Schema Theory In Middle School English Reading Teaching

How to learn English efficiently is a problem that teachers and students are paying attention to all the time. When high school students begin to learn English systematically, scientific methods mean good learning results and effective reading strategies are important for their high school English learning as well as the English study thereafter. In view of this, the author, based on the knowledge of various reading theories and research, and through empirical study of an experiment, tries a model of effective reading teaching strategies, that is, schema training strategies.This paper is to explore the effect of schema training strategies in the process of reading comprehension with a combination of descriptive qualitative and quantitative method. First, current English reading teaching in high school is talked about. Then a theoretical study of the role of schemata is explored. Then in light of the reading schema theory, the author brings forward a model of schema strategy training, which proves to be effective and popular through a 4-month experiment.To fulfill the goals that have been set in this research, an experiment is designed, aiming at finding out whether the schema training strategies are effective in English reading as a foreign language. The experiment is conducted in three stages. First, a questionnaire, then two tests, and third, an interview is performed. During training, both groups have the same allotment of time and experimental surroundings. The experimental group are intensively instructed and trained on the schema training strategies in sequence, obtaining more instructions of English background knowledge and systematic training. The comparison group is under regular instructions in class and learn the assigned materials in their own ways after class.Both the experimental group and comparison group have participated in the comprehension tests before and after the experiment, and the data are collected and analyzed. The results indicated the effectiveness of schema training. In addition, just through learning the given materials, the comparison group also has improved their comprehension. This can bring light to students' extensive reading, listening and speaking for enriching their schemata and better comprehension.The interview of the experimental group after the experiment has revealed the popularity of the training of schema strategies, and most of the students can continue using the schema training strategies, and can transfer them to other language skills. Only a few of weak students say the schema training strategies have little use, and can even prevent their understanding.Generally speaking, this empirical study has provided some pedagogical implications. In light of the above findings, it can be concluded that the schema strategy training does improve the learners'capacity of understanding information, enhance their overall reading skills. Therefore the author's model of schema strategy training proves to be effective in terms of the results of the experiment. The findings of the experiment also imply that schema strategy training is necessary to foster the readers' independence and autonomy. This is intended to provide a reference to the teachers who are interested in schema training and the students who feel frustrated in learning English.