On English Vocabulary Learning Strategies In Junior Middle School

As an international language, the important status of English gets more and more consensuses. English is just like a building, and vocabulary is the foundation of constructing the building. So learn English vocabulary is the key to learn English well. Since the1980s, second language learning strategy training gradually aroused people’s attention, and was believed generally that it can strengthen the learning input and output. As Cohen (1998) considered that learning strategy training contributes to the improvement of students’learning motivation and the enhancement of students’learning autonomy. Learning strategy training ought to be part of the foreign language courses without doubt. Since then, researchers’concerns mainly focus on the process of foreign language learning instead of foreign language teaching methodology, to realize how to "learn" rather than how to "teach" Particularly, the researches on English learning strategy of middle school students are at latest, and researches for foreign language learning strategy training and their effects are less, among which strategy research of vocabulary is comparatively mature. On the basis of the current teaching and learning situation of English vocabulary in rural junior middle school of Yuyang District in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, this study makes a survey about the students’vocabulary learning beliefs and uses of VLS in two classes of Grade8in Hong Shiqiao junior middle school, and performs the three-month VLST only in Class1(EG), while the students in Class2(CG) don’t receive any training. It strives to change the students’vocabulary learning beliefs, cultivate their independent learning competence and promote their vocabulary level by adopting effective learning strategies. Four research questions are raised:Q1:What are the overall patterns of vocabulary learning beliefs and learning strategies among the students of Grade8in Hong Shiqiao Junior Middle School in Yuyang District?Q2:What are the differences between Class1(EG) and Class2(CG) in two tests? Does high-score group use more vocabulary learning strategies than low-score group in Class1(EG)?Q3:After the three-month strategy training, are there any substantial changes in students’using vocabulary learning strategies in Class1(EG)?Q4:Are there any correlations between vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary test scores?Through two questionnaires and two vocabulary tests before and after the VLST, the author gets the research results by statistic analysis with the aid of SPSS17.O. The findings related to the research questions that can be summarized as:(1) Before the VLST, all of the students in Grade8hold the belief of rote. They use fewer VLS, strategies like repetition, key word, resourcing and questioning for clarification are adopted most often comparatively.(2) There isn’t any remarkable difference between EG and CG in pre-test, while in post-test, the test scores of students in EG are obviously higher than those in CG. It also presents that high-score group adopts more vocabulary learning strategies than low-score group in EG after training.(3) After the VLST, most students have turned to the beliefs of application and context in EG. They have learned to use a certain amount of strategies of three categories.(4) The correlation coefficients prove that the more the use of VLS is, the higher the test score is.The research results prove that VLS can be trained and the VLST have positive effect on students’vocabulary learning in rural junior middle school, which can be the favorable references for future research.