Application of Mind Mapping to English Writing Class in Junior Middle School Abstract Writing, as one of four basic skills in English learning, is regarded as a measure of students’ overall language proficiency. However, the current English writing teaching in Junior Middle School is not so satisfying. Students are not interested in English writing and regard it as the most difficult task for them. The teaching methods used in writing classes are traditional, which are mainly teacher-centered. Therefore, this research tries to change the current teaching situation to some extent by proposing a new teaching method. Mind Map, proposed by Tony Buzan in 1960s, is an effective tool to visualize the process of thinking. It can help people organize thought and information, make choices, and find the connection between new knowledge and existing knowledge to enhance memory, which are very helpful in finishing writing tasks. Therefore, this research applies Mind Map on English writing class aiming to prove the effectiveness of Mind Map in improving students’ writing ability and arousing students’ writing interest. With the help of an experienced teacher, the experiment is carried out in two parallel classes (N=92) in Nanyuan Junior Middle School, lasting for five weeks. After analyzing the data collected quantitatively and qualitatively, the findings of the research testify the research hypotheses: Mind Map motivates students’ writing interest and the students’ writing ability is also improved at the same time. In consideration of the limitations of the research, some suggestions for future research are put forward at last.46949

Keywords: Mind Map; English writing teaching in Junior Middle School; An empirical research

思维导图在初中英语写作课中的应用

摘要写作是英语学习的四项基本技能之一，同时也是一个衡量学生综合语言运用能力的标准。但是,目前的初中英语写作教学现状却不怎么令人满意。学生对写作不感兴趣并把它当做一个大难题。而当下的教学方法大多也是以老师为中心的传统教学。因此，本研究将提出一个新的教学方法，从而在一定程度上改变目前的写作教学现状。思维导图由托尼·巴赞于上世纪60年代提出，是一个将思维过程视觉化的有效工具。它可以帮助人们组织思想和信息、作出选择、快速找到新知识和旧知识的联系来提高记忆力，而这些也正是完成写作任务所需要的。因此，本研究将思维导图应用于英语写作课，旨在证明其能有效提高学生英语写作的能力和激发学生的写作兴趣。在一名经验丰富的英语老师的帮助下，本研究在南苑中学的两个平行班（共92人）中开展，历时五个星期。经过数据的定量分析和定性分析，实验结果证实了研究假设：思维导图能有效激发学生的写作兴趣，并在一定程度上提高学生英语写作的能力。鉴于本研究的某些局限性，本文还为今后的研究提出了相关的建议。

毕业论文关键词:思维导图；初中英语写作教学；实证研究

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Significance of the study 1

1.3 Organization of the thesis 2

2. Literature Review 3

2.1 Concept of Mind Map 3

2.1.1 Definition of Mind Map 3

2.1.2 Characteristics of Mind Map 4

2.2 Theoretical basis of Mind Map 5

2.2.1 The science of brain 5

2.2.2 Radiant thinking