A Study Of Recitation-based Teaching Method Of English In Junior High Schools:from The Perspectives Of Memetics

As a traditional language teaching method,recitation is widely used in China.However,the introduction and promotion of some foreign teaching methods,like communicative teaching method and task-based teaching method,makes the declination of recitation-based teaching method which is viewed as an outdated metbod.What’s more,English education in Chinese middle schools pays more attention to the cultivation of communicative competence instead of the command of basic English knowledge.Thus,the recitation-based teaching method is misunderstood and neglected by scholars and teachers.But,the development of memetics in the field of language provides a new theoretical basis for the research and implementation of the recitation-based teaching method.Memetics,based on the view of Darwinism,is a new theory to explain the rule of cultural evolution.Meme is the central concept of memecics.Before it becomes a strong meme,the meme need go through four stages:assimilation,retention,expression and transmission.The strong meme can be copied and transmitted between different hosts.Language is a meme,too.In essence,language teaching is the process of copying and transmission of words,sentence patterns and passages.This research is based on memetics,which includes the exhaustive literature review and empirical study and it carries out questionnaires and teaching experiment.The purpose of this research is to verify the effectiveness of a memetics based recitation-based teaching method,which proves it can increase students’ confidence and improve students’ English comprehensive ability.After collecting and analyzing the data of questionnaires and test papers,the writer finds that the memtics based recitation-based teaching method can change people’s stereotyped image about recitation and make them regain learning confidence.It can also improve students’ English comprehensive ability,especially translation and writing of junior high school students.Therefore,the recitation-based teaching method should be valued in high school English teaching.And memetics offers a new theoretical basis and teaching thought for English teachers to use recitation in high schools,which deserves further study by scholars.