Abstract

Since 1980s, under the influence of teaching method revolution abroad, scholars in China have started to search for new teaching methods. As an indispensable tool, language is playing a more and more important role in people’s life as well as work, so is foreign language teaching. People are always dedicated in exploring new teaching methods, such as corpus, functional linguistics, and schema theory etc, among which context theory arises much attention from scholars at home and abroad. At the same time, great deal of related research reports and literatures of context that is applied to vocabulary teaching, theory appear, changing the traditional mechanical-memory-oriented vocabulary teaching method. Vocabulary is one of the three most important elements of language while vocabulary size is one of the most important measure standards of English level. In our country, students at different stages are required to master certain amount of vocabulary. However, owing to some factors like teaching ideas, equipment condition, and actual needs etc, English teachers are accustomed to choose traditional methods, such as vocabulary list, direct method, and grammar translation method etc. In such class, students learn vocabulary in a mechanical way and learn them by rote, which can hardly ensure good effect.

The author of this thesis hopes to analyze deeply some effective vocabulary teaching methods and application of context theory in vocabulary teaching, and remind English teachers of the importance and value of this method. After reading a number of literatures about this method as well as taking reality into consideration, this paper would like to answer three questions: (1)Can this method arouse students’ interest in learning vocabulary; (2)Can this method promote students’ memory of vocabulary; (3)How English teacher in junior high school use this method. This paper makes clear of steps of writing thesis by searching for related data. It analyzes the status quo and existing problems of vocabulary teaching in junior high school in an organized way as well as hope to put forward effective vocabulary teaching methods on the basis of the discussion of context-based teaching method. A lot of researches at home and abroad indicate that applying context theory to vocabulary teaching could improve teaching effect to a great extent.

Applying context theory to vocabulary teaching means that words are put into a situation. During that process, students can use some learning methods like guessing from context, which requires them to guess the meaning of the word according to the given context. This method combines context with word, which could enhance students’ memory and thus promotes their learning result. Compared with traditional method which put words alone, this method is much more suitable for students in terms of study habits. If English teachers in junior school could be conscious of using this method, they could reach an unexpected achievement. At the same time, only when they are good at making conclusion and choosing a suitable teaching method, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, can they make great progress in their work.

Key words: Context Theory; Vocabulary Teaching; Junior Middle School English

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1  Introduction5

1.1 Research background5

1.2 Research significance and purpose6

1.2.1 Research purpose6

1.2.2 Research significance7

2  Literature review7

2.1 The review of context theory7

2.1.1 The definition of context7 

2.1.2 The classification of context8

2.1.3 The research of context theory abroad and at home9

2.2 The study of vocabulary teaching10

2.2.1 Research on vocabulary teaching method10

2.2.2 Effective vocabulary teaching method11

2.3 Related studies of context-based vocabulary teaching12 

2.3.1 Related studies abroad13

2.3.2 Related studies at home13

3  Application of Context Theory in English Vocabulary Teaching14

3.1 The significance of Context-based vocabulary teaching14

3.1.1 Context-based vocabulary teaching arouse students’ interest in learning vocabulary14

3.1.2 Context-based vocabulary teaching enhance students’ memory of vocabulary14

3.2 Procedures of context-based vocabulary teaching15

3.3 Characteristics of context-based vocabulary teaching17

4  Conclusion18

4.1 Summary of the thesis18

4.2 Suggestion for context-based vocabulary teaching18

4.3 Limitation and suggestions for future study19

4.3.1 Limitation19

4.3.2 Suggestions for future study19

Bibliography20

Acknowledgement21