A Study On The Application Of Task-based Approach In English Reading Teaching In Junior High ESL Classroom

Task-based approach has become one of the focuses of language classroom research in recent years. To put it simply, the task, which is goal-oriented and learner-centered, is a classroom activity in which students use real-life language to achieve a specific outcome. A number of researchers have studied task-based language teaching in various aspects. They concluded that task-based approach could not only motivate language learners but also promote their target language.Reading is one of the four major skills in the process of language acquisition, and is a crucial activity in language class. It is viewed as an interaction of the reader's background knowledge as well as the textual information. Improving the reading ability of junior high school students is one of the purposes of English teaching. However, the teaching of reading is by and large unsatisfactory in many junior high schools. It shows that the reasons for hindering students from reading efficiently come from many aspects, one of which is the traditional teaching method in the guiding of reading. Standards of New National English Curriculum stipulates:"the objectives of English teaching during the elementary education stage are based on developing students'language skills, language knowledge, emotional attitude, learning strategy and cultural consciousness, to train their abilities of all-round application of the language". Therefore, to help Chinese students become more efficient in reading, the traditional way of reading instruction should and must be changed.This paper is based on language acquisition theory. The aim is to confirm the effectiveness of task-based approach to teaching of reading by comparing with teacher-centered teaching reading. It tries to answer these two questions:1) Which method can facilitate the learners'reading ability more effectively, teacher-centered approach or task-based approach?2) What beneficial effects can learners receive from task-based approach to teaching of reading?After four months'teaching practice, it shows that the students in the experimental class are more capable in reading and have better scores. Task-based approach to teaching of reading is active and efficient to improve students'reading ability and the ability of all-round application of the language.