An Experimental Study On The Application Of Mind Map To English Vocabulary Learning In Junior Middle School

Vocabulary learning plays a vital role in language acquisition.When it comes to English learning,vocabulary,pronunciation and grammar are three elements to master.And it is well known that without vocabulary,there is no language.Meanwhile,it sets clear requirements for vocabulary learning in the Curriculum Standards for Junior Middle School English.In addition,great changes have taken place in the reform of English entrance examination to senior high school in 2019.And this reform gave a higher request to English vocabulary learning.In the process of English learning,junior middle school students spend a lot of time memorizing words,but the outcome is still disappointing.There exist such problems as weak memory,frequently-misspelled or commonly-confused words,context ignorance as well as low interest.Therefore,vocabulary learning has become a great challenge for junior middle school students in English learning.As a tool for knowledge visualization,mind map is a highly effective way of information organization.Not only does it allow people to use both sides of their brains simultaneously,but it can facilitate the integration of new knowledge and old information in a simple and intuitive way through thinking logically.For example,the words that are similar in sound and form with the target word can be drawn in one mind map,and the phrases and usage of the word can also be logically presented,which is clear,intuitive and simple,consistent with the general memory habits of human beings.Meanwhile,some achievements have been attained in the application of mind map to English vocabulary teaching for the past few decades.Besides,the mind map can cultivate students’ interest in English learning and improve their learning efficiency by creating illustrated vocabulary mind maps.Therefore,mind map provides a way out of the current dilemma of English vocabulary learning.Based on schema theory and knowledge visualization theory,this study applies mind map to junior middle school English vocabulary learning to explore its effects,aiming to enlarge students’ vocabulary,help students build an integrated system of English vocabulary knowledge,arouse students’ interest in English learning,cultivate their thinking ability and foster students’ autonomous learning ability.Thus,the following three questions are discussed:(1)What are the effects on students’ English vocabulary learning results(size,accuracy,etc.)by applying mind map to English vocabulary learning in junior middle school?(2)What are the effects on students’ English vocabulary knowledge system building by applying mind map to English vocabulary learning in junior middle school?(3)What are the effects on students’ English vocabulary memory strategies and emotional strategies by applying mind map to English vocabulary learning in junior middle school?Accordingly,the author compiles the tests,the questionnaires and the interview for this research with reference to relevant literature.Taking 97 junior middle school students in grade two from two parallel classes in Jiying Junior Middle School in Kaifeng as the research subjects,this paper adopts questionnaire survey,experimental research and interview as the research methods.After the experiment,the reliability analysis,independent sample T-test and paired sample T-test analysis were carried out on the results of tests and questionnaires.Additionally,the content analysis was used for the interpretation on the interview.The major findings can be concluded as follows:(1)The application of mind map to English vocabulary learning in junior middle school can significantly affect students’ academic performance.To a great extent,students’ vocabulary can be expanded by using vocabulary mind maps,which lays a solid foundation for English learning.(2)Students’ system of English vocabulary knowledge can be better constructed by using vocabulary mind maps.In specific,students in the experimental class perform better in morphological knowledge,syntactic knowledge,semantic knowledge and some aspects of pragmatic knowledge than those in the control class.However,there is no significant difference in phonetic knowledge and some aspects of pragmatic knowledge between the experimental class and the control class,especially the pronunciation rules,listening,speaking and reading of words.(3)It has a positive influence on students’ English vocabulary memory strategies and emotional strategies to apply mind map to English vocabulary learning in junior middle school.To be more precisely,it can stimulate students’ interest in vocabulary learning,optimize their English vocabulary memory strategies and emotional strategies and foster their autonomous learning ability.Based on the major findings above,this research offers the following suggestions for English vocabulary teaching and learning in junior middle school: for English teachers,(1)they should cultivate students’ awareness of English vocabulary knowledge,including phonetic knowledge,morphological knowledge,syntactic knowledge,semantic knowledge and pragmatic knowledge;(2)they can learn the relevant knowledge of mind map and apply it to English teaching;(3)they need to learn students’ psychological traits and apply emotional strategies to help students in forming good learning habits and stimulating their interest.In addition,they should guide students to apply memory strategies so that students can learn how to memorize words effectively.For students,(1)they should be aware of the importance of autonomous learning;(2)they should try to think about the relations between words.New words should be integrated with existing information.In other words,when they pick up a new word,they can draw mind maps according to its phonetic knowledge,morphological knowledge,syntactic knowledge,semantic knowledge and pragmatic knowledge.