Schema Theory and Its Implications for Instruction to College English Reading Teaching

Schema is a semantic memory network information storage structure, predict, select, inferences and other important role it plays in reading comprehension. Reading comprehension is a most complicated physical and psychological process; one's knowledge schema can direct his attention and help to code what he is reading. In order to improve the ability to read, the reader must be established language schema, content schema and formal schema, and activate the appropriate schema in the reading process. This article illustrates the role of content schema and style schema in the course of English reading comprehension, emphasizes that teachers should help students form proper schema and enhance the ability of reading by enlarging their knowledge.