Application Of Constructivism Learning Theory In The English Teaching Of Middle School In China

Jean Piaget's Theory of Constructivism, further studied and developed by Kohlberg Lawrence and Vygotsky, became worldwide well-known with the rapid development of the information technology during the 1990s. Since constructivism theory emphasizes the learners' independent construction, independent study and independent discovery, it is recognized as a useful teaching theory for cultivating innovation ability and has become an important theoretical foundation for the reform of the basic education curriculum in China. Consequently, it is of great practical significance to probe into the problems concerning the application of constructivism in the English leaching of the middle school.Based on the actual situation of English teaching in middle school, this paper looks into the strategies and modes that integrate constructivism with the traditional English teaching practice in middle school. Five strategies of application of constructivism theory in the English teaching of middle school, namely, situation strategy, activity strategy, communication strategy, problem strategy and double adaptation strategy, have been proposed. The important role of integrating the information technology with English curriculum to promote application of constructivism in English teaching has also been discussed. The integration teaching has enabled leaching task to be designed according (?)o situation, the teaching activity to become interactive, learning process to be initiated independently, learning style to be individualized, teaching style to be diversified and classroom instruction to be publicly accessible. Based on constructivism teaching principles and characteristics, a five-step teaching method of integrative teaching has been established. It is also suggested that we should positively apply constructivismteaching style in the English teaching of middle school, and constantly innovate the leaching methods. In stead of total rejection of the traditional leaching mode and method, we should adopt the dialectical strategy of using the useful and discarding the useless to combine the advanced teaching idea of constructivism with the reasonable factors of the traditional teaching scientifically so as to form modern English teaching ways to meet the need of the education reality in China.