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Application Of Perceptual Learning Style Theory To Middle School EFL Vocabulary Teaching

Posted on:2008-04-26Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:B Q ZhouFull Text:PDF
GTID:2167360245983656Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Vocabulary is the most fundamental element of language and it's closely related to one's development of basic language skills in language learning. Vocabulary teaching, correspondently, is of great importance in language teaching. Perceptual learning style, which is a term to describe individual variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience (Reid, 1987), is closely related to vocabulary learning and teaching, for learners of different learning styles are in need of different vocabulary teaching strategies and activities (Kinsella, 2002).Vocabulary teaching in middle school, which still follows the old principle to teach students uniformly and consequently neglects their individual differences and , has a lot of problems. Students are frustrated at the fact that it's so difficult for them to remember these words and expressions on the lists, to say nothing of putting them into practice. Teachers, having spent a lot of time and energy on vocabulary in and after class time, are also depressed at the fact that the teaching effects do not match what they have paid out at all.To help students to retain new words and expressions and to improve the teaching efficiency of middle school vocabulary teaching, the author applies perceptual learning style theory into vocabulary teaching. Questionnaire, teaching practice and tests are used integratively in the empirical study, which is carried out in a first-grade class in a high school. Firstly, a learning style survey is given to the students who are found to show a strong visual preference through analyses of the assessment results. Then the researcher offers some strategy trainings according to the learning styles of students, who are divided into four groups: visual learning style group, auditory learning style group, haptic learning style group and mixed learning style group. After that, the teacher gives lectures on vocabulary by consciously accommodating to their learning styles. Different homework and activities after class are provided for them. Word dictations are administered to the students to test their immediate mastery of new words and expressions during the empirical teaching practice. At the same time, two vocabulary tests are given to students to examine their overall vocabulary knowledge before and after the teaching practice. Microsoft Excel and Paired Samples Test are used to analyze the dictation and vocabulary test results.Through analyses of students' average dictation scores, the author finds that students' retention of vocabulary is improving from the initial average 11 or 12 words out of 20 words to 14 or 15. On the other side, the findings of the two integrative vocabulary tests also show that students' vocabulary achievement records have been improved greatly, with the average records improved by almost 8 scores (from 44 to 52). Analyses of the study show that the identification of learning styles assists students in realizing their own strengths and weaknesses of learning and helps them learn in a more active way, such as consciously and actively choosing these strategies that best suits them and communicating actively with the teacher after class. Findings of the study also reveal that perceptual learning style theory helps to realize student-centered classroom in vocabulary teaching.
Keywords/Search Tags:perceptual learning style, vocabulary teaching student-centered classroom, vocabulary learning strategy
PDF Full Text Request
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