A Case Study On The Impacts Of Project-based Learning On Senior High School Students’ English Reading Strategies

The General High School English Curriculum Standards(2017 Edition)advocates independent learning,cooperative learning,and inquiry-based learning oriented to core literacy development,which requires teachers to make changes to the traditional English reading teaching methods.Recently,more and more schools in China are experimenting with project-based learning practices and applying it to English language teaching.Therefore,the current status of project-based learning practices in primary and secondary schools deserves attention,and its applicability and effectiveness in English reading education in China also needs to be studied.Based on constructivist theory,pragmatism theory and information processing theory,this study used field observation method,questionnaires,and interviews to investigate three questions.The study was conducted with students from X High School in Shaanxi Province for three months.(1)What is the effect of project-based learning on English reading strategies for high school students?(2)What are the problems of project-based learning in influencing English reading strategies of high school students?(3)How to improve the problems of project-based learning in influencing English reading strategies of high school students?The results indicate that: First,after the implementation of project-based learning,the frequency of students’ English reading strategies is significantly improved compared with that before the implementation,the use of students’ affective strategies,communication and resource strategies have improved significantly,while changes in metacognitive and cognitive strategies have remained relatively stable.Second,project-based learning also has some non-negligible problems in influencing English reading strategies of high school students: the scope of project theme selection is relatively limited;the initiation stage of project-based learning plan(students’ ability to collect materials is limited and the division of tasks is uneven);the implementation stage of the project-based learning plan(single exploration activities,and the exhibition of works becomes a mere form);the evaluation of project-based learning results(limited time for evaluation).Third,suggestions are also proposed on how to improve the problems of project-based learning in influencing English reading strategies of high school students: the selection of project topics should be comprehensive;in the initiation stage of the project-based learning plan(teachers should provide resource support,students should improve their ability to filter information,and group division of labor should be selective);in the implementation of the project-based learning plan(teachers should provide diverse exploration pathways,and the representation of student’s works should include staged works);the evaluation of project-based learning results(the staged work and final work should be evaluated).