The Application Of Schema Theory To English Reading Teaching In Senior High Schools

Researchers claim that understanding discourse is a process of retrieving of stored information from memory and relating it to the encountered discourse. The stored information can be the concept, experiences, knowledge etc. Thus is what Schema is about. It is often said that there are three types of schema: language schemata, formal schemata (discourse schemata) and content schemata. But the Schema Theory hasn't been accepted by all the teachers, and the translation method of teaching is still existing in some classes. Moreover, as to how to put the Theory into practice and what questions to be designed to build up the three types of schema in students'mind, are an area which, in some extent, need to be explored further.Based on previous Schema Theory and my view that the accumulation of schemas should focus on its diversification, contents and network effect, some specific questions are designed with the expectation to establish students'language schemata, formal schemata and content schemata. Meanwhile, two parallel groups are drawn from two normal classes. Both are taught by the same teacher in a semester, but one with interactive-compensatory model, the other with traditional teaching method. Data are collected and analyzed afterwards.Assuming that the application of Schema Theory to the English reading teaching in high school is successful, the experimental group will significantly exceed the parallel group in score, in other words, it proves that the questions designed in teaching are successful, which can be a reference to other teachers. If the achievements in two parallel groups are almost same, it means that the questions designed in the experimental class is not effective, which can still be a value to other teachers, as they can avoid those unsuccessful methods in teaching reading.The first part of this paper puts forward the idea of designing specific questions based on the Schema Theory after analyzing the curriculum and nearly 20 years reform of education. The second part illustrates the concept of the Schema, its classification and the development of Schema theory at home and abroad. It can be said that the domestic Schema Theory has been developing based on that of foreigners. It also describes the relationship between Schema Theory and the teaching of reading, pointing out that both are closely linked. In the third part, an experimental study is made to test the hypotheses of this paper. After that, in the fourth part, the specific application, including schema activations and schema establishments, is discussed in English reading teaching in high school, focusing on the specific questions based on Schema Theory.