An Experimental Study On The Application Of Learner-centered Learning Plan For English Lexical Teaching In Senior High Schools

Vocabulary is one of the most important parts in language and it plays a significant role in human communication. In fact, only with vocabulary can most dialogues happen. However, as far as English is concerned, when Chinese students read English passages and try to write English articles, one of their major barriers is lack of vocabulary. So, vocabulary teaching, as a main way to master vocabulary, can’t be stressed too much. And,English classes in senior high school, in which students gain most words during their English learning period, should be made good use of.The Education Ministry put forward the New High School English Curriculum Standards in 2003, in which higher requirements of English lexical teaching are demanded----they are not only shown in that students need to remember a larger quantity of words, but also master the usage of words. Since the New High School English Curriculum Standards came into effect, many changes have taken place in English lexical teaching. Learner-centered learning plan belongs to these changes.Learner-centered learning plan is a relatively new model of instruction. In the traditional class, teachers are leaders, who control and dominate all the class time, and students are passive listeners and receivers. In this kind of class, teachers just tell students the knowledge points and students only listen and take notes and they are not active and often, they are tired of having class. So the effect is not satisfying. While in the new model of instruction, students are the active participants. With the learning plan, students can preview the contents to be learned more conveniently before class, learn and recite the contents more actively and effectively in class, rather than busy in taking notes, and review the knowledge easily after class. In order to find its advantages and disadvantages, the author, basing on Humanism, Constructivism and Autonomous Learning Theory, conducted an experimental study in the school where she worked. Through the study, these questions are expected to be solved: Can the learning plan motivate learners’ learning autonomy? Can the learning plan help the students learn vocabulary effectively? Can the learning plan motivate teachers’ creativeness,cooperative spirit and passion? In the experiment, which lasted for a semester from February, 2014 to June, 2014, the author chose two classes, one as the control class and the other as the experimental class, totally 120 students in Shiyan High School. The experimental tools include questionnaires, interviews and tests. Valid data are collected after one semester’s teaching, traditional model in control class and new model in experimental class. The results show that the learning plan can motivate the students’ learning autonomy, help students form good learning habits, and help them learn words more effectively.At the end of the thesis, the author clarify the advantages and disadvantages of the learning plan she used in that semester, and put forward some suggestions, aiming to help other English teachers.Through conducting the experimental study of using learning plan, the thesis helps to make the study of learning plan rich and abundant. It also finds a way to motivate learners’ learning autonomy and teachers’ passion for teaching. Besides, it also lay foundation for future research on learning plan.