An Empirical Study On The Application Of Phonics To Vocabulary Teaching In Junior Middle Schools

This thesis is an empirical study on the application of phonics to vocabulary teaching in junior middle schools. Vocabulary is one of the most fundamental aspects of foreign language learning. This paper aims to study the relationship between the sound and shape in vocabulary teaching. And the author tries to assisting students in remembering and decoding new words effectively and finally develop their interest in English learning.Based on the constructivism theory and language transfer theory, this thesis is to have a tentative study on impacts of phonics to vocabulary teaching in junior middle schools in terms of three dimensions:phonemic awareness, spelling and reading. Four major questions to be studied are listed as follows:(1) What is the effect of phonics on junior middle school students’ phonological awareness? (2) What is the impact of phonics on junior middle school students’ ability to spelling? (3) What is the influence of phonics on junior middle school students’ ability to reading? (4) What is the effect on junior middle school students’ interests in English learning?30 junior middle school students in Grade 7 from a Middle School of Changsha were chosen as the subjects. The author divided them into 2 groups and chose 15 students for each group. Then the author took 16 weeks’phonics training to experimental group while IPA is adopted in the control group. Both in EG aud CG carried out four vocabulary tests in total. Before the experiment, a questionnaire was distributed to learn students’interests in English learning. After the experiment, a post-questionnaire was conducted among the students in the experimental group to find out if their interests toward English learning have improved under phonics instruction. All the collected data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0.The research yields the following findings:firstly, the results showed that the performance of participants from both groups made progress, but only the progress of the EG’s students was significant. Secondly, after the 16 weeks’phonics training, the EG subjects who received phonics training had attained more gains,and they could read and spell English words more accurately and fluently than the CG subjects. Thirdly, the students who comes from the EG group turn into more interested in English and more confident in English vocabulary learning.