以心智圖輔助閱讀理解：探討國中學生讀後回憶和回應

Abstract

知道說明文中的文本結構是促進閱讀理解提升至文章結構層級的一個關鍵。對於將英文當成外語學習的國中生來說，他們對於目標語的語法知識可能尚未發展，透過訓練篩選和定位文章段落以便建立文本基礎概念，也許能促使更深層次的文章處理，進而提升文本理解。一種文章結構的視覺顯示「心智圖」，可能達到此成效，並用來當作教學工具以提高閱讀品質和文本學習。因此，這項研究調查了訓練使用心智圖來閱讀對於國中學生回憶和回應上的成效。 兩班共38名九年級的學生，分別指派為實驗組與對照組參與這項為期六週的研究，其中包含一段研究準備。實驗組學生歷經四梯次、每次兩節的心智圖結構輔助閱讀教學課程。每梯次中，這些學生上完語言知識後，會先進行文章閱讀，按照結構化的文本架構標記以及教師對文本段落之間的關聯提示來繪製心智圖。接著，他們獨立進行第二篇文章的心智圖架構對應填入。對照組的學生參加四梯次、每次兩節的任務導向閱讀教學課程。這些學生在上完每節課的語言知識後，教師引導學生回答暖身題，進行文章閱讀，提示學生回答閱讀中問題及做閱讀測驗。然後，依照小組任務分配，他們先回答暖身題，閱讀另一篇文章，合力回答閱讀中問題並檢核閱讀理解。 前後測透過分組設計實施來消除文章效應。學生閱讀「世界上的迷信」或「羅馬的男神與女神」其一文章，進行回憶寫作和回應來思考文章內容。另外，在後測時實驗組填寫了一份了解自我成長以及心智圖愛好與可行性的問卷。資料分析上，回憶內容以想法高低層次來做分析；回應內容則以個人的、文本的以及智慧型的三種不同回應來做分析。 這項研究首先顯示出實驗組的學生們因為心智圖技能訓練而提升整體的文章回憶；次之，學生們上完心智圖課程後在回憶時的錯誤推論明顯下降；第三，相較於對照組的成長幅度，實驗組的學生們在讀後回應時產出較少個人回應而有許多智慧型回應。在心智圖看法問卷中，四個項目的分析指出大多數的學生喜愛小組討論提示問題與製作小組心智圖、提升了他們的語言閱讀與思考能力、享受心智圖課程以及教師的教學引導，然而，由於缺乏足夠時間與實務經驗下，對於心智圖應用表現意願較低。 這項研究的結果證實了在台灣國中教室裡能將心智圖應用在英語閱讀教學上。另外，這項技能有效提升學生整體以及高層次想法上的回憶和智慧型回應的產出。嚴格地說，使用心智圖技能的訓練能夠改善國中學生的閱讀與文本學習。Awareness of text structure in the expository texts may be one key factor promoting reading comprehension to the textbase-construction level. For EFL junior high school students, whose knowledge about target text form may yet to develop, training in selecting and anchoring text chunks to build a textbase may facilitate deep-level text processing and enhance text comprehension. One type of text structure visual display – mind maps – may serve such purpose and be used as an instructional tool to boost quality reading and learning from texts. This study thus investigated the effects of training reading with mind maps on the recall and response of EFL junior high students. Thirty-eight students in two classes of 9th graders, one assigned to the experimental group and another the control group, participated in this study in six weeks. The students in the experimental group went through four two-period sessions of reading supported by mind map construction. In each session, after an instruction on language components, the students first read a passage, filled up a mind map following the scaffolds of textual highlights on structural elements and teacher’s prompts on the relating of textual chunks. Then, they proceeded to the independent work on a second passage filling in the corresponding mind map without assistance. The students in the control group, meanwhile, were taught in a task-based approach, with teacher instructing linguistic components, students responding to warm-up questions, reading a text silently, answering while-reading and post-reading questions. Pretest and posttest were conducted in a split-block design to counterbalance the passage effects. Students read a passage, performed a written recall and wrote a response to reflect on the passage contents. Additionally, the experimental group filled in a questionnaire tapping their perceptions on their growth, the preference and the feasibility of mind maps in the posttest. For the data analysis, recall was analyzed for high- and low-level idea units as well as correct and incorrect inferences. For response writing, based on three types of response, personal, textual and intellectual were tapped. The study revealed that, first, the experimental group’s overall text recall and the recall of higher-level idea units were improved with the training of the mind mapping technique; second, students’ production of incorrect inference in text recall was significantly decreased after the mind mapping treatment; third, in writing of response, students produced less personal response and more intellectual response in students’ post-reading response, as compared with the control group’s percentage of growth. The analysis of four sections in the mind maps perception questionnaire indicated that most students favored group production of mind maps and group discussion on prompt questions, perceived an increase in their linguistic, reading and thinking abilities, enjoyed the mind mapping lessons and the teacher’s instruction. However, they expressed little willingness in the future to apply the mind mapping technique because they do not have time and hands-on experience. The results of the study confirmed the feasibility of applying the mind mapping to teaching English reading in Taiwanese junior high school classrooms. In addition, the technique is effective in boosting students’ recall of overall and higher-level ideas, suppressing incorrect inferences made in recall, and increasing the written production of intellectual response. As such, training to use mind mapping techniques can ameliorate junior high students’ reading and learning from texts.