A Study On The Teaching Of English Reading In A Junior High School:A Perspective Of Scaffolding Instruction

Listening,speaking,reading,writing and translating are the five major skills of English.Reading,as one of the five major English skills,is getting more and more attention.At present,there are still many problems in the teaching of English reading in junior middle school in China.The traditional teaching mode of reading is centered on teachers and books.The students lack enthusiasm,which leads to the lagging of English reading level,the weak learning motivation and the failure to improve reading strategies.From this point of view,it is far from enough to teach the knowledge of textbooks.Teachers need to pay more attention to the cultivation of middle school students' practical reading abilities.Compared with the traditional reading teaching mode,Scaffolding Instruction emphasizes the main position of students and the cultivation of students' autonomous learning ability and cooperative learning ability.Therefore,it can be a necessary supplement to the traditional English reading teaching.Social Constructivism holds that learners should actively interact in social situations.Scaffolding Teaching belongs to Social Constructivism.Scaffolding Instruction is formed on the basis of this theory,which emphasizes student-centered rather than teacher centered.It emphasizes the guidance and help of teachers and the main position of students.Students' learning is based on existing knowledge and experience.Through the discovery of the students' ZPD,we can build a support to promote students to acquire new knowledge through existing knowledge.Therefore,the purpose of this paper is to explore a better teaching method of English reading,and to explore the teaching mode of junior high school English reading under the theory of Scaffolding Instruction.There are three questions to be addressed:1.What are the effects of the Scaffolding Instruction on English reading learning motivation for junior high school students?2.In what ways does the Scaffolding Instruction improve English reading strategies for junior high school students?3.What are the effects of the Scaffolding Instruction on the English reading ability of junior high school students?70 students who come from Grade 8 in Weizhou Lutai Middle School took part in the experiment from September,1st to December,31 th.Both of Control Class andExperimental Class have 35 students.The Control Class uses the traditional English reading teaching method,while the Experimental Class uses the Scaffolding Instruction.The research applies quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the data from questionnaires,tests and interviews.The study found that applying the Scaffolding Instruction to English reading teaching in junior middle school is meaningful and feasible.Under the guidance of the Scaffolding Instruction,students' learning motivations in English reading have been enhanced,learning strategies have been improved,and their autonomous learning abilities have been improved.The students can not only master the knowledge,but also improve their communication skills.Most obviously,most students' English reading scores have been improved.