-writing teaching on students’ writing attitude in the English continuation task?（3）How to effectively apply micro-writing teaching to the English continuation task in senior high school?This action research took 42 students as the research participants in Z Senior High School in Zhejiang province mainly including the trial implementation period and two stages of the formal implementation period,which lasted for three months.The trial period was designed to identify students’ writing problems and writing attitudes along with English continuation tasks teaching,the pre-test,the pre-questionnaire and the interview.The first stage of the formal period employed micro-writing teaching,micro-writing tasks and the interview,aiming to preliminarily solve the main difficulties encountered by students in English continuation tasks and collect the feedback from students.The second stage of the formal period adjusted the action plan according to the feedback of students and carried out micro-writing teaching,micro-writing task,the interview,the post-questionnaire and the post-test to assess the effects of micro-writing teaching on students’ writing ability and writing attitudes in the English continuation task.After analyzing the relevant data,it was found that,firstly,the application of micro-writing teaching can advance students’ writing ability in English continuation tasks.Drawn through the pre-test and the post-test,students’ writing performance had been enhanced significantly after the application of micro-writing teaching.Judging from the quality of students’ writing samples,students had mastered certain writing skills,mainly in the respects of language,content and structure.Secondly,micro-writing teaching exerted a positive impact on students’ attitudes on English continuation tasks,which accelerated their writing interest and confidence,together with their recognition of the significance of English continuation tasks through the analysis of questionnaires and interviews.Finally,teachers were supposed to notice two points to effectively integrate micro-writing teaching into English continuation tasks.One was that the micro-writing teaching goals should be simplified and meticulous without cramming with the intention of entailing the class more receptive and facilitating students’ mastery of writing skills in English continuation tasks.The other was that the micro-writing tasks designed should be moderate and appropriate to ensure that students are “able to” and “willing to” accomplish them in order that students’ interest and autonomy in learning English continuation tasks could be maintained.