An Action Research On Integrated Reading And Writing Instruction Under The Guidance Of Inquiry-Based Teaching In Junior High School

Reading and writing,as two essential skills for English language learning,are both important parts in junior high school English teaching,and they supplement and contribute to each other.However,at present,there are phenomena of “emphasizing reading,neglecting writing” and “separating the teaching of reading and writing” in junior high school English teaching.Students not only find it slow to improve their writing proficiency,but also prone to anxiety in the process of English writing.Therefore,it is of practical significance to explore effective writing teaching methods to enhance students’ writing proficiency,and relieve their writing anxiety.Based on constructivism,input hypothesis and output hypothesis,the author conducted a 12-week action research study with 45 students in a class of 8th grade at Hongqiao Middle School in Shenyang City,aiming to address the following research questions:（1）What are the effects of integrated reading and writing instruction under the guidance of inquiry-based teaching on students’ English writing proficiency?（2）What are the effects of integrated reading and writing instruction under the guidance of inquiry-based teaching on alleviating students’ English writing anxiety?To address the first research question,tests and questionnaires were used;for the second question,the researcher used questionnaires and interviews.The researcher first investigated the English writing proficiency and anxiety level of the participants through tests and questionnaires,formulated the first-round action plan,and then implemented the plan.After summarizing and reflecting on the results of the first round of action research,the researcher made reasonable adjustments to the action plan.A second round of action research was then implemented.The results of the study show that students’ writing proficiency in the three aspects of language expression,content,and structure is significantly improved,and the average writing score improves from 8.98 to 11.96.Besides,students’ writing anxiety in the three dimensions of somatic anxiety,cognitive anxiety,and avoidance behavior is effectively alleviated,and the average score of anxiety level decreases from71.39 to 60.42.Therefore,the integrated reading and writing instruction under the guidance of inquiry-based teaching is an effective way to improve students’ writing proficiency and alleviate their writing anxiety.