A Study Of The Application Of Extensive Reading In Senior Middle Schools

Reading is not only considered one of the four basic language skills of learning a second language, but also an important way to enhance language ability. At the present situation of middle schools in China where students lack adequate English language input, English extensive reading has gradually become one of the most important ways for students to acquire a second language and get foreign information.However, the current situation of extensive reading in China is unsatisfactory. For one part, senior school students don’t have abundant time to do extensive reading. For another, English teachers fail to offer necessary guidance to students’reading. The previous studies focused on some basic situations, like reading materials, reading strategies, reading difficulties, reading results and so on. They payed few attention on teachers’function in the reading process. On the basis of some fundamental situation of extensive reading, this paper focuses on the teachers’guidance on students’extensive reading.This study investigated a key middle school in Beijing. The subjects in this study are students from two classes and three English teachers. Students from both classes were asked to do questionnaires and their teachers took part in the interview. The study first analyzed some common questions about extensive reading, like reading materials, reading difficulties etc. And then it focused teachers’ role in reading process.Results of this study revealed that the apply of extensive reading in this key school were satisfactory. Most students believe that their reading ability gradually become better than before. Teachers help to enhance students’extensive reading from inspiring students’ motivation by interesting activities, monitoring reading process by allocating definite homework and evaluating students’ reading results by formative evaluation. In a word, from teachers’ guidance, monitoring and evaluation, students gradually involve themselves in extensive reading and form good habits to implement effective extensive reading and get improved achievement and enhanced ability in English.