An Experimental Study On The Application Of Concept Map To English Reading Teaching In Junior High School

Concept map was put forward by Joseph. D. Novak who is one of the professors in Connell University in the USA on the basis of Ausubel’s meaningful learning theories. It is come up with as a teaching skill through many teaching experimental research which can promote meaningful learning and make the students learn to learn. The characteristic of concept map is a kind of knowledge representation method, which is illustrated in a graphic way, characterized some concepts and the relationship between concepts intuitively.This paper tries to explore the application of concept map in English reading in junior high school. The author adopts the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to test a comparative study whether the concept map can enhance English reading strategies and English reading proficiency. From August, 2015 to January, 2016, the author chooses two regular classes of grade eight in No.2 middle school in Wei town, Handan city as experimental subjects, with 62 in the experimental class and 60 in the control class. The experimental class uses the concept map for teaching, while the control class is still using the traditional method for teaching. In order to collect the relevant test data, a questionnaire is distributed before the experiment. It investigated the application of students’ English reading strategies. In addition, the results of the first monthly examination prove whether there is a significant difference between the two classes. After the experiment, the 12 students with different levels in the experimental class take part in the interview. At the same time, the second questionnaire is carried out in experimental class. The final examination and the first monthly examination are compared after the experiment. Then discuss and analyze whether the concept map can improve the students’ English reading proficiency. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of all data and information, the author discusses the influence of the concept map in the students’ English reading.The experimental results show that the concept map can promote students to use English reading strategies and enhance their English reading proficiency. By using the concept map for teaching, the students’ ability of comprehension and memory can greatly improve. The introduction of the concept map teaching has injected new vitality for teaching reform.