A Study Of Application Of Literature Circles In English Extracurricular Reading In A Senior High School

English reading,as one of the main input methods of language learning,plays a very important role in the command of English.And English reading teaching in high schools is of great significance.However,some students show the lack of positive attitudes towards reading,which,as one of the causes,leads to the failure of the students' reading capacities to improve.In addition,with the issue of English Curriculum Standards for General High Schools(2017 Edition),English reading teaching in high schools should not only be limited to the instruction of reading textbooks,but also enhance students' extracurricular reading,and develop their ability to read between the lines,highlighting students' dominant position in learning.In view of the current situations mentioned above,this study attempts to introduce the Literature Circles(LCs)proposed by Daniels,H.into the English extracurricular reading in a senior high school,which intends to explore the changes of the students' English reading attitudes and reading abilities by answering the following two research questions:1.What are the effects of Literature Circles on students' English reading competence?2.What are the effects of Literature Circles on students' attitudes to English reading?In this study,tests,questionnaires and an interview as the instruments were used in the present study in two classes of 10 th Graders from High School Attached to Shandong Normal University in Jinan.During the experiment lasting for a semester,the traditional method for extracurricular reading guidance was adopted in the Control Class,while the approach of LCs was employed in the Experimental Class.The extracurricular reading teaching guidance hours,time of reading and reading materials were the same.By using SPSS 26.0 to analyze the data obtained in the experiment,the major findings were obtained.First of all,compared with the traditional reading guidance,the students' scores in the reading comprehension test increased remarkably with the implementation of LCs.It is obvious that the students' reading competence in the Experimental Class has been improved significantly.Additionally,the students in the Experimental Class held more positive attitudes to reading than students in the Control Class,especially in their behavioral dimension.The findings indicate that LCs can not only improve the students' English reading competence,but also stimulate their reading interests and develop good reading habits.In summary,the approach of LCs has a positive impact on the English reading learning of high school students.Literature Circles can provide some guidance and reference for English extracurricular reading in high schools,and encourage more teachers to attach importance to the teaching guidance of extracurricular reading,so as to popularize the approach of LCs in future English reading teaching.