Mind maps are not something I have used a lot of but recently I seem to be using or planning to use more and more. The main reason I’ve been using them is to get my students to associate lots of vocabulary around a single theme. For example, my business English students had a part of the lesson where were created a mind map based around vocabulary connected to ‘companies’. They had already seem an example of a mind map in their books and this time they were going to create their own from scratch, with a little help from me to get them started. The basic mind map we drew up on the whiteboard was something like this but increased to fill most of the board – shame I didn’t have my camera to take a photo of it 
We brainstormed and added more vocabulary and ideas until we had more or less filled the board and then counted up how much vocabulary they had thought of just based around this very simple mind map. I asked them if they could have thought of just a list of 70+ words just off the top of their heads 
I think we will try to use mind maps more frequently and I think the students really saw the benefit of using one too.
I use a site online to create the image of the mind map above. The site is called www.bubbl.us and allows free users to create three mind maps that can be shared online. Its easy to use and I think its great 
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