An Action Study On Improving English Reading Ability Of Middle Grade Students In Primary School With English Picture Books

In the process of students’ English learning,reading ability is a very important language learning ability,which is an important guarantee for students to obtain text information and accumulate foreign language and cultural knowledge.The English curriculum standard for compulsory education points out that the fourth grade students should achieve the first level goal of reading ability.However,due to various reasons such as curriculum and teachers’ ability,the English ability of primary school students is relatively weak at present,and it is impossible to complete the first level goal according to the curriculum standards;Moreover,most primary school students lack interest in English reading,and their English performance is not ideal,which affects their learning and progress.As an important supplementary material for primary school students’ English reading,the composition of "picture + text" is very important to stimulate primary school students’ interest in English reading and improve their English reading ability.Therefore,it is very feasible to improve primary school students’ English reading ability through picture book reading.Therefore,this paper chooses the middle-level students of a primary school in Wenzhou as the research object to conduct an action study on the improvement of English reading ability of middle grade students of primary school based on picture book reading.Based on the methods of questionnaire,interview and action research,47 fourth graders from a primary school in Wenzhou are selected as the research objects to investigate their English reading ability;Based on the research on reading ability and English reading ability by Professor Wang Qiang,Professor Chen Zehang and the authors of CSSCI academic journals,relying on schema theory,constructivism theory and cognitive linguistics theory,the English reading ability of primary school students is divided into four dimensions: information positioning and acquisition ability,language knowledge mastery ability,reading skills and strategies application ability,and text evaluation and application ability,Based on this,this paper investigates and analyzes the current situation of students’ English reading ability,and finds that the overall level of students’ English reading ability is low.Therefore,based on the content of PEP English textbook Volume II for Grade 4,combined with the physical and mental development characteristics of Grade 4 students,the author selected the Lisheng Polaris Graded Picture Book Level II as the English picture book reading material and carried out three rounds of action research.In the action research,the author integrated picture book reading and textbook content to carry out reading teaching activities,adjusted and improved the problems in each round of action teaching in the next round of action teaching,and gradually determined the positive role of English picture books in primary school students’ English reading ability.Based on the positive role of picture book reading in improving the English reading ability of middle primary school students,teachers can enrich reading materials and exercise students’ ability to locate and extract information in the learning process of primary school English curriculum;Adopt scientific teaching to enhance students’ ability to master language knowledge;Create problem situations,cultivate students’ ability to use reading skills and strategies,attach importance to language output,and improve students’ ability to use and evaluate texts.