1. Introduction

English instruction is becoming more and more crucial for kids’ social and developmental requirements as globalization and opening-up policies continue to progress. In China, the college entrance exam marks a significant turning point in students’ lives in addition to being an academic test. It marks a turning point for students from their teenage years to their youth and also indicates that they will step onto a broader stage of life. The results of the college entrance examination often directly or indirectly affect students’ future educational paths and career choices. On the one hand, the importance of the English subject in the college entrance examination is reflected in its score. English is one of the mandatory subjects in the college entrance examination, and its score accounts for a considerable proportion of the total score. Therefore, the academic performance of English directly affects students’ total scores in the college entrance examination, which in turn affects their ability to enter their ideal universities and majors. On the other hand, English, as a globally recognized language, is crucial for today’s society and future workplaces. No matter what the future major direction of students is, whether it is science, technology, economics, or art, mastering English can broaden their horizons and enhance their competitiveness. In today’s increasingly globalized world, English has become a bridge for communication, learning, and work. However, there are still many problems in current high school English teaching, which have led to many students being uninterested in learning English, stagnant English grades, and even developing an aversion to learning English. This article will comprehensively understand the current situation of high school English teaching through in-depth research and investigation, analyze the existing problems and challenges, and propose corresponding improvement strategies and suggestions, in order to provide useful references for the development of high school English teaching. Therefore, schools, teachers, and other parties need to analyze and reflect on the current situation of English teaching and make improvements and enhancements.

2. High School English Reading Teaching

Reading is a vital component of the curriculum in high school English education, and its importance cannot be overstated. Reading in English is a crucial component of the college entrance exam, and instructors and students alike should recognize how crucial reading in English is to the language’s acquisition process.

2.1. Current Situation

Firstly, the teaching format is too singular. Traditional teaching methods and resources dominate. The teaching methods of teachers are single and traditional, relying solely on textbooks and lesson plans without innovation. The teaching methods cannot arouse students’ interest in learning and reading. In addition, some teachers overly focus on students’ grades and adopt traditional teaching methods, placing too much emphasis on improving students’ vocabulary, grammar, and other abilities, while neglecting the cultivation of students’ reading thinking, reading strategies, and cultural awareness. Secondly, there are differences in students’ own abilities and interests. Due to differences in family upbringing, living environment, and other factors, there are differences in English reading ability among high school students. Some students can better understand and master reading materials, while others may find it difficult. In addition, students’ interest in English reading also varies due to personal preferences, cultural backgrounds, and other factors. Thirdly, the classroom interaction and evaluation methods in English reading teaching are too rigid. In high school, English reading teaching, classroom interaction, and evaluation methods are crucial for improving students’ learning effectiveness and interest. At present, some English reading teaching classroom interaction and evaluation methods are still too single and mechanical, lacking specificity and effectiveness. This results in students being unable to fully showcase their reading achievements and thinking abilities, and unable to receive effective feedback and guidance from teachers.

2.2. Strategies

Firstly, high school English teachers should enrich teaching content, innovate teaching methods, and update teaching concepts. When improving the English reading level of high school students, it is necessary to break through the limitations of traditional educational concepts and teaching content. Teachers can draw on works from the excellent cultural background of the West, covering various themes and fields, allowing students to find suitable English reading materials based on their reading abilities and interests, thereby improving their English reading ability. Teachers should step back from behind the scenes and return the stage to students. Teachers and students should communicate and interact on an equal footing, and the one-man classroom teaching should be changed to interactive teaching to stimulate students’ interest in reading through interaction [1]. Secondly, teachers can utilize modern information technology to assist in teaching. Teachers can use online education platforms and teaching aids to help students engage in self-directed learning and interact with them at any time. The use of multimedia, Western films, TV dramas, music, picture books, and other teaching forms can also effectively stimulate high school students’ interest in learning English reading. Thirdly, schools and teachers can enhance students’ reading experience by organizing diverse reading activities. Teachers have organized English speech competitions, drama performances, book clubs, and other activities to enable students to apply English reading knowledge to their daily lives. Senior English reading classes should be designed with the needs of the students in mind, making the most of the activities to help them become better readers [2].

3. High School English Writing Teaching

In order to effectively teach writing in high school English, teachers must impart and develop students’ knowledge and skills in a variety of areas, such as writing ideas, writing quality, writing evaluation, writing materials, and writing knowledge, all in accordance with the new curriculum standards [3]. However, the current situation of high school English writing teaching still faces some real problems and challenges.

3.1. Current Situation

Firstly, the teaching content is single, and the teaching methods are outdated. At present, many high schools English writing teaching still at the traditional level of teaching writing skills and grammar rules, lacking the development of students’ ability to use language in real-world situations, and lacking innovation, which cannot arouse students’ interest in English writing. The current examination is still the main measure for teachers to effectively carry out teaching evaluation [4]. In English writing teaching, teachers adopt the traditional method of teacher explanation and student imitation to teach students English writing. This method ignores the subject status of students in the teaching process and leads to a lack of independent thinking and innovation ability among students. Secondly, students lack language expression ability, writing interest, and motivation. Due to the lack of practical opportunities to use language, many students cannot express themselves accurately in writing. At the same time, some students’ English vocabulary and grammar skills are not solid enough, which affects their writing ability. The traditional teaching mode also affects students’ interest in English writing. Most students often only complete English writing due to exams, lacking investment and interest in the process of English writing. Thirdly, there is a lack of teaching environment and teaching resources. Some schools have outdated teaching facilities and lack teaching that affects English writing. Meanwhile, the lack of professional English writing teachers, textbooks, and other auxiliary materials also has a significant impact on students’ learning of English writing.

3.2. Strategies

Firstly, teachers should innovate teaching methods and introduce diversified teaching methods. In the process of teaching high school English writing, in order to effectively improve students’ writing ability and comprehensive quality, teachers need to focus on gradually shifting from the traditional classroom teaching mode to the flipped classroom teaching mode [5]. Teachers can use various teaching methods such as situational teaching and project-based learning, as well as modern technologies such as multimedia and the internet, to enrich teaching methods, stimulate students’ interest and enthusiasm, and improve teaching effectiveness. Secondly, teachers should enhance student engagement and increase practical opportunities. Teachers can organize students to carry out group cooperation, through which students can work together to complete writing tasks and improve their collaborative and writing abilities. Teachers and schools also can provide students with time and space for self-directed learning, allowing them to freely express their creativity, encouraging them to explore independently, and enhancing their interest in writing. At the same time, extracurricular activities such as organizing English corners and English writing competitions can also provide students with practical opportunities to exercise their writing skills. Teachers can combine writing tasks with real-life situations, allowing students to find writing materials from life, and improving the practicality and fun of writing. When designing English activities, teachers should firmly grasp the nature of the English curriculum, develop students’ creative thinking, and establish correct values based on a good English language [6]. Thirdly, schools should strengthen teacher training and improve evaluation mechanism training. Schools should regularly organize teachers to participate in training to improve their education and teaching as well as innovation ability. Schools should establish a scientific evaluation mechanism, focus on process evaluation and diversified evaluation, and stimulate students’ writing motivation.

4. High School English Listening Teaching

With the continuous reform of the college entrance examination, English listening has become increasingly important, and more and more provinces are adding listening to their overall English scores. Among them, Liaoning has included English listening scores in its overall English scores in the college entrance examination in 2023. Therefore, high school English listening teaching should be given due attention.

4.1. Current Situation

Firstly, there is a disconnect between textbooks and actual needs. The listening materials in current high school English textbooks are mainly based on textbook recordings, with single content and lack of authenticity. English teachers still choose single English word mechanical memorization teaching and English reading and listening question sea training teaching when teaching [7]. In real life, students often face diverse listening environments and complex and varied pronunciation and intonation, and the content in textbooks makes it difficult to meet this demand. Secondly, teachers’ teaching methods are outdated. Some teachers, influenced by teaching pressure and the composition of English grades, tend to focus their teaching on written English reading and writing, while neglecting the teaching of English listening [8]. Some teachers do not pay attention to English listening teaching at all, and even ignore and give up English listening teaching. When conducting listening teaching, they still use the traditional teaching mode of listening to recordings and answering questions, which lacks interactivity and fun. This teaching method makes it hard for students to engage in learning and improve their listening skills. Thirdly, students have weak listening skills. Due to long-term neglect of the cultivation of listening skills, many high school students have weak English listening abilities. They often struggle to quickly understand and respond to listening materials in real-life contexts.

4.2. Strategies

Firstly, educational institutions should update the textbook content. Textbooks should pay more attention to listening training in real-life contexts, adding diverse listening materials such as news reports, speeches, interviews and so on, to improve students’ practical application abilities. Teachers should make good use of the opportunity to preview daily listening teaching, take into account the core content of listening and the details that may appear in the exam, and train high school students to process and memorize listening information quickly [9]. Secondly, teachers can innovate teaching methods and strengthen teacher-student interaction. Teachers should adopt diversified teaching methods and tools, such as interactive teaching, situational simulation and so on, to stimulate students’ interest and enthusiasm for learning. Meanwhile, teachers can enhance their teaching methods by using modern technological means like multimedia and online resources. Teachers guide students to actively participate in classroom discussions and exchanges by strengthening interaction with them. Through teacher-student interaction, teachers can timely understand students’ learning, adjust teaching strategies, and improve teaching effectiveness. Thirdly, teachers should enhance students’ ability for self-directed learning. Teachers encourage students to use their after-school time for listening training by guiding them to develop good habits of self-directed learning. Meanwhile, teachers can recommend some high-quality English listening resources, such as English movies, TV dramas, news websites, and so on, to broaden students’ listening horizons.

5. High School English Grammar Teaching

English grammar is crucial for high school students to learn English. English grammar is ubiquitous in listening, reading, and writing. By studying English grammar, high school students can enhance their abilities in listening, reading, and writing. Therefore, high school English grammar plays a crucial role in cultivating students’ language application ability and exam skills.

5.1. Current Situation

Firstly, the teaching methods for English grammar are single and heavy. Currently, many high school English classrooms still use the traditional method, which is a teaching model. This model focuses on explaining grammar rules and translating example sentences, while neglecting the cultivation of students’ language output and communication skills in practical applications. Due to the lack of diverse teaching methods and activities, the classroom atmosphere often appears dull and monotonous and influenced by education, many high school English grammar classes are overly emphasizing the memorization of grammar knowledge and the training of skills. This approach neglects the cultivation of students’ comprehensive English abilities and may result in difficulties or even inability to understand, making students feel inadequate in practical language use. Secondly, teachers are neglecting practical application. Many teachers focus too much on explaining grammar rules when teaching grammar, while neglecting the application of grammar in practical contexts. Students often can only mechanically memorize grammar rules, but cannot flexibly apply them to practical language communication. This teaching method that is detached from practical application results in ineffective improvement of students’ English proficiency. Thirdly, there is a lack of personalized teaching. Due to the differences in English foundation and learning ability among students, personalized teaching strategies are crucial for improving teaching effectiveness. However, current high school English grammar teaching often overlooks individual differences among students and adopts a teaching approach. This teaching method cannot meet the needs of different students, resulting in a blow to the learning enthusiasm of some students and a loss of motivation in the process of grammar learning.

5.2. Strategies

Firstly, teachers should enrich their teaching methods and activities, and strengthen their practical application. Teachers should adopt diverse teaching methods and activities, such as task-based teaching, situational teaching, group cooperation and so on, to stimulate students’ interest and enthusiasm for learning. At the same time, by designing rich classroom activities, students can master grammar knowledge in practice. In addition, teachers should pay attention to the application of grammar in practical contexts and guide students to combine grammar knowledge with actual communication. By simulating real-life conversations, writing exercises, and other methods, students’ language application abilities can be improved. Grammar teaching should focus more on student-centered approaches, emphasizing the development of their language abilities and cultural awareness, emphasizing learning in context, and thereby enhancing their confidence in grammar learning [10]. Secondly, personalized teaching strategies should be implemented by teachers. Teachers should develop personalized teaching strategies based on individual differences among students. Teachers can provide targeted guidance and assistance to students by understanding their English foundation, learning styles, and needs. At the same time, encourage students to actively participate in classroom discussions and exchanges, and cultivate their ability for self-directed learning. Thirdly, teachers should change their teaching concepts. Teachers should change their exam oriented teaching philosophy, not only focusing on current exams, but also considering students’ use of English grammar in future learning, life, and society, and emphasizing the cultivation of students’ comprehensive English abilities and qualities. By improving students’ language application ability, communication ability, and thinking ability, a solid foundation is laid for their future learning and career development.

6. Conclusion

High school English teaching is an important stage in cultivating students’ comprehensive English application ability. In response to the problems and challenges in current high school English teaching, schools and teachers should adopt effective improvement strategies, such as innovating in teaching content and methods, aiming to cultivate students’ practical language application ability, enhance students’ subjectivity, encourage them to actively participate in classroom interaction, improve teachers’ own quality, and fully utilize teaching resources to provide strong support for teaching. In short, high school English teaching is a complex and important task. Schools, teachers, and other institutions need to improve and optimize from multiple aspects to enhance students’ comprehensive English proficiency.