The Application Of Willis' Reading Model To English Reading Class In Senior High School

Task-based language teaching has been recommended as an effective teaching method in"the new National standard for English Curriculum"which is an official document issued by the Ministry of Education in the years of 2001 and 2003.The idea is now popular in the world and was introduced into China in the 1980s.We have witnessed the growing popularity in the foreign language teaching. So many educators and experts as well as the schoolteachers are greatly engaged in the teaching approach. TBLT is the trend of current approach of the foreign language teaching in China. Many experts at home and abroad have done much empirical research on TBLT and have proved that TBLT is effective in English reading teaching in senior high schools.The author has done experiment in Grade one in No.2 Senior High School of Panjin City, Liaoning Province from September of 2009 to January of 2010 to testify if task design based upon Willis'model is effective in the teaching of English reading and promoting learners'interest. The author makes some suggestions on the use of TBLT in English reading in senior high schools. The comprehensive analysis both in qualitative and quantitative methods is made on the use of TBLT in English reading teaching in a senior high school through the students'scores, questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations. By doing so, the author is expecting to get some meaningful conclusion from the analyses, which can be of some benefits to the improvement of the students'reading ability in a senior high school.There are five chapters in this thesis. Part One introduces the background, the significance, the overall organization and some research questions. Part two concentrated on a survey of literature about designing of reading tasks based on Willis'model of TBLT. It covers the general situation, the obstacles found in English reading teaching in senior high schools. Part Three provides theoretical support for this thesis including Second Language Acqisition, Constructivism, Behaviorism and Cognitive theories. Part Four is the implementation of TBLT in an English reading class. Part Five discusses implication, limitation and suggestions of applying TBLT in English reading teaching in senior high schools and draws the conclusion.The result of the experiment proves that the TBLT approach is suitable for the senior English reading teaching. It not only improves learners'interest in reading but also improves learners'reading competence the English reading class in senior high school.