任务型教学模式在初中英语语法课堂中的应用研究 51页

＇．＇＂＾、．離．，ｒ记髮．＇纖．、‘．‘－．零－片艇‘－．’．＇－！：＇‘带夫少Ｃ；如Ｄ斬吨＼：：：ｍ、．＇＇‘；学校代码；１０１６５皆分类号；＼．．＿＿驚马＿＿＿＿１不Ｖ苗亩，＾ＩＩＩ．巧禱＼．＾遠掌乂學義胃晒師筵｜｜讓教育硕±专业学位论文ｉｌｌ；．／滅寒這。诚．’＇等隹論．．－；．－Ｖ？／，相权；．麵气棘朽樽統ＩＩ再偏Ｖ；辜巧．＇－辯＃急＼．違贼骚’’ｔ－—■‘移；＂任务型教学模式在初中英语语法课堂中的应用研究ＡｎＡｌｉｃａｔｉｏ打ｏｆＴＢＬＴｔｏ化己Ｔｅａｃｈｉｎｇｏｆ裏心ｐｐ齊＇ｖＡｌｉｓｈＧｒａｍｍａｒｉｎＪｕｎｉｏｒＨｉｈＳｃｈｏｏｌ．：吃，Ｅｎｇｇ？诚＾．＇．養．，靜ｉ瑚攀＇－．Ｖ；．；ｆ載，芳讀謗．＇＇■巧．ｒ；．声Ｖ、ｒ作者姓名：宋鸿雜．ｐ：，．参杳與，．勺＾方皆．学科教学八请：（英语ｒ帘苗＾！击矿专业方向？’；．‘；！．ｉ．左，导师姓名：白彬女寒＼．巧／’．．’’．．二．、．．－知Ｖ－’．．－＇’＇＇’？Ｉ；一．、伊／．’’：輸式＇．．＾＇－Ｖ－．－．，过別ｒ／心。户＇，藏哨．ｋ／游：；．＇一．＇．２。＾０３…－＂月：年；：片巧，．：舞成．把＼Ｖ．ＰＵ；．’＇／：．兰’’＇皆．．．’．－．：＇．；．．，：Ｉ，苗ｒ弘．向杂畔，惡，去争安－＾＇－．；？＾＾？■ｉ：．，：：．．＾，：；ｒ；；：ｖｙ；．＃；｜＇＇％．，‘’．－．．＾＞．－．．．．＇、．，ｒＶ尖．铅去．复／．乂：ｉｒ＃； 分类号：学校代码：10165密级：学号：20131038J教育硕士专业学位论文任务型教学模式在初中英语语法课堂中的应用研究AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool作者姓名：宋鸿璐专业方向：学科教学（英语）导师姓名：白彬2015年3月 AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolSongHongluAThesisSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsFortheDegreeofMASTEROFARTSSchoolofForeignLanguagesLIAONINGNORMALUNIVERSITY2015 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文摘要语法学习在英语教学中始终是一个争论很多的课题，语法教学的方法很多，因不同的教师、学生、教材以及教学环境而不同，现在，对于语法教学所面临的问题不只是教什么，更重要的是怎样教，传统以教师为中心的课堂活动单调而且枯燥，师生之间缺乏积极主动的交流。因此，新课程标准建议英语教师采用任务型教学法，强调了培养交际能力的重要性，通过完成任务来达到学习知识的目的。任务型教学以建构主义、有意义学习等理论为基础，强调做中学，做中用。本论文对任务型教学法和语法教学做了基本介绍，分析了当前国内外任务型教学法的研究状况。本文通过对任务与学习语言、任务的难度以及设计任务原则等的学习，作者提出语法教学的五种任务类型，同时将教学中作者的实践活动作为举例说明。本文基于威利斯提出的任务型教学实施框架，设计了英语语法课堂教学模式，介绍如何将该模式用于英语语法教学。最后，文章还探索并研究任务型教学法是否有效，通过与3p模式的对比教学，展示教学成果。研究结果验证了任务型语法教学的可行性，因为这种方法可以提高学生学习的兴趣，调动学生的积极性，改变学生的学习动机和方法，也证明了任务型语法教学模式在初中英语教学中适宜运用。文章还指出，一堂成功的任务型语法教学的课堂实施对教师自身素质的要求很高，任务设计、课堂把握、课堂模式等都要综合考虑，这种课堂模式仍然需要教师不断地探索和实践。关键词：任务；任务型教学；语法教学；初中英语-I- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolAnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolAbstractEnglishgrammarlearningisconsistentlyacontroversialtopicinEnglishlanguageteaching.Dependingonthevarietyofteachers,students,teachingmaterialsandteachingenvironment,therearenumerouswaysforgrammarteaching.Whattheproblemsthatgrammarteachingisfacingatthemomentisnotonlyaproblemofwhattobetaught,butalsohowitcanbetaught.Thetraditionalteacher-centeredclassroomactivitiesaretediousandvapid,withminoractivecommunicationsbetweenstudentsandteachers.Forthereasonsmentionedabove,theNewCurriculumStandardsuggestsEnglishteachertoapplythetask-basedlanguageteachingapproach,whichemphasizeonthedevelopmentofcommunicativecompetence,alsothepurposeoflearningknowledgecouldbefulfilledbytheaccomplishmentoftasks.Task-basedlanguageteachingapproach,stressingon“learningbydoing”and“usingindoing”,isbasedonthetheoryofconstructivismandthetheoryofmeaningfullearning.Thisthesishasdoneageneralintroductiontothetask-basedlanguageteachingapproachandEnglishgrammarteaching,italsoanalysesthecurrentresearchstatusontask-basedlanguageteachingbothfromoverseasandathome.Byanalyzingtherelationshipbetweentasks,languagelearning,difficultiesoftasksandtheprinciplesindesigningtasks,fivetypesoftaskshasbeenproposed.Inthemeantime,theempiricalstudyoftheauthorworksasanillustration.Thispaperisbasedupontheapplicationframeworkoftask-basedlanguageteachingapproachproposedbyWillis,italsodesignsateachingmodelforanEnglishgrammarclassandintroducethewaytoapplythismodelontoEnglishgrammarteaching.Finally,thispaperalsoexplorestheeffectivenessoftask-basedlanguageteachingapproachbycomparisonwiththetraditionalPPPapproach,theexperimentresultsisalsopresentedinthispaper.Byconductingtheempiricalstudy,thefeasibilityoftask-basedlanguageteachingisprovedbythesatisfactoryexperimentresults,asthismethodologycanimprovestudents’interests,improvestudents’enthusiasm,andchangetheirmotivationandwayoflearning,whichconsequentlyprovesthattask-basedlanguageteachingapproachisappropriatetobeappliedinjuniorhighschoolEnglishteaching.Inaddition,thisthesisalsopointedoutthatasuccessfultask-basedEnglishclassisgreatlyrelatedwiththepersonaldiathesisoftheteachers,whohastoconsidernumerousfactorsaswhole,suchastaskdesign,classcontrol,classmode,etc.Therefore,task-basedlanguageteachingapproachstillrequirestheteacherstocontinuouslyexploreandpracticeforbetterperformance.KeyWords：Task;Task-basedlanguageteaching;Grammarteaching;JuniorhighschoolEnglish.-II- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文Contents摘要..................................................................................................iAbstract.....................................................................................................................................IIContents....................................................................................................................................III1Introduction......................................................................................1.1ResearchBackground....................................................................v.............................11.2SignificanceandObjectivesoftheResearch.............................................................11.3ResearchMethod........................................................................................................31.4LayoutoftheThesis...................................................................................................42LiteratureReviewandTheoreticalFoundation..............................................................62.1DefinitionofGrammar...............................................................................................62.2DefinitionofEnglishGrammarTeachingandtheDevelopmentofTraditionalEnglishGrammarTeaching................................................................................................62.2.1DefinitionofEnglishGrammarTeaching........................................................62.2.2TheDevelopmentofTraditionalEnglishGrammarTeaching.........................72.3Task-basedLanguageTeaching.................................................................................82.3.1Task..................................................................................................................82.3.2Task-basedLanguageTeaching.....................................................................132.3.3PreviousResearchesonTask-basedLanguageTeachingAbroadandatHome....................................................................................................................................132.4TheoreticalFoundations...........................................................................................152.4.1TheTheoryofConstructivism.......................................................................152.4.2TheTheoryofMeaningfulLearning..............................................................173TheImplementationoftheExperiment.........................................183.1ResearchQuestions..................................................................................................183.2ResearchSubjects.....................................................................................................183.3ResearchControl......................................................................................................183.4ResearchInstruments...............................................................................................183.5TheEmpiricalResearchofTask-basedLanguageTeachinginGrammarTeaching193.5.1Task-basedTeachingApproachinJuniorHighSchoolEnglishGrammarClass..................................................................................................................................223.5.2Task-basedTeachingApproachinGrammarTeaching–ExamplesofAttributiveClause.............................................................................................................233.6Summary..................................................................................................................254ExperimentResearchandOutcomeAnalysis...............................................................274.1AnalysisofExperimentResults...............................................................................274.1.1Pre-experimentTest.......................................................................................274.1.2Post-experimentTest......................................................................................27-III- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool4.1.3ComparingTask-basedLanguageTeachingwiththeTraditionalPPPApproach....................................................................................................................284.1.4ProblemsExistingintheTraditionalPPPApproach.....................................284.1.5TheAdvantagesofTask-basedLanguageTeaching......................................294.2DataAnalysis...........................................................................................................304.2.1AnswersfromtheTestingGroup...................................................................314.2.2AnswersfromtheReferenceGroup...............................................................314.2.3ReasonswhyTask-basedLanguageTeachingismoreEffectiveinPromotingForeignLanguageTeaching.......................................................................................324.3SuggestionsforImplementingTask-basedLanguageTeachinginClass................344.4Summary..................................................................................................................355Conclusion.........................................................................................................................365.1MainFindingsintheStudy......................................................................................365.2LimitationsofthePresentStudy..............................................................................365.3SuggestionsforFutureResearch..............................................................................37References................................................................................................................................38AppendixATheQuestionnaire................................................................................................40AppendixBAllStudents’Pre-testScores...............................................................................41AppendixCAllStudents’Post-testScores..............................................................................42Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................43-IV- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文1Introduction1.1ResearchBackgroundGrammarisalwaysanessentialcomponentofcommunicationskillsinEnglishteaching.OnlybyobtainingfundamentalandsystematicEnglishgrammaticalknowledge,canthelanguagelearnerutilizehis/herlanguageskillincommunicatingandwriting,andthusenhanceaccuracy,fluency,andproficiency.Thetraditionalmethodofgrammarteachinghasmostlyemphasizedontheexplanationofgrammaticalknowledge,thememorizationofgrammarrules,andmechanicalpracticebyrepeatedsentence-makingexercise.Therefore,thereisalwaysa‘spoon-feeding’phenomenoninthegrammarclassesbyconductingcrammingeducationnomatterthestudentscouldabsorbtheknowledgeornot,andasaresult,studentsarelackingofinterestsandmotivationoflearning,asthegrammarclassseemstobehumdrumandtedioustothem.Furthermore,thetraditionalmodeofteachingisteacher-centeredinsteadofstudents-centered,thismode,however,doesnotcorrespondtothefinalobjectiveofeducation.Forthereasonsmentionedabove,theeffectivenessandefficiencyoflearninghasbeenextremelylowunderthetraditionalwayofgrammarteaching.Task-basedlanguageteaching(TBLT)hasbeenraisedintheearly1980s.ThepurposeofTBLTiscommunication,withspecificemphasison“learningindoing”,practicedbyguidingthelearnertoaccomplishspecifictaskswiththelanguagelearntbyimitatingreal-lifecircumstancesintheclasses.Thistheoryadvocatesthatlearningalanguageshouldbemainlyfocusonapplication,otherthansolelytheresultoftraininglanguageskillsandleaninglanguageknowledge.Themostprominentcharacteristicisstudyingservesapplication,learninginusing,andusingwhilelearning.Itaimsatactualizinglanguageteaching,socializingtheclasses.Thisreflectstheprocessofshiftingfromconcerningteachingmethodologytothelearner,fromteacher-orientedtostudent-oriented,fromemphasizingonthelanguageitselfintotheacquisitionandapplicationofthelanguageability.Thenewcurriculumstandardpromotes.BymeansofTBLT,ithastransformedtheratherabstractgrammaticaltheoryintoconcreteclassroomactivity.1.2SignificanceandObjectivesoftheResearchOneofthemostimportantpartsofforeignlanguageeducationisgrammarteaching,inaccordancewiththeNewCurriculumStandard,astudent’scommunicativecapabilityincludesgrammaticalcompetence.Thetraditionalteachingapproachofgrammarteaching,whichmainlyconcentratedonthedescriptionofgrammarrulesandterms,doesprovedtobeusefulinEnglishgrammarteachingoverthepastdecades.However,itonlypaidlittleattentiontothereal-lifeapplicationofalanguage.Task-basedlanguageteachingapproachisverifiedtobesuperiortothetraditional-1- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolgrammarteachingmethodbymanyresearchers.Meanwhile,therearealsosomesignificantimplicationsofapplyingtask-basedapproachinEnglishgrammarteaching,especiallyintheteachingofnon-finiteverbs.Firstofall,task-basedapproachcouldcreateanatmospherewhichwouldnotonlyassistthestudentsinlearningthelanguageformsbutalsotheirlanguagecommunicationabilities,forthereasonthatthatthestudentshavetocommunicatewitheachotherwhentryingtocompletethetasksassigned.Thecluebehindthisisthatthestudentswouldbeinvolvedinactualandmeaningfulcommunication,insteadofdoingsomeabstractandtediousgrammarpractice,whichcouldalsocontributedinimprovinglanguagefluency,andhenceenhancetheacquisitionoflanguageability.Secondly,task-basedApproachhasadistinctpurposecomparingtocommunicativelanguageteachingmethod,asthefocusofthetasksisstillongrammarknowledge,incontrastwithmerelypracticingwithEnglish.Lastbutnotleast,task-basedapproachcouldsomewhatforcethestudentstospeakEnglishduringclasses,becauseitistheonlywaytoaccomplishthetasksassigned,thereforeresolvetheproblemofstudentsspeakingnativelanguageintheclasses,astheteachersalwaysfindithardtorequireallstudentstospeakEnglishthroughouttheclass.task-basedapproachrequestboththeteacherandthestudentstobeinvolvedactivelyintheclassactivities,andduetothismutuallyinvolvednature,itismightbeunaccustomedforteachersandstudentswhohavebeenusedtotraditionalgrammarteachingmethodtoadapttothetask-basedapproacheasilyandnaturally.Forthisreason,itisessentialfortheteacherstospendmoretimeandeffortinpreparingfortheclasses,includingthedesigningofactivities,whichcouldaidthestudents’languageacquisitionprocess.Attheinceptionphase,thestudentsmightfinditchallengingtounderstandtheirpeersorexpressinanotherlanguage,however,astimegoeson,theywouldbemoreandmoreusedtoit.Also,iftheclassiswell-designed,students’interestscouldbestimulated,andhenceachievingapositiveresult.However,afewproblemsshouldbeconsidered.Firstly,thewayofteachinggrammarinordertogainsatisfactoryresultsshouldbediscoveredasitisacrucialpartinEnglisheducation.Secondly,grammaticalcompetenceshouldbebalancedwithcommunicationcapabilityaswell.Finally,themethodsofmakinggrammarteachingmoreinterestingandacceptabletostudentsshouldalsobeidentified.Eventhoughmanyresearchershavebeendoneregardingtask-basedApproachinEnglishteaching,theexistingresearchesaregenerallyassociatedwiththereading,writingorlisteningskillsofEnglish,onlyfewarerelatedwiththegrammarteachingofEnglishinsecondaryschools.EversincethepublicationoftheNewCurriculumStandardsforCompulsoryEducation,themajorityofteachingmaterialshavebeenrevisedbasedonthetask-basedApproach,andmeanwhile,anincreasingnumberofschoolsinChinahasadoptedthenewresources,containingAnshan.Asaresult,itisimportanttofindoutthewaysandmeanstoteachgrammarmoreeffectivelywiththenewteachingmaterials,andtoidentifyamoreeffectivemethodinimprovingthelearners’grammarskillsbetweenthetraditionalPPP-2- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文teachingapproachandthenewtask-basedapproach.Therefore,thepurposeofthisempiricalstudyistodiscoverthatbetweenthetraditionalPPPapproachandthetask-basedApproach,whichmethodwouldgainbetteroutcomes.Inaddition,thisresearchalsointendstoconstructamodelofapplyingtask-basedapproachintheteachingofEnglishnon-finiteverbs.1.3ResearchMethodInordertoexaminetheeffectivenessofTBLTinactualclasses,thisresearchappliestestsinagroupofjuniorhighschoolstudentsasthemainapproach,withtheaidofquestionnairesandinterviewsassupportivemethods.Thetestswouldbeconductedintwoclasses,withoneclassapplyingTBLT,andtheotherclasswastaughtbyusingthetraditionalPPPapproach.Aftergatheringtestresults,aswellasquestionnaireanswersandinterviewoutcomes,allcollectedpre-andpost-tests,thisresearchisintendtodiscovertheresultstothreequestions:1).Actually,istheTBLTmoreefficientinlearningEnglishgrammar.Why.2).HowtodesigntasksinteachingEnglishgrammar.3).HowtoimplementthemodeofTBLTinjuniorhighschoolgrammarclassResearchrespondentsTherespondentswereselectedamongthestudentsofNo.27MiddleSchoolinClass2andClass3inGrade9.Priortothetest,theirgrammaticalskillsarefarlessthansatisfactory,whowererequiredtobetrainedfurther.Researchinstrumenta.Questionnairewasusedasoneoftheresearchinstrumenttoinvestigatetheattitudesofstudentstowardstheexistinggrammareducationandconcludingthereasonsofwhythestudentsarewearyoftraditionalgrammarteaching,andthusverifyingthatbyapplyingTBLTtodesigntaskswhichisrelevanttotheirlivesisfeasibletosolvetheexistingproblems.b.Teachingmaterials,contentsandscheduleswereremainedthesame.-3- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolResearchstepsFigure1.1ResearchstepsResearchmethodologya.LiteraturereviewByreferringtothematerialsfromlibrariesandreferencerooms,togetherwithfullyutilizationofelectronicdatabasessuchasCNKI(ChinaNationalKnowledgeInfrastructure),WanfangData,etc.,relevantpublicationslikebooks,journalarticles,academicdissertationsandconferencepapersweregathered,scrutinizedandrefined,inordertogainasystematicunderstandingofthetheoriesandresearchresultsofTBLTformbothon-shoreandoff-shore.b.QuestionnaireViadistributingthecarefullydesignedquestionnairestothestudentsofNo.27MiddleSchoolstudentsinClass2andClass3inGrade9,generalinformationaboutwhystudentslosinginterestsongrammarclassescouldbeobtained,andthenbystatisticalanalysis,theimpactofEnglishteachingmethodongrammareducationwillbeexplored.c.InterviewForthepurposeofunderstandingthereasonandcurrentcircumstancesofboredomtogrammarofjuniorhighschoolstudents,interviewsandobservationsareconductedtogainanin-depthunderstanding.1.4LayoutoftheThesisChapter1introducedtheresearchpurpose,significance,contentandmethodology,aswellasproposingthelayoutofthisthesis.Themaintextisdividedintothreechapters,includingchapter2,3and4.Chapter2primarilyprovidesageneralsummarizeofliteraturereview.Itwillfirstlydiscussgrammaranditsteaching,includingthedefinitionofgrammar,therelationship-4- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文betweengrammarandEnglishlistening,speaking,readingandwritingskills,theimportanceofgrammarinalanguage,theevolutionandchangesofgrammarteaching,etc.,forthepurposeofdemonstratingthenecessityofgrammareducationundertheNewCurriculumStandard,aswellastheurgencyofinvestigatingthemethodsofconductinggrammarteaching.ThenthetasksandTBLT-relatedtheorieswillbeclarified,whichwillcoverthedefinitionoftasks,reasonsandrequirementsforproceedingTBLTandstatesofdevelopmentsinbothhomeandoverseas.Finally,theproposalofutilizingTBLTinjuniorhighschoolwillberaised.InChapter3,awell-designedtaskwilldirectlyinfluencetheefficiencyofteaching,therefore,thedesignofataskplaysacrucialroleindeterminingthetargetandthewayoflearning,aswellasthefunctionofteachersandstudentsduringtheprocessoflearning,eventhelearningoutcomeandappraisal.Whendesigningatask,itisimportanttounderstandtheessenceoftaskandtask-basedlanguageteaching,thebasicprincipleoftaskdesign,andfactorswhichmightaffecttasks.Afewmethodsfordesigningataskwillalsobeproposedinthischapter.Furthermore,thespecificimplementationofTBLTinjuniorhighschoolEnglisheducationwillbeelaborated,primarilyfocusingonthediscussingthestepsofexecution,analyzinghowtheideasofTBLTareexpressedthroughthesesteps,andthenprovingTBLTispracticalingrammarteachingviaempiricalevidence.Chapter4mainlypresentsthetestprocess.AnexperimentwasdesignedandconductedonthestudentsofviadistributingthecarefullydesignedquestionnairestothestudentsofNo.27MiddleSchoolstudentsinClass2andClass3inGrade9.ThetestinggroupappliedtheTBLT,incontrast,thereferencinggroupemployedthetraditionalPPPmethod.Bycollecting,analyzingandcomparingthedatabeforeandaftertheexperimentforbothtestsubjects,withtheaidofquestionnairesandinterviews,thefeasibilityandvalidityisabletobemanifested.Andfinally,theauthor’scommentandexperienceduringtheimplementationofTBLTwillbeproposed.Chapter5concludesthewholethesis.Withmassivetheoreticalsupports,anempiricalevidenceandexperimentresult,TBLTisprovedtobeaconceptwhichisstudent-orientedandvaluedtheindividualdifferenceofstudents.TBLTcouldnotonlyimprovethegrammarstandardofstudentsevidentlyandthusinturnincreaseacademicperformance,butalsoenhancetheteachingstandardofteachers,whichisobviouslyacardiotonictotheconfinedandstrugglingEnglishgrammarteaching.WhatmakesTBLTsuperioristhatitcouldaffectthefundamentalwayforstudentstolearnEnglishbyadjustingtheirmotivation,whichwouldbenefitthestudentsthroughouttheirlives.Atlast,somerecommendationswillbeprovidedregardingthelimitationsrevealedinempiricalevidenceandduringexperimentforthesakeofpromotingafurtherdevelopmentofforeignlanguageteaching.-5- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool2LiteratureReviewandTheoreticalFoundation2.1DefinitionofGrammarOxfordDictionary(1993)definesgrammaras‘studyorscienceof,rulesfor,thecombinationofwordsintosentences(syntax),andtheformsofwords(morphology).’AccordingtotheviewpointsofWiddowson(1999),grammarisasummaryaboutthetransformingrulesofvocabularyandphraseologies.TheContemporaryChineseDictionaryexplainsgrammarasthewayofconstructinglanguage,includingtheconstitutionandchangesofwords,aswellastheorganizationofphrasesandsentences.Itcanbeseenfromvariousdefinitionsprovidedthatgrammarisasetofrules,anditistheseruleswhichregulatehowvocabulariesshouldbetransformedandhowthesevocabulariesshouldbeformedintosentences.Andtherefore,grammaristhemostimportantcomponentforthelanguagelearnerswhenlearningasecondlanguagebyworkingasguidanceforusingthislanguagecorrectly.Amongallthebookspublishedbydomesticscholars,NewEnglishGrammar,writtenbyZhenbangZhanget.al.,professorsofShanghaiForeignLanguagesUniversity,publishedin1989,elaboratesthemoststandardandaccuraterulesofgrammar,andnowhasbecomeoneoftheessentialtoolsforChinesestudentsbecauseofitsuniformityandauthoritativeness.DingfangShuandZhixiangZhuang(1996)consideredgrammarasageneraldescriptionoflanguage,mainlyprovidingasystematicandtheoreticalportraitofconstitutionrules,includingphonemics(phonemeanditscompositionrules),syntax(thewaysforwordsandphrasestostructuresentences),lexicologyandsemantics(themeaningofvocabulariesandtheirarrangementrules).Inanutshell,grammarprovidesaverbaldepictofhowwordsandphrasesareformedintosentences.2.2DefinitionofEnglishGrammarTeachingandtheDevelopmentofTraditionalEnglishGrammarTeaching2.2.1DefinitionofEnglishGrammarTeachingAccordingtoGuanyiLi(1990),Englishgrammarteachingisabsolutelynoteducatingstudentswithnumerousgrammarrules,butprovidingacomprehensiveanddistinctconceptaboutthewholesystemofgrammartothestudents,andwhatismostimportantisthatthestudentsmustbeabletoapplygrammarrulesinpracticewithproficiency,andalsotoexpresstherelevantinformationbothverballyandorally.YuanzhenHuang(2003)thinkthatgrammarworksasthebasisforstudentstoobtainthegeneralrulesfortheinnerstructureofEnglish,anditisthestepping-stoneforstudentstodeveloptheirlistening,speaking,readingandwritingskills.-6- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文TheNewCurriculumStandardproposesanideathatgrammarteachingshouldservethepurposeoftheutilizationoflanguages,primarilyfocusingonfosteringtheabilitiesofstudentstoapplythelanguageintheirdailylives.Asaresult,Englishgrammarteachingshouldnotmerelylimitinsidegrammaritself,itshouldbeconnectedwithlogicalthinking,lexicalmeaningandcultureconsciousness.Themainpurposeofgrammarteachingistofulfilltheneedsofcommunicationbytheexecutionofgrammarknowledge,andthus,TBLTteachingmodeisgettingincreasinglyvaluedinrecentyears.2.2.2TheDevelopmentofTraditionalEnglishGrammarTeachingGrammar-translationmethodisthemostprominent,authoritativeandantiqueteachingsysteminforeignlanguageeducation.Itsemergencehasprovidedasolidfoundationforforeignlanguagetobecomeanindependentsubject,andhasprolongedeffectforstillbeingwildlyusedtoday.Thegrammar-translationmethodwasusedbymedievalpeopleforteachingGreekandthLatin,andevenuntilthe18century,itwasstillusedbyEuropeanschoolsfortheteachingofcontemporaryEnglish.Thegrammar-translationmethodservicesthedevelopmentofreadingcapabilityandeducationofgrammarknowledge.Thisisbecausethat,inforeignlanguageteaching,thecurriculumbeingusedisprimarilybasedontraditionalgrammar,whichusesworld-famousliteraturesasillustration,andhencefocusesonthecompositionofsentencesinsteadoftheoverallmeaningofthesentenceasawhole.Theteachingprocesswillfirstlyanalyzegrammar,andthentranslatetheforeignlanguageintonativelanguage.Thefundamentalideaofgrammar-translationmethodismechanicalcomparisonandword-by-worddirecttranslation.Translationisnotonlytheteachingpurpose,butalsoateachingmethod.Thismethodofteachingishoweverteacher-oriented,withmemorizationasthemainlearningtechnique,andthereforehaslimitationsforignoringoralandlisteningskills,thusnotabletoestablishstudents’communicationability,whichisgenerallyreferredas‘dumbEnglish’.Andbecauseofthewayoflearning,thestudentsaregenerallyoverdependentonmothertongue,andsubsequentlytendtotranslateword-by-wordusingthenativelanguage’slogic,thusaffecttheactualcommunicationfunctionoflanguage.Inaddition,theteacher-centerednatureofgrammar-translationmethodhasprovidedfewerchancesforinteraction,meanwhile,memorizationofgrammarrulesandvocabulary,alongwithrecitingarticlesarealmosttheonlytwowaysforlearning,whichhasover-pressurizedthestudentsanddemotivatesthem.Theemergenceofcommunicativeapproachisthegreatestchallengetogrammar-translationmethod;oppositely,itlaidemphasisonthedevelopmentofactualabilityofutilizinglanguageinreal-lifecommunication.Itpaysattentiontofluentandmeaningfulinteractionbetweenteacherandstudentsinclass;however,itneglectsbasicgrammarknowledge,andhenceinfluencestheaccuracyofusinglanguage.-7- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolTBLThasbeenevolvedfromthecommunicativeapproach;itfocusesonstimulatingtheoverallabilityofutilizingalanguagewiththeirintrinsiclanguageknowledgebyexecutingandcompletemeaningfultasks.Itsprominenceoverthecommunicativeapproachisshownonitshighlightingofthecoremeaningofalanguageinsteadofonlytheformofit.Meanwhile,itstronglypromotesthestudents’initiativeofstudythroughactivegroupdiscussion,andthereforebeingwidelyacceptedandpreferredbybothteachersandstudents.TBLTwaswidelyexertedaftertheapplicationofNewCurriculumStandardandhasreachedsatisfyingresults.2.3Task-basedLanguageTeaching2.3.1TaskItcanbeseenfromitsnamethattask-basedlanguageteachingisamethodologyinwhichteachersdesignteachingplanbasedontasks,andobviously,taskisthecore.Therefore,itiscrucialtoclarifythedefinitionoftaskinordertogainabetterunderstandingoftask-basedteaching.However,itstilllacksofaconsistentdefinitiontotask,differentteachersandwritersprovidevariantexplanations.Long(1985)perceivedataskas‘apieceofworkundertakenforoneselforforothers,freelyorforsomereward.Thus,examplesoftasksincludepaintingafence,dressingachild,fillingalibrarybook,takingadrivingtest,typingaletter,weighingapatient,sortingletters,takingahotelreservation,writingacheque,findingastreetdestination,andhelpingsomeoneacrossaroad.’Inotherwords,taskcanalsobeviewedasdailylifeactivities.AccordingtoRichards’(1986)opinion,ataskisanactivityoranactiontobecarriedoutforthepurposeofunderstandingalanguage.Breen(1987)consideredtaskas‘atangleofworkplanswhichhavetheoverallpurposeoffacilitatinglanguagelearning.Ithasaparticularobjectiveappropriatecontent,aspecifiedworkingprocedure,andrangeofoutcomes.’Nunan(1989)haspointedoutthattaskis‘onekindofclassactivities,inwhichthelearneremploysthetargetlanguagetounderstand,control,expressandinteract,however,theattentionisprimarilypaidonthemeaningbutnotthekindoflanguage.Furthermore,thetasksshouldalsohaveintegrity,bywhichmeansitshouldbeabletoexistindependentlyasasocialactivity.’Willis(1996)claimedthat‘tasksarealwaysactivitieswherethetargetlanguageisusedbythelearnerforacommunicativepurpose(goal)inordertoachieveanoutcome.’Hehasalsoproposedthattask-basedlanguageteachingcomprisesofthreeteachingsteps:pre-task,during-taskandpost-task,respectively.ItisworthhighlightingthatEllis(2003)alsopointedoutthattasksareactivitiesthatadvocateprincipallymeaning-focusedinsteadofform-focusedonly.Besides,Skehan(1996)perceivedtaskasakindofeventwithfivecharacteristics:-8- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文1).Themeaningissupremeoverotherfeaturesinatask.2).Therearecommunicationproblemswaitingtobesolved.3).Itisrelatedtoreallife.4).Accomplishmentoftaskisprior.5).Theevaluationaboutthetasksshouldbebasedontheresults.Fromallthedefinitionsoftaskmentionedabove,itcanberealizedthattaskhasbeencharacterizedinvariousways.Ultimately,theaimistoprovidelearnerstheopportunitiestoachievetheircompetenceofalanguageinactivitiesthatemphasizetheusageratherthanthelearningoflanguage.Itisstillnecessarytoclarifyafewdefinitionsrelatingtotaskpriortofurtherdiscussion.Nunan(2004)hasprovidedthefollowingexplanationsregardingtheword‘task’.Real-worldortargettask:Acommunicativeactweachievethroughlanguageintheworldoutsidetheclassroom.Pedagogicaltasks:Apartofin-classactivitywhichinvolvesthestudentsinunderstanding,handling,creatingorinteractingwiththelanguage,andinthesametime,theirattentionisprimarilyfocusedonmeaninginsteadofmerelyforms.Thetasks,whichcanbedividedintorehearsaltasksoractivationtasks,havenon-linguisticresults.Rehearsaltask:Onekindofclassroomworkinwhichthelearnerspracticeinclass,itcanalsobecarriedoutasasocialactivitythatcanbecarriedoutoutsideoftheclassindailylife.Activationtask:Itisapartofclassroomactivitywhichinvolvescommunicativeinteraction;however,theyaredesignedtoinitiatetheacquisitionprocedure,whichisitskeydifferencewithrehearsaltask.Enablingskills:Itmeansthemasteryofvocabulary,pronunciation,grammar,languagesystem,etc.,whichallowsthelearnerstoparticipateinthecommunicativetasks.Languageexercise:Itisasortoflearners-orientedin-classwork,whichinvolvesthelearnerstoemploysomefeaturesofthelinguisticsystem.Communicativeactivity:Apieceofclassroomactivitywhichisnotonlyconcentratedonaparticularlinguisticcharacteristicbutalsoinvolvedtheactualexchangeofmeaning.However,thedefinitionsoftasks,languageexercises,andcommunicativeactivitiesstillneedtobefurtherdistinguished.Atask,hasnolinguisticoutcome,isacommunicativeperformancewhichtendtohavenorestrictiveemphasisonasinglegrammaticalaspect.Incontrast,alanguageexercise,itgenerallyhasarestrictivefocusonasingleelementoflanguage,anditdoeshavealinguisticresult.Asforcommunicativeactivity,ithasbothrestrictivefocusandcommunicativeoutcome.Therefore,communicativeactivitiessharesomecharacteristicswithtasksandlanguageexercisesinthatsense.Nunan(2004)alsoproposedsimilaridea;hesuggestedthatcommunicativeactivitiesareintheinterimbetweentasksandlanguageexercises.Theyaresimilartolanguageexercisestotheextentthatthey-9- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolofferawell-designedpracticeofaspecifiedsetoflanguageitems.Meanwhile,theyalsoresembletasksastheysharethecharacteristicofmeaningfulcommunication.Figure2.1representstherelationshipbetweenthevariouselements.Real-world/targettasksPedagogicaltasksEnablingskillsRehearsaltasksActivationtasksLanguageexercisesCommunicativeactivitiesFigure2.1TherelationshipbetweenthementioneddefinitionsFromthedefinitionsmentionedabove,someauthorsdifferentiatesub-categories,suchascommunicationtasksandenablingskills,basedontheextenttowhichwhethertheyinvolvecommunicationormerelyfocusontheform.Amorerestricteddefinitionisusedbymanyotherteachersandwriters.Activitieswherethelearnersfocusonformalaspectsofthelanguageareexcluded,suchasvocabulary,pronunciationandgrammar,andtheterm‘task’isonlysetasideforactivitieswhosepurposeisrelatedtothecommunicationofmeaningsonly,forexample,Willis(1996)hasadoptedthisdefinition.ThesamedifferencebetweenexercisesandtasksisalsoreinforcedbyEllis,NunanandSkehan.,whichisillustratedinthefollowingchart:Table2.1DifferencebetweentaskandexerciseExercise(Linguistic)Task(Non-linguistic)FocusFormMeaningAuthenticsituationNothavingHavingAssessmentmeansIntermsoflanguageIntermsofcompletionstructureoutcomeLanguagecontrollingStrictlycontrolledFreelyCorrectionCorrectedimmediatelyObserved,thencorrectedInNunan’s(1989)opinion,ataskcontainsfivebasiccomponents,andeachhasitsownadvantages.1).Goals.Thegeneralgoaloftask-basedlearningistohelpstudentsindeveloping-10- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文communicativecapability,whichdoesnotonlyrefertotheabilityofspeakingandwritingwithappropriategrammarform,butalsocontainssocio-linguisticcompetence,discoursecompetence,andstrategiccompetence(Swain,1980).However,goalitselfisnotalwaysclearlyspecifiedandthereisseldomasimpleone-to-onerelationshipbetweengoalsandtasks.Sometimes,acomplextaskincludesquiteafewactivitiesandsuppliesmanydifferentgoalsinthesametime.2).Input.Inputreferstothedatawhichisusedtodesigntasks(Nunan,1989),eitherverbalornon-verbal,whichtheindividualhastomanagewhenexecutingatask.Formsofinputsarewidelydiversified,suchasperiodicals,novels,theproductsofstudents,texts,andsongs(Miller,1996);thesematerialsareobjective,andcanbeusedindailylife.3).Activities.Activitiesrefertotasks,butnotexercisehere.Eachstudentisaplayerinanactivity,whowilldeveloptheirknowledgeandlanguagecompetencebygettinginvolvedinvariousactivities.Itiswidelyacceptedbecausethelearningprocessislinkedwithreallife,andassostudentscouldgrowwhileplaying.Studentsareofferedwithmuchmoreopportunitiestoknowmoreabouttheworldbypracticing.Nunan(1989)hassortedthemfromthreeaspects:rehearsalfortherealworld,skilluse,andfluencyandaccuracy.4).Teachers’roleandstudents’role.Intask-basedlearning,thecenterofthein-classactivitiesisstudents,whosemaintaskistotransferandobtaininformationbycommunicating.Thestudentscanstudyindependentlyorcooperatively.Inthemeantime,teachershouldperformasadirector,coordinator,monitor,andevaluator,andsometimes,theycouldalsotakepartintheactivitiesandworkasapartner.5).Setting.Settingreferstoawell-designedformofin-classteaching,suchasthewaysofcompletingtasks(individualwork,orgroupwork),timemanagement,during-classteachingandafter-classactivities.InatraditionalEnglishclass,oneteacherlecturestoawholeclassofstudents,whichcanbeasmuchassixtypeople.Incontrary,TBLTisalwaysconductedinasmallsizeclassoreitherintheformofpairsorgroups.Willis(2000)introducedabrandnewframeworkforTBLT.ThisframeworkhasdividedthelanguageteachingprocessunderTBLTintothreephases,namelypre-task,task-circle,andlanguagefocusrespectively.Pre-taskreferstotheintroductionoftopicandtask.Task-circlewouldbefurtherdividedintotask,planandreport.Andlanguagecontainsanalysisandpractice.Pre-task:Introductiontotopicandtask.Cheng(2006)consideredthisstageaspreparationphaseorwarm-up.Itisusedtoprepareforthesecondphase–task-circle.Inthisphase,theteacherpresentsthethemeandtask,andallowsstudentstothinkaboutthemforaperiodoftime.Inthisphase,thegoalistolinkthephrasesandwordswithatheme,whichcouldhelpstudentstopredictcontentandbecomemorefamiliarwiththetheme.Inaddition,itcouldalsoinspiretheirinterestandstrengthen-11- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchooltheirconfidenceforbetteraccomplishmentofthetask.Asthispre-taskstageisonlyawarm-upforthestudents,theteachers’effortsrequiredismuchless,hencetheirworkloadcouldbesignificantlyreleased.Task-circle:Thisphasehasthreesteps,namelytask,planandreportrespectively.TaskThetaskcouldbeaccomplishedbygroupwork.Thegoalofitistogenerateanopportunityforstudentstofullyutilizetheirlanguageskills.Theteachers"functioninhereistoencourage,superviseandsupportstudentsinusingEnglishtocommunicate,ratherthantocorrectthemistakesoccurredduringcommunication.PlanInthisstage,studentsarerequiredtoprepareforapresentationtothewholeclass,includinghowtheyfinishthetask,whattheyhavedecided,andwhathavetheydiscovered.Thereisageneralperceptionamongthescholarsthattheplanstagepreparesforthereportstage;meanwhile,theyalsobelievethatthelanguagelearnerscanstarttofocusontheaccuracyofthelanguageinsteadoffluencyonly,whenthestudentsbegintoapplythelanguageintoreallifecommunication.ReportStudentsarerequestedtopresenttheirreportstotheclassinthisphase,eitherindividuallyorasagroup.Theotherstudentsareinvitedtocomparetheiroutcomeswiththepresentedresults,alsoaddingideasandtakingnotes,forthisreason,theyarerequiredtolistencarefullywhentheirpeersarepresenting.Finally,theteacherwouldaddsomecommentsonthereportforfurtherimprovements.LanguagefocusLanguagefocusstageisalsoknownasthepost-taskstage.Itaimsathelpingstudentstodiscoverthevariousaspectsoflanguage,andalsoofferthemasensetowords,phrasesandsentences.AnalysisAtthisstage,theteacherwouldassignsomelanguage-focusingtaskstostudentsaccordingtowhatthestudentshavejustlearntinthepreviousstage,suchaslookingforwordsorphraseswhicharerelatedtothemeandreadingtapescriptsforthepurposeofallowingstudentstodiscoverthelanguagepointsbythemselves.PracticeThisstageisfortheteacherstoarrangesomeactivitiesbasedonthepreviouslanguageanalysis.Anappropriateamountofpracticeisstillnecessaryandbeneficialforstudentsinmemorizingandutilizingthenewlylearntwordsandphrases.Furthermore,thisstagealsoconcludesthecontentslearntintheclass,therefore,studentsareabletorealizeand-12- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文summarizewhattheyhavestudiedonthatday.2.3.2Task-basedLanguageTeachingPrabhu(1987),apreeminentIndianscholarintheoriginationoftask-basedlanguageteaching,proposedaconceptthateffectivelearninghappenswhenstudentsarecompletelyinvolvedinthelanguagetask,insteadofmerelylearningtheformofalanguage.Task-basedlanguageteachingcanbeviewedasoneofthemostprominentdevelopmentinthefieldofcommunicativeapproach.Astheprogressofcommunicativelanguageteachingapproachandtheemergenceofanincreasingnumberofresearchesaboutsecondlanguagelearning,manylanguageresearchersandlinguistsbelievethatlanguageisbestlearntwhenbeingusedtoexchangemessages,andcommunicatinginareallifecontextisessentialforobtaininglanguageskills.TherearemanyviewpointsabouttheprinciplesofTBLT.ProfessorYafuGong(2003)haslistedafewprinciplesonteachingwiththeaidoftasks.Theauthenticityprinciple:Thelinguisticdatawhichthelearnersworkwithshouldbeauthentic,andtherelationshipbetweenlinguisticformandcommunicativefunctioniscleartothelearner.Theform-functionprinciple:Thelanguageshouldbetaughtinthewaysthatmaketherelationshipsbetweenformandfunctiontransparent.Thetaskdependencyprinciple:Asequenceoftasksinaclassformsakindofpedagogicalladder,witheachtaskrepresentingarungontheladder,whichenablesthelearnertoachievehigherandhigherlevelsofcommunicativecompetence.Learningbydoingprinciple:Thelearningbydoingprinciplemotivatesstudentstoexploittheirpotential.Usingthelanguagethroughauthenticcommunicationsintheclassroomcouldassiststudentsinthefluentutilizationofit.However,learningvocabulariesandgrammarisnecessary,astheyworkasafoundationforthelanguage.2.3.3PreviousResearchesonTask-basedLanguageTeachingAbroadandatHomeTheearliestresearchregardingTBLTwasdonebyPrabhu,anIndianscholar,in1979to1984.TheinitialformofTBLTwascreatedbyhimduringhisinstructionofthefamousBangalorecommunicativeteachingexperiment.Andin1983,heformallypresentedTask-basedApproach,i.e.task-basedlanguageteaching(TBLT).Theexperimentemphasizedonlearningbyusing,withtheapplicationofateachingplan,andachievedbyin-classactivities.-13- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolSkehan(1998:116-117)hasconcludedalltheresearchesfrom1984to1997byoverseasscholarsfromtheaspectsofdesigningtargetsoftask,participants,andthefamiliarityoftask,whichhaspushedTBLT’sapplicationinlanguageteachingtoanotherhigherlevel.Willis’s(1996)researchaboutTBLTcanbeconsideredasmostrepresentative.ItcompletelydemonstratesthebasicconceptsofTBLT,andalsoproposedtheconcreteframeworkandcoreproblemsofimplementingTBLT.Robinson(2001)hasdiscussedtheeffectsofthecomplexityindesigningtasksontheoutcomeoflanguageinputs,togetherastherecognitionoftheleveldifficultiesfromvariouslearners.Hehaspointedoutthattasksshouldbedesignedtobegradientandlayered.Nunan(2004),whohaspublished‘Task-basedlanguageteaching’on2004asanexpansionandsupplementtohisworkpublishedin1989.ThisbookhasexplainedvariouscharacteristicsofTBLTfromeightaspects,suchasthedefinitionofTBLT,itsframework,thecomponentsoftasks,theexperiencefoundationofTBLT,focusonform,taskconsolidation,appraisalofTBLT,andtasksandthedevelopmentofteachers.Ellis(2005)compiledacollectionofpapers,nameas‘ThePlanandImplementationofTasksintheSecondLanguage’.Itexplainstheessenceofataskplan,aswellasitseffectontheperformanceoftasksinclassroomandtestingenvironment.ThisbookhasprovidedasolidfoundationtothematureapplicationofTBLTinlanguageteaching.TherearealsoagreatamountofresearchesaboutTBLTdomestically.Yue(2002)hasestablishedthetheoreticalfoundationofTBLT.Ithasdiscussedaboutdesigningataskinteachingfromthreeaspectsincludingtargetoftask,typeoftaskandconnectionwithteachingmaterials.ItalsodiscussedtheactualapplicationofTBLTinEnglishclassbothfromthelearnersandtheteacherspointofview.Fang(2003)hassummarizedthefeaturesandmeaningsofTBLT,whohasalsoproposedvariousproblemsthatshouldbecautionedduringtheimplementationofTBLTbasedonhisownexperienceofyearsofteaching.HealsopointedoutthattheimplementationofTBLTshouldbedonestep-by-stepwithawell-designedplan.Wei(2004)hasexaminedtheemergenceofTBLTanditstheoreticalfoundationfromtheaspectofcognitivepsychology.ShealsoelaboratestheactualapplicationconditionofTBLTinEnglishclassandthedifferencebetweenTBLTandthetraditionalPPPapproach.Yu(2005)hasdoneanempiricalstudyofTBLTinuniversityEnglisheducation,whichhasachievedasatisfactoryresult.ShehasconcludedthebasicmodeandframeworkofTBLTinuniversityEnglishteaching,whichhasofferedasolidfoundationtotheapplicationofTBLTinuniversityEnglishclasses.Wang(2006)primarilydescribedtheactualapplicationofTBLTinEnglishreadingclasses,whichwasmainlyfocusedonthedesignoftasksbefore,duringandafterreading.Byimplementingthesetasks,thereadingclassbecamemuchmorewelcomedbythestudents,-14- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文andthusstimulatesstudents’interests;asaresult,theirreadingcapabilitywasprominentlyimproved.Deng(2007)mainlyanalyzedtheimplementationofTBLTinlisteningandspeakingclassesundertheconditionofarapidlydevelopingnetworkenvironment.Hestressedonthereality,epochalrelevanceandtherichnessoftaskwhendesigning.Thetasksshouldgreatlyinspirestudents,allowingthemtointeract,andencouragingthemtolearnindependently.2.4TheoreticalFoundations2.4.1TheTheoryofConstructivismTheestablishmentofthetheoryofconstructivismcanbeowedtoJeanPiaget(1970),whoenunciatedthatindividualsconstructstheirknowledgeabouttheexternalworldstepbystepthroughtheirinteractionwiththeenvironment,whichdirectlyleadstothedevelopmentoftheircognitivestructure.Neitherexternalfactorsnorinternalonesdeterminecognitivedevelopment,butonlytheinteractionbetweentheindividualandhis/herenvironmentworks.Healsorecommendedthatviatheprocessofadjustmentandassimilation,individualscouldobtainnewknowledgefromtheirexperience.Individualsintegratenewexperienceintotheexistedstructurewithoutalteringitwhenassimilating.Thisphenomenonmighthappenwhenindividualexperiencesarealignedwithinternaldepictionsoftheworld.Incontrary,whenindividualexperiencesconflictwithinternalrepresentations,peoplemightpossiblyvarytheiropinionstosuitinternalrepresentations.Whereasadjustmentistheprocessofre-framingmentalrepresentationoftheexternalworldforfittingnewexperiencesbetteraccordingtothetheory.Inreality,thetheoryofconstructivismdescribeshowlearningoccurs.Itsuggeststhatlearnersbuildupknowledgebasedontheirexperiences,anditisoftenrelatedwithpedagogicalapproachesencouragingdynamiclearning,orlearningbydoing.InTBLT,YafuGong(2003)hasproposedthefollowingopinionsbasedonthetheoryofconstructivism:LearnerslearnwhatismeaningfultothemLearnerslearninwaysthataremeaningfultothemLearnerslearnbetteriftheyfeelincontrolofwhattheyarelearningLearningiscloselylinkedtohowpeoplefeelaboutthemselvesLearningtakesplaceinasocialcontextthroughinteractionwithotherpeople.ConstructivismtheoryandlearnersWiththeaidoftheknowledgetheypreviouslygained,individualsdynamicallybuilduptheirownsensefromtheirlearning,andalsoidentifystrategiesandskillsintheirownway.Meanwhile,thelearnerswouldsharevariouskindsofknowledgewiththeirpeersintheclassroom,theywouldalsointerpretthenewinformationaroundtheminmanysortsofways,andtheirpreferencesinusingstrategiesaredifferentaswell.-15- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolTheadvocatorsofconstructivismbelievethatindividualsconstructknowledgeanddevelopacollectiverealitythroughcooperationwithotherpeople.Intheprocessoflearning,whatplayanindispensableroleisthelearners’pastexperienceandthecontext.YoungandCollin(2004)specifiedthat‘Constructionisanactiveprocess,thatindividualsactingtogetherinlargeandsmallgroups,andinconcertwithhistory,culture,andotherbroadfactors,jointlyconstructtheworldinwhichtheyparticipate’.ConstructivismtheoryandteachersTheadvocatorsalsoperceivethatateacherisalearnerinthemeantime,whoconstructshis/herownunderstandingoftheworld,whichmeansthattheteachersneedtonegotiateorcommunicatewiththestudentsandexchangehis/herownideasinaparticularway,ratherthansimplyteachstudentstheobjectiveinformation.Itistheteacher’sowninsightsofhimself,thestudentsandtheentireenvironmentthatthisinteractiveandcollaborativeteachingapproachisbasedon.Triggeringthestudentstothinkindependentlyisoneofthecrucialpurposesofeducation.Whattheteachersshoulddoistomotivatelearners,encouragethemtocommunicateandinvolvethemtoparticipate.Teachersgenerallyobtaindifferentconsiderationaboutaproblemfromstudentsowingtothedifferenceinbackgroundandexperiences,whichcanbeviewedaspre-gainedresourcesthatmayleadtofurtherdiscussionbetweenteachersandstudents.Fromthisaspect,teacheralsoworksasaco-learnerinthelearningactivities.Inanutshell,teachersshouldviewboththemselvesandtheirstudentstobecontinuouslyengagedinalong-termprocessoflearningandchanging.Constructivistsconsidersteachingasapersonalexpressionoftheirownopinions,andduringthisprocess,teachersshouldbeconfidentingivingtheirownunderstandingoftheexternalworldinEnglish.Meanwhile,theyshouldalsorespecttheirstudents’desireandattemptsinusingtheirownwaytoconveytheirconsiderations,aswellastheirdissentingopinions.Accordingtotheiropinion,thelearningenvironmentshouldbehelpfulandfriendlyforthestudentstogeneratetheirownwayofexpressinginformation,andbeconfidentenoughtoconveyopinions.ConstructivismtheoryandtasksFirstly,underconstructivism,theinstructorsshoulddesigntaskstobeasgenuineandcloselyrelatedtolearners’reallifeandpre-gainedknowledgeaspossible.Onlyreal-liferelevanttaskswithinformationgapcanstimulatetheinterestoflearnersingeneratingcommunicativediscussions,andhencehelpfulinbuildingupnaturallymeaningfulconversations.Fromtheviewpointsoftheadvocatorsofconstructivism,learnerswouldnotbeinterestedandmotivatedtoanytaskwhichtakesnoconsiderationonhis/herownpreference.Forthereasonsmentionedabove,thetasksinTBLTlanguageclassshouldbedesignedasanoutcomeofthecooperationofbothteacherandstudents.Inthisway,studentsarenotonlyobligedtorevisethedesignedtasksaccordingtotheirpreference,butalsoaretitledtointerpretandaccomplishtasksindependently.Secondly,fromthecompletionoftasks,-16- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文languageandthinkingskillsshouldbelearntbyboththestudentsandteacher.Inaddition,awell-designedtaskshouldhavethefunctioninteachingstudentsthewaytolearnandassistingtobuildthelearners’mentalstructurebyinspiringhimtodomorecreativeandinnovativethinking.Andfinally,beingcommunicativeandinteractiveshouldbeconsideredasoneofthemajorfeaturesoftasksdesignedunderconstructivism.Itistheprocessofinteracting,exchangingandtransmittingmeaningsinthetargetlanguageinafocusedandrelatedbackgroundthatfacilitatestheprocessoflanguageacquisition.Inbrief,theadvocatorsofconstructivismlayimportanceontherelationshipbetweentaskandlearners’reallife,taskandlearners’preference,taskandinteractionbetweenthelearnersandtheenvironment.Inaddition,theyfocusonthevariousperspectivesofataskandthedifferentwaysoffinishinganidenticaltaskaswell.2.4.2TheTheoryofMeaningfulLearningRegardingtothejeopardyofmechanicalstudyandmemorizing,Ausubel’stheoryofmeaningfullearninghasdoneathoroughanalysis.Whatwemeantbymeaningfullearningisrelativetomechanicalstudyandmemorizing.Bymechanicalstudy,thelearnerscouldonlygainsomeisolatedandmessyinformationbecauseitcannotbeconnectedwiththelearners’initialcognitivestructure.Itwillbehardforthelearnerstoextractinformation,muchlessforapplying.Therefore,mechanicalstudyissaidtobeinefficient.Theessenceofmeaningfullearningistoconnectnewinformationwiththelearners’originalcognitivestructure,andtransformedthenewlyobtainedinformationintoanorganicelementofthestructure,i.e.maketheinformationbecomethelearners’.Becauseoftheparticularityofforeignlanguagelearning,studentsareinclinetoconductmechanicalstudy,andevensometeachingapproachhasviewedtherepeatedpracticeofmechanicalstudyasa‘goldenkey’forestablishinglanguagehabits.Therefore,foreignlanguageteachingshouldviewavoidingmechanicalstudyandmotivatemeaningfulstudyasoneofthemostimportantelementsindesigningteachingplans.-17- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool3TheImplementationoftheExperimentThetasksarerequiredtobedesigned.Richardet.al.(2000:468)haspointedoutaseriesofintrinsicfactorsinthetaskitselfwhichmightaffecttheexecutionofthetask,forexample,thepre-determinedobjectiveforatask,theoperationalapproachofcompletingatask,therequiredtimeforexecutingatask,thepossibleoutcomesofthetask,theappraisalofthetaskafterwards,etc.Besides,duringthetaskdesigningprocess,theteachersshoulddealwiththerelationshipsbetweenthecompletionoftaskandlanguagelearning,andthedifficultyoftaskandlanguagelearning.3.1ResearchQuestionsThefollowingquestionisgoingtobeverifiedbyexperimentandquestionnairesinthisresearch:Actually,istheTBLTmoreefficientinlearningEnglishgrammar?Why?3.2ResearchSubjectsTheexperimenthaschosentwoclassesfromNo.27MiddleSchoolinGrade9.MostofthestudentsintheclassesarefromAnshan,however,theirEnglishfoundationwasfarbelowsatisfactory.Inthetwochosenclasses,oneclassisviewedasthetestinggroup,applyingTBLT,whichhas28studentsintotal,andtheotherclassisthereferencegroup,usingthetraditionalPPPapproach,alsohas28students.Meanwhile,twogroupswouldbetaughtbythesameteacherwiththesamecurriculumandthesameamountoflearningtime.TheexperimentwasstartedonSep.1andendedonDec.30,lastingthreemonths.3.3ResearchControlControllingdisturbanceresultingfromteacherandteachingmaterial:Thetestinggroupandthecontrollinggroupwillbetaughtbythesameteacherandusingthesamecurriculum.Controllingexperimenttime:Theexperimentwilllastforthreemonths.Controllingtestinggroup:Theywillbetaughtbythesameteacherbothpre-andpost-experiment,withnochanginginthetotalnumberofstudents.3.4ResearchInstrumentsAquestionnaireandatestpaperwereusedastheinstrumentsinthisstudy.1).Theexperimentisimplementedjustafterthemonthlyexamination,whenatestabouttheirEnglishgrammarfoundationhadbeencarriedout.Andamid-termexaminationwillbecarriedoutaftertheendoftheexperiment,hencetheirEnglishgrammarstandardisabletobetested.Throughcomparingthepre-andpost-experimentresultsofthetestinggroupandthe-18- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文controllinggroup,theeffectivenessoftheteachingapproachisabletobetestedandcompared.2).Questionnaire:AsitwasclearlypresentedintheNewCurriculumStandard:Theemotionalattitudemeanstherelatingfactorswhichwillinfluencethelearningprocessandresultsofstudents,suchasinterests,motivation,self-confidence,volition,etc.,aswellasmotherlandawarenessandinternationalvisiongainedgraduallyduringthelearningprocess.Therefore,itcanbeseenthatstudents’attitudeandmotivationtowardsstudyiscrucialduringlearning.RegardingtothelearningattitudetowardsEnglishgrammarstudy,manyscholarshasdesignedawidevarietyofquestionnaires.However,acustomizedquestionnairewasstillspecificallydesignedtofulfillthepurposeofthissurvey.Thisquestionnairecontainstenquestions(ReferringtoAppendixA).Theanswersareclassifiedintofivecategories(A.Extremelyagree;B.Agree;C.Neitheragreenordisagree;D.Disagree;E.Extremelydisagree).Accordingtostudents’choice,thehighertheportionofthesubjects,themoreeffectivetheTBLTisinstimulatingstudents’interestinlearninggrammar,andconversely,alowerproportionindicatesthatTBLTisnoteffective.3.5TheEmpiricalResearchofTask-basedLanguageTeachinginGrammarTeachingWillis(1996:52-62)hasproposedaframeworkoftheimplementationoftask-basedlanguageteaching.Theframeworkhascreatedameaningfulandvividcontextualenvironmenttohelplanguagelearnerstomasterthelanguagebycompletingthetask.TheframeworkisshowninFigure3.1.Figure3.1Willis’sframeworkoftask-basedlanguageteachingViathisframework,itcanbeseenthattheprocessisdividedintothreephases,namelypre-task,taskcycleandlanguagefocusrespectively.SignificantlydifferentfromthetraditionalPPPteachingmodel,the“languagefocus”phaseisthefinalformofthe-19- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolarrangements,andthecommunicativetaskisthecoreoftheframework.Ataskusuallyencompassesfourkindsofskillsincludinglistening,speaking,readingandwriting.Languagelearnerscouldstartwiththeexperienceoflanguageapplicationandthenendwithinspectingthenaturalfeaturesoflanguage.Inordertoachieveanorganicintegrationoflanguageformfocusedteachingandmeaningfocusedteaching,theauthorclassifiesgrammarstudyinthetaskcyclephaseintofivetypes.1).Taskstodescribeapicture,whichcanbewidelyappliedintoEnglishgrammarteaching.2).Taskstoconvey,gatherandprocessinformation.3).Taskstoinspirestudents’imagination.4).Tasksforroleplay.5).Taskswhichareconductedintheformofgamesormatches.1).Taskstodescribeapicture,whichcanbewidelyappliedintoEnglishgrammarteaching.Whenconcludingthesentencepatternof“It’s+adj.+forsb.+todo”,itisbeneficialtoconductteachingwiththeaidofpictures.Firstly,apicturewithgreentrafficlightwillbeshown,thestudentswillbeasked“Whenthetrafficlightisgreen,whatissafeforyoutodo?”Thestudentsgivetheanswerquickly“Itissafeforustocrosstheroad”.Afterthattheiranswerwillbewrittenontheblackboardtoenhancetheirimpressionsonthissentencepattern.Thenotherfewpictureswillbeshown,suchasthepollutedenvironment,childrenplayingbasketball,etc.Thestudentsarerequiredtoapplythesentencepatterntoexpressthesepictures,andwhiletheyarethinking,somequestionswillbegivenasahint.Thefollowingsentencesareprovidedbythestudents:Itiscrucialforpeopletoprotecttheenvironment.Itisfunforthechildrentoplaybasketball.Inorderforbetterunderstandingofthesentencepattern,thestudentsarealsorequiredtomakesentencesinthepatterninaformofgroupdiscussion.Inthiskindofactivities,thegrammarknowledgeshiftsfromabstracttoconcrete,andhencereducingthedifficultiesingrammarlearning.Meanwhile,thestudents’interestsinlearningarealsostimulated,allowingthemtolearnfasterandapplymoreflexibly.2).Taskstoconvey,gatherandprocessinformation.Forexample,whenpracticingthe“todo”phaseasobject,a“Solitaire”gameisdesignedasatask.Thestudentusestheverbslistedintheblackboardtoaskquestionstothenextstudent,thenextstudentmustanswerthequestionfirst,andthenuseotherverbstoaskquestions,andsoon.Toillustrate:Student1:Whatdoyouwanttodonextmonth?Student2:Iwanttotravel.Whatdoyoudecidetodothissummer?-20- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文Student3:Idecidetolearnpiano.Whatdoyouhopetobeinthefuture?Student4:Ihopetobeateacher…Inthistypeofpractice,bothlisteningandspeakingskillswillbepracticesbythestudents.Meanwhile,theirabilityofthinkingandreactingcouldalsobeexercised.Inaddition,thismethodenhancestheunderstandingandconsolidationofthegrammarlearnt,whichmakesgrammarlearningeasyandeffective.3).Taskstoinspirestudents’imagination.Intherevisionclassoninfinitive,inordertomakestudentsunderstandthekeypointsofthisclass,aconversationwithastudentwhodidnotfinishhishomeworkiscreated.Viatheconversation,thestudentsarerequiredtothinkwhatstructureshavebeenusedintheconversationandguess“whatwillwegoovertoday?”Teacher:Whyareyoulatetoday?Student:Becausemybikeisbrokenonmywaytoschool.It’stooold.Teacher:Don’tyouwanttobuyanewone?Student:Yes,IwanttobuyanewonethisSunday.ButIcan’tdecidewhichonetochoose.Teacher:Whydon’tyouaskyourparentstogowithyou?Student:That’sagoodidea.Iftheyarefree,I’llaskthemtogowithme.Teacher:Ok.Ibelievethattherearemanykindsofbicyclestochooseintheshop.It’snotdifficultforyoutochooseaniceone.Student:Thankyou.Teacher:You’rewelcome.Afterlisteningtotheconversation,itiseasytofindoutthatmanyinfinitivesareused,andhenceunderstandthekeypointsoftherevisionclass.Activitiessuchascreatingconversationcouldhelpthestudentstogetinvolvedinthescene,paymoreattention,andfindthetargetinthelanguageenvironment.Simultaneously,thestudentslisteningskillscouldalsobetrained.4).Tasksforroleplay.Forexample,aroleplayofafamilystorycanbedesignedtoillustratethedifferencebetweentheDirectSpeechandtheIndirectSpeech.Thestorycanbeperformedbystudents,showingascenethatthereisaquarrelbetweenhusbandandwife,andamiddlemaninbetweentoreconcile.5).Taskswhichareconductedintheformofgamesormatches.TheinitiativeforjuniorhighschoolstudentstocompeteinEnglishexpressionstilllacks,however,groupdiscussioncanstillactivatethestudentstoparticipateactivelyandutilizethelanguageknowledgelearntincommunication.Afterrevisionthedifferentwaystoapply“todo”intoasentence,studentsaregivenataskabouthowtousetheinfinitivetolearnEnglish.Thestudentsaredividedintogroupsoffourandaskedtowritedowntheanswersafter-21- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchooldiscussion.Thegroupcangetmorepointsdependingonnotonlywritingmorebutalsohighaccuracy.Thestudentsaregetinvolvedindiscussion,includingthosewhoseldomspeak.Eachteamsentrepresentativestoelaborateviewsofthegroup.Theresultwillbegivenafterintegratingtheirviews.ThispaneldiscussionprovidesanopportunityoflearningEnglishforeveryone.Furthermore,groupworksenhancethespiritofcooperationaswell.Thestudentscannotonlyconsolidatetheknowledgelearned,butalsopracticethelanguagecompetenceinthislesson.Besides,studentscanalsoobtaintheexperienceofsuccess,buildupconfidenceandimproveefficiencyofEnglishlearningbecauseofthiscreativetask.3.5.1Task-basedTeachingApproachinJuniorHighSchoolEnglishGrammarClassAccordingtothebasictask-basedlanguageteachingphilosophyandframework,highschoolEnglishgrammarteachingcanbedividedintothreestages.Firststage:Pre-taskactivities.Twoaspectsareincluded.1.Teacherscouldmakeuseofsometeachingtools,suchaspicturesorscenesetting,tointroducerelatedtopicsandthenpassonnewKnowledgeofgrammartothelearners.Thisteachingapproachiscarriedoutbysubjects,allowingdifferentgrammartaskstobepresentedtostudentswithsituationalteaching.Aftertheintroductionofthetopic,theteachershouldhaveabriefdescriptiononthesubsequenttasksaswell.2.Preparationactivities.Tocompleteagrammarlearningtask,theteachershouldgivestudentssomenecessarymaterialsrelatedtospecificgrammarknowledgebeforeclass.Theyshouldalsoguidethestudentstogainaccessonnewspapersandbooks,usetheinternetresearchforrelevantinformation,andthenconductcomprehensiveprocessingoftheinformationcollectedtogether.Thepurposeofthisistoteachstudentstolearnhowtogather,organizeandshareinformation.Secondstage:Taskchainactivities.Themaintaskofthisstageistoletthestudentssummarizethecluesofthelanguageandusethenewgrammarknowledgeforthetrainingofrelatedtopics.1.Theintegrationofinformationanddiscussionoftherulesofgrammar.Collectingavarietyofmaterialsofonegrammarpointpriortothetaskenablesstudentstocreatecertainperceptualknowledge,andthroughgroupdiscussion,learnerwillhaveapreliminaryunifiedunderstandingaboutgrammarrules.2.Conclusionandreportingresults.Afterdiscussion,everyteamsendsarepresentativetoreporttotheclassabouttheirlearningoutcomes.Thewholeclassthengivessupplementandcorrectionbaseonthereport,finallythegrammarrulescanbeinducedbasedontheeffortofeveryone.Teachersgivetimelyguidanceandaffirmationandstimulatestudents"interest,independentthinkingandautonomouslearning.3.Discussionofthetopictoexpandlanguageinputandoutput.Eachgroupisrequested-22- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文tousethenewgrammarknowledgeforgroupdiscussion,combinedwiththepre-learntgrammarpointstocommunicatewitheachother,inordertoachieve“learnedforuse,learnedinuse,andlearnedtouse”.Thentheteachercanlettheteamrepresentativetoreporttaskprogressandmakeasimplecomparison,evaluationandsupplement.Thethirdstage:Post-taskactivity.Bypracticingsomeopendiscussionactivities,studentsareinspiredtothinkindependently,stimulatingsubjectiveinitiativeandachievingthegoaloflanguageproficiency.3.5.2Task-basedTeachingApproachinGrammarTeaching–ExamplesofAttributiveClauseFromtheexplanationsaboutthebasicframeworkandspecificstepsintask-basedlanguageteachingmethod,theauthorhaspresentedthestepsinapplyingtask-basedteachingmethodingrammarclasswiththeillustrationofexamples.Becausethecontentofattributiveclauseisgenerallymore,itwilltakeatleasttwoclassestoteach.Thefirstclassistoteachstudentshowrelativepronounworksinattributiveclause.Task:learntousetherelativepronounsinattributiveclause.Taskgoal:learntousetheattributiveclauseinlistening,speaking,readingandwriting.Pre-Taskstage:theteacherintroducesthetopicandintroducesthethemeandtask.Exampleoftheconversation:Teacher:Beforewestartourlearningoftheattributiveclause,Iamgoingtoshowyouafewpicturesaboutcelebrities.Pleasetakealookatthispicture.HeisapopstarandIguessheisverypopularamongyouguys.Whoishe?Students:YifanWu.Heisourfavorite.Teacher:Brilliant!Nowcouldyoupleasedescribesomecharacteristicsofhimbyusingsomeattributiveclauses?Teacher:Nowletusmoveontothenextpicture.Itisaveryfamousfantasymovieaboutwitches.Canyouguessthenameofthemovie?Students:HarryPotter.Teacher:Fantastic!Canyoudescribesomeofyourfeelingsaboutthemoviebyusingseveralattributiveclauses?Teacher:Lookatthispicture.HeisafamousBritishcomedyactor.Ss:Yes,weknowhim.HeisMr.Bean.Heisveryhumorous.T:Canyouuseoneortwoattributiveclausestodescribehim?Ok,nowpleaseanswerthesethreequestionsbygroup.Taskcycle:Viagroupdiscussion,thestudentsfinishthetask,planandreporttogether.-23- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolEachgroupcontainsfourstudents,bygroupdiscussion,thestudentsarerequiredtowritetheiropinionsoneachpicturewiththeattributiveclause.Afterthat,eachgroupisrequiredtosendarepresentativetodoapresentation,andtheteacherpickssomesentencesandwritesthemdownontheblackboardforclassdiscussion.Finallytherelativepronounintheattributiveclausecanbesummarized,withfurtherillustrationaboutwhatdoestherelativepronounrepresentsinthesentence.Students’presentation:Group1:Heisapopularpopstarwhosesongisfantastic.It’sthebestmoviethatIhaveeverseen.Mr.BeanishumorousgentlemenwhograduatedfromOxfordUniversity.Group2:HeisahandsomeChineseguywhoisinaKoreanband.It’safantasystorywhichispopularallovertheworld.Mr.Beanhasgreatpersonalitywhohasdevotedhimselftocomedy.Languagefocus:Theteacherwillwritesometypicalsentencesontheblackboard,andthenrequirethestudentstosummarizethegrammarrulesfortheattributiveclauseaccordingtotheirownpreviouslylearntknowledge.Theteacherwillalsodosomesupplementtothegroupdiscussion.Afterthatallrelativepronounsintheattributiveclausethatstudentspointoutarehighlighted,thestudentsarerequiredtojudgewhatcompositiontheserelativepronounsrepresentintheattributiveclause,andhencedeterminethecorrectwaytouserelativepronounsinattributiveclause.Thisstageisveryimportant,asitallowsthestudentstoconcludetherulesforusingrelativepronounsintheattributiveclause.PracticeStudentsarepracticedtousetheattributiveclauseinagame.Thegameistodescribeaperson(eitherastudentintheclassorthemostpopularstar)byusinganattributiveclause,onegroupisrequiredtodescribeandtheothergroupsarerequiredtoguess.Everygroupcanexerciseattributiveclauseinturn,thisgamewillactivatetheclassroomatmosphere,andthestudentswillalsobemoreactive.Step1:Theteacherwillfirstprovideanillustrationbeforeactivitiestoallowthestudentstobefamiliarwiththisformofgame.Theinformationofastudentinclasswillbedescribedand,theotherstudentsarerequestedtoguesswhomtheteacherdescribes.Teacher:I’mgoingtodescribeonestudentinourclass.Pleaseguesswhoshe/heis.Sheisagirlwhoisnowwearingawhiteshirt.Sheisprettyandshecansingverywell.Step2:Theteacherwillthenprovidesomeinformationaboutcelebritiesforeachgroup,andthenrequirethestudentstoanswer,theteacherwilldosomedemonstrationfirst.Examples:(1)HeisfamousBritishfootballplayerwhoplayedforManchesterUnited.(David-24- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文Beckham)(2)HeisbrilliantpeoplewhofoundedApple.(StevenJobs)(3)HeisafamousChinesepopstarwhorecentlygotmarriedinEngland.(JayChou)Step3:Eachgroupdiscussesaccordingtothemodewhichtheteacherasks,andproposesimilarquestions.Theycanalsodescribesomecelebrities’informationtotheirpeersbyusingattributiveclause,andthentheotherstudentsmakeaguess.Afterthecompletionoftheabovetasks,theteacherwillusethefollowingquestionstoguidestudentsinguessingitems:(1)Itisaflowerwhichisoftenputintoteatoaddaroma.(Jasmine)(2)Itisamachinewhichcanflytothespace.(Rocket)(3)Itisapopularmeanofmoderntransportationwhichoperatesundertheground.(Underground)Theneachgroupbegintodiscusswithattributiveclauseandaskquestions,andintroducesomeinformationaboutitemappearsindailylifetotheotherstudentstoletthemguess.Furtherdevelopmentcanalsobeachievedinthisstage,thepracticecanalsobeextendedtopracticeandconsolidaterelativeadverbs,suchas:where,whyandwhen,therebyguidingstudentstoguessanameofaplace,afestivaloranimportantmoment.DiscussionandanalysisInthisphase,theteachersandstudentscanrepeattherulesofattributiveclausetogether,inordertomaketherulesofgrammarknowledgemorecomprehensive,theteacherscanaskstudentsquestions,suchas“since‘which‘and‘that’canbothbeusedtodescribeanobject,whatisthedifferencebetweenthem?”,and“since‘that’and‘who’canbothbeusedtodescribepeople,whatisthedifference?”Thepurposeofthesequestionsistotriggerthestudentstocontinuethinking.Besides,thegroupsarerequiredtomakeasimplereportafterdiscussion,withtheteacherprovidingsupplements,sothatthegrammarrulesofrelativepronounsinattributiveclausecanbesummedup.Inthemeantime,therelativeadverbscanalsobelearntbystudentsinthenextclassaccordingtothismethod.Studentscaneasilyapplyattributiveclause,iftheycanlearnbydoing.3.6SummaryTask-basedlanguageteachingisasignificantlanguageteachingapproachwhichisbasedonthelearningofthesecondlanguage.Theultimatepurposeforitiscommunication,anditallowsthelearnertomasteralanguagebyutilization.Inthischapter,thedesignoftasksintask-basedlanguageteachingisdiscussed,withemphasislaidonthetworelationshipsthatshouldbedealtwithcarefully:therelationshipbetweenthecompletionoftaskandlanguagelearning,andthedifficultiesoftaskandlanguagelearning.Whendesigningatask,thefollowingprinciplesshouldbefollowed:1).Thetasksshouldbeauthentic.-25- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool2).Meaninghasthegreatestpriority,insteadoffocusingonlinguisticforms.3).Thelearners’languageoutputshouldbestimulatedbythetasks.4).Aftercompletingthetask,linguisticformsshouldbeconsidered.5).Thedifficultiesoftasksshouldbecontrolled.Untilnow,therearestillmanyunexploredfieldsintaskdesignintask-basedlanguageteaching,suchaswhetheritismoreefficienttoguidethestudentsspeakmoreaccurate,complexandfluentlanguagebydesigningvariouskindsoftasks,orfurther,whetheracontroversialtopiccouldleadthestudentstousemorecomplexlanguage.Problemslikethisstillrequirefurtherdiscussionandempiricalstudies.Thischapterprimarilyintroducedabasicframeworkofthewell-knowntask-basedteachingmethodproposedbyWillis,andshowsushowtask-basedteachingmethodworksbyelaboratingwithconcretestepsandteachingexamples,andthusprovestask-basedlanguageteachingmethodtobefeasible.Throughpracticeteaching,severalsuggestionsaregiven.Firstly,thecontentoftaskshouldbelinkedwiththetopicclosely,moreimportantly;thetasksshouldbecloselylinkedwithreallife,andshouldbeinterestingandmaneuverable,whichcanstimulatestudents’interesttocompletethetask.Forthisreason,itrequiresteacherstopreparemoreteachingmaterialsthatmatchtheteachingcontent,andthematerialsshouldbesupplementedtimely,whichrequirestheteachertospendmoretimeontaskdesign.Secondly,cooperationshouldbereflectedontheformoftasks,becausethemaintaskiscompletedthroughgroupactivities,thereforewhendesigningtasks,attentionshouldbepaidtothepositivecommunicationbetweenstudents,andencouragestudentstolearndiversifyingknowledgeindifferentways.Finally,difficultiesoftasksshouldbedesignedtobeaprogressiveladder,whichwillmakethetaskbeacceptedbothbythetopstudentsandnormalstudents,andhelpthemtoimprovestepbystep.Iftheteacherscanachievethepointsmentionedabove,thegrammarclasscouldbesuccessful,andthatiswhatwemeantbyyieldingtwicetheresultwithhalftheeffort.-26- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文4ExperimentResearchandOutcomeAnalysis4.1AnalysisofExperimentResultsInthistest,therespondents’grammarfoundationsarebeingtestedpriortotheexperiment,inordertogainanoverallunderstandingabouttheirgrammarstandards.Beforetheexperiment,boththetestinggroupandthereferencegroupappliedthePPPapproachofteaching,butsincetheinitiationoftheexperiment,thetestinggroupappliedTBLT,whichispromotedunderNewCurriculumStandard,withthereferencegroupremainedthesame.Threemonthslater,anothergrammartesthasbeencarriedoutforcomparison.4.1.1Pre-experimentTestThepre-experimenttesthasadoptedtheresultsfrommonthlyexamination(ReferringtoAppendixBfortheresults).Amongthe28studentsinthetestinggroup,thehighestgradeis75,andthelowestis36,withanaverageof63.7.The39marksdifferenceisclearlyevident.Asforthereferencegroup,thehighestgradeandthelowestgradeis78and34respectively,withanaverageof63.7.The44marksdifferenceisevenmoreobviousthanthetestinggroup.Alsofromthecomparisonoftheaveragemarks,itcanbeseenthatthegrammarstandardofboththetestinggroupandthereferencegroupareaboutthesamewhenapplyingPPPapproach.4.1.2Post-experimentTestThepost-experimenttesthasimplementedthemid-termexaminationresults,whichwascarriedoutthreemonthsaftertheexperiment.Amongthe28studentsinthetestingclass,themajorityofstudentshadasignificantimprovementintheirEnglishgrammar,exceptthattwostudentshaveremainedthesame.Theimprovementofstudentsrangesfrom6markstoashighas39marks;theaveragemarkhasincreasedby14.4marks,to78.1marks.Inthereferencegroup,only8students,whoareusuallyhard-working,hadsignificantimprovements.However,thehighestimprovementisonly10marks.Whileintheremaining20students,eventhoughonly3studentshavedeclineintheirmarks,theremaining17studentshavenosignificantimprovementsandremainedthesamelevel.Theaveragemarkofthereferencegroupis67.1,whichhasimprovedby3.5marks.Comparingwiththeresultsofthetestinggroup,theaveragegradedidnothaveaprominentimprovement.Thusitcanbeseenthateventhoughpriortotheexperiment,thetestinggroupandthereferencegrouphadalmostthesametestingresult.However,afterthreemonthsTBLT,theresultofthetestinggrouphadsignificantimprovementwhencomparingwiththereferencegroup.-27- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool4.1.3ComparingTask-basedLanguageTeachingwiththeTraditionalPPPApproachFromthedescriptionabouttheproblemsexistinginthetraditionalPPPapproachandthesuperiorityaboutTBLT,itcanbeseenthatTBLTcouldalmostoffsetandimprovethedeficienciesinthetraditionalteachingmethod.Thedifferencesbetweenthetwoapproachesareshownasfollows:1)InthefirststepofTBLT,whichisthepre-taskstage,itiscrucialfortheteachertospecifythecontentsaboutthetask,andhelpstudentstounderstandtherequirementsandobjectiveaboutthetask,inordertostimulatetheenthusiasmaboutindependentthinkingandinitiativelearning.Incontrast,forPPPapproach,theteacheronlypresentgrammarrules,vocabularies,andotherknowledgeontheblackboardduringpresentationstage.Asaresult,whenapplyingthePPPmethod,itisnotnecessaryforstudentstothink,whattheyhavetodoissimplycopywhattheteacherhaswrittenonblackboardontotheirnotes.Thereforethereisnochallengeandnecessitiesforthinking;hencethismethodisnotabletomotivatestudentstolearnactively.Furthermore,becausetheatmosphereintheclassisrathertedious,studentswouldhavenointerestsforfurtherlearning.2)Asforthesecondstep,TBLTemphasizesandencouragesonpersonalcompletionofclose-to-lifetasksandactivitieseitherbyindependentthinkingorgroupcooperation.Thewholesceneintheclassisvehementanddynamic.Inaddition,bygroupstudy,studentsareabletostructurenewgrammaticalphrasesfromtheexistingknowledge.However,inthetraditionalPPPapproach,phrasesandsentencesarerepeatedlypracticedunderthecontroloftheteacher.Thewholeatmosphereisnotinteresting,butratherdull.3)Inthelaststep,whatTBLThighlightistheappraisalandfeedbackofwhatthestudentshavelearnt,thecluebehindthisistoletstudentssummarizegrammarrulesandapplythemintodailycommunication.Whereas,thetraditionalPPPapproachonlyrequeststudentstoconductmechanicalexpressionwiththeknowledgelearntinclass,andtherevisionprocessisonlydonebycompletionofnumerousgrammaticalexercises.Whatthestudentscouldlearnfromthisapproachisonlythesurfaceform,andasaresult,itisalwaysdifficultforthemtoapplyintoactualcommunicationforthereasonthattheyhavenotgraspthetruemeaningofalanguage.Forthereasonsmentionedabove,itcanbeseenthatthetraditionalPPPapproachisateachingmodewhichonlycenteredonmechanicalpracticeoflanguageform.Incontrast,TBLTfocusesonthemeaningofthelanguageforthepurposeofflexibleapplication,whichreflectstheconceptofdevelopingtheoverallabilityofutilizinglanguageasrequiredbytheNewCurriculumStandard.4.1.4ProblemsExistingintheTraditionalPPPApproachPeterSkehan(1998:93)hassummarizedthelecturing-centeredteachingmodeintothree-28- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文Ps,namelypresentation,practiceandproduction.Nevertheless,TBLThasdiscoveredthreeproblemsexistinginthePPPapproach.1)Greatimportancewasattachedtomechanicaltrainingoflanguageform.AsforthePPPapproach,peoplegenerallyperceivedthatthemostimportantthingistoclarifythegrammarruleandtopracticerepeatedly.Bydoingso,itwouldallowthelearnerstofocusonthespecificformofalanguage,andtheexpressionstageprovidesstudentswiththechanceforapplication,andthusfluencycouldbeachieved.Infact,toagreatextent,thejudgmentcriteriaarewhetherthelearnershaveaccuratelyimitatedthelanguageinputinitiatedbytheteacher.Thewholeclassiscontrolledbytheteacher,regardlessofwhatthestudentsshouldsay,howtheyshouldanswertheteacher’squestion.Thusitcanbeconcludedthatthiscontrolisquitelimited,itistotallydifferentfromtrulyutilizing.2)Itisasomewhatspoon-feedingteachingmode.Becausetheteachersexpectthatthestudentscouldobtainalltheknowledgethattheteacherhastaught,andthereforeperceivedthatthestudentscouldlearneverythingthattheteacherexplains.Asaresult,thisteachingmodeiscontent-centered,result-oriented,andteacher-controlled,itviewedthelearnerasacontainer,andtheonlythingtheteachersneedtodoistofillthecontainer.Therealprocessoflearning,however,isignored,italsoneglecttheactiveengagementoflearners.Studyitself,cannotbecomethewayforlearnerstolearntostudy.3)Thelanguageinputisfairlylimited.Variousresearchhasprovedthatexposuretothesecondlanguageisabasisforthelearnerstolearnthesecondlanguage.However,thetraditionalPPPapproachspendsagreatamountoftimeonexplainingandpracticinglanguageelementssuchasvocabularies,phrasesandsentences.Eventhoughitstressesaccuracyinalanguage,itlimitsthelearners’chanceingainingwideraccesstothelanguagetoagreatextent.Howcouldastudentacquirehis/hergnosisonthelanguagelearnt?Inthemeantime,theteachingmaterialislimited,static,irrelevant,fragmentedandunrelatedtoreallife.Incontrast,arealutilizationoflanguageshouldbedynamicandintegral,andtheexpressionandunderstandingshouldbebasedonspecificsituation.4)Meaningfullanguageapplicationisabsent.ThereisnoactualcommunicationoccurredunderthetraditionalPPPapproach.Itisbecausethatthetrainingoflanguageformmerelystaysatitsform,butnotatoolforbettercommunication.Hence,theseeminglylivelyclassdiscussiononlystaysatitsform–questionandanswer.Thereisnoinformationgetsexchanged,andnoideagetsexpressed,everythinginthisapproachisfixedandunderthecontroloftheteacher.Ameaningfulutilizationoflanguageisvitaltothelearners;itisnotonlythepurposeoflearningalanguage,butalsotheapproachoflearning(Wei,2005:134-137).4.1.5TheAdvantagesofTask-basedLanguageTeachingFirstly,thewidelyacceptanceofTBLThasreflectedthechangeofforeignlanguage-29- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolteachingfromemphasizingonlinguisticknowledgetodevelopmentofcommunicationability.Itembodiedachangeintheeducationsystem,fromvaluingtheroleofteacherstopayingattentiontotheroleofstudents,fromteacher-centeredtostudent-centered.ManyscholarshavecontributedgreatlytotheintroductionandresearchofTBLT.Theirresearchhascoveredthefeatures,typesandteachingmodesofTBLT,whichhasfurtherdiscussedtheapplicabilityofTBLTinlistening,speaking,readingandwriting,aswellasitsshortcomings.TBLTinvolveslanguageknowledge,skills,students’emotionalstateandstudystrategy.Itemphasizesonthecompletionofvarioustaskstostudyandutilizinglanguage.Italsostressesondevelopingawiderangeoflanguageskillssuchaslistening,speaking,readingandwriting.Meanwhile,students’overallabilityofapplicationofalanguage,cooperationandadaptability,analyzingandsolvingproblems,aswellascreativitywillbedeveloped.TBLThasdevelopedthelanguagelearningstrategyofstudents,andthusprovideagoodbasisforthelearners’futuredevelopmentandlifelonglearning.Secondly,TBLTemphasizeonthevariability,richnessandauthenticityofteachingsituation.Thecontentinthetaskwassettobeasclosetostudents’lifeaspossible.Itisprimarilyrelatedtostudents’interests,hobbiesandlifeexperience,andalsoencouragesstudentstoexpresstheiractualfeeling,telltheirownexperience,anddeliverrealinformation,whichwillmakethelanguagetobeflexiblyusedinsocialcommunication.TBLThaschangedtheteachingmodewhichusedtobeteacher-centeredtostudents-centered.Itwillreflecttheirlifeexperienceandcognitivelevel,andthusmotivatethemtobeindependentandtodiscoverontheirown.Theteachersarenolongerthecontrolleroftheclass,butrathertheleaderandinstructorofaninteractiveactivity,andthestudentshavechangedtheirrolefrompassivereceiverstoactiveparticipants,thischangewillcertainlyincreasestudents’enthusiasm.Throughperception,experience,practice,participationandcooperation,TBLTwillhelpthestudentstocompleteandachievethetargetofthetaskundertheassistanceoftheteacher.Andbythisachievement,theirself-confidencewillbeimproved,whichcouldbeveryhelpfulinaidingthemtodevelopapositiveattitudetowardstudy,andhencetheactualutilizationabilityoflanguagecouldbeimproved.TBLTisconsideredasthemosteffectiveteachingmethodindevelopingthelanguageapplicationskillofstudents.Comparingtootherteachingapproaches,ithasprominentlyadvantageous.Inthemeantime,TBLTisateachingapproachwhichcouldcontributetothestabilizationofNewCurriculumStandard,anditisalsoincorrespondencewiththeconceptsintheNewCurriculumStandard.4.2DataAnalysisAfterthree-monthexperiments,questionnairesweredistributedtotherespondentsinboththetestinggroupandthereferencegroup,andthenanswerswerecollectedforfurtheranalysis.Therewere56questionnairesintotalwith100%responds(referringtoAppendixA),andthey-30- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文areallanonymous.Thefollowingtableistheoutcomeofthedatacollectedfromthetestinggroupandthereferencegroup.(Note:N:numberofstudents;P:Percentage)4.2.1AnswersfromtheTestingGroupTable4.1AnswersfromthetestinggroupExtremelyNeitheragreeDisagreeAgreeExtremelyagreedisagreenordisagreeNPNPNPNPNP100%00%14%1036%1761%21761%829%14%14%14%31243%1036%14%311%27%41450%932%27%27%14%5311%414%14%518%1554%614%14%14%829%1761%700%14%14%1450%1243%800%14%14%1139%1554%914%311%27%932%1346%1000%27%27%829%1657%4.2.2AnswersfromtheReferenceGroupTable4.2AnswersfromthereferencegroupExtremelyNeitheragreeDisagreeAgreeExtremelyagreedisagreenordisagreeNPNPNPNPNP100%00%311%1243%1346%2311%829%27%1036%518%327%27%14%621%1761%4621%14%14%1036%1036%51346%621%14%414%414%6725%311%725%518%621%71346%725%14%27%518%8311%14%829%725%932%92071%829%00%00%00%101657%932%27%14%00%-31- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolFromanalyzingandcontrastingthedatacollectedfromtestinggroupandreferencegroup,thefollowingconclusioncanbedrawn:1).Comparativelyspeaking,thestatisticalresultalsoshowedthatTBLThassignificantlychangedthestudents’attitudeandmotivationtowardsEnglishstudy.Fromthequestionnaireresults,itcanbeconcludedthatstudentsfrombothclassesperceivedEnglishgrammarstudyasveryimportant.However,theirmotivationforstudyingEnglishisdifferent.BecausewhenwereaskedabouttheimportanceofgrammarinEnglishstudy(Question1),97%ofstudentsintestinggroupand89%ofstudentsinreferencegrouphasprovidedanaffirmativeanswer.Andwhenwereaskedwhethergrammarclassistedious,8%ofstudentsintestinggroupand54%inreferencegroupagreed.Fromthefactsmentionedabove,itcanbeseenthatstudentsinthetestingclassdon’tconsidergrammarstudyastheirburden,anditisalsonotapainfulprocess.Theythinkgrammarstudyisnotthathard,andingeneral,theyarewillingtostudy,explore,discoverandconcludegrammarknowledge.2).Comparingtothereferencegroup,mostofthestudentsintestinggroupareinclinedtoTBLT.78%studentsinthetestingclasssatisfiedandpreferredTBLT,withonly7%studentssaidtheydon’tlikeit.Whenansweringquestion6-9,therewere90%,93%,93%and78%ofthestudentsrespectivelysaidtheylikegrammarclass,andtheythinkitisfulfillingtoaccomplishtasksbygroupwork,cooperationandinnovation.TBLTcanhelpthestudentstoconcentrateduringclass,andmaketheirthoughtsmoreactive.Viathisprocess,studentscouldindependentlysummarizegrammarrules,andbydoingso,theycantrulylearnandcommunicatewithgrammarknowledge.Fromtheanswerstoquestion10,86%studentsaregettingmoreconfidentaboutgrammarstudy,andfromthisfact,itcanbeconcludedthatTBLTcouldtrulystimulatethelearninginterestsofstudents,enhancetheirconfidenceaboutlearning,changetheirattitudetowardstudy.Inaddition,TBLTisprovedtobeusefulinincreasingEnglishgrammargradesquickly,andcouldcreateanactiveanddynamicatmosphereforthestudents.4.2.3ReasonswhyTask-basedLanguageTeachingismoreEffectiveinPromotingForeignLanguageTeachingAccordingtothepre-andpost-experimenttestresults,itcanclearlybeseenthatthestudents’Englishgradesaresignificantlyimprovedinthetestinggroup,andthestudentsaregettingmoreinterestedinEnglishtoo.Incontrast,inthereferencegroup,whichhadcontinuouslyappliedthetraditionalPPPapproach,theEnglishgradesareloweronaverageandwithoutsubstantialprogress.Inaddition,studentsstillperceiveEnglishasadifficultsubject,withhard-to-memorizevocabulariesanddifficult-to-understandgrammar.Studyinggrammarisstillapainfulprocessforthembecausetheycouldnotevenunderstandduringclass.ThefactsmentionedabovehaveshownthatTBLTismoreeffectiveandefficientin-32- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文teachinggrammarthanthetraditionalPPPapproach.Itcanbeconcludedintothefollowingtwoaspects:Firstly,inthetraditionalPPPapproach,thegrammarrulesandknowledgepointsareprovidedbytheteacherinsteadoflettingthestudentssummarizeontheirown.Hence,thereisnochanceforstudentstothinkindependentlytodiscovergrammarrules,andtheonlyinputthatastudentcangetisfromtheteacherandsomewhatabstractexamplesinthebook.Theexamplesarehoweverunrelatedtoreality,andthereforeitishardforstudentstounderstand,sotheyhavenochoicebuttomemorizemechanically,asaresult,thedifficultyforlearninggrammaristremendouslyincreased.ThetraditionalPPPapproachhasputtoomuchattentiononrepeatedlypracticingonlythesurfaceofgrammarrules,withoutunderstandingthetruemeaningofgrammarrules.Thisis,however,averyrigidteachingmode.Thecenteredoftheeducationactivitywasonlylaidonvocabulariesandthesetstructureofsentences.Oncethegrammaticalstructureisputintoothersentences,thestudentscouldhardlyrecognizeandunderstand.Asaresult,studentscouldnotabletoapplygrammarflexibly.Secondly,intheclassapplyingTBLT,studentsarerequestedtodiscoverandsummarizegrammarrulesbythemselvesthroughthetaskssetbytheteacher.Moreover,studentshaveplentyofopportunitiestomakeassumptions,andverifywhethertheyarecorrectviain-classactivities.Furthermore,bygroupdiscussion,theycanalsoverifytheirassumptionsfromtheteachersandtheirpeers.Becauseoftheseactivities,studentscaneasilygraspgrammarrulesbecausetheyareinvolvedintheeventsandstudyingduringpracticing,andtheresult,isofcoursesatisfying.Inconclusion,grammaticalknowledgeisfarfrombeingstuffedintostudents,butbeingawakenedandstimulated.Itiscrucialtotrainstudentstotrytothinkindependentlyandlearnstep-by-stepbythemselves.IncontrastwiththetraditionalPPPapproach,whenimplementingtasksintheTBLTclass,students’attentionandfocuswillbepaidontheactualmeaningofthesentence,thisisbecausethatoneofthemostimportantconceptistoincreasestudents’concentrationbyimplementingtasks.Ononehand,themeaningofalanguageispriorinthetask,ontheotherhand,theformoflanguageisonlyconsideredbeforeandaftertask,bydoingso,studentscouldonlyfocusontheapplicationoflanguage.Incontrary,thetraditionalPPPmethodpaidmuchmoreattentiononthemechanicaltrainingofmerelytheformoflanguage.WhereasTBLThastransformedEnglishgrammarclassintoastage,onwhichstudentscouldpresentthemselves.Ithaschangedthelanguagelearningandinformationgatheringprocessintotasks,andinthemeantime,itwillalsoenhancestudents’listening,speaking,readingandwritingskills.TBLTisstudents-centered,andtheteachersareperformedasanadministrator,whowillbringthestudentsintovarioussituationsandactivities,whichwillprovideachanceforstudentstoreleasetheirenthusiasmandtalent.TBLTismoreeffectiveinstimulatingstudents’interestsandadjustingattitudethanthetraditionalPPPapproach.Thisisbecausethatstudentswouldevenfeelthatgrammarstudyis-33- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchoolrigidanddullifthefocusismerelyputonpresentinggrammarrulesandtediousrepeatpractice,andwhichwouldleadthemtorejectstudyandmightcausethemtogiveupfinally.Yet,underTBLT,thetasksarerelatedwithreal-lifeevents,thiswillmakestudentsfeelthatthetasksarerealandconnected,anditisalsohelpfultotheirdailylives.Asaresult,theywillactivelyperformedandmakethewholeatmospherevehement.Also,theywouldalsoenjoytheinteractionbetweenteachersandclassmates,whichwillleadtothesetuppfself-confidenceingrammarlearning.Fewdiffidentstudents,whogenerallydonotparticipateinclass,willalsoslowlygetinvolvedinthetasks,andthusgetimproved,thisfactwasalsoadmittedbythisgroupofstudents.Piaget(1990)consideredstudentsasactivelearnerandindependentindividuals.Accordingtohistheoryofintelligencequotientdevelopment,studentshouldbeanactive,dynamicandinteractiveindividual,ratherthanbeingenvironmentallycontrolled.Consequently,thetraditionalPPPapproachdoesnotaccordwiththistheory,i.e.anormalstudyrule.ButinaTBLTclass,studentsarewillingtosolvetheproblemsandfindtheanswersindependently,viathewell-designedteachingactivities,whichsatisfystudents’variousinterests,characteristicsandstudycapabilities.TBLTcouldalsoexploitstudents’mind,thuscorrectlytrainthemabouttheattitudeandmotivationtowardsgrammarstudy.Tosummarize,itiseasytodiscoverthatTBLTismuchmoreeffectiveandefficient.4.3SuggestionsforImplementingTask-basedLanguageTeachinginClassTheauthorsummarizestheexperimentalresearchandthefollowingpointsshouldbenoticedintheprocessofimplementationoftask-basedteaching.1).Thisteachingmodelcoulddirectlyinfluencelearningattitudeandefficiencyofstudents.Studentswouldprobablylossinterestinpedagogicalactivitieswhichwereusedrepeatedlybyteachers.Therefore,teachersshouldpayattentiontodesigningandutilizationofvariouspedagogicalpracticesinordertoavoidlosinginterestinteachingmodelswhichwererepeatedcontinuously.2).Classroomdisciplineandtimearrangementsshouldbeconsideredcarefullyduetostudentsactivelyparticipateindiscussionwhentheteachersusingthetask-basedapproachtothegrammarclasses.Inaddition,teachersshoulddesignusageoftimepreciselyoneachtasksoastostudentscouldcompleteassignmentsontime.3).Teachersinstructgrammarbyusingtask-basedteachingmodelinordertoimprovetheefficiencyratherthanomissionofprocessofgrammarteaching.Furthermore,studentscouldn’tlearntheknowledgefromtheseactivitiesiftheteacherspaycloseattentiontodiversityofeducationalactivitiesinsteadofteachingtheknowledgeofgrammar.-34- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文4.4SummaryFromthethree-monthempiricalstudyofapplicationofTBLTandthestatisticalanalysisoftheresults,itcanbeseenthatTBLTisgenuinelymoreeffectiveinimprovingtheEnglishgrammargradesofstudentsthanthetraditionalPPPapproach.TheimplementationoftaskinTBLTcouldtrulystimulatethelearninginterestsofstudents,encouragingthemtothinkindependently,andactivelyutilizingthelanguageinthelong-term.Hence,thegrammarrulescouldbesummarizedandconcludedduringthe‘learningindoing’process.Thisisakindofknowledgewhichthestudentsgainduringtheirindependentlearning;itwasobtainedbydiscussing,interactingandstructuring.TBLTwillgreatlyinspirethestudentsinlearningEnglishgrammar,andchangethelongperceptionthatlearninggrammarishard,rigid,tediousanddull.Consequently,students’learningattitudeandmotivationisimproved,whichwillbenefitthemforthelifelongtime.-35- AnApplicationofTBLTtotheTeachingofEnglishGrammarinJuniorHighSchool5Conclusion5.1MainFindingsintheStudyThisarticlemainlydiscussestherelatedtheoryofgrammarteachingandtask-basedteachingwiththeaidoflotsanalysis,researchanddiscussionasillustrationThroughtheteachingexamplesdiscussedinthispaper,experimentalresearchandquestionnairesurvey,especiallytheTBLTinjuniorhighschoolEnglishgrammarteaching.TBLTisfoundouttohavebetteroutcome.Thefollowingconclusionscanbedrawn.Firstly,comparedwiththetraditionalPPPteachingapproach,TBLTapproachismoreeffectiveinpromotinggrammarteaching,improvingstudents‘generallevelofgrammarlearning.Intheempiricalstudy,theaveragescoreofpost-experimenttestforthetestingclassis78.07points,comparingwiththepre-testresults;theaveragescorehasincreasedby14.36points.Incontrast,theaveragescoreforthereferenceclassis63.68,comparedwiththepost-experimenttestresults;thereisa3.46pointsdifference.Itcanbeseenthereisaprominentimprovementforthetestingclass.Thus,comparedwiththetraditionalPPPteachingapproach,theapplicationofTBLTapproachinEnglishgrammarteachingismoreeffectiveinimprovingthestudents"overallsyntaxstandard.Secondly,contrastingwiththetraditionalPPPteachingapproach,TBLTapproachismoreadvantageoustodevelopstudents’attitudeandmotivationtowardsgrammarlearning.Inthequestionnaire,bothoftheclassesofstudentsthinkthatEnglishgrammarlearningisveryimportant,buttheirattitudeandmotivationonlearningEnglishgrammararetotallydifferent.Subsequentlywhentheyanswerquestions1inthequestionnaire(IthinkgrammarinEnglishlearningisveryimportant),the97%ofthestudentsinthetestingclassand89%ofthestudentsinthereferenceclassgaveaffirmativeanswer.Andwhentheyanswerquestion2(Ithinkgrammarclassisboring),only8%oftestingclassagree,incontrast,54%ofthestudentsinreferenceclassadmitittobeso.MoststudentsinthereferenceclassconsideredEnglishgrammarasveryboring,henceitcanbeconcludedthatthetraditionalPPPapproachcannotstimulatestudents"interesttowardsgrammarlearning,anditwillevenmakethestudentsloseconfidenceinlearninggrammar.ComparedwiththetraditionalPPPapproach,TBLTapproachismoreadvantageousininspiringstudentsinEnglishgrammarlearning,especiallyonattitudeandmotivation.5.2LimitationsofthePresentStudyHowever,theexperimentstillhassomelimitations.Firstly,theexperimentalsubjectsarelimited,moststudentsintheexperimentcamefromthecity,andthusthismethodcannotbeassuredtofitotherstudentswhompossiblycamefromsuburbanorruralareas.Secondly,thedurationoftheexperimentisnotlong,whichonlylastedforthreemonths,thereforewhether-36- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文studentsmightgettiredofthismethodifithasbeenimplementedforalongtimecannotbeassured.Thirdly,whensettingtasks,thediversity,richnessandappropriatenessofataskstillrequirestheteachertoconductfurtherexplorationandinnovation.Finally,taskselectionissomewhatarbitrary.Oneofthekeydifferentiatingfeaturesoftask-basedlanguageteachingapproachisthatallcontentsinteachingisdeterminedbytasks.Thereshouldbeaseriesofsystematicmethodstochooseandarrangetasks.Anidealistictaskshouldbecontinuous,systematicandhierarchical,inordertosatisfythelearnerswithvariousbackgroundknowledgeandcognitivelevel.Yetuntilnow,thecorrespondingoutlineoftasksforTBLTisnotabletosolvethementionedproblemsefficientlyandeffectively.Inreality,theselectionandrankingofthetaskisarbitrary,andhenceitisinevitabletocausechaosoncognitionandoperation.5.3SuggestionsforFutureResearchAslimitationsstillexistinthecurrentstudy,afewadvicescanbeproposedforlaterresearch.Firstly,thenumberofexperimentalsubjectsshouldbeexpanded,preferablyfromdifferentregionsanddifferentschools.Secondly,theexperimenttimeshouldbelengthened,forthepurposeofevaluatingtheeffectsofTBLTmoreaccurately.Finally,astheteachingmethodisalwaysemphasizedtobeunfixed,Englishgrammarteachingisnotnecessarytobesimplex.ItmightbepossibletoaddtheadvantagesofthetraditionalPPPapproachintoTBLT,inordertoachievethebestoutcome.-37- 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辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文AppendixBAllStudents’Pre-testScoresExperimentalGroupReferenceGroupScoreScore16916626126833637346546257454866166176276785987397096510661062116511611272126613631372144514531561157716671671175517611863183419691964205220692162217322702278237223532467245825732559266626632764276528752861Average63.71Average63.68-41- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文AppendixCAllStudents’Post-testScoresExperimentalGroupReferenceGroupScoreScore18216828127237537247346458855267666977877188287397696510811065117511631272126213771370147114611579157916841678177717701875184419791967207420732176217722812279238623552475246625732560267926652776277228852868Average78.07Average67.14-42- 辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文AcknowledgementsItisagreathonorformetostudythemastersofeducationinSchoolofForeignLanguages,LiaoningNormalUniversity.Thepositiveandstrongacademyatmosphereintheschoolhasimpressedmedeeply.Itwastheprofessors’broadandprofoundknowledgeandconsummateeducationthathasallowedmetoprogressinthefieldofeducation.Duringtheperiodofwritingthisthesis,IwouldliketoexpreemysincerethankstoProfessorBinBai,whomhasdevotedallhisattentiontome.Inhisbusywork,hestillsparesomeofhistimetourgemetoreadmore,thinkmore,doanindepthresearchandwritecarefully.Healsoexaminemythesisprudentlyfromthestructureeventothedetails,andprovidemanyconstructiveopinions.IfeelprofoundlythatthisthesiscouldnotbefinishedwithoutProfessorBai’spatientguidance.Forthis,IherebypresentmysincerestthankstoProfessorBinBai.Inaddition,Iwouldalsoliketothankmyfriends,colleguesandclassmateswhomprovidedtheirhelp.-43-