A Survey On The Problems And Countermeasures Of Using Illustrations In English Textbooks For Junior Middle Schools

Textbooks are not only the main teaching tools for teachers,but also the main learning materials for students.The textbook is mainly composed of texts and illustrations.Textbook illustrations play a unique role in helping students understand the text,deepening their memory,attracting their attention and stimulating their interests in learning.The ability to “view”was added in language skill from English curriculum standards for senior high schools(2017 edition).The use of pictures(including illustrations)is also described in detail.in English compulsory education curriculum standards(2011 edition).Making effective use of illustrations in teaching materials is particularly important.Therefore,the problems of using English textbook illustrations in junior middle schools are studied by using the methods of questionnaire survey,teacher interview and classroom observation.First of all,relevant domestic and foreign literature on illustration are reviewed and organized including the study on functions,types,designs,validity and strategies of textbook illustrations and so on.Secondly,.teachers and students are hoped to understand their evaluation,cognition,preference and the situation of using illustrations through the questionnaire survey in three middle schools in Hainan province.The survey result shows that teachers' evaluation to illustrations of English textbooks is higher while students' evaluation is not high.Both teachers and students affirm the positive role of textbook illustrations in teaching,but they think the effect of using is not ideal.Thirdly,nine teachers are interviewed to gain an deep understanding to their evaluation,cognition,preference and the situation of using illustrations in three different grades in junior middle schools of HZ and HS school in Hainan.Then lessons including listening lessons,vocabulary lessons,oral lessons,reading lessons and writing lessons are observed and recorded in three different grades of HS school in Hainan in order to find out whether teachers really use illustrations in teaching,how teachers use illustrations to help teaching,how is the effect of teachers using illustrations and what problems exist in using process.The result shows five problems for teachers using illustrations: teachers ignore the cultivation of student's "view" skills,teachers use illustrations not considering students' preferences and cognition,illustration information that teachers present is not comprehensive,illustration teaching design and implementation away from teaching objectives by using the methods of questionnaire survey,teacher interview and classroom observation.At last,this paper explores the reasons and gives corresponding suggestions to help teachers to use illustrations more effectively through the problems in using illustrations.In addition,the shortcomings of this study and the prospect of the further research are also pointed.