Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Research Background
Grammar is one of the most important parts in English learning. For most of theEnglish learners, it is necessary to master basic English grammar if they want tomaster English. (Chen Xiaotong & Zheng Min,2002) English curriculum standard ofsecondary vocational school (2020) points out that grammar is closely related tophonology, vocabulary, discourse and pragmatic knowledge, which directly affects theaccuracy and appropriateness of language comprehension and expression. And it alsoputs forward a set of specific contents and standards for English grammar learningand teaching.Thus, it can be seen that grammar teaching is an indispensable part ofEnglish teaching for secondary vocational students.
Based on students’ teaching feedback and literature research, the current situationof English grammar learning and teaching in secondary vocational schools is asfollows. Firstly, Students show little interest in learning English grammar. Whentalking about “grammar”, most students think that there are too many rules tomemorize and it’s too difficult to grasp. Even some students hate the word “grammar”,because they think there is nothing but “Be taught--Repeat-- Memorize”. At the sametime, they think grammar is difficult to memorize but easy to forget. Secondly,because of improper study habits and methods, poor autonomous learning andlearning pressure, secondary vocational students fail to enter high school. Comparedwith ordinary middle school and high school students, they need more learningmethod guidance and autonomous learning cultivation. Thirdly, teacher-centeredinstruction and lecture method are still the commonest methods in English grammarteaching, and teachers usually explain grammatical rules, grammatical usages andexample sentences in detail. Even though teachers repeat the same grammar pointsover and over again, students will easily forget them in three or four days.
..........................
1.2 Research Objectives
English grammar learning is difficult for students, especially for secondaryvocational students. The existing English grammar teaching methods cannot meet theneeds of students’ grammar learning. At the same time, students’ interest in learning isnot strong and students’ grammar learning methods lag behind. All of those problemscannot guarantee the effect of grammar teaching. There are two specific objectives ofapplying mind mapping in English grammar teaching.
(1) Improving the effect of grammar learning and teaching by the teachingmethod of mind mapping.
(2) Exploring an effective grammar teaching model in secondary vocationalschools.
This thesis will investigate students’ grammar learning problems, analyze thereasons, and be based on the problem and reasons to apply mind mapping insecondary vocational students’ English grammar teaching. The research significanceof this study is to provide secondary vocational teachers with an effective grammarteaching model and some English grammar teaching suggestions, and give students anew way to learn English grammar and improve their grammar autonomous learningability. At the same time, the combination of mind mapping, English grammarteaching and secondary vocational students’ autonomous learning will promote thereform and development of English grammar teaching in secondary vocationalschools.
.............................
Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Introduction to Mind Mapping
2.1.1 Definitions of Mind Mapping
Tony Buzan is the founder of mind mapping, who is also the leading authority onthe brain and teaching techniques. Since he invented mind maps in the 1960s, his ideahas aroused great significance around the world. Mind mapping is an expression ofradiant thinking and is, therefore, a natural function of the human mind. It’s apowerful graphics technology that provides a universal key to the potential of thebrain. A mind map can be enhanced and enriched by colors, pictures, codes anddimensions to increase interest, beauty and personality. These in turn contribute tocreativity, memory, especially the recall of information. (Buzan, 1996)
Just like the viewpoint proposed by Farrand (2002), mind mapping, as a studytechniques, can transform information from various sources into charts of importantkeywords related to research topics. This enables information to be organizedhierarchically, with key points raised in the center and more details presented at theextreme.
Meanwhile, there are some other definitions. Zhang Huayu (2016) holds theview that the mind map is "A picture is worth a thousand words" because the mindmap can simplify complex problems, making them simple enough to be drawn on apiece of paper for people to notice the whole problem immediately. By expressingknowledge through keywords, symbols, colors and relevant images, which arebeneficial for visual and sensory stimulation, the mind map enables learners toenhance their memory and improve learning efficiency. According to Martin (Basuki2000: 22), mind mapping is a guide for teachers, to show the relationship betweenideas that are important in the subject matter. Arends (Basuki, 2000: 25) states thatmind mapping is a good way for students to understand and remember the amount ofnew information. With a good mind map presentation, the students can remembermaterials in a shorter time.
.....................................
2.2 Studies on the Application of Mind Mapping in teachingAbroad and in China
2.2.1 Studies on the Application of Mind Mapping in Teaching Abroad
Mind mapping is widely adopted in many domains, such as education, business,and management. In Britain, mind mapping is a compulsory course in primary andsecondary schools. In America, many excellent learning cases and teaching designshave also been presented in the form of mind mapping. In Singapore, it is also appliedin primary and secondary schools. What’s more, many scholars learned it, studied itand wrote quantity relevant literature.
Figure 3.1 A Mind Map of the Teaching Schedule
...................................
Chapter Three Research Design............................... 17
3.1 Research Questions...................................17
3.2 Research Subjects........................................17
3.3 Research Variables..............................18
Chapter Four Data Analysis and Discussion..................................33
4.1 Data Analysis of the Questionnaires............................. 33
4.2 Data Analysis of the Tests...................................... 43
4.3 Data Analysis of the Interviews................................ 47
Chapter Five Conclusion.................................. 55
5.1 Major Findings.............................55
5.2 Pedagogical Implications.....................................56
5.3 Limitations...................................56
Chapter Four Data Analysis and Discussion
4.1 Data Analysis of the Questionnaires
During the experiment, the author conducted two questionnaires(QuestionnaireⅠ& QuestionnaireⅡ). The first questionnaire was aimed at the EC and the CC beforethe experiment, and the second questionnaire was aimed at the EC after theexperiment. The following is the data analysis of the questionnaires before and afterthe experiment.
4.1.1 Data Analysis of the Questionnaire before the Experiment
The purposes of the questionnaireⅠbefore the experiment are to collect the basicinformation about students in both the EC and the CC, and to understand the students’recognition of the importance of grammar learning, their satisfaction with the existingteaching methods, the problems in grammar learning and their recognition of mindmap. At the same time, the data of the questionnaires can help teachers understandwhether the students of the two classes are similar except for their English scores，andhelp teachers make a reasonable and effective teaching plan for the whole experiment.
There are 12 single choice questions in the questionnaire before the experiment.The author distributed 80 questionnaires and returned 80 questionnaires. According tothe purposes of the questionnaire before the experiment, the questionnaireⅠis pidedinto four aspects. Data analyses of each aspect are as follows.
Table 4.1 Statistics of Question 1-3 in the QuestionnaireⅠ
Chapter Five Conclusion
5.1 Major Findings
After the implementation of English grammar teaching method of mind mapping,based on the results of tests, questionnaires and interviews, the author made thefollowing findings:
On the one hand, the application of mind mapping in English grammar teachingin secondary vocational schools helps to improve the effect of grammar learning inthe following three aspects. Firstly, mind mapping can improve students’ interest ingrammar learning. According to the analysis of questionnaires and interviews,students are not only interested in mind mapping, but also interested in the Englishgrammar teaching method of mind mapping. Secondly, the results of tests show thatthe English grammar teaching method of mind mapping has improved students’grammar grades. Thirdly, the grammar teaching method of mind mapping haschanged students’ grammar cognition. According to the analysis of questionnaires andinterviews, students have learned to connect the new grammar knowledge with theoriginal cognitive structure, construct the new grammar cognitive structure, andtransform the grammar knowledge. Finally, the grammar teaching method of mindmapping has changed students’ learning attitude. This teaching method givessecondary vocational students a chance to participate in learning. They activelyparticipate in all aspects of grammar teaching and are willing to apply mind mappingto other knowledge learning.
On the other hand, in the face of students with weak grammar foundation andpoor learning methods, teachers can adopt the three-stage model to apply mindmapping to English grammar teaching. In the first stage, teachers can help secondaryvocational students master the method of making mind maps and construct theconnections between grammar knowledge points through six teaching steps. In thesecond stage, teachers can release grammar videos through the Superstar LearningApp, and give students enough time to make grammar mind maps independently.Classroom teaching is pided into five steps to help students find out and fill in gaps,and reconstruct grammar system. In the third stage, as the organizers of teaching,teachers can organize students to work in groups, and make mind maps and preparesufficient materials for grammar explanation. The three-stage teaching model helpssecondary vocational students establish the relationship between grammar knowledgepoints and reconstruct the grammar knowledge system.
reference(omitted)