An Empirical Study On The Application Of Recitation-Imitation Approach Based On Memetics Theory To English Writing Teaching In Senior High School

The present study introduces memetics theory into English writing teaching in senior high school, aiming to explore whether the recitation-imitation approach based on memetics theory is an effective teaching approach of English writing. Quantitative and qualitative researches are utilized.In order to explore whether the recitation-imitation approach based on memetics theory is effective, an experiment is utilized. In the experiment, all the subjects are from the class 23 and class 24 in grade 2 of the Second senior high school in Benxi City. Through the experiment, class 23 is the experimental class(EC) and class 24 is the control class(CC). The experiment lasts for 16 weeks from September, 2014 to January, 2015. In EC, the recitation-imitation approach based on memetics theory is utilized to teach the students while the traditional approach is used to teach in CC. Two tests are used to exam the students’ writing proficiency before and after the experiment in both EC and CC. Two questionnaires are employed, too. What’s more, according to the pre-test score ranking in EC, the first fifteen students are the high-score group while the last fifteen students are the low-score group. Three research questions are put forward as followings.(1) Can the students who receive the recitation-imitation approach based on the memetics theory change their attitude towards English writing?(2) Can the recitation-imitation approach based on the memetics theory help to improve students’ English writing proficiency?(3) By taking this method, which group of the students improves more in writing proficiency?After the experiment, the data of the two tests from the two classes are analyzed by SPSS17.0. Paired Samples Statistics is used to analyze the differences between the scores of the pre-test and the post-test in the same class. Independent-samples T-test is conducted to analyze the differences between the two classes’ scores.After analyzing the results of the questionnaires, the first research question is answered. The recitation-imitation approach based on the memetics theory can arouse students’ interests in English writing. According to the data analysis of the test scores, the second and third research questions are answered. The recitation-imitation approach based on the memetics theory can help to improve students’ writing proficiency and the low-score group students improve more in their writing proficiency.