The Application Of Dual Coding Theory To Vocabulary Teaching In Rural Junior High School

Vocabulary learning is the most important in English learning. It is the fundamental part of the learning process. Other learning aspects including writing, speaking, listening and reading are based on the vocabulary learning. However, the situation of vocabulary teaching in rural junior high school is not satisfying. Students in the rural school don’t have as many opportunities as the students in the city to learn English at their earlier age. Students in the city begin to learn English at the age of 4 or 5, while the students in the countryside begin to learn at the age of 10 or 11. In addition, the vocabulary teaching in rural junior high school is simple and boring. Students are not interested in vocabulary learning. Therefore, using effective vocabulary teaching method in rural junior high school is urgent and necessary.This thesis explores the application of Dual Coding Theory learning method for English vocabulary learning. Allan Paivio proposed the Dual Coding Theory in 1971. The Dual Coding Theory belongs to the general theory of cognition. There are two subsystems in human cognitive process, as it is pointed out that, the verbal system which conveys and fulfils linguistic information and the nonverbal system which accomplishes the imaged-based processing and representation. The author did the study in Fuxin Jiumiao Junior High School. Class A was chosen to be the experimental class while Class B was chosen to be the controlled class. There are 24 students in the experimental class while 26 students in the controlled class. The function of the controlled class is to make a comparison with the experimental class. The vocabulary teaching method basing on DCT(short for Dual Coding Theory) was used in the experimental class. The study lasted for three months from September 2014 to November 2014. The questionnaires, experiment and interview were used in the study. The author collected the results. The data of the study were analyzed by SPSS19.0. There are five chapters in this thesis. Introduction is the first chapter. The second part is literature review about the Dual Coding Theory, previous study on the DCT and vocabulary learning. The third part methodology is an important part because it contains the design of the study, research questions, and research procedures. The fourth one is result and discussion of the study in which the results of the experiment will be analyzed. Conclusion is the last part of the thesis. In the conclusion, the main findings, the pedagogical implications, the limitations of the study and the suggestions for future research will be presented.The findings of this research indicate that the application of DCT to vocabulary teaching in rural junior high school is effective. The teaching method basing on DCT has a positive effect on the English vocabulary teaching. In addition, the teaching method based on DCT can raise the students’ interests in vocabulary learning.