English Teaching Practice Based
on the View of Learning Activities
—A Demonstration of the
School-based Study on Middle School
English Subject at SUIS Qingpu
Based on English learning activity theory, English teaching practices have become a trend in recent years due to the changing education concepts and the continuous improvement of the English learning environment. In order to explore the effectiveness of this teaching philosophy and improve the abilities of the teaching team, a district-level teaching exhibition and seminar on the theme of “English Teaching Practices Based on English Learning Activity Theory” was held at SUIS Qingpu on Wednesday, March 29.
The teaching seminar was faithfully supported by Ms. Zhao Xiaoxiao, a teacher from the Shanghai Qingpu District Teachers’ Advanced Studies Institute Affiliated Middle School, and English teachers from the Qingpu District Study Community schools. Mr. Andrew Watt, Deputy-Head of SUIS Qingpu’s Middle School and all SUIS Qingpu Middle School English teachers also attended. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Veronica Zhan, a Grade 8 English teacher.
Two teachers from the Middle School gave classroom demonstrations, namely Ms. Lana and Ms. Sophia. Ms. Lana demonstrated her teaching practice based on the Cambridge International English textbook, using a lesson on the second conditional clause. This lesson involved letting students freely express themselves through a role-playing activity and reinforced the concept of the subjunctive mood through interaction, discussion, and sharing. Ms. Jiang Boya shared her teaching practice based on the Longman English textbook. She used “global warming” as the theme to engage students’ interest. The language learned in class was practiced using various activities such as group discussions and reading comprehension opportunities.
The activity also involved a discussion on the evaluation and improvement of teaching. In the teaching and evaluation sessions, the two teachers introduced their course design philosophy in detail. Teachers from the community who teach in several of the district’s schools also carefully analyzed and commented on the teaching they had observed and provided constructive opinions and suggestions. This encouraged the participants to exchange and learn from each other. Doing this serves to constantly improve and enhance everyone’s teaching abilities.
Ms. Zhao Xiaoxiao, from the Affiliated Middle School of Qingpu District Teachers’ Further Education Institute, summarized the training activity. She pointed out that the theme for this training was based on the English learning activity perspective of English teaching practice, aimed at improving the quality of teaching and broadening teaching ideas. From the classroom observations, lesson planning, and lesson evaluation, the participants had in-depth discussions on key issues in English teaching. They shared their own opinions and views and gained a lot from the training. The aim was for everyone to take the knowledge and experience learned in this training into their own classrooms, to improve their teaching abilities and levels, and to create a better teaching environment for students’ English learning.
During this training, not only did participants gain a deeper understanding of the English learning activity perspective, but more importantly, through classroom observations, lesson planning, and lesson evaluation, they shared their teaching experiences and ideas with each other. This type of event allows public and private schools to complement each other’s strengths and to progress together. It is believed that this activity will also greatly help improve English teachers’ teaching within Qingpu District’s training community schools. At the same time, it is hoped that this kind of teaching exchange and sharing activity can be carried out often to promote the continuous development and progress of English education in the entire district.