A Study On The Application Of PBL Teaching Mode To English Teaching In Higher Vocational College

Higher vocational college takes an important place in the higher education system with its unique properties. English language teaching as a basic course in higher vocational college is also significant with its unique requirements. Therefore, English language teachers in vocational college have been exploring constantly to find a teaching mode which meets the demand of teaching reform and social requirements.Many foreign language teaching methods are worth referencing."Problem-based learning"(PBL) teaching mode, first used in the medical profession of the United States in1990s which consistent with constructivism learning theory and it is recognized as an effective method to solve practical problems in many areas. Nowadays, this teaching mode is used more and more in educational areas. Learner-centered principle is the target of this mode which is suitable for vocational college students. This research puts forward the idea of applying PBL teaching method into English teaching in higher vocational colleges.The paper is divided into four parts. The first part is literature review. The definition, characteristics, basic steps and requirements of PBL teaching mode are introduced in this part. It also includes the origin and development of the mode; overseas and domestic research status; PBL teaching mode with traditional teaching method and other relevant teaching methods are compared here.The second chapter is the theoretical foundation of the research. It includes the constructivism system and its two branches theories:Constructivism Learning Theory and Social Constructivism. This chapter also includes Metacognition, Situated Learning Theory and Cooperative Learning Theory.The third chapter studies the application of "problem-based learning"(PBL) teaching mode in English classrooms. The author discusses overall design, selection of the subjects, preparation work, design procedures and the experimental results.The last part is the analysis of the influential factors of PBL teaching mode and puts forward reasonable suggestions for PBL teaching mode.The purpose of this research is trying to combine the PBL teaching mode with the vocational college English teaching so as to provide a new perspective and examples for the higher vocational colleges teaching reform in our country.