Research On The Variety Of The Design And Assessment Of English Assignment In Junior High School

With the development of new English curriculum reform of China, English Curriculum Standards was approved by Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China in 2001. It calls for fostering students'ability of using English synthetically in the phase of basic education by achieving the five curriculum goals: language skills, language knowledge, emotional attitude, learning strategies and cultural awareness. Therefore, teachers need to try their best to offer students relative language practice such as doing various types of English assignment according to their cognitive levels and characteristics. Meanwhile, it is also important to assess the assignments by adopting various strategies.This research attempts to modify the ways of designing and assessing English assignment for junior high school students in light of Professor Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI), theories of learning styles, as well as English Curriculum Standards of China (2001). With diverse intelligences and learning preferences, different students'learning results are varied. In particular, junior high school students are more likely to be stimulated and to develop their English levels by doing assignments that fit their personalities.The author makes an investigation about the current situation of English assignments and assessments in junior high school with two questionnaires for students and teachers respectively. Some typical problems of current English assignments and assessments emerge as the data illustrate, for instance, too much written assignment related to examinations, lack of oral assignment or other types of assignment, and simple ways of assessment, etc. However, most of the students and the teachers have realized that it is really necessary to change the types of English assignment and the strategies of assessment in junior high school. And they also give a few proposals on the issue.In an effort to foster students'ability of applying English in practice and meet the needs of the five curriculum goals, the author designs three types of English assignment based on other researches and students'characteristics: realistic assignment, recreational assignment and creative assignment. Many examples are presented in each type as well. Subsequently, a series of strategies of assessing these assignments are suggested.At the end of the thesis, the author brings forward a few suggestions while designing and assessing English assignment. This thesis, therefore, will be able to provide English teachers in junior high school with various suggestive types of English assignment and corresponding strategies of assessment so that they will be able to improve their teaching levels as well as stimulating students'enthusiasm of learning English in the future.