A Study On Intercultural Sensitivity Oriented Task-based Teaching Of English Reading

With the drastic development of globalization,English as a foreign language is becoming more and more popular in China,which has led to the rapid development of English education.In the past decades,a variety of teaching methods have been introduced from abroad and widely applied to English teaching.The application of new teaching methods promoted the transformation of curriculum standards,and had a great impact on English teaching.In response to the demand for intercultural competence development required by the new curriculum standards,we adopt an intercultural sensitivity oriented task-based teaching(ISOTB)to do teaching experiment,and attempt to enhance students’ initiative and endeavor in English reading.Reading,as an essential part of English learning,has always been difficult for students,particularly for high school students.How to develop intercultural competence,and how to make the learning process rewarding and enjoyable remains a challenge for English teachers.In this thesis,a teaching experiment is conducted based on the frameworks of English reading and intercultural sensitivity theories.The experiment lasts three months.Two parallel classes of 88 students from a high school in Anhui province participate in the research.By administrating English reading test,intercultural sensitivity questionnaire and a follow-up interview,this thesis aims to address the following two questions:(1)Is intercultural sensitivity oriented TBLT effective to develop high school students’ intercultural sensitivity?(2)Does the development of students’ intercultural sensitivity in turn serve to improve their reading ability? Pretest and post-test are conducted to examine whether the teaching experiment is effective in improving students’ intercultural sensitivity as well as their reading ability.The correlation test is also administrated to provide more evidence.A follow-up interview is conducted to further explore how ISOTB works,and how students like it.Research results show that students attain significant progress both in their intercultural sensitivity and reading ability after applying ISOTB.In addition,they become more interested in learning and enjoy the teaching of reading better.Intercultural sensitivityoriented TBLT is capable of creating a unique and favorable learning environment for students,and providing teachers with an alternative way to improve English reading in Chinese high schools.