The Practical Study On The Extracurricular English Classic Reading At Junior Middle Schools Based On English Core Competencies

The primary goal of this thesis is to conduct a practical research on the extracurricular English classic reading which is based on core competencies at junior middle school.The content of the English classics are rich in ideas,fascinating in plot,fluent and vivid in language,that would inspire the people and cultivate young learners' core competencies.In this study,the researcher selects the serial books of “the Bookworm” which are published by Oxford University and the Helbling Readers series as abridged form of classics.According to the actual lexical resource and reading ability of junior high school students,the books are grouped into different levels.At the same time,the researchers carries out reading guide courses and extracurricular practice tests.The thesis also conducts the analysis of the results of extracurricular reading practice to make the teachers rethink the current situation of reading teaching,and help teachers to improve students' extracurricular reading strategies so that they can better cultivate students' core competencies.On account of the second language acquisition theory,schema theory and the interactive-model theory,this thesis aims to explore the following two questions: the first one is how to carry out the extracurricular English classic reading with the purpose of enhancing the junior high students' core competencies? Second one is what are the effects of extracurricular English classic reading on cultivating junior middle school students' core competencies? In order to solve the two questions,the researcher conducted a questionnaire survey among 1032 students in Junior 3 of Jinan Foreign Language School,which can get the knowledge of their interest in English reading and their reading habits.From 2016 to 2018,through the guidance course of reading,the students attended in extracurricular English classics reading activities,combined with the list of the English classic books,there were calligraphy and reading competitions in junior 1,the drama performances and mind maps in junior 2,the reading exchange and writing contests in junior 3.They have carried out evaluation with variety of reading activities.The paper also conducts an analysis of the scores of the English classic reading tests for each semester.In addition,four teachers and ten students in Junior 3 were interviewed to collect their opinions about the extracurricular English classic reading.The interview results were consistent with questionnaire results obtained from the teachers and students.The researcher has summarized the following implications through the result of questionnaires,tests and interviews of the extracurricular English classic reading: First,the series of reading activities play a key role in carrying out the extracurricular English classic reading,which can effectively cultivate the students' English core competencies through practical learning.The teachers also should design the English reading guidance courses for each grade respectively.Second,by analyzing the results of the reading tests and the practical activities,it can clearly demonstrate that the extracurricular English classic reading can effectively cultivate the students' English core competencies,especially on the improvement of language competence and the development of thinking quality,the cultivation of cultural awareness and the promotion of learning ability.Through the evaluation,reflection and adjustment of students' learning content,the students can totally improve the awareness and ability in English learningFor English teachers,the researcher have 3 suggestions: first,the teachers should lay emphasis on the effectiveness of the students' extracurricular English classic reading;second,the teachers need to enrich and improve the extracurricular English classic reading activities,and cultivate the core competencies more comprehensively of junior high school students;third,teachers should be engaged in self-reflection on their teaching practice.As to the limitations of this thesis,the research time is not sufficient and the samples of research subjects are small,only consisting of four teachers in the school.In view of the findings and shortcomings,therefore,the following researchers should try to explore the classic reading material ahead of schedule,adjust the activities according to the students' actual learning level.The researcher finds that there is still much space in exploring data analysis although many researchers have been trying their best to contribute to this domain.After analyzing the learning status and learning characteristics of different students,further research should aims at critical thinking of English classical reading.