The Effectiveness Of Scaffolding Instruction In English Reading In Senior Large Class

Scaffolding Instruction is a teaching strategy based on constructivism and originated from the studies of Lev Vygotsky who created the "Zone of Proximal Development", which fully considers the differences of students. It helps students to fulfill the learning tasks and achieve meaning construction by setting up scaffolds and specific situations.English is an important part of senior teaching system. However, we find some problems in the present English teaching in high school in our country, such as the large class and consequent individual differences. Reading plays an important role in language learning, and senior English learners face many problems in reading process as well. They lack interest and motivation, lack vocabulary, lack prior culture knowledge and reading skills, which will prevent them from improving their reading ability. In order to solve these problems, under the guidance of constructivism the writer of this thesis try to apply the scaffolding instruction to English reading teaching with the objective teaching environment of large class. Scaffolding Instruction divides the task of reading into five subsections:offering the scaffold, entering situation, independent exploration, cooperative study and evaluation. The whole process emphasizes the importance of interaction between teacher and student, the interaction between student and student, cooperation study and the difference of students, aimed to arouses their interest in learning English reading, encourages them to develop the habit of thinking independently and exploring actively, as well as improves their comprehensive proficiency to use English.Three research questions are to be answered:a, To what extent can Scaffolding instruction help to arouse students’interest in reading? b, How Scaffolding Instruction to senior English large class develops students’autonomic learning awareness c, In what way can Scaffolding instruction help to improve students’ability in reading? The subjects chosen for the study are two intermediate classes of grade two from Sanhe No.2Middle School, Hebei Province, which are the researcher’s teaching classes. One class is the control class using the traditional teaching methods, while the other is the experimental class using the scaffolding instruction. Before and after experiment the writer tested two groups’reading comprehension ability to see whether scaffolding instruction is more effective. During the experiment the writer collected data through questionnaire and interview. By analyzing the data, the writer found that Scaffolding Instruction can arouse students" interest of learning English in a free and relaxing environment and develop their ability of using language autonomously. It fully explores students’potential and increases students" learning efficiency as well. The analysis also shows this teaching method is popular with students.