Investigation Research On Cognitive Load Of Senior High School Students In English Reading Class

The English curriculum reform is intended to promote students’ lifelong development and cultivate students’ English Core Competencies.The General Senior High Schools English Curriculum Standards(2017 Edition,Revised in 2020)clearly states that “language ability” is a fundamental element that constitutes the English core competence.English reading is the main way of language input.The learners’ reading ability directly affects the development of other English capabilities.Reading process involves a lot of cognitive activities and the load of working memory capacity.Cognitive Load mainly discusses the load borne by individuals’ working memory in cognitive activities,which is closely related to reading.After entering high school,English reading materials become more difficult,in-depth emotional needs analysis is required,and article genres are richer and more diverse.In learning process,inappropriate teaching design and classroom activities can easily lead to insufficient cognitive resources for students.When the total amount of cognitive resources students need exceeds their own working memory capacity,it can lead to cognitive overload,which hinders students’ reading and learning,affects learning outcomes,and is not conducive to the development of student’s reading ability.This study investigates the cognitive load of senior high school students in the English reading class in Huaibei H Middle School,and finds out the problems that students have in the class,so as to take effective measures to help students to lessen the cognitive load and promote the reading efficiency.This thesis takes 391 students in senior one and senior two and 4 English teachers as the research objects.The questionnaire survey method,interview method and classroom observation method are used to analyze the cognitive load of students in the reading class,mainly solving the following three problems:(1)What is the current situation of senior high school students’ Intrinsic Cognitive Load,Extraneous Cognitive Load and Germane Cognitive Load in the English reading class?(2)Are there any differences in cognitive load among students of different grades?If so,what is the distribution of the differences?(3)Are there any differences in cognitive load among students of different genders? If so,what is the distribution of the differences?Through data analysis,the following conclusions can be drawn: In terms of the distribution of three types of cognitive load: the Intrinsic Cognitive Load is at a moderate level,the Extraneous Cognitive Load is at a low level and the Germane Cognitive Load is at a high level,with uneven distribution.There are significant differences in the three types of cognitive load among senior one and senior two students.The level of the Intrinsic and Extraneous Cognitive Load of senior one students is lower than that of senior two students,and the level of the Germane Cognitive Load is higher.Among the three cognitive loads,boys and girls have significant differences in the Intrinsic and Extraneous Cognitive Load,while there is no difference in the Germane Cognitive Load.Boys’ the Intrinsic and Extraneous Cognitive Load level are higher than girls’,and the Germane Cognitive Load level is lower.On the basis of the research conclusion,this paper proposes that teachers need to optimize classroom teaching design to enhance the effectiveness of teaching strategy;students should learn to regulate the Cognitive Load independently and promote efficient learning.It is expected to provide some practical references for senior high school English teachers in teaching,and strengthen students’ understanding of their own learning situations to achieve good reading outcomes.