An Empirical Study On Learning Plan Guided Learning In Improving Senior High School Students’English Writing Ability

Learning plan guided learning (LPGL) is a new teaching method in which the learning plans are the most useful instrument in learning and the teachers act as the guides throughout the learning process. By using the method, teachers can gradually push the students towards autonomous learning. The teachers’ teaching plans are changed into the students’ learning plans; the traditional teacher-centered teaching mode is turned into the new student-centered one; the focus of the class is switched from the teachers’ teaching to the students’ experience.At present, little research has been done on the teaching of English writing with the method of LPGL. The originality of the thesis lies in that the author applies the method to English writing classes in senior high school and combines it with cooperative learning. The aim is to stimulate the students’ interest in English writing, to help the students’ to obtain the effective writing strategies and to improve their writing ability.The thesis is based on the study of Bruner’s Discovery Learning theory, Vygotsky’s theory of Zone Proximal Development, the Theory of Constructivism and the New Curriculum Standard. It is also based on previous researches on cooperative learning abroad and those on LPGL at home. In order to improve the present status in teaching of English writing in senior high school, the author carries out an experiment to study whether it is efficient to use LPGL in English writing in this level. Two classes from Grade One in Dalian Senior High School Attached to Beijing Language and Culture University are chosen as the subjects of the experiment. LPGL is adopted in the experimental class and the traditional teaching method is used in the control class. The empirical study lasts for one semester (from September2012to January2013). The research methods are experiment and questionnaires. The research questions are as follows:1. Can senior high students’ writing ability be improved with the method of Learning Plan Guided Learning and how?2. Can senior high students’ interest in English writing be stimulated with the method of Learning Plan Guided Learning and why?Before and after the experiment, the data of the pre-test, post-test, pre-questionnaire and post-questionnaire are collected and analyzed with Microsoft Excel2010and IBM SPSS Statistics19.0. The results show that before the experiment, there is no significant difference in English writing ability between the students of the two classes. Students in neither of the classes are interested in English writing. During the experiment, the teacher guides the experimental class to preview the learning plan for English writing. In the class, the students cooperatively explore the inquiry learning tasks in the learning plan in groups (summarizing passage structures, learning useful words and expressions and discussing about the topic). Then guided by the teacher, the students learn to write independently, and to make co-evaluation and reflection after class. Most of the time, the students are engaged in their cooperative and autonomous learning in class. After the experiment, the results indicate that the English writing scores in the experimental class have been significantly improved than those of the control class. Moreover, the experimental students’interest in English writing is also greatly stimulated through cooperation. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn from the experiment that it is effective to apply learning plan guided learning to improving the senior high students’ English writing ability. Hence this study is of some theoretical and practical value in the teaching of English writing in senior high schools in China.