An Experimental Study On The Application Of Mind Maps To English Vocabulary Teaching In Senior High School

Vocabulary plays an important role in English teaching and learning,and it is the basis of English study.Whether students master English vocabulary well affects students' understanding of the passage and other aspects of English study.But in senior high schools,many students ignore the importance of English vocabulary learning and they don't know how to learn English vocabulary efficiently.Vocabulary has become one of the most important factors that discourage them from learning English well.Many students hold a negative attitude towards English vocabulary learning and it is said by the students that it is difficult to remember the words,but easy to forget.Meanwhile,the teachers in senior high schools say that it is an obstacle for senior high school students to remember the words that are required to be.And it is also found that students in senior high schools lack interest in learning English vocabulary.Therefore,it is necessary that an effective method needed to be explored to teach and learn English vocabulary.In the research,the author aims to combine the Mind Maps and vocabulary together to find a more effective method of English vocabulary teaching and learning in senior high school by applying Mind Maps to English vocabulary teaching.Thus,the study is carried out by the following three questions:(1)Can application of Mind Maps to English vocabulary teaching improve students' interest in English vocabulary learning?(2)Can application of Mind Maps to English vocabulary teaching improve students' vocabulary learning strategies?(3)Can application of Mind Maps to English vocabulary teaching improve students' English vocabulary learning ability?The author carried out the experiment in two classes in Guanyun NO.1High School.Subjects selected for the experiment are the students of two parallel classes in grade two.One class is the experimental class while the other one is the control class.Before and after the experiment,both of the two classes took the pre-tests and post-test.Meanwhile,questionnaires are conducted in the experimental class before and after the experiment.Moreover,some of the students were interviewed in the experimental class before and after the experiment.The data collected from the questionnaires,interviews and tests were analyzed by the software SPSS19.0.According to the analysis of the data collected from the tests,the author found that after two-month's treatment,students in the experimental class have higher English vocabulary test scores than those the students in the control class get.After the analysis of the questionnaires,interviews,the author found that after the experiment,the students in the experimental class showed more interest in English vocabulary learning and their English vocabulary learning strategy and ability are improved.From what has been conducted in the experiment,the author thinks that Mind Map has a positive effect on English vocabulary learning.