An Experimental Study On Memetics-based English Vocabulary Teaching In Junior High School

The importance of vocabulary in language learning is self-evident.However,quite a few learners are still not able to acquire vocabulary knowledge in sufficient ways.In view of this,scholars are trying to seek more effective methods of vocabulary teaching from different angles.Besides,this study also attempts to explore a new way of vocabulary teaching from the perspective of memetics.Based on Darwin’s Evolutionism,memetics studies the reproduction,expression and transmission of memes,which is closely related to language.Not only does it reveal language-related phenomena and their development laws,but also it provides a new perspective and a new way of thinking for English teaching.Taking the life cycle and transmission modes of meme as an entry point,this study attempts to explain the processing mechanism of vocabulary acquisition and construct different lexical relationships,and on this basis,the following two research questions are posed:(1)Does memetics-based English vocabulary teaching have an impact on the breadth of vocabulary knowledge of junior high school students? If so,what are the effects?(2)Does memetics-based English vocabulary teaching have an impact on the depth of vocabulary knowledge of junior high school students? If so,what are the effects?In this study,the target students in two classes are Grade 7 from a middle school in Guangzhou randomly selected as subjects and divided into experimental class and control class for a three-month teaching experiment.The study mainly uses tests and interview as the experimental tools,and the research process includes a pretest on the breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge,the data collection of entrance English proficiency test,the memetics-based vocabulary teaching experiment,a post-test on the breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge,interview and the data collection of final English proficiency test.All data collected,except for the interview,are put into SPSS 27.0 for analysis.Through qualitative and quantitative analysis,this study found that vocabulary teaching based on memetics was effective in promoting the learning of in-breadth vocabulary knowledge of junior high school students who were able to discover the relationship within and between words and learned to build their own vocabulary knowledge base.In addition,memetics-based teaching,with its interesting explanation,vivid memory,diverse expression and repeated transmission,has effectively improved students’ learning effect of word form,word meaning and word use,i.e.,it had a positive impact on the learning of in-depth vocabulary knowledge of junior high school students.