The Feasibility Of Applying Inquiry-based Teaching Mode To The Teaching Of English In High School

English language is the most extensive and widespread language in the world and it has been a valued subject in our high middle school teaching. For many years, in high middle school the traditional model of English language teaching has fundamentally been the teacher-centered model, in which students, as objects, are always in the position of passively receiving knowledge. Students have to follow what teachers teach, therefore, they can not adequately bring their conscious activities into play. This model has been confining students' ideality and creativity as well as the teaching quality. We need the new-type talents who have enough abilities to communicate with English today when China has been open to the world and in the new period when China has joined WTO. While present English teaching emphasizes the explanation on grammar and vocabulary, and ignores the development of actual ability about using language for students.In order to solve these problems that exist in present English teaching in high middle school and make the course reform successful, changing the present teaching model is necessary. Inquiry-based classroom teaching is a teaching model that provides students with abundant opportunities to express, query, inquire, discuss problems for students and make them apply their knowledge in solving practical problems through trying out many activities that can dispel suspicion, such as individual, group, collective, etc, regarding independent and initiative studies and cooperate discussion as a prerequisite,; regarding current teaching materials as the content of inquiry; regarding the world and life around as targets under the inspiration and guidance of teachers. The theory on inquiry-based teaching can date back to 1909, when Dewey hold the view point that scientific education has students learns more than a large quantity of knowledge; the more important is to have students learn the method on scientific research. Since 1950s inquiry has been proved a reasonable teaching mode and wide spread in the world.Compared with traditional acceptance-based teaching model, inquiry-based teaching especially values the development of students' intelligence, creative thinking and learning ability and establishes the foundation for work and study all the life. In the following paper, the feasibility of applying inquiry-based teaching mode to the teaching of English in high school has been discussed and described theoretically and practically. By discussing the basic features of inquiry-based teaching, the roles of students and teachers in inquiry-based teaching and teaching course, a conclusion that inquiry-based teaching is an ideal mode of carrying out course reform, an effective way to implement quality-oriented education, a necessary method of developing students' creative ability.Inquiry-based teaching is at the beginning stage at present; therefore, it is unavoidable that a lot of problems exist. Definitely there must be some shortcoming about this new mode, and of course there must be also some ideas and views in the paper which might not be proper or correct. Anyhow it would be greatly appreciated if the article could do a little benefit to implementation to the teaching of English in high middle school.