Vocabulary Teaching Based On The Principles Of Cognitive Semantics: An Experimental Research

The purpose of the project is to enhance the effectiveness of vocabulary teaching with the aid of the theories of cognitive semantics. This project also attempts to improve the efficiency in vocabulary teaching by exploring the approach based on the theories of cognitive semantics, to direct the practice of vocabulary teaching, and making use of the new teaching model to promote students'motivation in vocabulary learning, to arouse students'interest of English learning.Theories to support this research in cognitive semantics include prototypical category theory, image scheme theory and the cognitive model theory. Under the guidance of cognitive semantics, a relation between mental representation and language expression in the process of vocabulary learning from the cognitive perspective should be focused on, which can facilitate students'understanding and acquisition of the English vocabulary .The method used to carry out this study is an experimental research. Two intact classes in a senior middle school are chosen for the project, one is chosen as the experimental group and the other one is chosen as the control group. The traditional vocabulary teaching method is applied in the control group, and the cognitive semantic vocabulary teaching method is carried out in the experimental group. After collecting the data from the two groups, a comparative analysis on the efficiency of vocabulary teaching is conducted.The expected findings of this study are: firstly, it displays the feasibility of vocabulary teaching under the guidance of the theories in cognitive semantics and provide a specific example to follow in vocabulary instruction. Secondly, it provides experiences for teachers in the senior middle school with the methods on how to arouse students'interest and promote motivation in English learning with the aid of cognitive semantic theories. Thirdly, it demonstrates how to design classroom procedures and activities of vocabulary instruction in real classroom setting.As we all know that vocabulary is the most difficult part for students in the process of foreign language learning, and vocabulary learning plays a significant role in the teaching process. So there is a need to improve the efficiency in vocabulary learning with the cognitive semantic theory. The findings of the research will shed light on the design of a more practical model of vocabulary teaching following the principles of the theories in cognitive semantics. Meanwhile, the findings of the research will enrich the range of applied research in the area of vocabulary teaching from the perspective of cognitive semantics and provide experiences for teachers in the middle school with the new model of vocabulary teaching.