Application Of Schema Theory In English Reading Teaching In High School

Reading plays an important part in English learning and teaching. The study of English reading theories have never stopped. As a theory of reading, schema theory has received extensive attention of linguists and was quickly used in language teaching since it was put forward. Although the research on the application of schema theory in English reading teaching has been studied for more than 30 years, the relevant researches in English reading teaching of rural high school are very limited. In the present study, the author applied schema theory into the reading teaching of the rural senior high school which the author works in. The present study put forward two research questions: 1.can English reading teaching under the guidance of the schema theory improve the students’ English reading proficiency? 2. can reading teaching under the guidance of the schema theory change students’ attitude towards reading and arouse students’ confidence and interest in English reading?In order to solve the research questions, the author chose class 5 and class 6 of grade one in No.10 senior high school of Tianshui as subjects. The study which has been conducted for a whole semester consists of five steps. They are pre-questionnaire, pre-test, teaching procedure(using schema theory in English reading class), post-test and post-questionnaire. At first, the author used pre-questionnaire and pre-test to collect information and data about the subjects’ reading quo and the problems that exist in English reading. Then, the author uses schema-oriented teaching model in experimental class and keep the original teaching model in control class. After a semester of teaching, the author uses post-test and post-questionnaire to survey the improvements of subjects’ reading proficiency and the changes of their attitudes,confidence and interest to English reading.By analyzing and comparing all the data of questionnaires and tests, the author drew the conclusion of this paper: the application of schema theory in reading teaching can improve students’ English reading proficiency to a certain extent. The reading teaching guided by schema theory can also arouse students’ interest and confidence in English reading and change students’ attitude towards English reading. Generally speaking, the schema-oriented reading teaching can effectively improve English reading proficiency of students in rural high school and has a positive impact on students’ English reading.Although the present study has many limitations, the author hopes that the study canattract more scholars to pay attention to English teaching in rural high school. The author also hopes that the present study could provide some useful suggestions and new energy for the English reading teaching in rural senior high school.