A Survey On English Vocabulary Learning Strategies Of Junior High School Student

Vocabulary is the basis of language learning,and vocabulary learning runs through the whole process of language learning.Second language learners generally believe that it is vocabulary,not grammar,that prevents them from communicating with the target language.As the British linguist Wilkins(1972)said,“Without grammar,many things cannot be expressed;without vocabulary,nothing can be expressed”,which means the number of words is an important indicator of a person’s English level.Vocabulary learning is not just rote memorization,but requires methods,skills and strategies.Therefore,English teaching in junior middle school is supposed to pay more attention to the research and application of students’ vocabulary learning strategies.Only by using correct vocabulary learning strategies can students better conduct vocabulary learning.This study investigates the current situation and problems of junior middle school students’ English vocabulary learning strategies through questionnaires,interviews and tests.Taking a junior middle school in Wanzhou District,Chongqing as an example,this paper analyzes the survey results,finds out the existing problems,summarizes the reasons,and puts forward some suggestions on the use and selection of students’ English vocabulary learning strategies.Through the student questionnaire,how students use cognitive strategies,metacognitive strategies,resource management strategies and social affective strategies is investigated and analyzed;Through interviews with students,this paper summarizes the methods and difficulties of students’ vocabulary learning;After two tests and a period of intervention,we can understand the changes of students’ vocabulary learning strategies.The results show that:(1)Before the teacher intervened in the students’ learning strategies in a planned way,the students used the social affective strategies most frequently among the four dimensions of cognitive strategies,metacognitive strategies,resource management strategies and social affective strategies.(2)The strategy most frequently used by students is “listening to the tape and reading the words”(resource management strategy).(3)The strategy with the lowest frequency of use is “making an appropriate learning plan”(metacognitive strategy).(4)Students learn vocabulary in a single way.(5)Students lack the habit of regularly reviewing the words they have learned(cognitive strategies).(6)The results of the pre-test and post-test show that most students have improved their vocabulary to a certain extent and their individual differences are narrowing after the conscious strategies training.This study believes that the factors affecting junior middle school students’ vocabulary learning strategies mainly involve two aspects: first,teachers do not pay enough attention to the cultivation of vocabulary learning strategies,rely heavily on the syllabus,and have a single way to evaluate the effect of vocabulary learning;second,students do not have very specific vocabulary learning objectives,lack the ability to grasp the key points and difficulties in vocabulary learning and proper vocabulary learning methods.On this basis,this study puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for cultivating junior middle school students’ vocabulary learning strategies: Teachers should change their vocabulary teaching concepts,improve vocabulary teaching methods,and adopt diversified evaluation methods to cultivate students’ vocabulary learning strategies;students should establish correct learning concepts,strengthen internal motivation,and use appropriate learning methods to choose appropriate learning strategies to improve their vocabulary learning effect.