Reconstruction of the "Reader Centered" Paradigm in the Teaching of High School English Literary Text Reading from the Perspective of Reception Aesthetics

Abstract

This study focuses on reconstructing the "reader-centered" paradigm in the teaching of high school English literary text reading, supported by Reception Aesthetics as its theoretical foundation. High school English literary text reading plays a significant role in cultivating students' language proficiency, cultural awareness, and aesthetic literacy. However, the current teaching practice in this area remains dominated by the traditional "teacher-centered" approach, which restricts students' active participation and the realization of the pluralistic value of literary texts. By integrating core concepts of Reception Aesthetics—such as "horizon of expectations," "structure of appeal," and "interpretive community"—this research addresses the gap in existing studies, which have largely focused on the application of Reception Aesthetics in Chinese language teaching or college English instruction. Using literature research and classroom practice analysis, the study reconstructs the "reader-centered" paradigm across three dimensions: teaching objectives, teaching process, and evaluation methods. It also identifies practical challenges, including uneven student participation, time constraints, and difficulties in the teacher's role adaptation, and proposes corresponding optimization strategies. Practical results demonstrate that this paradigm effectively enhances students' reading engagement, text interpretation skills, and critical thinking. Future research may further expand text types and integrate information technology to continuously improve teaching effectiveness.

Keywords

• Reception Aesthetics
• Reader Centered
• English teaching

References

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