Nowadays, the development trend of task-based approach is: firstly, the application of task-based teaching mode began to move toward persity; secondly, theoretical modes of task-based language teaching trend to be persified; thirdly, the design and layout tasks pay more attention to the integration of language form and language meaning; fourthly, he deep research on task-based language teaching is carried out.源[自*751^`论\文"网·www.751com.cn/

2. Literature Review

2.1 The Current Situation of Middle School English Reading

    Based on the current situation that the overall development of middle school English reading is not ideal. On one hand, students take a positive attitude towards reading in English, however, the overall momentum of development is unbalanced. Firstly, they are in lack of enough reading time which leads to a small amount of reading. Secondly , they develop bad reading habits and use inappropriate reading methods. What’s more, many students show little interest in reading and there exist a lot of differences between the student’s need and motivation in reading.

Consequently, it is urgent for us to find a suitable reading teaching pedagogy.

2.2 The Current Situation of Research on Task-based Teaching of Reading in Foreign Countries

     Prabhu is considered as the founder of task-based teaching activities. He is the first to reflect the task-based approach in the curriculum and teaching practice. He holds the view that students can learn more effectively when they focus on a task rather than language. What’s more, he believes task is an activity that students get a conclusion from given information by thinking. As a result, students will be able to regulate their own thinking process. However, Prabhu’s task-based teaching theory exists some shortcomings, such as, the selection of task does not analyze and the rating assignment is arbitrary and any form of language teaching centers are excluded. These deficiencies become the key problems for researchers to solve.

Like Prabhu, Candlin and Breen also regard task as unit of curriculum design and the kind of syllabus is called “process outline”. However, they make an improvement of Prabhu’s research. Candlin redefines the task that task is a series of distinctive and gradable activities. Different from Prabhu, Breen gives a new mission to course designers and that is to provide alternative teaching activities and tasks, which requires that teachers should have high teaching ability and students should be more active. Nevertheless, Candlin and Breen do not mention the direct grammar teaching, but too much emphasis on communication. In this way, students will be more dependent on communication strategies and use words excessively while the structure of language is not given enough attention, which cannot guarantee a balanced development of the language system. 

Long and Crookes also initially develop a theoretical model of task-based approach- interaction correction theory from the second language learning theory. It also exists shortcoming which cannot ensure the development of learners’ inter language system.

Later, Jane Willis points out that task-based language learning activities stress that the purpose of language learning is useful and should focus on meaning in her book “A Framework for Task-based Learning”.