Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Reading is one kind of language communication forms, and is also an importantmeans to gain information and knowledge. Teachers are the organizers of Englishclass and play an important role as guiders in English learning. The task of Englishteachers is to deliver knowledge as well as cultivating students* ability to solveproblems. However, present situation of English reading learning cannot fulfill somany goals.First of all，traditional English teaching such as grammar-translation method,deductive method and inductive method pay too much attention to grammar andlanguage points. According to the customary way of thinking, teachers treat readingmaterial as a way to impart language points. They divide the complete andmeaningful articles into several language points, emphasizing vocabulary, grammarand reading comprehension, while ignoring the passage itself. Students have lesstime to do extensive reading. As a result, students can only understand the superficialmeaning of the passage rather than the authors’ thought. However, the main task ofreading is helping students to obtain the information and develop their abilities toread by themselves.
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1.2 Significance of the Research
As we are entering an era of advanced technology, the abilities of learning are more important than the quantity of knowledge itself. Education is the main way toget knowledge, and the task of teachers is not only to teach students knowledge, butthe more important thing is to teach them how to learn. The final goals of educationare to cultivate all-round students and train their life-long learning abilities. Inquirylearning puts more emphasis on how to leam and how to inquire. In the processes ofinquiry, students must collect, analyze, and judge information. Teachers’ role changesfrom a controller to a facilitator. Teacher-centered class is replaced bystudent-centered class. Gradually, students' innovation ability will be improved, andthey will master the method of learning which will benefit them for the whole life.According to the Senior New Curriculum Reform in 2003，we can see the coreof the reform is to alter students' learning method. The general aim of the reform isto develop students' comprehensive language competence and students' positiveattitudes, thinking skills, practical abilities, cultural awareness and autonomy throughlanguage learning processes. Quality-oriented education stresses the cultivation ofstudents’ abilities to do independent inquiry and the development of students' teamspirits and practical abilities.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Previous Studies on Inquiry Learning
According to the history of western science education, the origin of inquirycould be traced back to Socrates who induced students to ponder by asking questions,and French enlighten ideologist Rousseau's naturalism. In 18^^ century, Rousseaustated in his book “Emil” that the question is not to tell learners a truth, but to tellthem how to find a truth (Rousseau 1994: 280). Emphasizing more on practicebecame the basic idea of inquiry ideology. At the beginning of 20^^ century, thetheory of inquiry learning in the United States was led by John Dewey who appliedinquiry learning method to school education. In 1909，John Dewey delivered aspeech which denied the most popular science education method at that time inAmerica Progressive Federation.In the fifties and sixties, the rationality and feasibility of inquiry were verified,and it became one of the admissive teaching method. In 1964，Schwab put forwardand applied "inquiry learning” for the first time. In addition, during the "EducationModem Movement” in America, Piaget, Suchman, Gagne, Bruner Ausubel and so onmade important contribution to the research of inquiry learning. From 1925 to 1940,Piaget brought forward cognitive theory on the basis of experiment which laid apsychology foundation for the development of inquiry learning.
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2.2 Inquiry Learning
In a broad sense，inquiry learning refers to a study method like a scientificresearch. It is opposite to the absorptive study. It can be used by both students andothers in many fields. In a narrow sense, Inquiry learning is an active way to dealwith subject research which is chosen from nature, society and life under thedirection of the teachers, (Cao 2003:16). In this paper, inquiry learning goes inaccord with the latter definition. The National Science Education Standards (NSES)in 1996 described inquiry learning as active learning. It involves many activities suchas scientific research. The processes are also similar to scientific research: studentsask questions, collect materials, make hypothesis, and prove findings. In a word, inquiry learning emphasizes autonomous learning and independent construction ofknowledge. Inquiry learning encourages students to solve problems and completetasks consciously and actively. Some famous researchers at home and aboard havegiven the definition of inquiry learning. They are shown in the following;Short et al. (1996) thinks that inquiry is a procedure by which students use theiracquired experience to explore the unknown world. So inquiry learning should bebased on students' former experience. The whole processes of inquiry learning aredynamic, and students are not passive receivers but active participants. By contrast,students are regarded as seekers and researchers, and they can solve existingproblems in real world.
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Chapter 3 Related Research of Reading Learning....... 18
3.1 Definition of English Reading Learning .......18
3.2 Roles of Teachers in Inquiry Reading Learning....... 19
3.3 Roles of Students in Inquiry Reading Learning....... 22
3.4 Teaching Strategies of Inquiry Reading Learning....... 25
3.5 Relationship between Inquiry Learning and Reading Learning....... 29
Chapter 4 Research Design....... 32
4.1 Research Questions....... 32
4.2 Research Subjects....... 32
4.3 Research Instrument....... 32
4.4 Research processes....... 33
Chapter 5 Conclusions .......55
5.1 Findings .......55
5.2 Implications of this Research....... 56
5.3 Limitations of the Study....... 58
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research....... 59
Chapter 4 Research Design
4.1 Research Questions
The subjects of the research come from Class One, Senior One of AffiliatedHigh School of Tianjin University which is a key school in Tianjin. So the level ofthe subjects is above the average level of middle school students. The class is the topclass and ranks the first in the entrance examination. There are forty-one students inthe class，and the average age of the subjects is 16. The material used in the study isUnit 5 A Lesson in a Lab from Bookl, Foreign Language Teaching and ResearchPress for Chinese Students. The instrument in the study was a questionnaire. The questionnaire intended toexplore students' interest in inquiry reading learning and whether they have theability to apply inquiry learning to English reading learning independently and initiatively. The questionnaire was carried out after the author finished the samplelesson immediately, and it took students 10 minutes to finish the questionnaire. Theauthor handed out forty-one questionnaires and recovered forty effectivequestionnaires. The questionnaire consists of twenty items: the odd numberinvestigates students' attitude and the even number investigates students' ability toapply inquiry learning to English reading learning.
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Conclusion
Although the experiment was not so successful, we still can find some usefulconclusion. According to the questionnaire and students' feedback，we knew thatstudents really learned some methods to apply inquiry learning to English reading.Students were very interested in inquiry learning, and they began to realize theconnections between academic study and authentic life. Some students dislikeEnglish because they cannot understand what the teacher said and they think whatthey have learned is not useful when they want to use in real life. However, inquiryreading learning class made them change their negative attitudes toward English.Some students began to learn English. So it is possible to apply inquiry learning toEnglish reading in senior high school.Students could understand Five “E,，model, and with the guidance of the teacher,they could do inquiry learning step by step. When coming across some difficulties，they could solve them by independent inquire or the teacher's instruction. Based onstudents' feedback and behaviors in the class, the author thought inquiry learningmay be applied to English reading by Five “E” model.
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Reference (omitted)