A Study Of Students' English Classroom Engagement In Model Senior High Schools And Ordinary Senior High Schools Of Baise

Since the 1980s,in the field of western education,the study focus about classroom teaching has shifted from teachers to students.With the raise of Comprehensible Input Hypothesis(by Krashen)and Interaction Hypothesis Theory(by Long),scholars pay more attention to the interaction between teachers and students in EFL classroom.Therefore,the study about students' engagement has become a hot issue since then.Students' engagement is the key to classroom teaching.Active classroom engagement is a requirement of effective English learning for senior high school students.This study aims to investigate the current situation of senior high school students' English classroom engagement in Baise analyze the differences of English classroom engagement between model senior high school students and ordinary senior high school students in order to offer some effective and scientific suggestions for the improvement of teaching efficiency of high schools in Baise region.Based on Social Constructivism and Interaction Hypothesis,questionnaire,classroom observation and interview are used in this study to investigate the 533 senior high school students in Baise.The research instrument Senior High School Students'English Classroom Engagement Questionnaire is divided into two major sections.The first section is developed from Professor Kong Qiping's(2003)Behavioral Engagement Questionnaire,Cognitive Engagement Questionnaire and Emotional Engagement Questionnaire.It includes three parts,nine dimensions:behavioral engagement(being attentive taking lessons and intensive study),cognitive engagement(low-level strategy,high-level strategy and dependency strategy)and emotional engagement(interest,sense of accomplishment,anxiety and tiredness).The second section is developed from the self-report of Bai Jinyan,compiled by the author.This study focuses on three research questions.(1)What's the current situation of students' English classroom engagement of senior high schools in Baise?(2)What are the differences of students' English classroom engagement between model senior high schools and ordinary senior high schools in Baise?(3)What are the factors affecting students' English classroom engagement in model senior high schools and ordinary senior high schools in Baise?The results show that:(1)the overall situation of senior high school students'English classroom engagement in Baise is positive;(2)generally speaking,the differences of English classroom engagement between model senior high school students and ordinary senior high school students are significant and model senior high school students do much better in English classroom engagement;(3)the factors affecting senior high school students' English classroom engagement include student level(character,English proficiency,interest and confidence),teacher level(classroom design,teaching content,teaching methods and expectation)and environment level(objective and subjective environment).Based on these findings,some scientific and reasonable suggestions are put forward for the improvement of senior high school students' English classroom engagement from two perspectives.For teachers,student-centered philosophy needs setting up;they should design flexible and meaningful teaching content and apply teaching methodology correctly;at the same time,English teachers can train effective English learning strategies on students;it is necessary for teachers to provide more engagement opportunities and emphasize more on formative evaluation;moreover,active classroom atmosphere should be formed.For students,their interest and confidence toward English learning need cultivating and their English proficiency needs developing.