Secondary School Russian Activity-based Curriculum:a Speech Act Theory Approach

Practice, as a way of existence, is characteristic of human beings. Activity serves as the basis for cognitive development. Speech act, which is special practice activity, makes human beings'speech development happen through a two-way construction between subject and object as well as between individuals and groups. As for this problem, we can find detailed argumentation in the practice epistemology of Marx's dialectical materialism and interaction theory of constructivism. Activity is a significant mechanism of subjectivity generation and development, whereas, for the sake of long-time influences from the traditional concept of knowledge instruction, the importance of its idea has not gained enough attention which it should have got. Few researches into the value of activity curriculum and the internal mechanism about how the curriculum boosts human development have been conducted. And thus so far, no scientific explanations concerning them have been discovered. Cramming and rigid drill-oriented teaching are still prevalent in classroom teaching. Many issues remain to be addressed. We have not achieved much in the research on the activity-based curriculum.With the ever-developing elementary curriculum reform in China, the activity-based curriculum notions of cultivating students' innovation and initiative are drawing increasing attention. The activity-based classroom teaching reform, focusing on students'participation, has been a crucial part of the elementary curriculum reform. Secondary school Russian activity-based curriculum (SSRAC thereafter) combines modern concepts of curriculum and methodology. Compared to the previous curriculum, the new curriculum concentrates more attention on the internal factors of emotion and motivation during Russian learning. It proposes that children's latent potential should be fully tapped. Grounded on the idea of people oriented, it stresses that students are the subject of education. It also emphasizes that classroom teaching should concentrate on the development of students'abilities of autonomy and the practice in which students' potential can be tapped. Meanwhile, it places particular emphasis on the necessity to follow the rule of individual development based on students' phases of growth and their characteristics so as to promote their all-round development.This study, based on the idea of subject education of speech act, under the guidance of systematic activity methodology, starts from ontology and structure theory. Grounded on the methodology of factor analysis, it explores the problems of the Russian activity-based curriculum in China and makes an attempt to find the solution. It involves the generation mechanism of speech act, the structural features of activity-based curriculum, the design of the curriculum and the application and evaluation of SSRAC. This dissertation consists of six parts:Part One deals with the basic theory of SSRAC. Employing the methods of speculative philosophy and comparative history, this part discusses the theoretical origins of activity-based curriculum in philosophy, psychology and pedagogy. It puts forward that the practice epistemology of Marx's dialectical materialism and interaction theory of constructivism should serve as the methodological principles of activity-based curriculum.Part Two mainly focuses on the research into the connotations and generation mechanism of speech act. With the structuralism of speech act as a starting point, this part analyses and studies the internal structural characteristics of SSRAC and its operation factors. And thus it points out the significance of motivation orientation mechanism of speech act in the construction of SSRAC.Part Three concerns the research into the connotations and notions of SSRAC. It is made up of two aspects. The first aspect covers the systematic planning of SSRAC based on the principle of goal orientation of the curriculum design. The second aspect, grounded on the principle of integrating theory and practice, argues that SSRAC can operate on the following three modes:the inquiry activity mode of concept acquisition, the experience activity mode of situated cognition and the autonomous cooperation mode of subject interaction.Part Four concentrates on the research into the system of Secondary school activity-based curriculum in Russia and a case study. Following the methodology of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis, this part not only examines the current situation of SSRAC in China but also carries out a factor analysis of the problems by observing and recording classroom teaching.Part Five is about a survey of SSRAC. Following the methodology of systematic analysis, this paper formulates the concept of SSRAC development from the perspectives of students'development, curriculum construction, resource development, and guarantee system.Part Six is about the design and concept of puttingSSRAC into practice. Based on the basic speech act theory of Russia and the method of system analysis, this research focuses on the application and design of SSRAC in China. Drawing on the notions of Russia's activity-based curriculum design, the research is conducted within the framework of China's Russian Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education. It aims at promoting SSRAC and thus it can be put into effect in a scientific and effective way.