| Vocabulary is an important part of English teaching,so it is of great significance to improve the efficiency of English vocabulary teaching.As a nonlinear visualization tool for knowledge representation,thinking stimulation and thinking reorganization,mind mapping has been widely used in English vocabulary teaching in primary and middle schools,but the application of mind mapping in English vocabulary teaching in secondary vocational schools is relatively inadequate.Therefore,on the basis of the previous research,this paper applies mind mapping to English vocabulary teaching in secondary vocational schools,aiming at exploring the positive effects of mind mapping on English vocabulary teaching in secondary vocational schools.There are three research questions in the study: 1)can mind mapping improve the secondary vocational school students’ interest in English vocabulary learning? 2)what effects will mind mapping have on secondary vocational school students’ vocabulary learning efficiency? 3)what effects will mind mapping have on students of different English proficiency levels in secondary vocational schools ?In order to find answers to the research questions,the author selected 107 students in two parallel classes in Grade Two from Zibo Electronic Engineering School as the research subjects,and carried out an empirical study by questionnaire,test,dictation and interview.In this study,SPSS 20.0 statistical software was used to systematically analyze the results of two vocabulary tests and five dictations;Excel was used to analyze results of the two questionnaires.Finally,according to the results of the post-test,three middle-high English achievers and three low achievers were randomly selected to do the interview.Data analyses indicate that the experimental class participants achieved statistically significant and substantially higher improvement than students in the control class.Specifically the main findings are: 1)mind mapping can significantly enhance the secondary vocational school students’ interest in English vocabulary learning.On one hand,as a visual knowledge tool,mind mapping integrates elements such as nodes,graphics,lines and colors to attract students’ visual attention,whichhas changed the monotonousness of conventional vocabulary teaching and learning method.On the other hand,mind mapping technique enhances students’ awareness of autonomous learning,participation and cooperative learning;2)mind mapping can help students extract and reproduce more words and expand their vocabulary.The results of vocabulary tests and dictations show that after one semester’s experiment,the vocabulary level of the experimental class is not only significantly better than that of the control class,but also continuously rising;3)mind mapping has different effects on students of different English levels in vocabulary learning and the positive effect on middle-high English achievers is better than that on low English achievers.Based on the findings of the study,this paper puts forward the implications.Finally,in view of the implications and the limitations of the study,suggestions for future research are put forward. |
