An Experimental Research Of Scaffolding Instruction In English Practical Writing Teaching In Senior High School

As one of the four basic language skills,writing plays a very important role in English teaching of senior high schools.In modern society,English writing has become more and more important in information communication and international cooperation.According to the investigation of college entrance examination in recent years,English practical writing accounts for the biggest proportion in writing of National Matriculation English Test in many places of our country.Therefore,cultivating the ability in English practical writing becomes an important topic for senior high school teachers.Scaffolding instruction is one of three instruction models based on Constructivism Theory.Its direct theory foundation is originated from Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development.Scaffolding instruction has been proved to be effective in teaching in western countries and has become more popular in China.Scaffolding instruction divides the learning process into five stages: setting up scaffolds,situational teaching,independent exploration,cooperative learning and effect assessment.The research aims to test the validity of scaffolding instruction in English practical writing teaching.The research experiment is conducted in No 1 Senior High School in Chengde county,selecting 129 students from Class 21 and Class 22 of Grade Senior Two and the experiment lasts for 12 weeks.Teaching method of scaffolding is applied in the experimental class,while the control class is taught under the traditional writing teaching approach.The experiment adopts qualitative and quantitative instruments such as questionnaires and tests.At last,the relevant data of the experiment are collected and the statistics are analyzed by using SPSS13.0.The following results are drawn from the experiment: Firstly,scaffolding instruction can improve the current situation of students’ English practical writing in senior high schools.Secondly,compared with the traditional teaching model,scaffolding instruction can raise the level of students’ practical English writing.Thirdly,scaffolding instruction can improve students’ level of writing English practical composition in aspects of language,grammar,sentence structure,organization and content.In conclusion,the application of scaffolding method to English practical writing is feasible and effective.