An Experimental Study On The Context-based English Vocabulary Teaching In Junior Middle Schools

Vocabulary is an important aspect of language.The level of vocabulary affects the level of English proficiency to some extent.However,some problems exist in English vocabulary teaching and learning in our country.Some teachers tend to teach vocabulary in isolation so that students remember words mechanically.Eventually,students lose their learning interest and motivation and the effect of their vocabulary learning is not obvious.Based on this situation,some teachers attempt to connect context to vocabulary teaching,and apply context to the process of presenting,explaining,consolidating words,and inferring the meaning of words.This study aims to explore how the context-based English vocabulary teaching affects students’ vocabulary learning.This thesis aims to investigate the following questions:(1)What is the effect of context-based English vocabulary teaching on the students’ vocabulary proficiency and overall English proficiency?(2)What is the effect of context-based English vocabulary teaching on the students’ English vocabulary learning interest?(3)What are the students’ attitudes towards the context-based English vocabulary teaching? Based on these research questions,an experimental study was carried out in the Zhumadian Fourth Junior Middle School for about 15 weeks.The research subjects were selected from two classes of Grade nine,Class 8 as the experimental class with the context-based English vocabulary teaching and Class 9 as the control class with traditional English vocabulary teaching.Vocabulary proficiency tests,English proficiency tests and questionnaires were conducted to analyze the influence of context-based English vocabulary teaching on students’ vocabulary and overall English proficiency,and compare the changes in attitudes and interest of students’ vocabulary learning before and after the experiment.Meanwhile,in order to investigate how the students evaluate the context-based English vocabulary teaching,8 students in the experimental class were selected for an interview.The results show that:(1)Context-based English vocabulary teaching has improved the students’ vocabulary memorization and application.Especially for the low level students,the effect was more obvious.Meanwhile,the students’ overall English level of the experimental class was higher than the control class,which indicates that teaching vocabulary based on context has a certain influence on students’ English proficiency.(2)Most of the students in experimental class have became more active and enthusiastic in learning vocabulary and more actively participate in classroom activities after the experiment.And the changes of the lower students were especially clear.(3)It is helpful for a majority of students to learn vocabulary in context and most students hold a positive attitude towards the context-based English vocabulary teaching.Further results show that the application of context in English vocabulary teaching has a greater influence on the middle level students and the underachievers.