An Action Research On The Application Of Mind Mapping To English Reading Teaching In Junior High School

English reading ability is a major focus of English teaching.Reading,as a major means of absorbing language materials,can not be ignored.But at present,students are not interested in English reading,they lack self-confidence,use reading methods improperly and so on,which affects the improvement of reading ability seriously.With the development of education and the requirement of new curriculum standard,more and more teachers realize the importance of reading methods,means and strategies.So mind mapping was introduced into English reading teaching.This thesis consists of three research questions: 1.What are the effects of mind mapping on the understanding of the main idea of the passage ? 2.What are the effects of mind mapping on the development of reading skills? 3.What are the effects of mind mapping on the development of good reading habits?The research process includes two rounds.The research subjects are the students of Class 7,Grade8 in No.43 junior high school in Shenyang.Each round of action research includes the steps of identifying problems,making the action plan,implementing the action plan,as well as evaluation and reflection.Before the beginning of action research,the researcher found some problems in English reading teaching through investigation and tried to apply mind mapping to the classroom.The researcher introduced the common types of mind mapping and used mind mapping to teach.Based on the results and problems of the first round of action research,the researcher conducted the second round of action research and adjusted the action plan.The researcher studies the results through questionnaires,interviews and tests.The results show that mind mapping is feasible in English reading teaching.Students' reading ability is improved,their reading skills are effectively trained,like skimming,scanning,guessing the meaning from the passage.Their ability to understand the whole content of the text is improved,and their reading habits are getting better.