The Effect Of Schema Theory On The Reading Ability Of Non-English Majors In College

As is well known, listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating are five basic and interrelated skills in English teaching and learning, while reading serves as a crucial channel, by which students can acquire knowledge, accumulate vocabulary, familiarize sentence patterns and cultivate writing ability. Therefore, the fosterage of reading ability should be given priority in college English teaching. However, some teaching problems still exist at present and they have inevitably affected students' reading efficiency, which needs to be resolved urgently.Schema can be seen as the organized background knowledge. According to schema theory, any text, either spoken or written, does not but itself carry meaning. A text only provides directions for listeners or readers as to how they should retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge. This theoretical framework emphasizes the role of preexisting knowledge in providing the reader with information that is implicit in a text.The author probes into schema theory and its specific application in college English reading teaching. Questionnaire and experiments are conducted in this thesis, with the following results obtained: First, most college students do not have a strong consciousness of schema theory and they are not proficient in using schemata in reading. Second, as a linguistic phenomenon, schema-based theory could exert a positive influence on the EFL reading competence. Therefore, in pedagogical practice, teachers should help raise students' awareness of schema learning and use, foster their good reading habits, and provide appropriate reading materials and assessment.In sum, schema theory plays a significant role in English reading classes. It is also revealed that schematic reading strategies do not always result in improvements in comprehension in some situations and to some EFL learners. In view of the fact mentioned above, teachers themselves should be well-informed about their students and make full preparations for their teaching.