A Study Of Avoidance In Vocabulary Acquisition In Chinese Class

Avoidance is very common and important in second language acquisition. However, the research in this area is relatively limited.On the basis of the literature summary of avoidance conducted by some predecessors, this thesis takes a closer study of the avoidance during the process of acquiring vocabulary in Chinese Class by way of a questionnaire, actual classroom teaching and a personal interview. Firstly, the basic theory is explored such as the definition, classification and evaluation standards of avoidance based on the study of literature at home and abroad. Secondly, both the micro and macro dimensions of avoidance are studied. The first empirical research focuses on the micro aspect and illustrates avoidance on notional words and functional words. With regard to the macro aspect and based on the analysis of the data collected through a questionnaire and processed by SPSS 16.0, four aspects of avoidance are discussed; they are: performance, characteristics, causes and students’views on avoidance. Thirdly, through the study of avoidance, the main reasons for avoidance are discussed; they are the deficiency of language input and output as well as the fears of making mistakes.Based on research, a constructive suggestion is put forward on the treatment of avoidance. Meanwhile the approach of Chinese vocabulary teaching and students’ mental lexicon construction are also discussed.