An Experimental Study On Affective Strategy In Senior High School English Teaching Based On Scaffolding Instruction

The thesis is intended to test the effectiveness of the new teaching model of scaffolding instruction to help senior high school students construct positive affect. The author expects to create a harmonious, cooperative and encouraging classroom learning atmosphere which can help students enhance internal motivation and interest, foster proper self-esteem and reduce anxiety in FLL.Scaffolding instruction is one mature teaching mode of constructivism. It stemmed directly from Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) from which teachers design teaching activities. The teaching mode lays emphasis on students'previous knowledge structures and the interactions between students and teachers in the collaborative learning context. Moreover, it pays special attention to students'affective needs and the guidance and the exemplary role provided by teachers or the excellent students in the teaching activities. Through the scaffolding teaching activities, teachers guide students to construct and internalize the acquired knowledge and skill from their original learning basis to a higher level.An empirical study is conducted in the research. The subjects are the 111 senior one high school students from two classes of Beizhen middle school in Binzhou city Shandong province. During the experimental period, the scaffolding teaching mode is applied in the EG while the traditional teaching method is used in the CG to make comparisons. In addition, there is a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis of the research data collected through pre-test, post-test, questionnaires, and interview.The data results suggest that the subjects have different level of problems with their affective status in FLL and that the subjects'affective factors are closely related to their academic scores. Based on the comparisons of the data, the author finds that the subjects'affective status in the EG has turned better after the experiment and their scores in the post-exam are apparently higher than that of the CG. Therefore, the author holds that scaffolding instruction can promote students'cognitive as well as affective development in FLT.The thesis provides a new perspective in dealing with senior high school students'affective problems in FLL based on scaffolding instruction. The author expects the research may give some enlightenment to language instructors in promoting the equilibrium of affect and cognition in FLT and in constructing harmonious and efficient classroom English learning.