A Study On College English Vocabulary Learning And Association Memory Strategies

Vocabulary learning is one of the most important components in learning a foreign language. Wilkins' "without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed" exemplifies the importance of vocabulary in learning a foreign language. After reviewing the studies on vocabulary learning at home and abroad, the author has made the following findings: l)The study on vocabulary learning in foreign countries had been greatly emphasized and then it had once been neglected and now great importance has been attached to it again; 2) Four vocabulary learning strategies (namely, keyword method, contextual strategy, semantic encoding strategy, and rote learning) resort to association in their operations; 3) The vocabulary size of Chinese college students is assumed to be small based on its investigations and the requirements; 4) In China, even at the all-round starting stage of English learning strategies' study, not so many researches on vocabulary learning strategies have been done. As a consequence, the studies concerning vocabulary memory strategies were found particularly fewer in China. According to Zhang Dengzhi(张登芝, 2002), vocabulary memorization is the headache problem for Chinese college students in their English learning.With the guidance of Cognitive Psychology and English Lexicology, in the thesis, three kinds of memory have been expatiated upon; the relationship between memory and association has been pointed out; the cognitive basis and rationales of association memory have been dealt with. A review of the relevant studies onassociation memory strategies conducted in China has been made. Based on the review, the paper has specified association memory strategies by resorting to sounds, forms and meanings of English words, hoping to highlight the actual application of association memory strategies in vocabulary learning process and to tackle students' vocabulary memorization problem.Based on the discussions above, the thesis comes to such a conclusion: association memory strategies based on Cognitive Psychology and English Lexicology will enable students to memorize words effectively, enlarge their vocabulary and improve their vocabulary acquisition ability if the strategies are taught and trained properly.