An Investigation And Analysis Of Text-Interpretation-based English Reading Teaching In Senior High Schools

As an important part of the whole English teaching, reading teaching plays a great role inEnglish teaching in senior high school. For a long time, in senior high school English teaching,we have realized the importance of reading teaching by analyzing the setting of the seniorEnglish Curriculum, the selection of the textbooks and its great proportion in senior Englishteaching. To increase reading ability is not only the aim but also the means of English learning.English reading ability helps to promote English study and it is the base and premise of otherlanguage skills. With the development of English teaching reform, English teachers have realizedthe importance of English reading teaching. However, under the influence of various factors, theoverall situation of students’English reading ability is not satisfying. Most students can not meetthe requirements of English Curriculum Standard. In English reading teaching, most teachers paymore attention to explaining words, phrases, sentences and grammars than to exploring thereading material itself. Most teachers keep to traditional teaching concept and mainly depend onthe guidance materials. They keep the same way every year and have no sense of textinterpretation. That is to say, they do not interpret the text sufficiently. So, students do not gainwhat they should learn in reading class and their reading abilities are not improved.The study is based on the three theories: Hierarchy of Reading Comprehension theory,Schema Theory and Discourse Analysis Theory. According to the Hierarchy of ReadingComprehension theory, reading comprehension has3levels: literal comprehension, inferentialand evaluative comprehension, imitative and applied comprehension. Schema Theory is a theoryof knowledge representation, whose development has a wide impact on the text interpretation.Schema refers to a reader’s previous knowledge that impacts his or her text interpretation.According to Schema Theory, readers’ ability of text interpretation is under the influence of3schemata, that is, linguistic schemata, content schemata, and formal schemata (rhetoricalschemata). Discourse Analysis Theory also promotes the study of text-interpretation-basedEnglish reading teaching. The major contributions it makes to text interpretation research are thatit defines the properties of written text as genre, context, textual pattern, cohension andcoherence. The aim of discourse analysis is to restore the writing process of the writer andunderstand the whole text. The main content of discourse analysis includes context analysis,genre analysis, textual pattern analysis, cohension and coherence. This theory makes greatcontribution to text interpretation.Based on the reading theories and research data, the author adopted qualitative analysis method and quantitative analysis method.75teachers in Pingyi County and220students fromsenior grade one and grade two in Pingyi No.1Middle School were surveyed to find whatproblems exist in English reading teaching in senior high schools. Meanwhile, the necessity andurgency to adopt text-interpretation-based English reading teaching are revealed. In order tomake a further testing about the problems existing in English reading teaching, the author wentinto the classroom to observe the reading teaching. From2013-11to2014-9, the author observedthe reading class optionally for more than50class periods. By researching and analyzing thedata from the questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, the author finds out themain problems in English reading teaching. Aiming at solving the problems, the author putsforward corresponding suggestions.Through investigation and analysis, the problems found are as follows: English readingteaching in senior high schools are mainly teacher-centered; most teachers keep to traditionalteaching concept and have no sense of text interpretation; the learning of language points andgrammar are the main task in English reading teaching in senior high schools and it is separatedfrom the context; English reading teaching in senior high schools pays little attention to genreanalysis, textual pattern analysis and it pays little attention to training the whole reading skillsand strategies; during the English reading teaching, the time in reading process is not enough andthe questions are not designed logically.To solve the above problems, the author put forward the following correspondingsuggestions:1.Teachers should study the New Curriculum Standard carefully, establish newteaching concept and build up student-centered classes;2. Interpret the text deeply and in multiperspectives, including interpreting stylistic structure; interpreting language; interpreting textinformation; interpreting reading skills and strategies; interpreting emotion, attitude and culturedelivered by the text.3. Ensure the students’ real reading process and design questions logically.4.Interpret the textbook sufficiently, integrate the textbook scientifically and arrange the teachingtime reasonably.5.Strengthen the professional Learning and improve teachers’ text interpretationabilities.6. Strengthen collaborative working and promote research awareness.It is hoped that this research can motivate more English teachers and relevant educationresearchers to pay attention to text interpretation. The author also hopes that this research canhelp teachers reflect on their reading teaching class and accept some useful suggestions. It issuggested that our English reading teaching return to the text and improve students’ textinterpretation abilities so that our English reading teaching can be more efficient.