A Study On Perceptual Learning Style Teaching And English Vocabulary Learning In High School

There is no doubt about the importance of vocabulary in English learning. The vocabulary maintains phonetic, grammar, discourse, and it is closely related to one’s development of basic language skills in language learning. Vocabulary runs through the whole process of learning English. The high school curriculum standards require approximately3300-4500words for the students of high school. This vocabulary requirement for many high school students is a great challenge. Vocabulary becomes the constraints to improve the English achievement of many high school students. Perceptual learning style is a theory to describe individual variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience. The vocabulary teaching is closely related to the perceptual learning style. Students of different learning styles require different teaching methods and activities. However, our high school vocabulary teaching basically takes traditional teaching mode, neglect the students’ subjective initiative and individual differences. This leads to a series of problems, such as vocabulary teaching effect is unsatisfactory; the enthusiasm of the students is not high; and some students do even produce weary emotions.Questionnaire, teaching practice and tests are used integratively in the empirical study to explore whether the classroom teaching on perceptual learning style has the influence on the vocabulary learning of senior high school students. Firstly, a learning style survey is given to the108students in Panjin No.2Senior High School to make their perceptual preferences known. They also took a vocabulary knowledge scale to show their familiarity with the words, through which the researcher can ensure words to be taught are unknown to them. Two vocabulary tests are given to students to examine their overall vocabulary knowledge after the teaching practice. According to the perceptual learning style survey, the researcher determined a total of60students with different style preferences.40words were taught by traditional teaching methods and the methods on perceptual learning style. In addition, six students also took the depth interview with their views on the perceptual learning style teaching methods.The results show that Chinese high school students prefer the variety of learning styles, including tactile most preferred; perceptual learning style teaching method has effects on the vocabulary learning of the high school students; if teachers pay attention to the students’ perceptual learning styles in EFL vocabulary teaching that will prompt students’retention of new words and expressions. In the teaching process, teachers should help students identify their own learning style. At the same time, they should also encourage students to extend their learning styles and diversify their learning methods. Teachers should try to design classroom activities with the different learning styles, using a variety of teaching methods, teaching styles.