A Study of Applying Interactive Approach in Intensive English Reading Teaching in China

Huizhen Wu

doi:10.11648/j.edu.20190802.11

Abstract

The ability to communicate effectively in English remains one of the well-established goals in English Language teaching. The essential interactive nature is the key to communicative competence. Given the fact that Chinese students learn English in an EFL setting, classroom language teaching becomes all the more valuable. Intensive reading course has been considered one of the comprehensive courses and a must for college students for decades in China. This paper, based on a quantitative research which offers a glimpse of the current situation of Intensive Reading Teaching in China, first addresses the role of language teacher and that of students in an interactive classroom and then addresses the significance of the application of interactive approach to the college Intensive Reading class, and finally proposes some feasible approaches to the language classroom teaching to better facilitate students’ learning and use of foreign language by providing a sample class for illustration.

Highlights

In the history of English pedagogical methodology in China, we have witnessed the comings and goings of a wealth of teaching approaches ranging from the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) and the Audio-lingual Approach to the Cognitive Approach and the Communicative Approach
Many scholars come to realize the prominent role that interaction plays in Intensive English Reading teaching
Gao and Hui proposed the students-students interaction and Huizhen Wu and Wei Zhou: A Study of Applying Interactive Approach in Intensive English Reading Teaching in China cooperation model be implemented in teaching this course [6, 7]

Summary

Introduction

In the history of English pedagogical methodology in China, we have witnessed the comings and goings of a wealth of teaching approaches ranging from the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) and the Audio-lingual Approach to the Cognitive Approach and the Communicative Approach. In China, Intensive (or Integrated) English reading course has been considered one of the comprehensive courses and a must for college students for decades in China mainland The significance of this course is made manifest by the fact that it runs through two years for non-English majors and four years for English majors respectively in most Chinese colleges. As the saying goes, “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”, with a view to facilitating students’ language learning, this paper, based on the researcher’s quantitative and qualitative analysis of learners’ needs in class, addresses the significance of combining the GTM with the interactive approach in the Intensive English Reading Course and illustrates how language teachers can apply interactive approach in language teaching with a sample lesson entitled “Writing Three Thank-You Letters” [10]

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion