A Study Of Vocabulary Teaching And Learning Based On Cognition And Memory Theory

Vocabulary is the basis of foreign language and the premise of other foreign language capabilities such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation etc. Rivers (1983) pointed out that a large number of foreign language vocabulary is the cornerstone of successful use of language. If you do not have a lot of vocabulary, it will have a negatively direct impact on the day-to-day communication and work and your exam scores. Around the core on how to expand the vocabulary, a growing number of scholars and researchers have realized that social linguistics, cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, and other related theories should be applied into the research and study of vocabulary teaching and learning, and a large amount of achievements have been explored, which contribute a lot to the vocabulary teaching and learning based on cognition and memory theory.Cognitive structure and memory are inseparable factors in vocabulary teaching and learning. From the perspective of cognitive structure of learners, cognition structure theory emphasizes the important function of the variables of cognition structure in enhancing vocabulary teaching and learning. Meanwhile, the vocabulary finally transferred to long-term memory must travel through the sensory and working memory. Then this process of transfer becomes an issue pursued by many scholars. Therefore to explore how memory works help a lot in the vocabulary teaching and learning.In this thesis, basing on cognitive structure and memory theory, summarizing the teaching and learning experience of English vocabulary, and borrowing ideas from some other researches and related literatures, the writer tries to analysis and explore the teaching and learning of English vocabulary in China, and come up with a number of innovative ideas and suggestions with the application of the cognitive structure theory and memory theory, aiming at solving difficulties and problems English learners encountered in the process of the vocabulary learning , such as vocabulary memorization, vocabulary forgotten and how to expand the vocabulary effectively etc., during which two key questions will be explored 1. How can teachers in classroom teaching help English learners to enlarge vocabulary in the most extent?2. How do some strategies on vocabulary learning help English learners gain the long-term memorization and expand a large amount of vocabulary? This thesis is divided into five chapters:Chapter One introduces the background, objectives, and the theoretical and practical significance of the research.Chapter Two reviews foreign language teaching and learning in terms of the historical development, and focuses on reviewing the application of cognitive structure theory and memory theory into vocabulary teaching and learning. In addition, the teaching and learning of foreign language vocabulary both at home and abroad is introduced and compared.Chapter Three presents the theoretical basis of the research - cognitive structure theory and memory theory.Chapter Four explores the effective and practical instruction ways of teaching and learning English vocabulary in China both for English teachers and learners on the basis of cognitive structure theory as well as memory theory.Chapter Five summarizes the creative points and the limitations of the research, and provides the insights for the further research.