 |
| Mind Mapping for Vocabulary Learning? |
Mind Maps as Vocabulary Enhancers:
Three
Useful Tools to Explore
As a reading skills instructor at the university level, I
have always looked for ways to boost vocabulary learning among my A1+/A2
students. I have taken students into using “word families” and “vocabulary
logs,” which have proven their use. But to fully enhance student learning, I’m
now working with students on structuring their learning via mind maps.
Why mind maps? The reason seems to be self-explanatory,
somehow. Mind maps reflect, -based on
scientific observation of brain
cell’s dendrites-, the way human
beings store information in their long term memory. A mind map along
with an “assigned” thematic unit or label depicts the way in which information
is retrieved when needed and, at the same time, other possible connections with
related topics or thematic units. As many experts claim, the more connections
our neurons develop, the faster information
flows boosting learning and understanding.
In my rhetorical explanation to reading skills students
about the benefits of using mind maps, I always try to present three tremendously
basic facts. A mind map guarantees the visual
relationship of words (phrases or ideas, as well). That is, instead of
simply reading a dictionary definition, the map elaborates more the connotation
of an idea in terms of its relationships with other word(s) (phrase or ideas)
and other thematic units (topics). A mind map supplies
learners with meaning-related words or their opposites. In other words,
a student can also find synonyms and antonyms to continue to boost his/her
vocabulary. Finally, a mind map is a way to self-encourage ourselves to expand one’s word-base beyond the textbook and
class. This type of map can go beyond the reading skills class and be used to
enhance one’s learning experiences in any other course at the university.
The internet provides
interesting sites to work with and develop students’ lexicon. Let’s take a look
at http://membean.com/personal/wordmaps.
Pupils have access to 150,000 word maps to study their vocabulary. At the same
time, learners can also listen to podcasts concerning new lexical items. It provides
a “Hustle Plan,” which means it’s for free. If the student wants, he can
upgrade his account to a paid one. Yet Membean can be used without having to
sign up; it does have a lot of free features.
If the teacher wants
to have students create their own mind maps, with his/her guidance, http://www.mindomo.com
is a great option. Even though Mindomo allows free users to just create three
mind maps, they can be edited and re-edited as many times as needed. The best
thing it has is that once a mind map is created, it can be converted into a “jpg”
picture that can be posted anywhere it is required. Mindomo is a great option
to work online.
On the other hand, EDRAW
Mindmap is freeware that can be downloaded to one’s PC
(notebook, tablet, etc.) and installed. As freeware EDRAW has no limitation in
terms of mind maps creation. It has lots of layouts and different features that
can be used to create maps, or the user has the chance of beginning from
scratch to create his/her own infographic. Infographics (a kind of mind map)
can be saved on the PC, can be edited, and can be saved as picture, pdf, etc to
be later used in blog posts, presentations, and the like.
Help students learn by facilitating them the tools they
need. Mind maps can become meaningful learning experiences that will help you –the
teacher- achieve vocabulary objectives in a course and will assist your
learners to fully develop their potential to consolidate learning and achieve
teachers’ learning outcomes.
To fully
develop and comprehend this teaching issue, it’s advisable to research and
expand these areas:
1
|
How brain cells communicate
|
2
|
The way humans store information
|
3
|
Alternative sites to create mind maps
|
4
|
Mindmapping in education and it benefits
|
5
|
Infographics
|
Jonathan Acuña
ELT Instructor & Trainer based in Costa Rica
For further comments or suggestions, reach me at:
@jonacuso – Twitter
Other blogs I often write for my
students at the university are:
Friday, September 21, 2012
Post a Comment