A Research On The Application Of Lexical Chunks In Vocabulary Teaching In Junior High School

Vocabulary is the most basic unit of language,and it is also the basis of language learning.Vocabulary learning goes through the entire language learning process.The English curriculum standards also clearly stipulate that the vocabulary is one of the three major elements of language.Therefore,mastering a certain amount of vocabularies is a prerequisite for language learners to learn English well.However,there are still many problems in vocabulary teaching and the traditional vocabulary teaching methods are still deeply entrenched in many schools,which cause great difficulties for students’ vocabulary learning.Therefore,it is very necessary to find effective vocabulary learning methods and teaching methods under such circumstances.In the 1980 s,more and more linguists and scholars began to study the role of language and the vocabulary,and they found that there are many fixed or semi-fixed expressions in the English which can be extracted as a chunk to facilitate expression and employ.At the same time,these chunks have the contextual function that make it easier and more convenient for students to communicate.Therefore,mastering these lexical chunks can effectively promote vocabulary learning and English study.In recent years,the lexical chunk theory has attracted more and more attention in the linguistic and English teaching,but most of the studies were only focused on theories but not the teaching practice.What’s more,most researchers pay more attention to the study of lexical chunks in vocabulary teaching in high schools but not junior high schools,especially in counties.Therefore,the research on the application of lexical chunks in vocabulary teaching in junior high school in counties is very necessary.According to the lexical chunk theory proposed by Micheal Lewis,the author used teaching method of lexical chunk in junior high school for the following two questions:(1): Can the application of lexical chunk theory in vocabulary teaching influence students’ English vocabulary learning including the attitude,methods and application of vocabulary learning?(2): Can the application of lexical chunk theory in vocabulary teaching improve students’ English achievements?Which question types in test paper are improved significantly ? The research subjects of this thesis are junior one students from No.2 middle school in Jixian County.The research instruments of thisthesis are questionnaires and test paper.In addition,the author employed SPSS 17.0 to prove the rationality and operability of the lexical chunks teaching method in vocabulary teaching in junior high school.After data analysis and discussion,author have drawn the following conclusions:(1)the application of lexical chunks teaching method influence students’ vocabulary learning including attitude,methods and application of vocabulary learning to some extent.(2)the application of lexical chunks teaching method improve students’ English performances to some extent.There are different influences in different parts in test paper,especially in multiple choice,cloze,vocabulary application and writing.The author proposes the following suggestions in vocabulary teaching:(1)Teachers should have awareness of lexical chunks teaching.(2)Teachers should design exercises and activities that are conducive to the chunks output.(3)Teachers could cultivate students’ ability to learn lexical chunks by themselves.(4)Teachers should try to make students in a authentic language environment.