Research On Cultivating Critical Thinking Ability Of Junior High School Students Based On Problem-based English Reading Teaching

English is one of the main subjects in compulsory education,among which reading skills are playing a significant role.The latest version of English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education puts more emphasis on the significance of establishing,cultivating as well as developing critical thinking ability of junior high school students.Nevertheless,the actuality of English reading teaching in China is gloomy and pessimistic.At present,there exist a list of insufficiency and shortage,for instance,the conventional and orthodox teaching mode and methods which are teacher-oriented,resulting in lacking of interest and scaring of difficulties in learning English,which affects reading and thinking process.PBL(Problem-based Learning,PBL)is qualified for promoting the development of capacities of independent thinking,and steping toward finding and living the solutions.Thus it can be seen,the main object of this thesis is the effect between PBL teaching mode and the critical thinking ability of junior high school students.Beyond that,it probes into the following three sub-problems:(1)Will PBL teaching mode enhance junior high school students’ English reading performance or achievement?(2)Is PBL teaching mode beneficial to promoting the development of cognitive skills?(3)Is PBL teaching mode favourable for fostering the progress of emotional orientation?This thesis takes W Junior High School in Liangxi District,Wuxi City,Jiangsu Province as the experimental school,and selects 88 students from Class 7 and Class 8 of Grade 1 as the objects,to carry out a comparative study of teaching lasting for 4 months by using LBL teaching mode and PBL teaching mode.This thesis utilizes two reading tests and a scale to survey measure English reading ability and critical thinking ability,mirroring the variations of cognitive skill and emotional orientation.Apart from these two,a semi-structured interview will be used to inquiry and investigate students’ comments and suggestions as well as their feelings.After data collection,statistics were conducted by SPSS26.0 and EXCEL to make a thorough investigation of whether there are visible and obvious similarities as well as differences between the pre and post measurements,so as to draw a conclusion on the cultivation and effect of critical thinking by using PBL teaching mode.Based on the above,we can make the following three points:(1)Adopting PBL teaching mode in English reading lessons is capable of enhancing students’ English reading performance and achievement.(2)Application of PBL teaching mode in English reading lessons do some good to promoting the development of cognitive skills,which are mainly reflected in the four dimensions of explanation,interpretation,analysis and reasoning.(3)Make good use of PBL teaching mode in English reading lessons is favourable for fostering the progress of emotional orientation,which is mainly manifested in seven dimensions such as truth-seeking,confidence,thirst for knowledge and so on,among which truth-seeking and systematization are working best.To make a long story short,favourable adoption of PBL teaching mode in English reading curriculum can effectively and efficiently stimulate the establishment and blossom of students’ critical thinking ability.It is feasible and meaningful to utilize PBL teaching mode in English reading teaching,and it is worth paying more attention to its application and promotion in specific subjects in the future.