Repetition-Focused Vocabulary Teaching Based On Context And Chunks In Junior Schools

Vocabulary teaching is an important part of English teaching, especially in junior schools. Although at present more and more attention is focused on vocabulary teaching and a lot of new techniques are introduced and exercised, English teachers in junior schools still don't pay enough attention. They usually teach vocabulary in word lists and then ask students to recite words again and again until they remember. It prevents students from memorizing vocabulary longer and learning with fun. To solve this problem, the author proposes the repetition-focused vocabulary teaching based on context and chunks. Context provides vocabulary with distinct meaning. Furthermore, it helps to stimulate memory by giving brain more clues. Chunks, which appear frequently in the language of English, reduce the memory load by saving storage space. Repetition is a useful tool to reinforce memory, which is proved by cognitive experiments and our own experience. When the three work together, the students surely can remember words for a longer time and with less difficulty. To test if they really have effect on vocabulary learning, the author designs an experiment whose results prove that the repetition-focused vocabulary teaching based on context and chunks is helpful in improving students'memory of words with interest and less difficulty as well as integral English competence.The thesis includes six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction of the thesis. It introduces why the author raises the repetition-focused vocabulary teaching based on context and chunks. Chapter Two and Three are literature review. In Chapter Two, basic concepts of vocabulary are introduced. Context and chunks are discussed in relation to vocabulary teaching in Chapter Two as well. The theories related to memory are discussed in Chapter Three. It also describes the relations between repetition, context and chunks. Chapter Four introduces the design of the experiment and its detailed procedure. Chapter Five describes the results of the experiments and the conclusion. Further suggestions and limitations are in Chapter Six.