A Study On The Application To Schema Theory To Reading Teaching In Senior High School

English reading is an extremely useful skill in the process of language learning and it plays an extraordinarily important role in both second language learning and international communication and cooperation. It is the foundation of mastering a language as well as a main tool to obtain information. For most students in China , especially for senior high school students, English reading is by far one of the most important skills in English language learning(Carrel:1988). The English Curriculum Standard for Senior Middle School states that the purpose of reading instruction should be able to develop students' reading strategy, improve the students'abilities to use the English language as well as the ability to obtain and handle information in the reading process. It should focus on developing the students'ability to think and analyze and express their ideas in English so as to pave the way for students'further study and development.At present there is a general tendency in the teaching of English reading, which is laying more stress on grammar and syntax analysis than on the understanding of meaning and structure of the text. The traditional English reading teaching neglects the training of reading skills, and neglects developing the students'scientific opinion. Based on the above problems, the author has carried out the English reading experiment under the guidance of schema theory, which is"the stored knowledge first in the brain"or"background knowledge". In this paper, the author explores the functions of the schema knowledge on English reading, and points out how schema theory is to be applied to English reading classes. Teachers should guide the students to make the best of the schema knowledge, so as to improve their English reading abilities and arouse their English reading interests. Schema can be used in the understanding of the language, readers use schema to fill in information that isn't mentioned explicitly. When reading a new text, readers need the ability to relate the textual materials to their own prior knowledge stored in their minds, because understanding and explanation of new knowledge depend upon schemata stored in one's mind. So it is very important for teachers and students to understand the function of schemata and put them into effective use to improve students'reading ability.So the author of paper has made an experiment in order to testify the effectiveness and practicalities of schema theory in English reading. The experiment is carried out in No.3 Middle School in Gaocheng under the guidance of schema theory. This experiment is carried out from the beginning of March in 2007 to the end of June in 2007. There are 100 students from two parallel classes taking part in this experiment. One is the experimental class, the other is the control class. There are 50 students in each class, and the mean scores of the two classes are almost the same.Schema-oriented instruction method is used in the experimental class while traditional teaching method is used in the control class. The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between schema theory and reading comprehension. That is, the author wants to examine whether the reading teaching based on schema theory can improve students'reading ability by activating prior schema and building new schema; whether the prediction according to the title helps readers read effectively; whether the reading teaching based on schema theory can help students develop emotion and scientific opinions. The information from the experiment shows that teaching based on schema theory is helpful to improve students'reading ability. The data from the interview and questionnaires prove that teaching based on schema theory can improve students'reading ability and excite their reading interests. It helps students develop emotions and scientific opinions. So, this study has both theoretical and practical values in English reading teaching class in senior high school.