Instructional Design Of The Taiwan Earthquake Based On Input And Output Hypotheses With A Focus On Integrating Input And Output

Based on input and output hypotheses, this instructional design is concerned with English Reading section The Taiwan Earthquake in Unit8, grade eight (book1), Junior Middle School English, compiled and published by Yilin Press2013. This instructional design focuses on integrating input and output in English reading teaching. The theoretical bases of the instructional design are systems theory and constructivism learning theory. Its significance lies in: arousing students’interest in English reading learning through providing many interesting materials such as videos, pictures and many interesting class activities, relating knowledge in the text to knowledge out of the text; having a try to integrate listening and reading with speaking and writing in English reading teaching through providing more kinds of comprehensible input and output opportunities; providing some reference for the future English reading instruction in rural regular Junior Middle Schools and having a try to change its present situation of focusing on input but neglecting output, students’low interest and students’passive learning.The instructional design is mainly made up of three parts:pre-design analyses of its major elements, design of teaching process and post-design reflections.Before the instructional design is made, its major elements are analyzed in terms of learners, teaching content and teaching objectives. In terms of learners, they are from one class in Junior Two in Wan Zhigang Junior Middle School which is a rural regular school in Baoying. Most students have weak foundations and are short of interest, motivation, and self-confidence and are very anxious in class. However, they are relatively unsophisticated with a strong curiosity and some foundations of group learning activity. In terms of teaching content, the author chooses the Reading section. In terms of teaching objectives, three main perspectives including language skills, affective factors and learning strategies are analyzed. The language skills focus on integrating listening and reading with speaking and writing. The affective factors involve interest, mood and anxiety. The learning strategies include induction and transfer.The instructional design is made up of six steps:lead-in with a video about earthquake; integrating listening with speaking through the tape of the text; integrating reading with speaking through pair work on the text;integrating reading with speaking through group interview; group discussion on pictures in order to write suggestions on self-protection in earthquakes; homework of writing a report on the character’s story. The reflections on the instructional design include the reflections on the teaching objectives, reflections on design of teaching process and the revised instructional design. In terms of teaching objectives, they are generally achieved. Specifically, except for some students’ over-simple English and some mistakes, most students’interest and confidence in learning English are enhanced and most students’skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are improved, too. In terms of the teaching process, the overall design is successful but there are sill some problems such as neglecting the needs of students who have weak foundations in the details design of teaching process, which causes some problems in class; PPT with some pictures containing some unnecessary beautiful flowers and lovely animals, which distract a few students’ attention. In terms of the revised instructional design, four main revisions are made:showing the pictures before listening to the tape; teaching these key words and useful expressions briefly in class; providing some guides of compositions’ structures; deleting these unnecessary beautiful flowers and lovely animals.