Mind Mapping as a Teaching Tool in Higher Education Language Learning Settings

Many instructors willing to undertake teaching in a foreign language are progressively noticing the need to improve the quality of classroom discourse and lecturing styles, so that students can capture and process the information delivered more efficiently. Mind­maps can be an important and effective asset to anyone who wants to learn a language. They are considered to be a great way to brainstorm and generate more ideas. They help to create a number of small ideas from one big idea, to see how different ideas could be connected together and to create a plan of action. They break from the traditional way of thinking when learning, and therefore they encourage creativity - and this can be achieved only when there are no restrictions, criticism and judging. The result should be a very creative, new solution to problems, a generation of original, relaxed and informal ideas. The article demonstrates how mind mapping technique can be used to improve language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening in higher education settings; moreover, it concerns positive and negative aspects of the use of mind mapping, purposes it may serve, implications, suggestions, and recommendations for mind mapping strategies for teachers and students.

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