The Application Of Constructivist Learning Theory To Improving Reading Teaching In Vocational Colleges

Constructivist learning theory as a branch of cognitive learningtheory has become prevailing in America and Europe since the 1980s.The theory holds the view that learning is not the passive acceptance ofknowledge but an active process in which learners construct their ownmeaning by anchoring new information to preexisting knowledge. Thetheory which puts emphasis on the learners and the learning process canhelp develop the learners' capacity for autonomy and creativity. Manyeducational experts and scholars home and abroad have been attemptingto apply the theory to the teaching practice and promote educationalreform.Currently vocational college education has been developingincreasingly in China, but its teaching of English is confronted with greatdifficulty which has mainly resulted from the traditional teacher-centredmethod. Though constructivism has already been applied to education fora long time, few researches have been made on vocational collegeeducation. This research is going to discuss how to apply constructivistlearning theory to reforming the teaching of English reading in thevocational college.Reading is the core of English learning and a main form of input.This research, under the guidance of constructivism, learner autonomy and schema theory, seeks to investigate the effect and efficiency of thenew teaching approach on English reading competence. The author chose88 freshmen in two classes as participants from the vocational collegewhere the author works. One class was the control group which wastaught in a relatively traditional way, that is, the teaching was focused onthe explanation of the reading materials and language points; the otherwas the experimental group which was instructed in constructivistapproach in which students were trained to construct their own meaningin the learning process. The experiment covered a period of twenty weekswhich was divided into four stages for different purposes: developingself-confidence, training learning strategies, cultivating capacity forautonomy and testing reading competence. By using reading tests,questionnaires, interviewing with students, teaching journals, the authoracquired substantial data and analyzed them by running SPSS.The study has showed that constructivist approach has obviousadvantages in the following aspects: (1) to meet students' need for affect,to activate their confidence and to encourage their desire for reading; (2)to help develop learning strategies and reading skills; (3) to promotestudents to utilize modem technology and make full use of learningresources to develop their capacity for autonomy. With these qualities, thestudents have improved their reading competence. Meanwhile, the studyhas found that the new approach can activate the students' learning roles, develop their cooperative spirit, create harmonious learning environmentsand help them read more.The findings in this study reveal that it is feasible and beneficial forEnglish teacher to apply constructivist approach to the teaching ofreading. Meanwhile, this study provides reliable data for readinginstruction and research, and also provides a complete picture ofvocational college students' mentality and performance in Englishreading. The study has great positive significance to the future teaching ofEnglish reading.