A Study On The Effectiveness Of Applying Mind Mapping To English Vocabulary Teaching In Junior High Schools

As a tool of communication,language mainly includes three aspects:pronunciation,vocabulary and grammar.Among them,vocabulary is the basis of English,which is a significant measure of English proficiency.Besides,the New English Curriculum Standard for Compulsory Education(2011)requires students to reach Level 5 in vocabulary after they graduate from junior high schools.However,the vocabulary teaching methods adopted by most of the junior high school English teachers are relatively monotonous,which makes students unwilling to participate in classroom activities and greatly reduces the efficiency of vocabulary teaching.Faced with the current situation of English vocabulary teaching in China,an effective and beneficial vocabulary teaching method is urgently needed.As a kind of visual tool and divergent thinking tool,mind mapping can help students learn and memorize vocabulary efficiently.In the research,the author aims to find a more effective method of vocabulary teaching in junior high schools by combining mind mapping with vocabulary teaching on the basis of constructivist learning theory,schema theory and thinking visualization theory.Therefore,this research is conducted by means of questionnaires,tests and interviews to explore the following three questions:1.What effects does the application of mind mapping have on students’ attitudes towards vocabulary learning?2.What effects does the application of mind mapping have on students’ strategies in vocabulary memorization?3.What effects does the application of mind mapping have on students’ vocabulary level?For this purpose,the researcher selected two parallel classes,a total of 90 students,in Grade Eight from Ruanqiao Junior High School in Chizhou City.One of the class,set to be the experimental class,was taught by applying the mind mapping method,and the other one,called the control class,by using traditional vocabulary teaching method.This experiment was conducted for nearly four months.The data were analyzed by using SPSS Statistics 22.0 and research findings are as follows:1)the application of mind mapping can improve students’ attitudes to vocabulary learning.2)the application of mind mapping can enrich students’ strategies in vocabulary memorization.3)the application of mind mapping has a positive effect on students’ vocabulary level.The experimental results provide the following implications: First,through data analysis,the application of mind mapping to junior high school English vocabulary teaching is effective.Therefore,the majority of front-line teachers can try to use mind mapping in their daily English teaching.Second,the process of making mind mapping can effectively develop students’ ability of divergent thinking.On this basis,teachers should focus on the cultivation of students’ imagination and creativity.Third,after students have mastered how to make English vocabulary mind maps,teachers should let students try to make their own vocabulary mind maps.Last,it is suggested to combine the mind mapping method with other teaching methods in practical teaching to play a better role in serving students’ English learning.