A Study Of The Application Of The Textbook Drama In Junior High School English Teaching

English Curriculum Standards(2011)emphasizes the importance of learning process as well as the practical use of the language.The textbook drama,as a new content of classroom English teaching,is a significant content for realizing the new curriculum ideology.More and more high schools rehearse textbook dramas in and out of classroom to enhance students' comprehensive language competence.However,the popularity of the textbook drama is far from enough and the situations of applying the textbook drama are quite different.There are still some problems while acting out textbook dramas.In order to carry out the textbook drama more effectively and maximize its function in language teaching and learning,it is admitted that doing research on the status of the application of the textbook drama will be necessary and meaningful.This study is thus done based on this kind of background.The study tries to address three research questions: 1.What are teachers and students' attitudes toward the textbook drama? 2.What are the methods of applying the textbook drama in junior high school English teaching? 3.What are the difficulties in applying the textbook drama in junior high school English teaching? Literature analysis method,questionnaire method,and interview method are employed to accomplish this study.The participants are 250 teachers and 400 junior high school students in junior high schools in Shandong province.The students are from Grade one to Grade three.The two questionnaires are designed on the basis of master's thesis questionnaires of Chongqing Normal University.Before these two questionnaires are widely handed out,a pilot study is done by investigating 25 English teachers and 40 students first.After modifying the questionnaires,they are retrieved to another 400 students and 250 English teachers by So Jump software.Finally the 377 students' questionnaires and 240 teachers' questionnaires were collected validly.The questionnaire is distributed,recycled and analyzed by So Jump software.Interview is done as a kind of complementary device to the questionnaire.All together 6 JuniorHigh School English teachers are interviewed.The research findings are as follows: 81.66% teachers and 89.66% students have positive attitudes toward the textbook drama and think it of great use to the promotion of learners' language competence.The materials of the textbook drama are mostly from the textbooks and after-class readings.The displaying forms are various,such as self-compiled ones,template-based ones,teacher-complied ones,and text-based ones,among which the template-based ones are mostly appreciated by the students.We also find that the students' interest in learning English has been activated and their classroom involvement has been increased after acting out the textbook drama and their achievements have been greatly improved.Of course there are still some problems and difficulties in implementing the textbook drama,and the typical one is the problem in language use.Based on the findings and problems,some suggestions are provided: Firstly,inter-school communication is necessary where those good ideas can be shared.Secondly,the depth and width of the resources should be enhanced.Then the organizational forms should be enriched.Finally,the timely feedback is necessary in students' rehearsal.