A Research On Information Teaching In Middle School English From The Perspective Of Situated Cognition-Learning Theory

Since the 1990s, situated cognition-learning theory represented by Lave and Wenger has been developed rapidly. This theory emphasizes on the interaction between individuals and environment as well as the interaction between individuals and others in real situation, arguing that learners can construct cognition and acquire knowledge in the community of practice. The widely application of situated cognition-learning theory and the evolution of its theoretical models have accelerated the development of language teaching.Information technology which plays an essential role in improving quality of education has become an important part in the reform of elementary education. Middle school English mainly aims to cultivate students’ comprehensive ability to use English. Accordingly, the content of middle school English is closely related to daily life. The thesis adopts quantitative and qualitative research methods to make a research and it is based on preliminary researches and situated cognition-learning theory to design the questionnaire and interviews. The subjects are one hundred and twenty English teachers and several school administrators. The paper probes into the current situation of information teaching in middle school English in Hunan province by questionnaire and interview, and proposes a new information teaching model. The results are as follows.(1) Teachers hold positive attitudes toward information teaching in process of middle English teaching. It has kept an unbalanced development about teachers’ capabilities in software as well as the construction of hardware in middle school. Although internet teaching resources are abundant, they are still lack of systematic resources. In practical classes, PPT courseware is the chief way to present teaching content. And many teachers generally believe that the use of PPT courseware is equivalent to the implementation of information teaching. Teamwork is a way which is often used in middle school English classes. However, distribution of group is usually based on the arrangement of students’ seats, which causes a “one size fits all” type of arrangement. Information teaching has brought the most significant effect which effectively increases students’ abilities in speaking and listening.(2) The study comes up with an information teaching model in middle school English in Hunan province, of which theoretical foundation is situated cognition-learning theory and practical basis is the results of preliminary researches as well as previous teaching models. Six design principles are summarized on the basis of the model. The model consists of two subjects, one medium and four interactive sessions which are produced by teacher and students. An implementation of the information teaching model for middle school English is practiced by a teaching case. The results of teaching practice indicate that students are more enthusiastic and more actively to learn English so that they achieve greater learning effect than before.According to an actual research about information teaching in middle school English in Hunan province, this research explores characteristics of English information teaching from the perspective of situated cognition-learning theory. The study brings more dimensions of situated cognition-learning theory to middle school English teaching and offers benefit to the development of information teaching in middle school English in Hunan province.