A Study On Perceptual Mismatches In English Language Teaching Of Boarding Junior High Schools

With the development of economic and social changes,education has been diversified and various types of schools have emerged at all levels,and the number of private boarding schools has gradually increased.While they are favored by parents,they also face the pressure and challenges of education and teaching management,and the differentiated students’ personal qualities and interpersonal skills affect students’ learning and development and classroom teaching.Perceptual mismatches occur frequently in English classroom teaching and affect teaching effectiveness to a great extent.However,the research on perceptual mismatches was not deep enough at home,and there were few studies on English teaching in boarding schools.Perceptual mismatches need to be explored in depth.In order to enrich the domestic research on perceptual mismatches in junior high school English teaching and expand its application scope,this study adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the frequencies of perceptual mismatches in English language teaching of boarding junior high schools through classroom observation records,questionnaires and interviews,and to explore the causes and countermeasures of perceptual mismatches,so as to reduce perceptual mismatches and improve teaching effect.Therefore,this study takes English teachers and students of boarding junior high schools as the research subjects,aiming to explore perceptual mismatches in junior high school English classes of boarding schools,with a view to answering:(1)What types of perceptual mismatches appear in English language teaching of boarding junior high schools?And what are their frequencies?(2)What is the difference in perceptual mismatches between teachers and students?(3)What are the causes of perceptual mismatches?(4)How to reduce perceptual mismatches in English language teaching of boarding junior high schools?The statistical analysis of the survey data on perceptual mismatches in English language teaching of boarding junior high schools reveals that,first of all,all ten types of perceptual mismatches are found in junior high school English classrooms,which are communicative mismatch,linguistic mismatch,pedagogic mismatch,instructional mismatch,cognitive mismatch,attitudinal mismatch,cultural mismatch,strategic mismatch,evaluative mismatch and procedural mismatch in order of frequency distribution.Secondly,the frequency of perceptual mismatches in Grade 7 is higher than that in Grade 8 and Grade 9,among which communicative mismatch,linguistic mismatch,cognitive mismatch,pedagogic mismatch,attitudinal mismatch and cultural mismatch account for a higher frequency.In addition,the questionnaire feedback reveals significant differences in teachers’ and students’ perceptions and evaluations of linguistic mismatch,instructional mismatch,cognitive mismatch,pedagogic mismatch,attitudinal mismatch,cultural mismatch,and procedural mismatch in English language teaching.The causes of perceptual mismatches are mainly manifested in students,teachers and teachers and students.Perceptual mismatches result from students’ varied English foundation and lack of English logical thinking ability,learning strategies and learning opportunities.On the teachers’ side,it is their inadequate professional competency,insufficient understanding of learning situations,and improperly organized classroom activities that lead to perceptual mismatches.In terms of teachers and students,perceptual mismatches are ascribed to the cognitive gap between the two sides and their different attitudes towards the roles of teachers and students.Perceptual mismatches in the classroom greatly affect English language teaching.In order to reduce perceptual mismatches,the following countermeasures are proposed through the combination of the observed teaching practice with the collected interview data: creating maximum learning opportunities,which comprise creating English language environment and learning opportunities;improving teachers’ professionalism,which includes improving teachers’ professional ability and teaching organization and management skills,grasping the learners’ learning condition,taking care of all students,setting up appropriate classroom activities by focusing on teaching objectives;building a learning community between teachers and students through respective role changes.Based on the research results,this study puts forward some suggestions for junior high school English teachers.Teachers should pay attention to perceptual mismatches in class.First of all,teachers should correctly understand perceptual mismatches and do not ignore the emergence and existence of teaching problems.Secondly,teachers should reasonably control perceptual mismatches and take relevant intervention measures to adjust and control perceptual mismatches.In addition,teachers should make full use of perceptual mismatches to help them better reflect on teaching and find out their own problems in teaching,so as to make timely adjustments to improve classroom teaching effect and students’ learning effect.