A Study On Topics Of Junior High School English Textbooks From The Perspective Of Learner’s Interest

In language learning,information and topics of language make perceptual materials,and form the basis for learners to develop their rational knowledge.At present,there are relatively few related documents covering the analysis and evaluation of topics in Oxford Junior English(Yilin Edition)mainly used in Jiangsu Province.Nor are there enough studies focusing on systematic analysis of topic interest in these textbooks.This paper takes Oxford Junior English(Yilin Edition)as an example,and uses the English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2011)as the standard to analyze the topic contents of the junior high school English textbook from the perspective of learner’s interest.Therefore,this study is hopeful to provide practical suggestions for textbook writers and researchers to select and design contents based on students’ topic interest,help teachers make full use of textbooks,arrange teaching activities,and design teaching strategies suitable for students’ topic interest preference.On the basis of Context Theory,Input Hypothesis,Cognitive Learning Theory and Constructive Learning Theory,this thesis aims to solve the following research questions:(1)To what extent does the distribution of topics in the Oxford Junior English(Yilin Edition)confirm to English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2011)?(2)What are the characteristics of the distribution of students’ topic interest of the Oxford Junior English(Yilin Edition)from the perspective of learner’s interest?(3)What are the differences in topic interest between students and teachers,boys and girls,and key junior high school students and ordinary junior high school students?Text analysis,questionnaire survey and interview are the basic research methods.This research makes qualitative analysis of the quantity distribution,category identification,and quality distribution of the topics in textbooks and conducts quantitative analysis of the characteristics of junior high school students’ topic interest,and the influence of gender and English level on junior high school students’topic interest through a survey of 350 junior high school students(158 students in key schools and 192 students in general schools,186 boys and 164 girls)and 20 front-line English teachers.It is found that in terms of topic distribution characteristics,Oxford Junior English(Yilin Edition)textbooks reflect the richness and diversity in topic selection,but lack of modernity and cultural elements.In comparison with the new curriculum,the topic of"language learning" is not covered in this textbook,and the topics of "Feelings and moods","Plans and arrangements",and "communications and exchange" are relatively few.In terms of learner’s topic interest characteristics,the topics that are least interesting to learners are those that are abstract and are not closely related to learners’ daily life,making them difficult to understand and enjoy in learning,such as "natural disasters" and "green world",while the most interesting topics are those that are closely related to learners’ daily life,highly interesting,relaxing,and happy,such as "shopping" and "fashion".Sometimes,it does not coincide what topics students are interested in and what topics the teacher thinks students are interested in.In terms of the factors influencing topic interest,there are obvious differences between boys and girls and between key school students and ordinary school students.Research results indicate that rational topics such as "detective stories" and "life on Mars"are more popular among female learners,and key school students are likely to be interested in more topics.This study has pedagogical implications for English teachers and textbook compilers.For English teachers,according to the overall topic interest of junior high school students,they should pay more attention to optimize and innovate English contextual teaching strategies,and to supplement the reading materials according to the actual ability and gender characteristics of students.For English textbook compilers,they should increase the contents of humanistic,contemporary and natural topics to attract students’ interest,to distribute rational and emotional topics in a balanced manner considering gender differences,and to distribute difficult and easy topics in a balanced manner considering regional differences and the different cognitive levels of students.