The Application Of Concept Maps In English Writing Teaching In Senior High School

Writing is one of four basic skills in English learning and also plays a significant part in English teaching. Meanwhile, the writing teaching has always been very crucial in the reform of high-school English. However, the current situation of English writing teaching in Senior High School is far from satisfying. There are many problems worthy of being noticed and solved, such as students’ low interest in English writing,the traditional teaching methods and so on. Actually, the cultivation of students’ writing enthusiasm and enhancement of students’ writing ability have become the most difficult and vital problems for most English teachers. Based on the current situation, the thesis applies Concept Mapping model to English writing teaching to explore a more effective way of writing teaching.Due to the great potential in promoting teaching and learning, concept map has become one of the hot topics and attracted more and more attention. As a visual teaching and learning strategy, Concept Mapping model can stimulate students’ learning interest and has a positive influence on students’ learning ability.This thesis focuses on the application of concept maps in English writing teaching in senior high school. The research, which is targeted on Grade-two students in senior high school, conducts comparison experiment between an experimental class(class 8)and a control class(class7), which lasts more than six months. The experiment uses three instruments including questionnaires, writing tests and interviews to collect data and analyze them quantitatively and qualitatively to answer the following research questions: 1. Is there a significant improvement in students’ ability of English writing after the training with the Concept Mapping model? 2. Can Concept Mapping model change students’ attitudes towards English writing and stimulate their interest in it? 3. Do different levels of experimental subjects(high score group, median score group and low score group divided by their pre-test scores)have different improvement in their learning achievement after the usage of the Concept Mapping model?The findings of the study include: 1. Compared with controlled group, the improvement of experimental group’s English scores is significant. 2. English writing teaching based on Concept Mapping motivates students’ learning interest and changes students’ attitudes towards English writing. 3. The experimental subjects’ writing achievement differs from high score group to median score group to low score group(The score groups are divided according to their pre-test scores). The achievement in median and low group is more significant than that of high group.At last, the limitations of the research are proposed and some suggestions for future research are also put forward.