An Approach To Problems In Teaching English Reading In Rural Senior High Schools

One of the keys to the innovation in English teaching is the innovation in teaching English reading. And one of the most important ways to innovate the teaching of English reading is to use discourse analysis method successfully. In the seven years of my English teaching, I have been applying this method in teaching the course of English reading and have formed regular teaching procedures and teaching methods.In view of the current situation of teaching English reading in China, this paper explores how to adopt the method of discourse analysis in teaching English reading in China's senior high schools. The paper first expounds the theory concerning English reading so as to reveal the essence of reading. The exposition is made from psychology theory, cognitive theory and psychological linguistics. Besides these, this part also introduces the classification of reading, reading methods, reading modes and so on.On the basis of questionnaire, the paper analyses the necessity for innovating the methodology of teaching English reading in China's senior high schools. Next to that comes the most important part of the paper-----discourse analysis method. The paper expounds the definition, theory basis and main content of this method. The theory basis for discourse analysis method is schemata theory. The schemata theory has directive, predictive and supplementary functions. The background knowledge, stylistic structure and connection ways are all included in the content of schemata theory.To illustrate clearly how to use discourse analysis method in teaching English reading, the author introduces three links of this method. The first link is overall leading-in. The purpose of this link is to let students understand the main content of the text briefly so that they can develop the ability to understand the surface structure of the text. The second link is microanalysis. The purpose of this link is to let students get more specific and detailed information. This will help them develop the ability to understand the deep structure of the text. The third link is whole absorption. The purpose of this link is to cultivate the students'ability to induce, infer, appraise and communicate. In order to check the feasibility of this method, the author had a teaching experiment centering on sentences and texts respectively. Therefore, the teaching of English reading in senior high schools should proceed from the considerations of enhancing the students'awareness of texts and arousing the students'enthusiasm for learning English.