整体语言教学法在初中英语教学中的应用

TheApplicationofWholeLanguageApproachinJuniorHighSchoolEnglishTeaching——ACaseStudyofLuzhouLongmaHighSchoolIntroductionThewholelanguageapproachconceptislikeaseedthatquietlysproutedintheeducationfieldinthe1970s.Atthattime,theeducationsectorwasinthemidstofawaveofactivelyexploringinnovativeteachingmethods,andthewholelanguageapproachconcepthappenedtocatchthistrainofreform.Meanwhile,asarisingstaramongthetwomajorlanguageteachingschools(WholeLanguageandPhonics),thewholelanguageapproachhasattractedincreasingattentionfromeducatorsinNorthAmericaandEnglish-speakingcountriessuchastheUnitedKingdom,NewZealand,andAustralia.Thereareover400wholelanguageassociationsintheUnitedStatesandCanadaalone(袁洪婵,2001).Theseassociationsarelikestrongholdswherevariouseducationalideascollide,andeachoneactsasasmallenginedrivingthedevelopmentofthewholelanguageapproachforward.Regardingtheresearchonwholelanguageapproach,manyscholarsinChinahaveconductedrelevantstudies.Forinstance,in2016,MaYumei’sresearchonthewholelanguageapproachmethodanditsimplicationsforcollegeEnglishteachinginChinaconcludedthat,onamacrolevel,ithasreferencesignificancefortheongoingcollegeEnglishteachingreform.Onamicrolevel,adoptingtheperspectiveofwholelanguage,graspingtheconnectionsamongvariouslanguageskillsandknowledge,andmaintainingconsistencycaneffectivelyimprovethetime-consumingandinefficientpracticesincurrentteaching.In2012,LiRonghua,inhisresearchonthemodelofprimaryschoolEnglishvocabularyteachingunderthewholelanguageapproachperspective,basedonthecharacteristicsofvocabularylearningandtheexistingproblemsincurrentvocabularyteaching,ultimatelyconcludedthatvocabularyteachingunderthewholelanguageapproachperspectivecanbetterassiststudentsinstrengtheningvocabularylearning,improvingtheefficiencyofvocabularylearning,andenablingstudentstotrulyacquirelanguageknowledgeandcommunicationskills.Moreover,in2010,GongHaiping,inthejournal“TheTheoryofWholeLanguageApproachandItsImplicationsforBasicEnglishTeachinginChina”,providedadetailedoverviewandanalysisofthisteachingtheoryandexploredhowtoapplyittojuniorhighschoolEnglishteachinginChina.TheconclusionwasreachedthattocreativelyapplythewholelanguageapproachtojuniorhighschoolteachinginChina,thefundamentalprincipleistoservetheenhancementofclassroomteachingeffectiveness.Inaddition,foreignscholarshaveconductedrelevantresearchinthisfield.Forexample,Bergeron,BetteS.hasprovidedadetaileddiscussionontheconceptofwholelanguageinherworktitled“Whatdoesthetermwholelanguagemean?"In2007,TaylorMonicacompiledavarietyofviewpointsofwholelanguageeducatorsoverthepast35yearsinhisbookWholeLanguageTeaching,Whole-HeartedPractice,andexpressedherhopeforthefutureofwholelanguage.ThispapermainlyexplorestheapplicationofwholelanguageapproachinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching.Thepaperfirstprovidesadetailedintroductiontowholelanguageapproach,includingitsorigin,coreteachingconcepts(learningview,teacher-studentview,curriculumview,andlanguageview),aswellasitsapplicationvalue.Then,itelaboratesontheresearchdesignandimplementationprocess,includingresearchquestions,researchsubjects,researchmethods,andtheteachingdesignofwholelanguageapproach.Subsequently,thepaperconductsanin-depthdiscussiononthetestscoresandquestionnairedataoftheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclassbyanalyzingtheresultsofthetestpapersandquestionnaires.Inthelastpart,thepapersummarizestheapplicationimplicationsofwholelanguageapproachinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching,includingenhancingstudents’learningmotivation,classroomparticipation,andEnglishgrades.BriefintroductiontoWholeLanguageApproachGoodman,Freeman,DavenportandWatsonoffereddifferentinterpretationsofwholelanguage,butnoneprovidedafixeddefinition.However,itcanbestatedwithcertaintythatwholelanguageisnotmerelyaboutlanguageitself,butencompassesallthesignificantaspectsoflanguageteaching.Alltheseaspectscollectivelyembodytheessenceof“wholelanguage”,andthusitsintegritymustbemaintained.OriginsofWholeLanguageApproachThewholelanguageapproachoriginatedfromthewholelanguagereadingmovementinitiatedbyProfessorGoodmanoftheUniversityofArizonainthefieldofchildren’smothertongueteachinginthelate1960s.Theyquestionedtheprevailingtheoryofthereadingprocessbasedonbehavioristpsychologyatthattimeandproposedareadingteachingmodelcenteredonthelanguageandthinkingcurriculumview,thusgivingbirthtotheconceptof“wholelanguage”.Inthefollowingyears,Goodmanandhiscollaboratorsmadeunremittingexplorationsandpublishedthefoundationalworkofwholelanguageresearch,“What’sWholeinWholeLanguage?”,in1986.Viewlanguagelearningasanintegratedandnaturalprocess(Goodman,1986).Thisapproachemphasizesthenaturalacquisitionoflanguageanditswholeness,opposingtheteachingoflanguagebybreakingitdownintoisolatedgrammarandvocabularycomponents.Thecoreofthewholelanguageapproachmethodliesinpromotingstudents’languageabilitydevelopmentthroughauthenticlanguagecontexts.Sincethen,thewholelanguageapproachmethodhasbeenwidelyappliedintheteachingofthemothertongueinprimaryschools,secondaryschoolsanduniversities.BesidesGoodman,scholarslikeNewman,Norris,Damico,SchaeferandSchwartzhavealsoenrichedandimprovedtheentirelanguageteachingmethodfrombothpracticalandtheoreticalperspectives.However,thisinfluentialteachingapproachhashadarelativelysmallimpactonChina,andthecorrespondingteachingpracticeapplicationsarealsolimited.2.2CoreteachingphilosophyofWholeLanguageApproachOverthepastfourdecadessincetheAmericansociolinguistKenGoodman(reveredasthe“fatherofwholelanguageteaching”)establishedthe“wholelanguageapproach”(alsoknownas“holisticlanguageteaching”)school.Althoughthisnewlanguageteachingtheoryhasalsoundergonemorethantenyearsofdebateinthefieldoflanguageeducation,theultimateresultisthatalmostalllinguistsareinhighagreementonitsapplicationinteachingEnglishasasecondlanguageoraforeignlanguage(龚海平,2010).Goodmanelaboratedonthelearningview,teacher-studentview,curriculumviewandlanguageviewofthewholelanguageapproach,markingtheestablishmentofthewholelanguageapproachmethodasacomprehensivelanguageteachingtheory.Thefollowingwillprovideabriefexplanationofthefourviews.2.2.1LearningviewofWholeLanguageApproachGoodmanholdsthat“languageisneitheraninnateendowmentnorlearnedthroughimitation.”“Theprocessoflanguagelearningisasocialandinterpersonalcommunicationprocess.Peopleareconstantlyusingthelanguagetheyconstructtocommunicatewiththeoutsideworld,andatthesametime,thisself-constructedlanguageisconstantlybeingtested,modified,abandonedorperfectedbytheoutsideworld”(Goodman,1986).FromGoodman’sstatement,wecanlearnthatthe“WholeLanguageApproach”holdsthelearningoflanguagefunctionsshouldprecedethatoflanguageforms.Languageapplicationmustbegenuine.Languagelearningshouldproceedfromthewholetothepart.Itparticularlyemphasizesthatlanguagelearningshouldfocusonlearninghowtoexpressmeaning.Goodmanpointedout,“Classroomteachingoftendisruptstheconnectionbetweenlanguageanditsmeaningandfunction,turninglanguageintosomethingnon-linguistic”(Goodman,1986,p.20).Therefore,forlearners,theuseoflanguagecanonlybringoutitspotentialmeaninginspecificsocialcontexts,andlanguagecanonlybeeasilyacquiredinparticularcontexts.2.2.2Teacher-studentviewofWholeLanguageApproachGoodmanholdsthatonlybyrespectingandunderstandingthelawsoflanguagelearningcanonerespectandunderstandthelawsoflanguageteaching(Goodman,1986).Therefore,Goodman’sviewoftheteacher-studentrelationshiprequiresteacherstodothefollowing:Firstandforemost,teachersshouldhaveanunderstandingoflanguage,learning,students,curriculumandteachingmethods,haveconfidenceinandexpectationsforstudents,choosethemosteffectiveteachingmethods,providethemostsuitablelanguagematerialsforstudents,andmakeobjectiveevaluationsofstudents’performance.Furthermore,towardsstudents:teachersshouldguide,support,instruct,encourageandpromotestudents’learningratherthancontrolit.Thirdly,duringtheteachingprocess:teachersshouldtakeintoaccountstudents’needsforasenseofbelonging,beingneeded,beingrespectedandachievingself-actualization.Overall,itcanbesaidthatteachersshouldbelieveinstudents,respectthemaslearners,recognizetheirindividualdifferences,andtreatthemwithloveandnoblesentiments.Fromtheabove,itcanbeconcludedthatthewholelanguageapproachemphasizesthatteachersaretheguidesandfacilitatorsoflearning,whilestudentsarethemainsubjectsoflearning.Thatismeansteachersshouldrespectindividualdifferencesamongstudents,encouragethemtolearnindependently,anduselanguageinreal-lifesituations.Forinstance,intheclassroom,teacherscanguidestudentstoactivelyparticipateinlanguagepracticeactivitiesthroughgroupdiscussions,role-playing,andothermeans,ratherthanmerelyimpartingknowledge.2.2.3CurriculumviewofWholeLanguageApproachWhendiscussinghisviewonlanguagecourses,heholdsthat“Onlywhenthedesignofaneffectivelanguagecoursetakesintoaccountchoice,ownershipandrelevancecanitmeettheneedsofstudentstoactuallyusethelanguageandprovidethemwiththespacetoindependentlychoosetheirassignments”(Goodman,1986).Whatthelanguagedoesshouldberelatedtothem,thatis,itshouldbebasedonstudents’lifeexperiencesandlifeexperiences.Healsobelievedthatthecontentofstudents’textbooksmustbeauthenticandnotartificiallyfabricatedmerelytoconformtothevocabularylistorpronunciationsequencestipulatedbythecurriculum(Goodman,1986).Thismeansthatcoursedesignshouldbeorientedtowardsstudents’needsandinterests,emphasizingthecomprehensiveapplicationoflanguage.Teachingcontentshouldbecloselyrelatedtostudents’real-lifesituationsandavoidteachinglanguageknowledgeinisolation.Forexample,textbookcontentcanbedesignedwiththemeunitsrelatedtostudents’lives,suchas“EnvironmentalProtection”and“HealthyDiet”,allowingstudentstolearnlanguageinrealcontexts.2.2.4LanguageviewofWholeLanguageApproachWhileadheringtotheideathatlanguageisamediumforthinkingandcommunication,Goodmanholdsthatoneshouldnotmerelylearnalanguageforthesakeoflearningit.Learningalanguagemeanslearningthecultureitcarries(Goodman,1986).Heemphasizesthatlanguageisinclusiveandindivisible,andcannotbedissectedintoseveralunrelatedlanguageunitssuchasphonetics,vocabulary,grammarrules,andsentencestructures.Otherwise,theintegrityoflanguagewouldbecompromised.Heopposesdissectinglanguageintoseveralabstractandfragmentedcomponentsandsmallsegments,advocatingthat“thewholeisalwaysgreaterthanthesumofitsparts”(Goodman,1986,p.13).Hestronglyopposesteachingmethodsthatmakestudentsdiscussgrammarruleslikelinguists.Hebelievesthatgrammarrulescanbelearned,butlanguagemustbelearnedforcommunicationinanoverallandrealapplicationcontext.Onecannotlearnalanguagebymechanicallyimitatinggrammarrules.Inshort,languageisanintegratedwholeandshouldnotbebrokendownintoisolatedgrammarorvocabularycomponents.Thewholelanguageapproachemphasizesthenaturalacquisitionandholisticunderstandingoflanguage,andfocusesonitscommunicativefunction.Forinstance,inwritinginstruction,teacherscanguidestudentstowritecompleteessaysratherthanmerelypracticinggrammarstructures.2.3ApplicationvalueofWholeLanguageApproachWholelanguageapproachholdsprogressivesignificanceineducationalideology(Newman,1985).IthelpsprimaryandsecondaryschoolEnglishteachersfurthertransformtheirteachingconceptsandbehaviors.Ontheonehand,itpromotesthecomprehensivedevelopmentofstudents’languageabilities:wholelanguageteachingadvocatesteachinglistening,speaking,reading,andwritingasaninseparablewhole.Thismodelhelpsstudentsnaturallyacquirelanguageskillsthroughlanguageactivitiesinrealcontexts,suchasdiscussingmeaningfultopicsandreadingandwritingcompletearticles.Ontheotherhand,itcanenhancestudents’learningmotivationandinterest:wholelanguageapproachisstudent-centered,emphasizinginterest-drivenandrealneeds.Forexample,inEnglishclasses,teachersintroducefamiliarsocialmediatexts(suchasshortvideoscriptsandhotcommentsonWeibo)asteachingmaterialstostimulatelearninginterest.Atthesametime,itcanalsopromotetheapplicationoflanguageinrealcontexts:wholelanguageapproachemphasizestheauthenticityandfunctionalityoflanguagelearning,advocatingthemasteryoflanguageinnaturalcommunication.This“languageasatool”conceptmakesiteasierforstudentstounderstandthepracticalmeaningoflanguageandavoidsthephenomenonof“disconnectionbetweenlearningandapplication”causedbymechanicalmemory.Theapplicationvalueofwholelanguageapproachdoesnotendhere.Itsupportspersonalizedandautonomouslearning:itpaysattentiontoindividualdifferencesamonglearnersandadvocatesadjustingteachingstrategiesaccordingtostudents’interestsandabilities.Itcanalsopromoteinterdisciplinaryintegrationandculturalunderstanding:wholelanguageteachingadvocatestheintegrationofcourses,combininglanguagelearningwithothersubjectknowledgeandculturaleducation.ResearchdesignandimplementationThesubjectsofthisstudyaretheeighth-gradestudentsofLongmaMiddleSchoolinLuzhouCity,SichuanProvince.Therearetwoclasses,Class7andClass8,eachwith53students,allofwhichareregularclasses.Thisstudyisbasedonthecoreteachingconceptofthewholelanguageapproach,aimingtoexploreitsapplicationeffectinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching.Thestudylastedforhalfasemester,whichistwomonths.3.1ResearchdesignThisresearchdesignmainlyconsistsofthreeparts.Thefirstpartistoclarifytheproblemsthattheresearchintendstosolve,aimingtodeterminethesignificanceofapplyingwholelanguageapproachinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching.Thesecondpartprovidesadetaileddescriptionoftheresearchsubjects.Thethirdpartpresentsaspecificstatementoftheresearchmethods.ResearchquestionsThisstudyaimstoexplorethefollowingthreeaspects.Thefirsttwoaspectsareaboutstudents’classroomenthusiasmandparticipation,whichareachievedthroughaquestionnairesurvey.Thequestionnairecontains12questions(fordetails,pleaserefertotheattachedquestionnaire).Thethirdaspectisaboutstudents’academicperformance,whichisderivedfromtheanalysisoftestresults.Thespecificquestionsregardingthethreeaspectsareasfollows:Thefirstaspectis“DoesthewholelanguageapproachappliedtojuniorhighschoolEnglishteachinghelpstoenhancestudents’motivationforlearningEnglish?”,thesecondaspectis“DoesthewholelanguageapproachappliedtojuniorhighschoolEnglishteachinghelpstoincreasestudents’participationinEnglishclasses?”,andthethirdaspectis“DoesthewholelanguageapproachappliedtojuniorhighschoolEnglishteachinghelpstoimprovestudents’Englishgrades?”.ResearchsubjectsTheresearchsubjectsaretwoclassesofGrade8studentsfromLongmaMiddleSchoolinLuzhouCity,SichuanProvince.Eachclasshas53students,totaling106students.Class7istheexperimentalclass,adoptingthewholelanguageapproachmethod,whiletheotherclass,Class8,isthecontrolclass,usingthetraditionalteachingmethod.ResearchmethodsQuestionnairesurveymethod:itisthemostfundamentalandcommonlyusedmethodineducationalresearch.Questionnairesurveyscannotonlyobtainquantitativedatabasedonquantitystandards,butalsoacquirecountdatabasedonattributes,qualities,andattitudes.Thesedatacanbequantitativelyanalyzedthroughstatisticalprocessingmethods,makingtheresultsmoreobjective,true,systematic,andscientific,andimprovingthelevelofresearchresults.Thesubjectsofthequestionnairesurveyinthisstudyarethestudentsintheexperimentalclass(Class7).Twicequestionnaireswereadministeredbeforeandaftertheimplementationofthewholelanguageapproachintheexperimentalclass.Thefirsttimewasgivenbeforethewholelanguageapproachwasapplied,andthesecondtimewasconductedaftertheexperimentended.Theaimwastounderstandthechangesinstudents’learningconditionsandtheirfeedback,suchaschangesinlearningmotivationandclassroomparticipation.Thislaidthefoundationforsubsequentanalysisoftheteachingoutcomesofthewholelanguageapproach.Statisticalanalysismethod:Thestatisticalanalysismethodreferstoaresearchmethodthatrecognizesandrevealstheinterrelationships,changepatterns,anddevelopmenttrendsamongthingsbyanalyzingthequantitativerelationshipssuchasscale,speed,scope,anddegreeoftheresearchobject,therebyachievingacorrectexplanationandpredictionofthings.Itisalsoarelativelyscientific,precise,andobjectiveevaluationmethod.Thisstudyconductedstatisticalanalysisonthepre-testandpost-testscoresofthestudentsaswellasthedatafromthepre-testandpost-testquestionnaires.Amongthem,thepre-testandpost-testscoreswereusedtodemonstratethechangesinstudents’academicperformance,whilethequestionnaireswereemployedtoillustratethevariationsinstudents’learningmotivationandclassroomparticipation.TeachingdesignofWholeLanguageApproachSamplelessonplan(Unit1What’sthematter)TeachingObjectives:Studentscanmasterthevocabularyrelatedtophysicaldiscomfort,suchas“headache,toothache,stomachache,fever,cold”,etc.Studentscanskillfullyusethesentencepattern“What'sthematter?”“Ihavea...”“Youshould...”tocommunicate.Studentscanapplythelanguagetheyhavelearnedtohaveconversationsinrealsituations,therebyimprovingtheiroralexpressionskills.Studentscanfurtherconsolidatethevocabularyandsentencepatternstheyhavelearnedthroughreadingandwriting.Cultivatestudents’empathyandteachthemtocareaboutothers’physicalconditions.KeypointsanddifficultiesofteachingKeypoints:Masterthevocabularyandsentencepatternsrelatedtophysicaldiscomfort.Beabletousethelearnedlanguageforcommunicationinrealsituations.Difficulties:Howtoorganicallyintegratelistening,speaking,readingandwritingundertheconceptofwholelanguageapproachtoenhancestudents’comprehensivelanguageapplicationability.TeachingproceduresWarming-up:agame(Ipointyousay)GreetingBrainstorming:Theteacherpointedtodifferentpartsofhisbodyandaskedthestudentstonamethem.Presentation：VocabularyIntroduction:Usepicturesandexaggeratedactionstofurtherguidestudentsontherelevantwordsaboutabnormalbodyparts.SentencePatternIntroduction:Afterstudentshavelearnedthewords,furtherguidethemtolearnsentenceexpressions,suchas“What'sthematter?”and“Ihaveaheadache.”etc.Practice:Role-play:Workinpairs,oneasadoctorandtheotherasapatient,andsimulateaconversation.Finally,invitetwogroupsofstudentstoperformonthestage.GroupDiscussion:Discussingroupsofsix.Whatshouldbedonewhenonefeelsunwell?Finally,inviterepresentativesfromtwogroupstosharetheiropinions.Production:Reading:Presentashortpassageaboutaboywithacoldforthestudentstoreadandanswerquestions.Writing:Guidestudentstowriteashortpassageaboutafriendwhofeelssickbasedonwhattheyhavelearned.Summary:Review:Bymeansofaskingquestions,competingtoanswerandothermethods,helpstudentsreviewwhattheyhavelearned.Homework:OralHomework:Letstudentspracticedialogueswiththeirpeerstoconsolidatethelanguageknowledgetheyhavelearned.WrittenHomework:Askstudentstowriteashortessayaboutthemselvesortheirfamilymembersbeingilltofurtherimprovetheirwritingskills.Intheaboveteachingplan,thewholelanguageapproachwasadoptedfordesign,whichismainlyreflectedinthefollowingaspects.Firstly,thecombinationofoveralllanguageinputandoutput,vocabularyandsentencepatterns;comprehensivelanguageskillstraining,intheteachingprocess,tasksinfouraspectsoflistening,speaking,readingandwritingaredesigned.Then,thecreationofrealsituations:throughrole-playingandgroupdiscussionstoapproachrealscenariosascloselyaspossible.Besides,student-centered:throughgroupcooperationtofullyexerttheirsubjectiveinitiative.Finally,thenaturalacquisitionoflanguage:throughrole-playing,reading,writingandothermethodstoletstudentslearnanduselanguageinanaturallanguageenvironment.AnalysisoftestscoresandquestionnaireresultsBeforeandafterconductinganexperimentontheapplicationofthewholelanguageteachingmethodinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching,theauthoradministeredpre-testsandpost-testsoftheEnglishtestpaperforthesecondyearofjuniorhighschooltotheClass7(experimentalclass)andtheClass8(controlclass).Thetestpaperswerethemid-termandfinalexaminationpapersoftheschool.Thetotalscorewas120points,mainlyconsistingoflisteningcomprehension,subjectivemultiple-choicequestionsandcomposition.ThetestpapersweremainlydesignedtoexplorewhethertheapplicationofthewholelanguageapproachinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteachingcouldimprovestudents’Englishgrades.AnalysisoftestscoresforexperimentalclassandcontrolclassTable4.1ComparisonofEnglishScoresbetweentheExperimentalClassandtheControlClassattheMid-term(Pre-test)TestExperimentalClass7ControlClass8Pre-test89.3089.68Table4.2Comparisonofpost-testscoresbetweentheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclassTestExperimentalClass7ControlClass8Post-test102.4393.75FromthedatacomparisoninTable4.1,itcanbeseenthatbeforeapplyingtheeducationalconceptofthewholelanguageapproachtotheexperimentalstudyofjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching,theaveragescoresofthepre-testoftheEnglishexaminationpapersfortheeighthgradeoftheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclasswere89.30and89.68respectively,withonlyadifferenceof0.38points,whichwasnotsignificant.Table4.2dataindicatesthatapplyingtheeducationalconceptofthewholelanguageapproachtojuniorhighschoolEnglishteachinghasledtoaconsiderableimprovementintheaverageEnglishscoresoftheexperimentalclass,from89.30pointsinthepre-testto102.43pointsinthepost-test,withanaveragescoredifferenceof13.13pointsbetweenthetwotests.ItalsoshowsthatwhentraditionalteachingmethodsareusedforjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching,theaveragescoreofthecontrolclasshasimproved,from89.68pointsinthepre-testto93.75pointsinthepost-test,withanaveragedifferenceof4.07points.4.2DataanalysisofquestionnaireBeforeconductingtheteachingexperiment,inordertounderstandstudents’evaluationsandfeelingsabouttheapplicationofwholelanguageteachinginjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching,andtoverifywhethertheapplicationofwholelanguageteachinginjuniorhighschoolEnglishteachingishelpfulinimprovingstudents’learningmotivationandclassroomparticipation,theauthorconductedaquestionnairesurveyamongthestudentsoftheexperimentalclass(Class7).Atotalof53pre-testandpost-testquestionnairesweredistributed,and50validquestionnaireswererecoveredforeach,withaneffectiverecoveryrateof94.34%.Fordetails,pleaserefertoAppendices3and4.Amongthem,thestudentsofClass8,duetothetraditionalteachingmethodadopted,showedlittlechangeinthequestionnairesurveybeforeandafter,andthuswillnotbepresentedhere.Table4.3ThenumberofquestionsineachdimensionofthequestionnaireMotivationforlearningEnglish61,2,5,7,9,11ParticipationinEnglishclasses63,4,6,8,10,12Table4.4AComparisonofEnglishLearningMotivationBeforeandAfterExamsintheExperimentalClassquestionsPre-testPost-testIthinkEnglishisveryimportant.86%98%IthinkbeingabletocommunicateinEnglishisaveryfulfillingthing.72%90%Iaminterestedinthesocialculture,traditionalcustomsandlocalconditionsandhumanfeelingsoftheCommonwealthcountries.90%96%Usually,ItaketheinitiativetorecordsomeEnglishwordsandphrasesandtrytousetheminwritingandconversations.22%68%IcanalwayscompletetheEnglishlearningplansIsetformyself.36%68%IamfullyconfidentthatIcanlearnEnglishwell.76%92%Thecomparisonofthepre-andpost-questionnaireresponsesrevealsthatthelearningmotivationofthestudentsintheexperimentalclasshassignificantlyincreased,indicatingthattheapplicationofthewholelanguageapproachinjuniorhighschoolEnglisheducationhasbroughtaboutconsiderablechangesinstudents’motivationforlearningEnglish.AsshowninFigure4.4,regardlessofwhetheritistherecognitionoftheimportanceofEnglish,thesenseofachievementinbeingabletocommunicatefluentlyinEnglish,ortheinterestinEnglish-speakingcountries,aswellastheinitiativeinmakingplans,active