A Study On The Application Of Meta-cognitive Strategy To English Vocabulary Teaching In Yi Minority Junior High Schools

The English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2022 edition)points out that vocabulary instruction is an important component of English teaching,and it is the starting point of conducting language teaching activities.As one of the basic elements of English curriculum content,learning strategies play a promoting role in the sustainable development of students’ core competence throughout the process of compulsory education.However,in teaching practice,especially in Yi minority regions,vocabulary is a big challenge for students.Because teachers lack effective strategies to guide students in vocabulary learning,and thus part of Yi students claim vocabulary learning is “ time-consuming and ineffective”.While in the context of the curriculum,the development of students’ learning strategies is extremely crucial.And how to guide students to strategically learn words has become a significant study issue for propelling the development of English teaching in Yi minority regions.Therefore,this study aims to apply meta-cognitive strategy to vocabulary teaching to provide strategic guidance for students,which is conducive to helping students to actively and autonomously get involved in learning activities of vocabulary,and finally boost their learning efficiency.Supported by the meta-cognitive theory and autonomous learning theory,this study adopts vocabulary tests,questionnaires,and semi-structured interviews to conduct a teaching experiment lasting for four months among eighty-eight students of Grade eight in X Junior High School of Mabian Yi Autonomous County,Leshan.During the experiment,the author employs meta-cognitive strategy to teach vocabulary in the experimental class,while the original instructional method is still used in the control class.This study is directed at addressing two questions:(1).What effect does the application of meta-cognitive strategy have on Yi students’ vocabulary learning interests and attitudes?(2).What effect does the application of meta-cognitive strategy have on Yi students’ academic achievements in vocabulary learning? Through comparing experimental test scores and data from questionnaires,as well as analyzing the contents of semi-structured interviews,the results show that: the application of meta-cognitive strategy exerts a positive effect on Yi students’ vocabulary learning interests and attitudes.On the one hand,it can fully activate Yi students’ learning interests and improve their learning attitudes toward vocabulary.On the other hand,it can deepen students’ understanding of vocabulary learning,and change their learning attitudes towards English vocabulary.Furthermore,it also can enhance students’ abilities to memorize English words,improve their learning efficiency,achieve autonomous learning of vocabulary,and lastly facilitate Yi students’ overall academic achievements in vocabulary learning.The study finds that it is effective to apply meta-cognitive strategy to English vocabulary teaching in Yi minority junior high schools.To further promote the development of English vocabulary teaching,the author proposes corresponding teaching suggestions based on the findings,including how to utilize meta-cognitive strategy to cultivate Yi students’ independent learning abilities of vocabulary in junior high schools.Ultimately,it is expected to explore more developmental teaching paths of English vocabulary in Yi minority regions.