图式理论和大学英语阅读教学

图式理论和大学英语阅读教学 1.IntroductionSchemaTheearliestformulationofschemawasputforwardbyKant.Inmodernpsychologystudy,BartlettiscreditedwithfirstproposingtheconceptofschemainRemembering:AStudyinExperimentalandSocialPsychology.“Tohim,thetermschemareferstoanactiveorganizationofpastreaction,orofpastexperiences,whichmustalwaysbesupposedtobeoperatinginanywell-adoptedorganicresponse.”[1]In1970s,Rumelhartexplainedthatthe“schemaisthebuildingblocksofcognition.”Forexample,thepeopledon’thavethedefinitionofcomputerbeforeitisinvented.Butnow,withthepopularizingofcomputer,thereisadefinitionofcomputerinpeople’smindthatisthecomputerschema.Theschemahelpsthepeopletomakeupapictureofcomputersthathavebeenseenandtoknowthedifferentkindsofcomputersandthethingsthataresimilartothecomputerslater.Thatistosay,“schemaisastructureofabstractknowledge;itsummarizesallkindsofknowncaseswhichhasdifferentdetailsandgivestheexpressiontotherelationorallparts.”ClassificationsofSchemaTheoryResearchershaveidentifiedseveraltypesofschemata.“Contentschema,whichreferstoareader’sbackgroundorworldknowledge,providesreaderswithafoundation,abasisforcomparison.Formalschema,oftenknownastextualschema,referstotheorganizationalformsandrhetoricalstructuresofwrittentexts.Itcanincludeknowledgeofdifferenttexttypesandgenres,andalsoincludetheunderstandingofdifferenttypesoftextswhichusedifferenttextorganization,languagestructures,vocabulary,grammar,levelofformality/register.Schoolingandcultureplaythelargestroleinprovidingonewithaknowledgebaseofformalschema.Whileformalschemacoverdiscourselevelitems,linguisticorlanguageschemaincludethedecodingfeaturesneededtorecognizewordsandhowtheyfittogetherinasentence.Firstlanguagereaders,maythroughrepeatedexamples,beabletogeneralizeapatternorguessthemeaningofaword,whichmaynothaveinitiallybeenpartoftheirlinguisticschemata.Thebuildingoflinguisticschemainasecondlanguagecanproceedinthemuchthesameway”.Fromtheabovediscussionitisevidentthatschemaplayanimportantroleintextcomprehension,...