On The Application Of Formative Assessment In English Vocabulary Instruction In Senior High School

English vocabulary is one of three essential components that constitute English language knowledge (the other two are phonetic and grammar). Vocabulary is basis of all language skills and is also a difficult part that English learners face in the beginning. If students have no enough vocabulary, development of the other language abilities will be hindered. Just as D.A.Wilkins stated,"Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." Vocabulary teaching in basic education of our country has always been concerned with. It is the key part of the whole English teaching, and especially the key way to master English vocabulary. The Common Senior High School English New Curriculum Standards (trial edition) were promulgated in2003, which requires to develop students’listening, speaking, reading and writing the four basic skills. The new curriculum also requires students to use the vocabulary flexibly to communicate with others. Hence, the teacher should be required to probe into a more effective way actively and a method of vocabulary teaching to teach English better.However, due to the influence of teaching context and society environment, the society, school and the parents pay more attention to students’ results and force students to memorize a great number of words and get a good grade as their aim regardless of students’interests and needs. And it is also the criteria to evaluate a teacher or even a school, which is against the New English Curriculum Standard requirements and development of the society-cultivating21st century talents. Thus, it is the heart of this thesis to require educators to attempt to adjust their teaching and find new and effective evaluation methods to solve the problems, based on many problems about senior English teaching in China.formative assessment as a new evaluation method is applied in English vocabulary teaching, aiming at providing teachers and students with information that is beneficial to teacher’teaching better and students’development as a autonomous learner. According to humanism, cognitivism and constructivism, the thesis analyzes teachers to use formative assessment in English vocabulary teaching to promote vocabulary teaching and students’ vocabulary learning, self-reflection and autonomy abilities and even their comprehensive language abilities. The student’s perceptions of the formative assessment and the influence of the treatment were explored in this study. Questionnaires were conducted to102students in a senior high school. Correlative analysis revealed that formative assessment is an effective method for the EFL vocabulary classroom and it can enhance the students’ participation, reflection, self-monitored learning, and in short,it can more help teachers explore and discover some problems existed in English vocabulary teaching. And teachers can adjust and improve them promptly so as to promote the development of English teaching.