【思维导图在初中英语读写教学中的应用探究（英语版）（论文）】

思维导图在初中英语读写教学中的应用研究摘要近年来，英语读写结合多维度关联的教学活动日益受到国内外学者与一线英语教师的关注。思维导图作为一种图文并茂的可视化思维认识工具，也是一种对发散性思维的训练方法。但是，思维导图在传统初中英语教学中大多应用研究于某一课题，各自进行分开教学，这不利于学生梳理清晰的行文脉络和构建完整的知识体系。本研究试将思维导图与英语读写教学结合起来，以二语习得输入与输出理论、图式理论以及知识可视化理论为基础，参考前人对思维导图以及读写结合教学的相关研究，结合初中英语读写教学实践，以译林版初二英语教材Reading和IntegratedSkills两部分为例，实验对象为某初中初二年级两个平行班共66名学生，控制班采用传统英语教学方法，实验班采取基于思维导图进行读写结合的教学模式，进行为期6周的实验，测验后进行问卷调查和随机访谈，采用SPSSAU软件对研究数据进行分析。通过思维导图与初中英语读写教学相结合的实践，多维度联结思维导图与英语读写教学，促进初中学生语言性阅读知识向综合性写作的有效迁移，提升阅读与写作能力，充实综合语言技能。同时，利用思维导图进行初中英语读写教学可以提高学生语言技能的交融性，为初中英语读写教学提供一些启示和建议。关键词：思维导图；初中英语；读写教学1IntroductionThispartisapreludetothisthesiswhichcoversthebackgroundforimplementingthisstudy,thesignificanceandobjectivesforperformingthisresearch,andtheoverallframeworkofthispaper.BackgroundoftheStudyIntraditionalEnglishlanguageteaching,readingandwritingareusuallyseparated,withreadingonlyemphasizingthecontentofthetextandwritingmerelygivingprioritytocomposition.However,accordingtothenewcurriculumstandard,Englishteachersshouldcultivatestudents'abilityofself-study,trulyreflectthestudents'dominantpositionintheclass,whichrevealsthatreadingandwritingareexpectedtobeintegrated.Therefore,howtocombinereadingandwritingreasonablyandflexiblyinEnglishteachingisasubjectthatEnglishteachersoughttoattachimportanceto.Inrecentyears,multi-dimensionalEnglishreading-writingteachingactivitieshavereceivedincreasingattentionfromscholarsandEnglishteachersathomeandabroad.Asakindofvisualthinkingandcognitiontool,mindmappingisalsoatrainingmethodfordivergentthinking.ByincorporatingmindmappingwithEnglishreadingandwritingteaching,thismodestimulatesEnglishvisualizationteaching,instructjuniormiddleschoolteachers'teachingpractice,andfostersthedevelopmentofEnglishteaching.However,mindmappingintraditionaljuniormiddleschoolEnglishteachingismainlyappliedtoacertainclassandistaughtseparately,suchasvocabularyclass,readingclassorwritingclass,whichisnotconducivetostudentstograspadistinctstructureofcontextandformacomprehensiveknowledgehierarchy.SignificanceandObjectivesoftheStudyThisstudycombinesmindmappingwithEnglishreadingandwritingteaching,focusingonteacher-studentandstudent-studentinteraction,enhancingstudents'abilitytoutilizelanguageandfacilitatingteachers'reflectiononteaching.IncontrasttotraditionalEnglishteachingwhereteachersrelymainlyonlanguageexpressionandtextualaids,mindmappingassistsstudentstoconstructaframeworkofcontentsinthatprocessofreadinginput,andpromotesstudentstoidentifythethemeandcomprehensivethinkingduringtheirEnglishwritingoutputprocess.Inthatteachingofreadingandwriteinjuniormiddleschool,thereadingandwritingmaterialsareframedwiththevisualmindmap,theoriginalinformationofstudentsismobilizedwiththenewconcept,andthescatteredpointsareformedintoanintegralnetwork.ThroughthepracticeofintegratingmindmappingwithEnglishreadingandwritingteachinginjuniormiddleschool,theaimwastoaddaneffectivevisualinstrumenttotheEnglishteachingandtoboosttheinterestofstudentsintheEnglishreadingandwritingclass.Themulti-dimensionallinkagebetweenmindmappingandEnglishreading-writingteachingcanadvancetheshiftfromextensivereadingtointensivewriting,elevatesintegratedlinguisticskillsforjuniorhighschoolstudents.Meanwhile,theapplicationofmindmappinginjuniormiddleschoolEnglishreadingandwritingteachingcanprovidesomeinsightsandsuggestionsforjuniormiddleschoolEnglishteaching.OverallStructureoftheThesisThisthesisisconsistedofsixpartswhichareorganizedasfollows.Partoneisabriefintroductionaboutthestudyinvolvingthebackground,aim,importanceoftheresearchandthegeneralorganizationofthepaper.Parttwoembodiesthenotion,fundamentalprinciples,previousdomesticandoverseasstudiesofmindmapping,andtheapplicationofmindmappinginEnglishreading-writingteaching.Partthreeillustratesthemethodologyofthisstudywhichismadeupofresearchquestions,subjects,instruments,proceduresanddatacollectionandanalysis.Partfourencompassestheresultsincludingtests,questionnairesandinterviews.Besides,discussionoftheeffectsontheEnglishreading-writingteachingbasedonmindmappingonstudents’readingandwritingperformanceisdepicted.Partfivesummarizesthewholeresearchcomposedofthemajorfindingsandlimitationsofthisstudy.Inaddition,implicationsforEnglishreading-writingteachingandadviceforfurtherresearchesarearrangedindetail.2LiteratureReviewThissectioncomprisestheconcept,theoreticalbasis,pedagogicalstudiesofmindmappingathomeandabroad,aswellasthepreviousapplicationofmindmappinginEnglishreading-writingteaching.2.1ConceptofMindMappingTheuseofgraphicalmapsviabranchingandradialdiagramscanbetracedtothe3rdcenturywhentherenownedthinkerTyrosgraphicallyvisualizedthenotionofAristotle'scategories.ThetermmindmappingwasoriginallypopularizedbytheBritishpsychologywriterTonyBuzan(1993),whowasinspiredbyAlfredKozibski'sgeneralsemantics(1938).Conventionalcontoursimpelthereadertoscanfromlefttorightandtoptobottom,whereasreaderstendtothumbthroughtheentirepassageinanon-linearhabit.Thus,thecollaborationoftheperceptionandvisualtoolscansignificantlyincreasetheefficiencyandproductivityofacertainwork.Dr.SunYixin(1997)introducedmindmappingtoChinain1997andisactivelyengrossedinrelatedacademicmethodology,intendingtoadvocatethelatestresearchfindingstothecorporateandeducationalsectors.2.1.1DefinitionofMindMappingThemindmapisadiagramdeployedtoorganizeinformationthatislayeredandlinked.Itisfrequentlycreatedaroundasingleconcept,withanimagepresentedinthecentreofablankpagetowhichassociatedrepresentationsofideasareadded.Theprincipalpartsarevividlyunitedwiththecentralnotion,whileothersectorsareseparatedfromthesemainsections.Inbrief,mindmappingisamethodofvisualthinkingwhereeachofthedata,feelingsormemoriesthatenterthebrainbecomesthecoreofthought,andfromthischiefpoint,correlatednodesaredispersedoutwards,andeachlinkcanbecomeanotherdominatesubject,whichinturncanbescatteredexternallytonumerousknots,similartoaindividualdatabase.2.1.2CharacteristicsofMindMappingMindmapsarevaluableforreinforcingboththequalityofeducationandtheeffectivenessoflearning,andtheyhaveprovedtobeanincreasinglycrucialapproachestolearning.Hence,understandingthecharacteristicsofmindmappingisconducivetoresearchersandlearnerstoimprovetheirphilosophicalthinkinganddiscernmentskills.AsstatedbyBuzan(1993:4),themaincharacteristicsofmindmappingcanbesummedupassixaspects.Theprimaryfeatureisthatmindmapsarewidelydistributedandstereoscopic.Thenextmarkisthatisthatthebrain'sleft-rightcoordinationbiasesittowardtheuseofmultipleformsofgraphicsandmultiplecolorsofsymbols.Theintegrationoftexts,imagesandcolorsisthethirdtrait.Thefourthfacetisthederivationofnewideasonnewpivots.Finally,individualizationisthelastelement,sinceeveryoneinclinestointerpretthesamematteruniquely.ApartfromBuzan’sviewpoint,mindmappingisdiffuseandhierarchicalinnature,allowingforthemeticulousorganizationandinductionofhumanopinions.Forexample,whenthecoreistheplant,wenaturallythinkofbranchesasseedplants,mossesandfernsetc.,ofwhichseedplantscomposesgymnospermsandangiosperms,establishingacolossalthinkingstructuremap.2.2TheoreticalBasisofMindMappingThreechiefbasictheoriesthatvisualizethinkingandsupportthefollowingresearchwillbedeployedinthissection,inputandoutputtheoryofsecondlanguageacquisition,schematheoryandknowledgevisualizationtheoryincluded.2.2.1SecondLanguageAcquisitionTheoryTheinputhypothesisrefinedbytheAmericanlinguistProfessorKrashen(1988)intheearly1980shasassociatedthelanguage-producingdogmaandbeenwidelyinfluentialinthefieldofforeignlanguage.Thistheorysuggeststhatlanguageisobtainedbyabsorbingintelligibleresources.Nonetheless,theinputhypothesisattributeslanguageacquisitiontolanguageinputbesidesone-sidedignoringandexcludingoutput.Inthelate1980s,Swainputforwardtheoutputhypothesisthatisaclearindicationthatcontributestotheappropriateandflexibleapplicationoflanguage.AccordingtoKrashen(1988),learnersshouldgraspasecondlanguageinthesamewaythatchildrenattainmothertongue.Namely,childrenarenevertrainedtomastersystematiclanguagethoughtheycanexpressthemselvesaptly.Krashen(1988)stressedthatwithasufficientamountofinputmaterial,students'abilitytoutilizethelanguagewillbeenhanced,nottaughtdirectlyaccordingly.WhilefromtheperspectiveofSwain,thecourseofacquiringaforeignlanguageismakingassumptionsandrevisinghypothesesaboutthetargetinformation,whichalsoservesasatrialrun.Bynotingthemismatchbetweenoutputandinput,theoutputcannotonlymediateacquisitionandapprehension,butalsoitarouseslinguisticreflection.ComparedwiththattraditionalEnglishteachinginwhichonlytheexpressionsofknowledgeandassistedteachingtextsmatter,mindmappingaidsstudentstoshapeanarticlesystemintheprocessofEnglishreadingandinput,Meanwhile,inthecaseofEnglishwritingoutput,mindmappingguidesstudentsactivatevisionarythinking.2.2.2SchemaTheorySchematheorypreviouslyisappliedbycognitivepsychologiststointerpreterthementalcourseofcomprehensionandwasfirstproposedbytheGermanpsychologistKantin1781.Inaccordancetoschematicreadingrules,learners'readingskillcountonthreeschematathatarelanguageschema,contentschemaandformalschemathatsynchronizeandblendwiththecontentandexpressionofthediscourse.Thelinguisticschemainreadingcomprehensionalludestothevocabulary,idioms,syntaxandgrammarofatext.Onlyifthereaderhasacquiredbasiclinguisticknowledgecanheorshegraspsthetextualinformationaccordingtothewords,phrasesandsentencesinordertolaunchtheformalschemaandcontentschemainthebrain.Thereadingmaterialconsistsofvariousabstractlinguisticsymbols,allofwhicharedependentonsufficientlanguageschemata.However,deficitsinthethiscasecanbeabarriertoapprehension.Contentschemareferstofamiliaritywiththecontentorpastexperienceandbackgroundinformationinrelationtothetopicofthetext.Contentschemacan,tosomeextent,compensateforthedeficiencyoflinguisticschemabypredicting,verifying,andintensifyingthereader'sunderstanding.Formalschemadenotesthedifferencesinthegenreandorganizationalstructure.DhindsaH,Makarimi-Kasim,AndersonO.(2011)oncenotedthatmind-mapteachingapproachwasconducivetothequalityofstudents’cognitivestructures.Readerswhohavecultivatedvariousformalschemaintheirmindsandmasteredstructuralfeatureswillincreasetheirreadingspeedproductivelyandnourishtheirapprehension.2.2.3KnowledgeVisualizationTheoryTheknowledgevisualizationisaformofvisualpresentationthatfacilitatesthedisseminationofknowledgebothintermsofdesignandapplication.Besides,knowledgevisualizationisbasedongraphicdesignandcognitivescienceandisacrucialfactorinthecompositionofinformationvisualization.Forinstance,conceptmapsaregraphicalrepresentationsformedonenormouslearningstrategiesandtherelationshipbetweennotionstoshapeahierarchicalstructurewhilecausalmapsaregraphicaltechniquesonthebasisofindividualconstructionlaw.Thefunctionofknowledgevisualizationcanbecategorizedintofourmajorpoints.Aboveall,knowledgevisualizationfacilitatesthetransferofknowledge.Secondly,itoffersavastpotentialforcreditknowledgeinnovationinlinguisticmanagement.Thirdly,theapplicationofknowledgevisualizationisabletoaddressinformationoverload.Fourthly,themethodofknowledgevisualizationcanavoidthemisinterpretationandmisuseofinformationtomakearationaldetermination.Knowledgevisualizationisontheonehandduetothefactthatvisionistheimportantchannelwherehumansreceiveplentifulinformation.Ontheotherhand,becausethewaythatknowledgedemonstrateshasanimpactontheperception,understanding,applicationanddisseminationofintrinsicinformation.MindmappingisavisualtoolproposedbyTonyBuzan(1971),afamousEnglisheducator,in1971.Usingacombinationofimagesandwords,mindmapsrepresenttherelationshipbetweensubjectsatalllevelsbymeansofahierarchicaldiagramofmutualaffiliationandcorrelation.Makingfulluseofthefunctionsoftheleftandrightbrainandthelawsofbeingconducivetomaintainingabalancedbetweenscienceandart,logicandimaginationtoexploreandevaluatetheunlimitedpotentialofthehumanbrains.2.3PedagogicalStudiesonMindMappingAbroadandatHomeMindmappingmanifeststhoughtsandideasintheirentirety,expressesthestructureofcontentinanintuitiveway,andpresentsthecourseoftheconnectionofinformationefficiently.ItiscommonlyusedinwesternprimaryandsecondaryschoolteachingandisalearningstrategyprevalentinEuropeandAmericacountries.Inaddition,notonlyisatoolforcognitionandlearning,reflectionandinnovation,butalsoitisanaturalexpressionofcreativethinking.Withthepopularizationofe-learning,thecontemporarynatureofmindmappingismoreapparentanditspromotionhasbecomeoneoftheeducationalreformstrategiesinmanycountries.2.3.1PedagogicalStudiesonMindMappingAbroadAsoneofthestrategiesofeducationalreform,severalcountriesintheworldhaveachievedsignificantresultsinimprovingteachingeffectthroughthemediumofmindmapping,suchasBritain,America,AustraliaandSingapore.Amongthem,Singaporehasperformedmindmappingasoneofthecompulsorycoursestaughtfromkindergartentouniversity.ThemajorityoflessonplansmadeinAmericanschoolshaveappliedtheapproachtopresentingmindmappingaswell.Besides,theapplicationofmindmappingcanbeseeninthereportsoftheexpertsandscholarswhocometoChinatoattendinternationalacademicconferencesintheUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates.InAmericanclassrooms,teachersemploymindmapsextensivelytofosterlearners’creativeandlogicalthinking,andunlocktheirinfinitepotential.Formulatedonthebrainstormingapproach,mindmappingestablishanappropriateorrelatedconceptualorganizationaltasks,exertingthepossibilitiesofthephysiologicalfunctionsoftheleftandrighthumanbrainstosymbolizetherelationshipbetweeneachlevelofsubjectmatterwithahierarchicalgraphofmutualsubordinationandcorrelation.Mindmapsaidteachersandstudentstomastertherelativelypreciselearningmanner,instituteasystematicframeworksystem,allowthewholeflowdesignmorescientific,boostcooperationbetweenteachersandstudents,andconstituteaunitedteachingmechanismviaenormousstudiesconductedbyspecialistsindifferentcountries,whichhasattainedfavorableoutcomes.2.3.2PedagogicalStudiesonMindMappingatHomeMindmappingwasputinplacetoChinainthe1880s,initiallywiththeaimofassistingpeoplewithlearningdisabilities.Sincethen,thepopularityofmindmappinghasdeepenedwithitsintegrationintotheindustrialandcommercialcircles.Chinadesignated2017astheyearofMindMappingPopularization,andinAprilofthatyear,thepressconferencewassuccessfullyheldinBeijingwiththeparticipationofseveraleducationalplatforms.OnAugust19,2017,theWorldMindMappingChampionshipwasorganizedinChina,whichheraldedthefurtherdevelopmentofmindmappinginthecountry.Inthecourseteachingofelementaryeducation,mindmappinghasalreadygraduallyenteredtheregularteachingstageandbigcitiessuchasBeijing,Guangzhou,ShanghaiandNanjingarethefirsttobearthebrunt.Andinexperiments,studentswhoadoptedmindmapstotheirstudiesimprovetheiracademicachievementandinnovationabilityby20%.ChineseMindMapsAgencyisalsoworkingintenselywithEastChinaNormalUniversityEducationPresstomobilizemoreandmoreteacherstojointheMindMapsteachingresearchandwillreleaseaseriesofbookstosatisfythedemandformorestudents.Employingsuchexcellenttechniquesandmethodsasmindmappingtothefullestextentinordertoactivatelearners’brainsanddeveloppotentialwhileincreasingtheproficiency,andtoapplyittovariousfieldstomaximizetheroleofmindmappingwillcontributetotheprosperityandflourishingofeverycountry.2.4MindMappinginEnglishReading-WritingTeachingTheimplementationofthereading-writingteachingmodelistremendouslyfeasibleandhastobeinconformitywiththeinherentrulesofteachingEnglishproficiently.Theteachingofreadingwithoutwritingcanonlyoptimizestudents'readingskills,butalsostudents'understandingoftextsisnotprofoundorlackscomprehensivenessandtheydonotknowhowtotransfertheirreadingcompetencetootherapplications.AcombinationofreadingandwritingpossessthedistinctvaluethatstudentsdigesttheirinformationofEnglishbetter.Inthemeanwhile,duringthestages,studentslearnhowtolayoutatext,reflectthecentralidea,comprehendtheinherentrulesandgraspthefocusofthereading,onthataccount,increasingtheefficiencyofreadingteaching.2.4.1ConceptofEnglishReading-WritingTeachingReadingintegratedwithwritingisasignificantpartofEnglishlearning,andanimportantaspectoflanguageuse.Readingcombinedwithwritingiscriticalwayforstudentstomasterthelanguage.Throughreadingandwriting,studentscanobtainplentifullanguageinput,expandtheirlanguageoutput,furtherconsolidatetheirknowledgeofphonetics,vocabularyandgrammar,andboostthedevelopmentofcomprehensivelanguageutilization.Englishreading-writingteachingisabrandnewwaytotrainstudentstolearnEnglishstepbysteptoexpresstheirthoughtsreasonablyinwriting,thepurposeofwhichistoreadarticles,imitatewritinginordertofurtherstudents'competencetochoosewordsandsentences,planandlayout,soastomeettherequirementofbeingabletoapplyingEnglishtowriteinvariousstylesmoreflexiblyandgrabthethemeofthematerial.Englishreading-writingteachingisatrainingformofthinkingandexpression,whichisnotonlythroughthetheoreticalguidancetoimpartknowledge,moreimportantly,itwillbebyvirtueofpracticingandcultivatingthestudentswithEnglish-speakingcountries’approachestoorganizingcontentandwrittencommunicationskills.2.4.1PreviousApplicationofMindMappinginEnglishReading-WritingTeachingDuetothecomplexityanddiversityofproblemsencounteredbyhumanbeings,inthecaseofreadingorwritingrelyingsolelyonacertainelementisimpossibletocrackoutalltheproblemsinreadingandbreakthroughalltheproblemsencounteredinwriting.Inordertoalignwiththeneedofsolvingpracticalproblems,thehumanbrainmustintegratedifferentsortsofthinkingtofurtherthedynamismandcreativity.Similarly,theexternalactionofapersondrawingamindmapisanimportantauxiliarymeansofreadingandwritingteaching,andthemindmapisatoolforimplementingthinkingactivities.AsOmar,A.,&Albakriproposed(2016:2),teacherswereabletoengagestudentstothinkcriticallythroughtheuseofthethinkingmapsduringtheirliteraturelessons.TheteachersalsoemployedtheReader-Responsestrategiestocomplementthethinkingmapsinpromotingcriticalthinkingintheteachingofliterature.InChina,accordingtoYeQionghong(2017:76),readingandwritingweretwoimportantelementsofEnglishteachinginjuniorhighschool,andtheywerealsothetwomaincomponentsoflanguageproficiency,whichcouldeffectivelypromotestudents'writingskillsbycombiningreadingandwriting.ChenXiuying(2017:39)statedthattheprocessofteachingmindmappingalsomadethecontentoftextsfigurative,concrete,pictorialanddiagrammatic,sothatthedullcontentbecameanoutlineimagetoremember,whichwasanimportantenhancementprocessforknowledgeacquisition.ChenCuixia(2018:36)proposedthatteachersappliedmindmapstohighlightkeywords,presentedknowledgepointsradiallyandsummarizedkeyinformationinhighschoolEnglishteaching.NiLei(2019:40)believedthatmindmapscouldimprovestudents'readinghabitsandmakereadingcontentmorelogical.Moreover,foreignscholars(HarryStokhof;BregjedeVries;TheoBastiaens;RobMartens,2017:360)arguethatmindmappingcansupportteachersinguidingstudentquestionstocontributetocurriculargoals.WanJusoh,W.N.H.&Ahamd,S(2016)conductedanexploratorystudytodiscoverthatMindmapasaninnovativetoolinteachingandlearningaccounting.Meanwhile,Lee,J.&D.L.Schallert(2016)implementedayearlongclassroom-basedexperimentalstudyofmiddleschoolstudentsdevelopingliteracyinanewlanguagetoexplorethereading-writingconnection.Besides,Merchie,E&VanKeer,H(2016:3)pointedoutthattherelationshipbetweentwoinstructionalmind-mapapproachesandstudentcharacteristicsarestimulatinggraphicalsummaryinlateelementaryeducation.InthecourseofEnglishreading,amorein-depthunderstandingoftheinternallogicalstructureofadiscourseisacquiredbyusingseveralmindmapsandamorerealisticsituationisformedbyperformingexercisesorallyinagroup.Group-to-groupspeechintheappearanceofretelling,orinthearrangementofaninterviewformeaningfuloutput,thepersoncanbeaflexibleshift.Mindmappingplaysaroleoftransformationandconnection.Constructingmindmapsisaprocessmovingfromconcretetoabstractwhileretellingmaterialisarouterunningfromabstracttoconcrete.Inthewritingclass,studentscanbegivenalistofoutlineswiththeassistanceofmindmaps,usuallyintabularorfloralform.AsRosemaryWettedemonstrated(RosemaryWette,2017:2),studentstendedtotakeabottom-upapproachtotheirwriting,focusingonanalyticdecodingandcomprehensionofmeaningatword-andsentence-level.Studentsgraduallymasterthemodeloftextanalysismodeafterdefiningthetheme,recordingaframeoutlineandaddingspecificdetailstoreachthedestinationofthecombinedreadingwithwritinginwhichthemindmapfunctionsasalink.Thevisualimageofmindmappingplaysaroleofsupportandbridgeintheteachingofreadingandwriting,butintheprocessofapplication,teachersshouldtakesomeissuesasthetextofteachingmaterials,students'cognitivelevelandwhetherthereisanactualeffectintoaccount.3MethodologyThispartisdesignedtodiscoverwhethermindmappingisbeneficialandapplicabletoEnglishreading-writingteachingbyconductinganexperimentinjuniormiddleschool,coveringresearchquestions,participants,equipment,stepsanddatainterpretation.3.1ResearchQuestionsAdoptingacomparativeexperimentalapproach,thisstudysoughttoanswerthefollowingthreequestionsbyanalyzingquestionnaireresults,interviewfeedbackandtestscoresbeforeandaftertheinvestigation:Canjuniormiddlestudents’readingcompetencebeimprovedbyapplyingthemindmappingtoEnglishreadingcombinedwithwritingteaching?Canjuniorhighstudents’writingachievementsbeenhancedbyexertingthemindmapstoEnglishreadingintegratedwithwritingteaching?Whatisstudents’feedbackonthemindmappingbeforeandafterthetest?3.2ResearchSubjectsBasedontheinputandoutputtheoryofsecondlanguageacquisition,schematheoryandknowledgevisualizationtheory,thisstudytriestoincorporatemindmappingwithEnglishreadingandwritingteachingwithreferencetopreviousresearch.Theparticipantsofthisstudywere66studentsfromtworegularclassesingradeeightofageneralmiddleschoolinSuzhou,withoneclassservingasthecontrolclassandtheotherclassastheexperimentalclass.BoththecontrolclassandtheexperimentalclassadoptedthetranslationversionofgradeeightEnglishmaterialsReadingandIntegratedSkills,andthewholetimeforeachphaseoftheresearchwassixweekswithfourteachingweeksintotal.Inthecontrolclass,theteacherutilizedthetraditionalmodelofteachingreadingandwritingseparatelywhiletheexperimentalclassemployedacombinationofboththereadingandwritinginstructionusingmindmaps.Theresultsofthequestionnaires,interviewsandtestscoresofthecontrolandexperimentalclasseswereanalyzedbeforeandaftertheinvestigationtofindoutwhatthejuniorsecondarystudents’thoughtsontheapplicationofmindmapsinreadingandwritingclasses,whethertheteachingmannerandtheknowledgevisualizationaidareconducivetocultivatingthejuniorsecondarystudents’readingandwritingcompetenceandifstudents’interestinreadingandwritinginEnglishbeboosted.3.3ResearchInstrumentsThemajordeviceforthisstudyembracedtwoquestionnaires,aninterviewoutlineandtwoEnglishtestpapers.Thequestionnairessoughttospotstudents'attitudestowardandinterestsintheadoptionofmindmappinginEnglishreadingcombinedwithwritingteachingbeforeandaftertheexperiment,andtoexplorewhatdesiresaddedimprovement.Thepurposeofrandominterviewswastosupplementstudents'feedbackontheapplicationofmindmappinginreadingandwritinglessons.Thetwotestpapersweredirectedtofigureoutwhetherstudents'readingandwritingskillshadchangedasaresultoftheintroductionofmindmappinginreadingintegratedwithwritingteaching.3.3.1Pre-testandPost-testSincetherewasaformalclassdivisiontestbeforestudentswereadmittedtotheeighthgrade,thetwoclasseswiththesmallestdifferentiationinthescoreoftheentranceexaminationwereselectedforthisstudyandweredividedintoacontrolclassandanexperimentalclass.Inordertoensurethehomogeneityofthe