思維導(dǎo)圖在初中英語讀寫教學(xué)中的應(yīng)用研究摘要近年來，英語讀寫結(jié)合多維度關(guān)聯(lián)的教學(xué)活動日益受到國內(nèi)外學(xué)者與一線英語教師的關(guān)注。思維導(dǎo)圖作為一種圖文并茂的可視化思維認識工具，也是一種對發(fā)散性思維的訓(xùn)練方法。但是，思維導(dǎo)圖在傳統(tǒng)初中英語教學(xué)中大多應(yīng)用研究于某一課題，各自進行分開教學(xué)，這不利于學(xué)生梳理清晰的行文脈絡(luò)和構(gòu)建完整的知識體系。本研究試將思維導(dǎo)圖與英語讀寫教學(xué)結(jié)合起來，以二語習(xí)得輸入與輸出理論、圖式理論以及知識可視化理論為基礎(chǔ)，參考前人對思維導(dǎo)圖以及讀寫結(jié)合教學(xué)的相關(guān)研究，結(jié)合初中英語讀寫教學(xué)實踐，以譯林版初二英語教材Reading和IntegratedSkills兩部分為例，實驗對象為某初中初二年級兩個平行班共66名學(xué)生，控制班采用傳統(tǒng)英語教學(xué)方法，實驗班采取基于思維導(dǎo)圖進行讀寫結(jié)合的教學(xué)模式，進行為期6周的實驗，測驗后進行問卷調(diào)查和隨機訪談，采用SPSSAU軟件對研究數(shù)據(jù)進行分析。通過思維導(dǎo)圖與初中英語讀寫教學(xué)相結(jié)合的實踐，多維度聯(lián)結(jié)思維導(dǎo)圖與英語讀寫教學(xué)，促進初中學(xué)生語言性閱讀知識向綜合性寫作的有效遷移，提升閱讀與寫作能力，充實綜合語言技能。同時，利用思維導(dǎo)圖進行初中英語讀寫教學(xué)可以提高學(xué)生語言技能的交融性，為初中英語讀寫教學(xué)提供一些啟示和建議。關(guān)鍵詞：思維導(dǎo)圖；初中英語；讀寫教學(xué)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