A Study Of Phonics Training Effects On English Vocabulary Learning For Secondary Vocational School Students

This thesis studied the effects of phonics training on secondary vocational school students’English vocabulary learning(spelling,word pronunciation and lexical retention).Extensive research has established the efficiency of phonics training in vocabulary learning for English learners at different levels.However,it remains unknown as to how phonics training improves students’ English vocabulary learning in secondary vocational schools.Moreover,previous studies have relied on teachers’ perceptual judgment to evaluate the phonics training effect,lacking standardized measurements.This study aims to investigate the effect of phonics training on students’ vocabulary learning in a secondary vocational school setting from the acoustic point of view.The purpose of this study is threefold:What are the effects of phonics training on secondary vocational school students’ performance in English spelling?What are the effects of phonics training on their performance in English word pronunciation?And what are the effects of phonics training on their performance in English lexical retention?Ninety subjects in Grade Two from a secondary vocational school(Suqian Normal School)were selected and assigned into an experiment group(EG)and a control group(CG).Prior to the experiment,a pretest including a spelling test and a word pronunciation test was conducted.The results indicated that EG and CG groups did not differ significantly in the two pretests,suggesting similar proficiency level before the experiment.A four-week phonics training was adopted in EG’s classes while traditional vocabulary teaching method was used in CG.After the experiment,a spelling posttest.a word pronunciation posttest.a lexical retention posttest and a retrieve lexical retention posttest were carried out in the two classes.The posttest results of spelling found that EG and CG students’ spelling performance among learned words did not differ significantly after four weeks of phonics teaching.The findings also discovered that EG students significantly improved their spelling performance for unlearned words while CG students did not.With regard to word pronunciation performance,posttest results showed that the vowel production(in terms of the first formant and the second formant)differences for learned words between EG and CG are not significant.In particular.EG students produced significantly closer F1 and F2 frequency values to textbook acoustic properties than CG students in unlearned words.On the lexical retention side,EG students’ lexical retention performance was significantly improved after the four-week teaching experiment.However,it was not the case for CG students.The results of this study have major implications for English vocabulary teaching in secondary vocational schools.The findings provide strong support for utilizing phonics training in English vocabulary teaching and learning,and highlight the need of effective approaches in teaching practice.In particular,teachers and students are encouraged to incorporate phonics training into their English vocabulary teaching and learning routines.