An Action Research On Improving Junior High School Students' Vocabulary Learning With "Word Wall”

Vocabulary plays a crucial role in second language teaching and learning. The importance of vocabulary in a language system strongly suggests that in teaching a foreign language it is necessary to put vocabulary in a focal place. However, the present situation of vocabulary teaching and learning in the English classroom in junior high school is far from satisfaction. Most students complained that memorizing vocabulary is not only time-consuming but also boring. They always memorize new words by rote repetition and then forget them soon. In order to improve students' vocabulary learning efficiency, help students learn words better and acquire word learning strategies, an action research was conducted basing on the research of word wall(WW) both at home and abroad.Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data were both employed in this study,aiming to explore the effects of WW on junior high school students' vocabulary acquisition. In this study, two questions had been put forward:1.Does “word wall” promote junior high school students' vocabulary acquisition?2.If it does, what is the impact of “word wall” on vocabulary acquisition?In this study, an action research on vocabulary learning with “word wall” was carried out among the students from Class Two, Grade Seven in Tianrong Middle School for a semester. The study was conducted from March 2015 to July 2015,totally twenty weeks. The data consisted of class observations, interviews, vocabulary tests and teaching journals. By analyzing the results of the data, we can draw a conclusion that word wall(WW) promotes junior high school students' vocabulary acquisition. The statistics and analysis led to the following major findings. Firstly,WW is helpful for students' vocabulary memorizing. Secondly, WW helps to develop students' imagination. Thirdly, WW is beneficial for improving students' awareness of part of speech. Fourthly, WW develops student's habit of reviewing vocabulary after class. Fifthly, WW helps to stimulate student's interest in vocabulary learning. Last but not least, WW is useful for improving students' ability of applying vocabulary.In light of the research results and the process of carrying out the word wall activities, we can obtain some implications for vocabulary teaching. First of all, it is suggested that an overall plan for WW should be made before the start of a new semester. Secondly, it is of great importance to cultivate the students' awareness of using vocabulary learning techniques. Third, students should be encouraged to participate in the creation of WW. Finally, it is vital that WW activities should be carried out in accordance with students' psychological characteristics and English level.