TheApplication of Scaffolding Instruction in English
ReadingTeaching in senior school
Abstract:
Englishis an important subject in senior high school. Among the four skillsof language learning, reading is the most important. There arespecific requirements of class reading and extra-curricular readingin the new National Standard of English Curriculum. Senior highschool students are requested to reach a higher level in Englishreading, but in reality, high school English teaching is faced withmany difficulties and problems and the situation of students’reading is not satisfactory, which affects students’ Englishlearning and their interests to a large extent. One of thecontributing factors for this phenomenon is traditional teachingmode, which is dominated by teachers’ explanations. Students acceptknowledge passively and their enthusiasm can’t be inspiredeffectively and their learning potential can’t be fully tapped.
Inorder to improve the current situation, it is necessary to change thetraditional teaching mode, making students the main body of learning.And scaffolding instruction, based on constructive learning concept,is an important teaching method, which takes place within students’zone of proximal development. It takes students as the main learningbody, and is an innovation to the interaction between teaching andstudents’ English reading learning. This paper aims to theapplication in the English reading teaching in senior high school.
Keywords : scaffoldinginstruction, application, English reading teaching
1.Introduction
PresentSituation of Senior English Reading Teaching
TheNew Senior English Curriculum Standards formulates that studentsshould master four basic language skills, namely, listening,speaking, reading and writing. Among them, reading is one importantcomponent that both teachers and students should focus more attentionon. And the significance of English is being realized among the highschool students, who take great pains to study the language forvarious purposes, mainly for higher academic achievement or higherscores in the College Entrance Examination.
However,in reality, the situation of students’ reading is not satisfactory,for which there are many contributing factors. On one hand, studentshave many difficulties in English reading, such as, the insufficientcommand of vocabulary, the lack of reading skills and strategies, andthe lack of interest and motivation. The high school students alwayscomplain that learning English is energy- and time-consuming, becausethey spend a great deal of time in looking up in a dictionary newwords they come across while reading. The students have no idea ofthe reading strategies and skills, believing that reading issomething related to knowing about the Chinese meanings of the newwords. As a result, some students show a complete lack of interestand motivation in
Englishreading. However, it is fairly well known that reading ability isintimately related to the students’ interest and motivation inreading. On the other hand, the traditional teaching method iseffective in that this method enhances students performances inexaminations composed of traditional types of questions andtherefore, detailed vocabulary explanation and the analysis ofgrammatical rules are given more attention to. Then, the teacher aremore familiar with traditional teaching mode and thus ignore renewingteaching methods and offering more scientific guidance of readingskills and strategies. In the traditional teaching method, studentsare just listeners, who accept in a passive way the explanation ofthe teacher about some grammatical points, translation of thesentences in reading passages and some individual words and phrasesthat puzzle them.
Underthe direction of the New Curriculum Standard, it is vital to probeinto better design of senior English reading teaching, which hasimportant practical significance to the successful implementation ofthe New Standard. The teachers should change their traditionalconception of reading teaching and apply more scientific teachingapproaches to better their reading teaching. And in this aspect theScaffolding Instruction has great superiority over the traditionalreading teaching method.
2.Literature review
Scaffoldingis a temporary structure used to support people and material in theconstruction or repair of buildings and other large structures. Inthe field of construction and building, scaffolding providesconstruction workers with space to build and the scaffolding alsooffers a way for the construction worker to reach work areas whichthey can not have access by themselves. When the construction isfinished, the scaffolding is removed. By the similar understanding,when this term is used in the area of teaching a second or foreignlanguage, it refers to a temporary and adaptable support and thesupport makes students finish a task successfully “that would beimpossible without the scaffolding or to accomplish a task moreefficiently or more easily than they could without the scaffolding”(Graves & Graves, 2003). In simple terms, scaffolding is nowapplied to describe how an instructor can facilitate the learner’stransition from assisted to independent performance (Berk &Winsler, 1995; Meyer, 1993).
ScaffoldingTheory was first introduced in the late 1950s by Jerome Bruner, thefamous cognitive psychologist. In Role of Tutoring in ProblemSolving, the term scaffolding was used as a metaphor to describe a“…processthat enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a taskor achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassistedefforts…”(Wood,Bruner & Ross, 1976:90). As a teaching strategy, scaffoldinginstruction derives from Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory andhis concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Its concept issimilar to the concept of an expert assisting an apprentice. Inteaching, Scaffolding is the helpful interactions between adults andchildren. It helps the children to do something that they cannotachieve independently. A scaffold is a temporary framework to givesupport and then it is taken away after the children have learned howto complete the task on their own. The tutor constructs scaffolds notto change the difficult task into an easier one, but to help thestudents learn how to complete the task independently gradually. Withthe progress of the children, Vygotsky claims that teachers must actas scaffolds: they must offer just enough guidance to allow thechildren to
advanceindependently (Byrnes, 2001:37).
Scaffoldinginstruction includes a wide variety of strategies, including:
1. | activating prior knowledge |
procedures
9. facilitatingstudent engagement and participation
10.displaying a historical timeline to offer a context for learning
11.using graphic organizers to offer a visual framework for assimilatingnew information 12. teaching key vocabulary terms before reading
13.guiding the students in making predictions for what they expect willoccur in a story, experiment,or other course of action
14.asking questions while reading to encourage deeper investigation ofconcepts
15.suggesting possible strategies for the students to use duringindependent practice
16.modeling an activity for the students before they are asked tocomplete the same or similar activity
17.asking students to contribute their own experiences that relate tothe subject at hand
3.Procedures of Scaffolding Instruction
Scaffoldinginstruction is an important teaching method which takes the studentsas the main body. It provides learners with a conceptual framework tohelp them have a better understanding of the knowledge. The conceptof the framework is needed for learners to study further. It is aprocess to help the learner achieve more than he can independentlydo. The teachers give students suitable support until the learnerscan apply new skills and strategies on their own. With the assistanceof sufficient scaffolding the learners can study effectively andindependently. Scaffolding instruction sets conceptual framework,encourages independent exploration, co-operative learning andeffective assessment.
Basicprocedures of scaffolding teaching is shown as follows:
1)Providing Scaffolds
Toprovide proper scaffolds teachers should first have a basicunderstanding of the students’ starting point. On this basis,scaffolds about students’ current study subject within their ZPDcan be built up by teachers. Once it has been achieved, a new taskthat is beyond students’ present ability can be presented tostudents and completed with teachers’ help.
Thesupport includes modeling, cues, such prompts as “What do you wantto do first, then, next, and last?” or “What other tools will youneed to complete the new task?” The support can also be encouragingwords to help students use prior knowledge, and it can be resourcessuch as dictionaries, references materials, resources from theInternet, direct instructions and so on.
Providingscaffolds are activities that motivate students’ interest and arerelated to the new task. It simplifies the task to make students haveability to deal with it and achieve it. It helps reduce students’frustration and focus their attention on how to achieve it with thedirection of scaffolding and eventually develop students’ abilitiesto a higher level and achieve the construction of the new knowledge.
2)Entering the Situation
ConstructiveLearning Theory believes that learners achieve meaning constructionof the new knowledge through continuous learning activities ofassimilation and accommodation. The Cognitivism believes thatlearners construct their cognition structure and urge the developmentof cognition in the process of assimilation and accommodation to theenvironment. This enables students to link their experience withoriginal cognition structure to acquire new knowledge. SuccessfulEnglish classroom teaching should establish more vivid introductorysituation to give students more chances to apply language materialsthat they have learned. In English reading teaching, the mosteffective way of establishing situations is using the methods ofasking questions. The questions should be related to the situationand the basis of answering the questions. Teachers should be good atguiding students to find out problems, analyzing problems and solveproblems to gradually master the way of thinking and exploring. Whatteachers should do is to try to create positive atmosphere to arousestudents’ curiosity and interest in English reading. So the key toeffective English reading teaching is creating appropriate teachingsituation. Performances, stories, songs, pictures, video andmultimedia technology that are related to the teaching content canalso be used to lead students into the problem solving situation.When students continuously get to have a better understanding of thenew knowledge, scaffolding should be adjusted appropriately andremoved timely to make students complete the tasks on their owngradually.
3)Independent Exploration
Constructivelearning theory believes that learning is not a simple passiveprocess that teachers impart new knowledge to students but a processthat students construct knowledge by themselves. In this process,students accept information positively and then understand and codeit on the base of their prior knowledge to construct their ownunderstanding about the new knowledge. Independent exploration is thekey link of scaffolding instruction. With the guidance of theteacher, the exploration starts. Teachers should give students enoughtime, encourage them to explore bravely, allow students to makemistakes, analyze and then learn from the mistakes. Teachers offerscaffolds properly to guide students to solve the problems.
Forinstance, the teacher can instruct them to find key words and relatedinformation in the reading materials. To understand is to discover.Students are enabled to produce and create, not only to receive andrepeat passively. In the activities, students make new discoveriesautonomously guided by the teacher and teachers’ scaffolds shouldbe reduced gradually to let students explore independently andconstruct final results through their own research. Finally, studentsare promoted from lower levels to higher levels in a continuous way.
4)Cooperative Learning
Aswe all know, in the process of learning cooperative learning is animportant study pattern. Teachers instruct students to be engaged incooperative learning. As an example, students can be divided intogroups in which students may have the same or different perspectiveson the task. There may be conflicts that make students put forwardsolutions creatively at a higher cognitive
level.Students help each other with teachers’ assistance at a certaindegree. It is a step of decreasing the scaffolds offered by teachers.In groups, students talk about the subjects, explain their ideas toothers, and learn the facts by heart easily, which makes Englishlearning interesting and effective. They can reduce anxiety, increasemotivation, develop skills of communication, build up self-confidenceand learn to share with others.
Graduallystudents will know that they can get fun from English reading andEnglish reading may even affect their lives and so they may enjoy it.This stimulates their interest in English learning and that is justwhat the teachers hope to achieve.
5)Effect evaluation
Effectevaluation is an important step in English reading teaching that cannot be limited to only the examination of the degree of how studentsmaster the knowledge and abilities, but also the contribution toteaching reflection. In English reading, effect evaluation meansstudents’ reflection on English reading comprehension. It includes:1) independent learning capability; 2)contributions to cooperationstudy; 3) the achievement of the knowledge that they are acquiring.The subject of learning is students who play a main role in thelearning process. They gather and deal with the informationindependently. They check whether their English reading comprehensionhas been satisfactory or not. Then they will adjust their previousplans and make more efforts in learning activities.
Inshort, the substance of scaffolding instruction is to supply studentswith an appropriate language learning environment. Teachers areassistants in the process for students to construct knowledge. Theyoffer students supports and scaffolds and gradually remove them asstudents can develop autonomous learning, thereby cognitive learningskills of the students are promoted.
4.Conclusions
Basedon the review of the theories of scaffolding instruction, three mainpoints are following.
1.Scaffoldinginstruction may be more effective to improve the students’ Englishreading proficiency compared with the traditional teaching method.
2.Scaffolding instruction may be more effective in improving thestudents’ overall English level than the traditional teaching mode.
3.In the class where scaffolding instruction is applied, the students’interest in English reading and English learning may stimulate moreeffectively than that of the students in the class who are taughtwith traditional teaching methods. The application of scaffoldinginstruction is effective to arouse the student’s interest inEnglish and the emotional arousal leads the students to consciousdecisions to perform better. In the process of the motive powerbecome stronger, it is more favorable for the students to do morereading, develop their reading skills and good reading habits. Sointerest is important internal motive. Once the conditions are right,they will break out in amazing ways. Applying scaffoldinginstruction, is of great help for students to give full play toinitiative, to cultivate the innovation consciousness.
Basedon the above statements, the following suggestions are given.
Firstof all, teachers should try their best to keep pace with thedevelopment of latest theories and researches on scaffoldinginstruction. In the aspect of practice, teachers ought to avoid the
appearanceof the situation that the teaching methods become a mere formalitywithout practical effects. In scaffolding instruction, what theteachers should do is to find the right connection between teachingand learning and build up scaffolding for learners according to this.When applying scaffolding instruction, the teachers should be awarethat the scaffolds are not changeless, but dynamic and sensitive,which change with the students’ practical levels and studyactivities. Only in this way can learners have more space and developtheir autonomy. The teaching mode set a high demand on the teachersso the teachers should improve themselves continuously.
Second,since the scaffolding instruction has already been proved to havepositive effects in English reading teaching, both the teachers andstudents should hold their own roles well to achieve better teachingresults. Teachers are not the center of the class and students arenot passive learners. Teachers have the responsibility to helpstudents to stimulate their potential not only for their Englishstudy but also for their future development.
Third,although the application of scaffolding instruction has manyadvantages, the traditional teaching mode should not be abandonedentirely. The best method is to combine them appropriately. Thetraditional mode still has some merits. For example, when just impartknowledge to students, to apply the traditional methods is moreeffective.
Last,it is important for teachers to consider students’ emotionalfactors in the process of teaching. High school students are specialgroups who have to bear stresses of getting good scores in variousexaminations; on the other hand, they are in the special period ofpsychological transition. The teachers should not only pay attentionto their academic records but also their emotional changes, which isin favor of the relationship between the teachers and students. Andthis, in turn, will be more effective to inspire them to study harderso as to get good development in the future. What’ s more, when itcomes to students’ academic records, It can say that marks shouldnot be the only tool for measuring teachers’ teaching and students’learning. Practical and scientific teaching evaluating system shouldbe established which is an important safeguard to achieve theobjectives of the English curriculum.
Althoughthe scaffolding instruction can be used to optimize teaching, thereare still some limitations and difficulties in the process ofscaffolding instruction
Firstly,in scaffolding instruction teachers act the roles who design theteaching activities to help them develop skills and concepts, whopromote students’ learning. The main aim is to help students gainindependence, that is, to learn how to learn. It puts forward highdemands on teachers. Scaffolding instruction requires teachers to beempathetic and skilled, which, in fact, is a great challenge forteachers. It is obvious that the role transition is difficult forteachers from the traditional teaching mode.
Secondly,the application of scaffolding instruction requires the teachers tohave rich background knowledge and a good master of the teachingmaterials so as to choose proper materials for the students’ use inthe limited time. What’s more, if the teachers are not trainedproperly, he may not implement scaffolding instruction effectivelyand the full effect is hard to see.
Thirdly,the students received traditional teaching for many years after all,therefore, they are more familiar with the previous mode. Thestudents need time and more efforts to adapt themselves to the newteaching methods. For some students with poor English base it will bemore difficult. Usually they have great worries in study and showdiscouragement when they meet with difficulties, which will widen thegap between themselves with the others. It’s difficult for
thisgroup of students to participate in the class teaching.
Fourthly,the scaffolds the teachers give are helpful to students but once thescaffolding is removed, not all students can still complete the tasksby themselves. The point of removing the scaffolds is hard to controlaccording to ever students’ real abilities. That’s also a barrierfor students in the reading activities, as they cannot relate thegiven tasks to realistic situation, which results in unpracticalimplementation of the instruction.
Reference
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