A Study Of English Reading Teaching Based On Language Game Theory In Junior Middle School

Ludwig Wittgenstein's later philosophy centering on the language game theory has not only fundamentally influenced the development of the western philosophy,but also influenced the studies of the use and activities in the field of language teaching and learning.Language game theory is closely related to the concepts of “family resemblance”,“form of life”,“rule following” and “meaning as use” in Wittgenstein's later philosophy,which can well illustrate the practicality,diversity and other characteristics of the language.Different from the traditional entertainment activities,Wittgenstein proposes that language game is overall activity interweaving together with the language.Under the premise of recognizing the normative form of language,language game theory emphasizes the dynamic use and the actual use of language which reflects the practical view of language games.Based on Wittgenstein's language game theory,the present study focuses on the implementation of English reading teaching in junior middle school.Combining with related researches,a new teaching model is advocated at the present study,which is English learning with situation game,autonomous learning and English thinking mode.The main purpose of the present study is to examine the changes of junior middle school students' reading achievement and motivation in English through reading teaching based on the Wittgenstein's language game theory.So the research questions are put forward as follows:(1)Can reading teaching based on Wittgenstein's Language game theory help students improve reading achievement?(2)Can reading teaching based on Wittgenstein's Language game theory increase the students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn English in terms of preference of challenge,curiosity and independent mastery?In order to verify the effectiveness of reading teaching in improving students' English reading achievement and the influences on students' learning motivation,a teaching experiment was carried out.Seventy students participated in the experiment for a semester,who are from two natural classes(control class and experimental class)in Grade Nine in Lanzhou NO.45 Middle School.The instruments include two tests and a two versions motivation scale about intrinsic and extrinsic which is for experimental class only.Before the experiment,all students of two classes had a pre-test to testify whether they had the same level of English reading achievement.Then the participants of experimental class were asked to finish a questionnaire twice in two different time and teaching context whose purpose was to identify how reading teaching based on Wittgenstein's language game theory influences students' learning motivation.Two different teachingcontexts are respectively traditional teaching context and language game teaching context which contains with situation game,autonomous learning and English thinking mode in experimental class.The present study uses the quantitative method to examine the effects of reading teaching based on language game theory on students' reading achievement and motivation.After analyzing the data from two tests of reading achievement and the data of two different versions motivation questionnaire,the results show the following findings:(1)The analysis of pre-test and post-test of academic achievement tests shows that students makes significant improvement by participating in the English reading teaching based on Wittgenstein's language game theory than those in control class.(2)When comparing their motivations in the learning context based on language game theory and in their traditional learning context,it is found that students shared a statistically significant higher intrinsic motivations and statistically significant lower extrinsic motivations in the learning context based on “language game” theory.Moreover,students showed a decreased trend on focusing on getting grades and more independent while participating in the lessons undertaking the instruction based on language game theory.Based on the experimental findings and discussions of the experimental results,it can conclude: English reading teaching based on Wittgenstein's language game theory can be used to support students in effective English learning in junior middle school,which poses positive effects on students' reading achievement and intrinsic motivation.