Reading With a Purpose——A Re-assessment of the English Reading Courses

It is well-known to all English teachers and students in China that one of the Predominant Courses for English Freshman and Sophomore is Intensive Reading,which,supplemented by Extensive Reading,takes up 8—10 reading hours in each week,more than 2/3 of the total course work for English majors. This paper questions the validity of Intensive Reading and Extensive Reading as they are taught today. It will also discuss the possible measures we can take in teaching these courses.