In recent years, domestic scholars and teachers make an attempt to integrate task-based language approach into reading instruction. They have been supporting and inspiring the application of task-based language approach to English reading class. From Wu Hualan’s point of view, “meaningful tasks are real to students’ life, learning experience and social practice.”(Wu Hualan, 2011:6) So TBLA motivates students well and evokes their enthusiasm in learning. Therefore, TBLA can lead to their reading performance improvement. Reading classes become more interesting for both students and teachers. And Zhang Helan put forward that “in the TBLA reading class, teachers takes specific learning or teaching tasks as the motivation, students are provided with a number of opportunities to do things in English in all kinds of activities.”(Zhang Helan, 2007:8) With more and more studies on TBLA, teachers and writers in China have learned a lot about task-based language approach.
The previous studies both at home and abroad show that further studies on task-based language approach to English reading class still remain to be done. The present studies mainly pay attention to the effect of task-based language approach on the development of students’ ability of using English. In this thesis, with the analysis of the problems about reading teaching in junior middle school and relevant theory, it offers the application of Task-based language approach in reading classroom of junior middle school and gives teachers some advice in reading class.
3. Brief Introduction to Reading Teaching in Junior Middle School
Reading is a very important part in the process of learning English, but we may not understand the certain meaning of reading. According to Bamford, “reading is the construction of meaning from a printed or written language.”(Bamford, 2004: 299) In other words, reading is an inpidual activity that learners can combine the information in the text with their own knowledge to have a profound understanding. Therefore, more and more importance is attached to the training of reading comprehension, which is regarded as one of the four basic language skills in English learning.