An Action Research of Applying English Vocabulary Memory Strategies in Junior High School English Teaching

• Main Authors: Ju-Hsin Kung, 龔如馨
• Other Authors: Chien-Min Kao
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/tf5vs4

碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 教育與潛能開發學系 === 107 === The education system in Taiwan has long been affected by credentialism, and the society has put a heavy emphasis on academic achievements. However, the specific skills that educational institutes teach are how to get good grades and how to guess correct answers. Nevertheless, memorization is always ignored. As a teacher who taught junior high school English in a cram school and by chance was assigned a class that had never attempted any memory strategies, I found that students did not know how to memorize English vocabulary, and no one had taught them how. Therefore, I want to design and practice a specific English vocabulary memory strategy teaching program for junior high school students, and then review, reflect on and adjust the teaching practice through the students’ learning processes and feedback. This study was an action research, and the researcher was also the instructor, collecting various data mainly with qualitative methods and supplemented by quantitative methods. Eight English vocabulary memorization strategies, which were punny Chinese translation method, prefix and root method, acronym method, word formation method, word grouping method, grouping method, placing-new-words-into-a-phrase method, and syllable analysis method, were integrated into a teaching program. The program, consisting of 26 lessons, was taught to 9 eighth graders over 26 weeks. The study discovered that after receiving the English vocabulary memory strategy teaching, the results of vocabulary tests improved, but the results depended on whether the students had reviewed at home or not. According to the questionnaire survey and the researcher’s observation, most of the students expressed a preference for syllable analysis method over other methods, perhaps due to the fact that this strategy helped them connect words and sounds. As long as students could pronounce an English word, it was not so hard to spell the word. Furthermore, the students said the least used and least liked strategies were placing-new-words-into-a-phrase method and word grouping method; the probable reason is that the students’ basic vocabularies were not large enough. Having students connect the two strategies without guidance of teachers or others was quite difficult, so the students disliked these two strategies. Moreover, from the students’ feedback and self-assessment, it can be seen that the students’ receptivity to English vocabulary memory strategy teaching was high, and the application of such strategies also enhanced students’ participation and interest in class. In the end, the researcher made suggestions based on the aforementioned research results and the reflections in the research, for future teaching practice and research.