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中图分类号:G4密级:公开UDC:800学校代码:10094硕士学位论文(教育硕士)AnExperimentalStudyontheApplicationofInquiryLearningtoEnglishGrammarTeachinginSeniorHighSchool探究式学习在高中英语语法教学中的应用研究作者姓名:石永霞指导教师:张敬彩副教授学科专业名称:英语学科教学研究方向:英语教育论文开题日期:2014年5月12日二〇一五年五月三十日
中图分类号:G4密级:公开UDC:800学校代码:10094硕士学位论文(教育硕士)AnExperimentalStudyontheApplicationofInquiryLearningtoEnglishGrammarTeachinginSeniorHighSchool探究式学习在高中英语语法教学中的应用研究作者姓名:石永霞指导教师:张敬彩副教授学科专业名称:英语学科教学研究方向:英语教育论文开题日期:2014年5月12日II
AnExperimentalStudyontheApplicationofInquiryLearningtoEnglishGrammarTeachinginSeniorHighSchoolByShiYongxiaSupervisor:ZhangJingcaiSpecialty:EnglishEducationResearchDirection:EnglishTeachingSubmittedtoCollegeofForeignLanguagesInPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsFortheDegreeofMasterofEducationAtHebeiNormalUniversity2015III
学位论文原创性声明本人所提交的学位论文《探究式学习在高中英语语法教学中的应用研究》,是在导师的指导下,独立进行研究工作所取得的原创性成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外,本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体己经发表或撰写过的研究成果。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体,均己在文中标明。本声明的法律后果由本人承担。学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解河北师范大学有权保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交学位论文的复印件和磁盘,允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权河北师范大学可以将学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索,可以采用影印、缩印或其它复制手段保存、汇编学位论文。(保密的学位论文在年解密后适用本授权书)论文作者(签名):20)&年《月2•曰
AbstractEnglishisakindofwidelyused,publicandpopularlanguage.AndinChina,Weregarditasoneofthemostsignificantsubjectsoftheschooleducationatallschoolperiodsinalmostallareas.Especiallyinseniorhighschoolperiod.GrammarisoneofthemostdifficultandimportantpointsofEnglishlearninginseniorhighschool,accordingtoalotofresearchesofEnglishgrammarteachingbysomeresearchersathomeandabroad.UndertheNewCurriculumReform(NCR)andnewcollegeentranceexaminationreform,theyrequestnewchangeingrammarteaching.Moreover,thelivingandcontextualchangesofcollegeentranceexaminationneedproperadjustmentinEnglishgrammarteachingandlearning.Englishgrammarteachingneedadjustthedevelopmentofnewreformandrenovatenewlearningstyleandlearningmethods,onlybydoingthiscanthelearninggoalsbeachieved.InChina,theteachingofgrammaralwayskeepsthewayofthetraditionalteachingmodel,whichregardstheteacher-centeredasthemainteachingmodel,inwhichstudentscanjustacceptknowledgepassively.However,weshouldconcernthattherearetwoquestions,grammarteachingmethodsandtheimportanceofgrammarteaching.Weshouldnotconcernoneandignoretheother.Inquirylearningisagoodwaytochangethetraditionalteachingpattern.Itisakindoflearningpattern,whichadvocatesstudentstolearnindependently,improvetheircooperativespirit,anddiscusswithothersundertheguidanceofteachers.Throughthisprocess,wehopestudentscananalyzeandsolveproblemsindependently.Inordertoexploretheeffectivenessofinquirylearning,theauthorplanstodoateachingpracticeintheEnglishclass.Therearetwoquestionstoexploreinthispaper.First,ifstudents’intereststowardsEnglishgrammarlearningcanbecultivatedunderinquirylearning.Second,whetherthedifficultiesinthegrammarlearningprocesscanbesolvedthroughinquirylearning.Classes1andClass2,altogethereighty-twostudents,fromXingtaiForeignLanguageSchoolinHebeiprovince,participatedintheresearchassubjects.TheywerestudentsinGradeOne.Therewere42studentsinClass1and40studentsinClass2.Class1wastheExperimentalClasswhosestudentsweretaughtundertheguidanceofinquirylearningmethodandClass2wasV
theControlClasswhichwastaughtunderthegrammar-translationmethodbythesameteacher.Theexperimentlasted20weeks(asemester).Therewasapre-questionnaireandapre-testinthebeginningoftheexperiment,andattheendoftheexperiment,therewasapost-questionnaireandapost-test.Throughtheanalysisoftheresultsofthequestionnairesandtestspresentedbetweenthestudentsinexperimentclassandcontrolclass,wecanseethatthestudents’abilityinEnglishgrammaroftheexperimentalclassismuchbetterthanthoseinthecontrolclassafteronesemester"sexperiment.Andthedifficultyinthestudents’grammarlearningprocesshasbeensolved.SothismethodgetsgreateffectivenessinEnglishgrammarlearning.TheresearchhaveprovedthattheapplicationofinquirylearninginEnglishgrammarlearninginseniorhighschooliseffectiveandapplicablethroughtheanalysisofalotofteachingcasesfromstudentsandteachers.Thegoodeffectisalsoapowerfulattacktowardstheopinionofgivingupteachinggrammar.Thispaperisjusttheauthor’sownopinionsaccordingtotheteachingpractice.Andtherearesomelimitations,suchasthebreadthanddepthoftheresearchandtheapplicabilityandsoon.Soweneedcontinueourreachingresearch.Keywords:seniorhighschool,NCR,Englishgrammarlearning,InquirylearningVI
摘要英语是一门应用广泛,公众化,流行化的语言。在中国,它是几乎所有地区所有学校教育阶段最重要的学科之一。高中阶段尤为重要。而根据国内外学者在英语语法教学中大量的研究与探索表明,语法在高中英语学习中是一个重难点。伴随着新课改与新高考的改革浪潮,对高中英语语法提出了新要求,以及高考试题的生活化和情境化转变,所以高中英语语法教学与学习方式也应该做出相应调整。高中英语语法教学只有不断适应新高考的发展,在新形势下采取与时俱进的学习方式与教学策略才能达到最终的学习目的。在中国,英语语法教学一直延续传统的“灌输式”讲授,学生处于被动接受知识的地位。这也是很多人要抛弃语法教学的理由之一。然而我们应该意识到,语法教学方式和语法的重要性是两个问题,语法教学方式的不当不能成为忽视语法重要性的理由。要改变现有的教学模式,探究式学习为我们提供了新的方法。探究式学习是在教师的指导下,学生进行独立学习和合作讨论,通过探究提高学生分析问题和解决问题的能力。为了验证探究式学习在高中英语语法教学的有效性,本文作者对其进行了一个学期的英语教学实验。本次教学实验主要探究两个问题:(1)探究式学习是否有利于提高学生英语语法学习的兴趣?(2)实施探究式学习是否能够解决学生英语语法学习中存在的困难?本次实验选取了邢台外国语学校高一年级两个班共82名学生为实验对象。其中1班42名学生,2班40名学生。1班是实验班,采用探究式学习法教学;2班是控制班,釆用传统的语法翻译法进行教学。实验历时一个学期,共20周。在实验开始时进行了一次前问卷调查和一次前测考试。在实验结束时进行了一次后问卷调查和一次后测考试。这两次问卷调查和测试显示了实验班学生和控制班学生的变化。经过一学期的实验性学习,证明实验班的学生在英语语法学习上的能力要明显好于控制班的学生。本文从理论和实践两个方面,着眼于教师和学生两个角度,通过大量的教学实例来分析探究式学习过程得出结论,探究式学习是英语语法改革实践的有效方法。它对学生英语语法学习的积极作用也是对放弃语法教学说法的有力回击。本研究仅是本人通过一些英语教学实践提出了自己的一些想法,还存在一定的局限性,例如探究的广度和深度不够以及应用性等问题,所以需要我们共同努力继续探索。关键词:高中新课程改革英语语法教学探究式学习VII
ContentsAbstract..........................................................................................................................................................V摘要........................................................................................................................................................VIIChapterOneIntroduction...........................................................................................................................11.1Researchbackground........................................................................................................................11.2Researchquestions............................................................................................................................21.3Researchsignificance........................................................................................................................31.4Thesisframework..............................................................................................................................4ChapterTwoLiteratureReview..................................................................................................................62.1Thedevelopmentofgrammarteaching............................................................................................62.1.1Thedevelopmentofgrammarteachingabroad......................................................................62.1.2ThedevelopmentofgrammarteachinginChina.................................................................122.2Inquirylearning...............................................................................................................................142.2.1BackgroundofInquiryLearning..........................................................................................142.2.2Definitionofinquirylearning.............................................................................................172.2.3Basictheoreticalknowledgeaboutinquirylearning...........................................................172.2.4Characteristicsofinquirylearning.......................................................................................192.2.5Significanceandobjectivesofinquirylearning...................................................................202.3TheapplicationofInquirylearningtotheteachingofgrammar....................................................21ChapterThreeResearchDesign....................................................................................................................233.1Researchquestions..........................................................................................................................233.2Subjects...........................................................................................................................................233.3Instruments......................................................................................................................................243.3.1Questionnaires......................................................................................................................243.3.2Tests.....................................................................................................................................253.4Procedure........................................................................................................................................263.5Asamplelessonplan......................................................................................................................30ChapterFourDataCollectionandAnalysis............................................................................................354.1Analysisofstudents’interesttowardsEnglishgrammar................................................................354.1.1Datacollectionandanalysisofthepre-questionnaire..........................................................354.1.2Datacollectionandanalysisofthepost-questionnaire........................................................364.1.3Analysisofthedifference....................................................................................................384.2Analysisofstudents’difficultiesandcapabilitytowardsEnglishgrammar...................................394.2.1Datacollectionandanalysisofthepre-test..........................................................................394.2.2Datacollectionandanalysisofthepost-test........................................................................404.2.3Analysisofthedifference................................................................................................424.3FindingsandDiscussions................................................................................................................424.3.1Findings...............................................................................................................................424.3.2Discussions..........................................................................................................................44ChapterFiveConclusion..........................................................................................................................465.1Applicationofthestudy..................................................................................................................465.2Limitation........................................................................................................................................47VIII
5.3Suggestionsforfurtherresearch.....................................................................................................47Bibliography.................................................................................................................................................49Appendices...................................................................................................................................................52AppendixIPre-Questionnaireforthestudents................................................................................52AppendixIIPost-Questionnaireforthestudents.............................................................................53AppendixIIIPre-TestPaper..............................................................................................................54AppendixIVPost-TestPaper............................................................................................................57AppendixVScoresofthePre-test.....................................................................................................59AppendixVIScoresofthePost-test..................................................................................................60Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................62IX
ChapterOneIntroductionThischapteristheintroductionpart,whichincludesthebackgroundoftheresearch,questionsoftheresearch,significanceoftheresearchandthesisframework.Thischaptertriestointroducethethemeofthisthesis.1.1ResearchbackgroundEnglishisakindofwidelyusedlanguageatpresent.ItissoimportantthatwelearnitatalmostallschoolperiodsinChina.Especiallyinseniorhighschoolperiod.Soitrequeststhehighqualityofteachersandstudents.However,grammarlearningbecomesoneofthemostimportantpartsinthenewcollegeentranceexamination,especiallyinthereadingandwritingparts.Nowadays,theNCRadvocatesthatEnglishteachingintegrateslanguageknowledgeandlanguageuseandtheinteractivemodeinsteadthatpayingmoreattentiontotheexplanationofthevocabularyandgrammarstructure.Thenewcurriculumstandardwritesthatusingsentencesanddiscoursesisagoodwaytocombinetheform,meaninganduseoflanguageandmakethemintegrateeffectively.Andthedirectionoftheexaminationisnotjusttorecitethegrammarrules,buttoputimportancetotheintegratedcomprehensionanduseofEnglishbyusingpropergrammarstructures.However,inrecentyears,therearetwomistakentrendsinEnglishgrammarteaching.First,teacherswhokeepteachingalotofgrammarrulesemphasizegrammaralot.Second,teacherswhopaymoreattentiontotheactualuseofEnglishandjustteachstudentslisteningandspeakingskillsignoregrammarteaching.ThisphenomenoncontributestothedifficultywhenstudentslearnEnglish.Ononehand,theycannotuseEnglishproperlyinreallifebutjustlearnalotofgrammarrules.Ontheotherhand,theycannotcomprehendsomecomplexsentences,meaningfultexts,andcertainlycannotwriteexcellentarticlesbutcanjustspeaksomesimplesentencesandcommunicatewithothers.Wecanseecommunicativecompetenceisveryimportant,butreadingcomprehensionandwritingabilityarenoexception.Weshouldemphasizethemequally.1
Asforthedifficultiesourstudentsface,inquirylearningbecomesagoodwaytosolvestudents’difficultiesandtobalancecommunicativecompetenceandreadingandwritingskills.Themostmarkedcharacteristicsofthismethodarethatitemphasizestheinteraction,participationanddiscussion.Studentsparticipateinthelearningprocessastheirlearningleadersinsteadoflisteningtotheirteacherspassively.Inquirylearningisaseriousofteachingstrategiesbywhichstudentscompletetheirlearningtasksbyactivelyparticipatingintheirlearningactivitiesundertheteacher’sguidance,motivationandassistance.Itisanovelteachingmodeembodyingmoderneducationalconcepts.Itisamethodofforeignlanguageteachingandlearningemergingintotheschooleducationsystem,whichfocusesonthelearningprocessinsteadoftheteachertransmittingknowledge.Throughinquirylearning,wehopetoformagoodteachingenvironmentforgrammarlearning.Wedevoteourselvestochangethetraditionalteachingmethodsortheignoranceofgrammarteaching.Theteachingprocessshouldbechangedfrom“explainingthegrammarrules-givingexamples-practicingtheknowledgepoints”to“self-observation--participationanddiscussion--expressingeveryone’sopinions--summary--practice”.Moreover,itisagoodmethodtocultivatestudents’interestandsolvetheirdifficultiesinthelearningprocess.Weshouldassertthatgrammarlearningisimportant,“withoutgrammarlittlecanbeconveyed”,saidbyWilkins,afamousEnglishlinguist.Inaddition,agoodmethodisakeyelementtoachievetheeffectivenessandefficiencyoflanguagelearning.Soweadvocateinquirylearningandalwayskeeppacewiththetimesinlearning.1.2ResearchquestionsTherearetwoquestionstoexploreinthispaper.First,ifstudents’intereststowardsEnglishgrammarlearningcanbecultivatedunderinquirylearning.Thispaperistofindwhetherthislearningmethodcanconcentrateonstudents’learningattentionandarousetheirenthusiasmornot,andwhetheritcanchangetheoldgrammarteachingandlearningenvironmenttobetterstudents’Englishlearning.Second,whetherthedifficultiesinthegrammarlearningprocesscanbesolvedthroughinquirylearning.Accordingtoourinvestigation,studentsmayfacedifferentkindsofdifficultiesinlearningEnglishgrammar.2
TheyevenhavetroubleinChinesegrammar.NottomentionEnglishgrammar,akindofforeignlanguage.Asforthesedifficulties,theauthoradoptsthenewmethod—inquirylearningtoteachourstudentstosolvetheirproblemsinthelearningprocess.Themodeofinquirylearningmaydecideitsfunctionthatitmustbeakindofinteractivepatterntoimproveourstudents’languageability.Furthermore,inordertoexplorethetwoquestions,theauthorsearchalotofdatawhichrelatetothegrammarteachingathomeandabroadandthedefinition,characteristics,andsignificanceofinquirylearning.Thesedataandsomemyownopinionscontributetotheresearchoftheapplicationofinquirylearningtothegrammarteaching.Accordingtothehistoryandsomeprofessors’research,theauthormakessomecompressiontochangetheoldsituationofgrammarteachingandmakesomeinnovationtofurtherresearch.Thetwoquestionsthattheauthorputforwardwillbearoundthewholepaperandtheresultoftheexperimentwillbeshowedinthefollowingchapters.1.3ResearchsignificanceThecorespiritoftheNewSeniorCurriculumReformistocultivatestudents’abilityandimprovestudents’practicalcompetence.IntheEnglishgrammarteaching,weshouldasserttwothings—theimportanceofgrammarandthepropermethodthatweadopt.Tobeginwith,manysecondlanguageresearchers,methodologistsandpractitionershavecommentedthatgrammaticalcompetenceisessentialforcommunication(Brown,1994;Larsen-Freeman,1991)andthereisoftenaninadequatetreatmentofgrammarinmostcommunicativesyllabusesresultinginlowerlevelofaccuracythanthecasesunderformalinstruction(HinkelandFotos,2002).Mostresearchershaveagreedthatthereisapositiveroleofinstructionforgrammarlearning.HinkelandFotos(2002:10)thinkthatgrammarteaching“canenhancelearnerproficiencyandaccuracyandfacilitatetheinternalizationofitssyntacticsystem”.Specially,theauthoremphasizestheintegrateddevelopmentoflistening,speaking,readingandwritingskills.Thegrammarisanimportantaspecttoimprovestudents’readingcomprehensionandwritingability.SotheauthortreatsimportanceonEnglishgrammarlearning.What’smore,wetreatinquirylearningasakindofpropermethodtoarousestudents’interestandimprovetheirgrammarability.ThroughInquirylearning,itcanhelpboth3
teachersandstudentstorealizetheintegratedteachingobjectives.Someonemaythinkthatobjectivesarejustrelatedtoteachersbutnotstudents.Theauthorthinkstheyarewrong.Everystudentshouldknowwhatthepurposeisateachclassandthentheycanconcentratethemselvesonthekeypoints.Also,itcanpromotetheflexibilityoftheteachingmethodsandchangethetraditionalpatternwhichisfullofexplanationandpractice.Furthermore,itisagoodwaytomotivatethestudentsfrompassivenesstoactiveness.Thetraditionalclassjustadvocatesteacher-centeredandourstudentshavenoroomtoexpresstheirownopinions.Sotheyarepassiveinclass.However,inquirylearningtreatsstudentsasthecenterandtheyaretheirlearningleaders.Sotheyareactiveinthiskindofclass.Finally,itbenefitsfortheteacher’sself-improvementandestablishesharmonybetweenteachersandstudents.Theyareengagedinidentifyingproblems,gatheringinformationandsolvingtheproblemstheyencountered.(GeneralStudiesforPrimarySchoolsCurriculumGuide,2002)Inaword,inquirylearninghelpsourstudentsbecomeself-learnersandtheyparticipateinthelearningprocessactively.1.4ThesisframeworkThispaperincludesfivechapters.ChapterOneisintroduction,whichshowsthebackgroundofgrammarteachingandinquirylearningmethod,thequestionsthattheresearchfocuseson,thesignificanceofapplicationofinquirylearningtothegrammarteachinginseniorhighschool.Andthefinalpartisthesisframework.ChapterTwoisliteraturereviewofgrammarteachingandinquirylearning.Thefirstpartisthedescriptionofthedevelopmentofgrammarteachingathomeandabroad.Thesecondpartisthedefinition,characteristics,andsignificanceofinquirylearning.Thethirdpartistheapplicationofinquirylearningtotheteachingofgrammar.ChapterThreeisresearchdesign,anditincludestheresearchquestionsofthestudy,informationofthesubjects,methodoftheresearch,instruments,procedureandasamplelessonplan.Inthischapter,theauthorwillintroducetheinstrumentsindetailandexplaintheproceduresoftheexperiment.4
ChapterFourisanalysisanddiscussionfromtheexperimentaltestandquestionnaireswhichsupporttheresearchquestions.ChapterFiveistheconclusionpart.Itincludesthefindingsandlimitationsoftheresearchandgivesthesuggestionstobetterthefutureresearch.5
ChapterTwoLiteratureReviewThischapteristhedescriptionofthedevelopmentofEnglishgrammarteachingandthedefinition,characteristics,andsignificanceofinquirylearning.Thenthelastpartistheapplicationofinquirylearningtotheteachingofgrammar.Finallytheauthorgivessomecommentsandsummarizesthischapter.2.1ThedevelopmentofgrammarteachingGrammarteaching,asacontroversialtopicinEnglishteaching,hasbeendiscoveredforalongtimeandattractsalotoffocusesonit.Accordingtotheresearcheswrittenbyscholarsathomeandabroad,wecanfindthatgrammarhasaveryimportantpositioninEnglishteachinganditneedsustoexploredeeply.Moreover,therearetoomanytheoriesbutlittlepracticesingrammarteaching,thismaybeanurgentproblem.Fromthesestudieswecansummarizethattherearetwoquestionsaroundtheresearches.First,whetherweshouldteachEnglishornot.Second,wewanttodiscoverhowtoteachEnglishgrammar.Sothispaperreviewsthestudiesathomeandabroadfromthetwoaspects.2.1.1ThedevelopmentofgrammarteachingabroadThornbury(1999)pointedoutthatforeignlanguageteachingdevelopsbetweentheviewofsupportinggrammarteachingandtheviewofobjectingtoit,fromtheviewofforeignlanguageteachinghistory.Atcertainperiod,theviewofsupportinggrammarteachingtakesuptheleadingposition.Andatothertime,theviewofgivingitupdecidesthewholesituation.SothisisconsistentwiththefirstaspectthatwhetherEnglishgrammarshouldbetaughtornot.Thesupporterspointedoutthatthebasicabilityinlanguagelearningistoknowthefunctionofgrammarwhenweinterpretthemeaningoflanguage.Ellis(1997)saidthatitmaynotbeabletomakesuretheaccuracyofthelanguagethatstudentsexpressifwejustputimportancetothecommunicativeabilitybutnotthegrammarability.Someprofessorsinsist6
thatitisnecessaryforlocalpeopletoacceptregulargrammarteachingandtraining.Cook(2000:35)havetheopinionthatheassertedthatgrammarmustbetaught.Althoughchildrencanmastermothertonguebecausethelanguageacquisition,itdoesn’tmeanadultscanlearnsecondlanguagewithoutlearninggrammar.Sowemusterecttheviewthatitisnecessaryforustodrawacleardistinctionbetweenacquisitionandlearning.Othereducatorspointedoutstudentslearnbetteriftheteacheremphasizesgrammaralotinlanguageteachingprocess,accordingtoresearchstudies.However,Krasheninsisteddifferentideas.Inhisopinion,grammarisakindoflanguageacquisitionandthereisnoneedtoteachgrammar.Moreover,hethoughtgrammarlearninghasbadeffectsonlanguagelearning.Soheisagainstgrammarteaching.Therearethreegroupstowardsgrammarteaching--supporters,centristsandoppositionalgroup.InordertolearnthehistoryofEnglishgrammardeeplywecanseethemaintwogroupsindetail.Inrecentyears,theimportanceofstudiesaboutgrammarteachingfocusesontheexplorationofthenecessityofgrammarteachinginthelanguagelearningprocess.Theargumentisderivedfromtherelateddiscussionofcognitivepsychology.Thediscussionfocuseson:languagelearningisakindofexplicitlearningprocessorimplicitlearningprocess?Itisaconsciousmanipulationofinformationoranunconsciousprocessoflanguageinput?Fromthetheoreticalview,thediscussioncanbedividedbytheconsciouslanguagelearningandtheunconsciouslanguageacquisitionbyKrashen.Intheviewofhim,languagelearningisanacquisitioninanaturalcontextinsteadofaconsciouslanguagelearningprocess.Heregardsgrammarclassasaneducationalformofdevelopingdeclarativeknowledgeaboutgrammarstructurebutignoringproceduralknowledgewhichisbenefittolanguageuse.Theexplicitknowledgecannotbetransformedtoimplicitknowledge.Sohesupportsthatlanguageisakindofacquisitionandinsistsproceduralknowledgelearningandlanguageuse.Besides,universalgrammarandrelatedstudiesinsecondlanguageacquisitionconcludethesimilarconclusion.Theresearchersthoughtthatifforeignlanguagelearnersfollowtheuniversalgrammarinthelearningprocess,foreignlanguagelearningcanberegardedastheinteractionofuniversalgrammarandlanguageinput.Sotheseresearchersinsistthatanyformofgrammarteachingismeaningless.7
However,thesupportinggrouphasdifferentopinions.AlthoughKrashenpointedoutlanguagelearningisaprocessofimplicitacquisition,moreandmorerelatedstudiesfoundthatexplicitlanguageteachinghasgoodeffectsonlanguagelearning.Andtheprominentadvantageisthatgrammarteachingcanmakesuretheaccuracyoflanguagewhenlearnersuselanguagetocommunicatewithothers.Sowecansaygrammarisbenefittothecommunicativeability.Firstofall,grammarteachingshouldpaymoreattentiontotheformoflanguageaccordingtotheNoticingHypothesis.Moreover,theresearchersfoundthatlanguagelearnerscannotmasterthemeaningandformofthetargetlanguageatthesametime.Therefore,foreignlanguagelearnersneedtonoticetheformoftargetlanguagewhentheyreceivelanguageinput.However,nowadayssomepeopleadvocategiveupgrammarteaching,whichmaycontributetothesituationthatstudentscanjustunderstandthemeaningofEnglishbutnotthecorrectformandsentencepatternsofEnglish.Itisakindofmissingdirectionbecausestudentswhoareunderthisteachingmethodcannotoutputcorrectsentencesandcannotexpresstheiropinionsbyusingthetargetlanguage.Asecondsupportingtheoryisthetheoryof“TeachabilityHypothesis”putforwardbyPienemann(1984).Althoughthesequenceisfixedinthelanguagelearningprocess,somestructurecanbeimprovedfromgrammarteaching.Accordingtothishypothesis,whenthegrammarteachingisconsistentwiththelearner’swillingnesstoimprovehislanguageabilitythegrammarteachingcanbeacatalysttohislanguagelearning.AsweallknowthatalotofpeopleadvocatecommunicativemethodtoteachEnglish,maybeitisagoodwaytoimprovelearners’speakingandlisteningabilities.However,asforthetotalmasterandunderstandingofacertainkindoflanguage,itisnecessarytolearngrammargradually.Theformerdescriptionshavediscussedtheproblemofwhethergrammarshouldbetaughtornot.Thispapermainlytalksabouttwogroups—thesupporterandtheopposition.Fromthesestudies,wecanseetheopinionsandreasonsofthetwogroups.Firstofall,intheauthor’spointofview,theauthoragreeswiththeideaofteachinggrammar.Fromthestudiesinthepastandrecentyearswecanknowgrammarteachingisaninseparablepartinlanguagelearning,justasafamousEnglishlinguistWilkinshassaid:"withoutgrammarlittlecanbeconveyed,withoutvocabularynothingcanbeconveyed."Learninggrammarwellisvery8
importantforEnglishlearners.Furthermore,fromtheformerstudieswecanseethetheoreticalbasistowardsgrammarteaching.Noticingtheformoftargetlanguageisveryimportant,soweshouldcombinetheformoflanguageandthemeaningoflanguageandthenthetwocanbecombinationwiththeusageoflanguage.Someteachersjustfocusonthemeaningoftargetlanguagewhentheygoontheirteaching,whichmaybeeasyforstudentstoacceptthetargetlanguagebutnotgoodfortheoutputofthelanguage.Whenourstudentslearnalotofknowledgeoflanguage,theystillcan’texpresssomecorrectsentencesandcan’tinterpretthecomplexexpressions.Thismaybeoneoftheproblemsofgrammarteaching.Moreover,welearnakindoflanguageisnotthesameasothersubjectlikemathorgeography,itisalonglearningprocessandneedunconsciouslanguagelearninginsteadofconsciouslanguageacquisitionbecausewehavenotareallanguageenvironment.Soweshouldcombineexplicitlanguageknowledgeandimplicitlanguageknowledgeandimproveourgrammarability.Thelastbutnotleast,theauthoradvocatesgrammarteachingisnotequaltoweusethetraditionalGrammar—Translationmethodtoteachourstudents.Whenweteachgrammarknowledgewecancombineitwiththecommunicativeteachingsothatourstudents’communicativeandgrammaticalabilitycanbeimproved.Second,theauthorfocusesonthetopicofhowtoteachEnglishgrammar.Therearealotofteachingmethodswhicharerelatedtogrammarteaching.SuchasGrammar-Translationapproach,Audiolingualism,Cognitiveapproach,Directapproach,CommunicativeapproachandTask-basedapproachandsoon.Let’slookatgrammarteachinginsomeofthepreviousapproaches.1.Grammar-TranslationMethodWecanseetheimportanceofthismethodingrammarteachinghistorybecauseofitsname.SothismethodhastakenupthemostimportantpositioninEnglishgrammarteachingforalongtime.Itputsimportancetothetranslationbetweentargetlanguageandmothertongueandteachesstudentsbytranslatingandanalyzingsomecomplexsentences.Thismethodfocusesonthegrammarteachingandemphasizesfocusonformratherthanmeaning.Excepttheexplanationsofgrammarrulesitisrelatedtoalotofpractices.Asforthetwokey9
wordsofthismethod—grammarandtranslation,wecanseethefeaturesofgrammar-translationmethod:1.Instructionispresentedinstudents"motherlanguage.2.Theuseofthetargetlanguageisrare.3.Grammaticalanalysisisthefocus.4.Readingdifficultclassicaltextsinadvance.5.Translatingsentencesfromthetargetlanguageintothemothertongueisthetypicaluseofthismethod.6.Thismethodusuallyleadstosomestudentsunabletousethelanguageforcommunication.7.Theteacherdoesnothavetospeakthetargetlanguage.(Howatt,1984)Intheauthor’sopinion,wecanlearnalotfromthismethodalthoughithassomedisadvantagesaspeopleabusenowadays.ItmaybeatraditionalteachingmethodtoteachEnglishjustbyexplaininggrammarrulesandtranslatingofthetargetlanguage.Soitfocusesonformbutnotmeaning,emphasizesreadingandwritingabilitybutignoreslisteningandspeakingability,payattentiontoexplanationbutneglectscommunicationandsoon.Andweshouldseeitsadvantagessuchastherulesareexplainedwithexamplesandaccordwithalotofpracticesinordertoconsolidatetheknowledge.Emphasizingtheaccuracyandformoftargetlanguageisgoodforgrammarlearning.2.CognitiveapproachCognitiveapproachtreatsimportancetothelearningmethod.Itregardsthetargetlanguageasakindofmeaningfulsystemtobenefitforlanguageacquisition.Anditstheoreticalbasisisthecognitivepsychology.Inthismethod,grammarmustbetaughtandtherearetwomethodstoteachgrammar—inductivemethodanddeductivemethod.ThesetwomethodsareallimportantmethodsingrammarteachinghistoryandtheyhaveeverinfluencedEnglishgrammarteachingforalongtime.Theprocessofinductivemethodisfromtheexamplestothesummaryofgrammarrules.However,theprocessofdeductiveteachingmethodisfromgrammarrulestoalotofpractices.Objectivelyspeaking,thetwo10
areallgoodgrammarteachingmethodsbuttheymaybealittleknowledgeableinsteadofcommunicative.Thismaybeoneofthemostimportantproblemsitneedstoovercome.3.CommunicativeapproachFirst,weshouldassertthepositivefunctionofthisteachingmethod.Itsaimistoimprovelearners’communicativeabilityandittreatscommunicativeactivitiesasthecoreofteachingprocedure.Moreover,itemphasizesrealscenesoflearningEnglishandgroupwork,hopingstudentscanuseproperexpressionsinsomerealsituations.Itisagoodmethodtoimprovestudents’listening,speaking,readingandwritingskillsinthelearningprocess.Itscontentfocusesonthemeaningandsocialfunctioninsteadofvocabularyandgrammar.Sothismethodmayleadtoaproblem,students’mayunderstandthemeaningoftargetlanguageandgraspalotoforalexpressionsbuttheycannotoutputsomesentencestoexpresstheirideas.Thismethodneglectstheimportanceofgrammarteaching.4.Task-basedapproachItisakindofpopularEnglishteachingmethodwhichisusedinmanyareasandisstudiedbymanyprofessors.Thecoreofthismethodistask,soalltheteachingactivitiesandteachingproceduresarecarriedonaroundthecore.Actually,TBLTisafurtherdevelopmentofCommunicativeLanguageTeaching.Inaddition,ithasstressedtheimportancetocombineform-focusedteachingwithcommunication-focusedteaching.Tosomeextent,itmaychangesomeweakpointsofCommunicativeTeachingMethodandthetraditionalPPPcycleofclassroomteaching.Undertheguidanceofteachers,studentsmaytrytheirbesttofinishthetaskstoachievethelearningoflanguageknowledge.Andoneofthebestinspectsofthismethodsisthatitestablishedacertaincontexttoadapttotheteachingandlearningoflanguage.Butfromtheaspectofgrammarteaching,weshouldsaythatithasnotakindofinnovationtobetterstudents’grammarlearning.Moreover,manyteacherswhoareundertheguidanceofthisteachingmethodmayneglecttheteachingofgrammarandalsopaytheirattentiontothecommunicationandspeakingskills.Thisisoneofthedisadvantagesofthisteachingmethod.TheaboveteachingmethodsarealltheattemptstosolvetheproblemofhowtoteachEnglishgrammar.Someofthemmaytreatapositiveviewtowardsgrammarteachingand11
emphasizefocusonformorcombiningfocusonformandmeaning.However,othersmayneglecttheimportanceofgrammarandfocusoncommunicativeability.Butallthemethodshavetheiradvantagesanddisadvantages.AndweshouldbearacriticalopiniontowardsthedifferentideasofgrammarteachingabroadandimprovegrammarteachinginChinathroughlearningandanalyzingthem.2.1.2ThedevelopmentofgrammarteachinginChinaInChina,Grammar-TranslationmethodisakindoftraditionalEnglishgrammarteachingmethod.Andthesymbolofgrammarteachingisthedeductivemethodandinductivemethod.Sothisleadingteachingmethodmaycontributetothephenomenonthatmanystudentsthinkgrammarlearningissodifficult.Forexample,intheGrammar-Translationmethod,theteacherregardsalotofrulesasthemostimportantlearningtasksandthemostimportantthingtostudentsistorecitethegrammarrules.Thentheyshouldanalyzethatwhethertheformsofvocabularyinsomesentencesareconsistentwiththegrammarruleswhichtheyhavelearned.Theteachersalwaysusesomecomplexsentenceswhichstudentsarenotfamiliarintheirdailylifeastheexamplestoteachstudents.Moreover,thepracticesaremechanicalinsteadofmeaningful.Alotofgrammarexercisesaresubstitutiondrillsortransformationdrillsratherthanmeaningfulexercisesincertaincontext.SothestudentsmayknowalotofgrammarrulesbuttheycannotuseEnglishproperlyindailylifeandtheyhavenotthepracticalabilitytouseEnglishtoexpresstheirideas.However,grammarteachinginChinadevelopsandreformsintheargument.Whethergrammarshouldbetaughtornot?Isthereacertainpatterntoadapttogrammarteaching?Isthereabiggapbetweengrammarteachingandcommunicativeability?TheprofessorsandresearchersinChinahavedonealotofresearchesfortheseproblems.Astheinfluenceofforeignteachingmethodsabroadandthedevelopmentofsecondlanguageacquisition,ourcountryhasthetrendtoignoreEnglishgrammarteaching.ProfessorZhangZhengdongsaidthatourtraditionalgrammarteachingfocusmoreonEnglishgrammarknowledgesuchasthestructureofsentencesandtypesoftensethantheactualabilitytouseEnglishindailylife.Fromthenon,mostoftheEnglishteaching12
researchersbegantoignoreEnglishgrammarteachingandemphasizeteachingEnglishforuseandtheimprovementofstudents’communicativeability.However,HuZhuanglingthinksthatalthoughforeignlanguagecircleshaveexperiencedalotoftroublesinlanguagedevelopment,theybegintorecognizeandemphasizetheimportanceofEnglishgrammarteaching,accordingtohiscomparativeresearchesofgrammarteachingathomeandabroad.Moreover,theNewCurriculumStandardputsimportanceonthestudents’abilityofEnglishinactualuse.Atthesametime,ithasnotignoredtheimportanceofEnglishgrammarteachingandweregardthegrammarabilityasthebasisofbecomingagoodlanguagelearner.AndmanyteachershasrecognizedtheunsatisfiedresultoftheexcessivespeakingandlisteningexercisesmaybecoursedbytheneglectingofEnglishgrammarteaching.ZhangZhengdong(2000:10-11)pointedoutthatEnglishisakindofforeignlanguageratherthansecondlanguage.Andtheyhavealotofdifferencesinteachingpractice.Englishcanbelearnedbutnotbeacquisitionedintheperiodofseniorhighschool,inhisarticlenamedTheDifferenceofForeignLanguageTeachingandSecondLanguageTeaching.Sothereisnoneedforustoimitatethelearningpatternsofsecondlanguageacquisitionbutcastawayourtraditionalteachingmethodcompletely.FrommyviewofEnglishteachingpractice,firstweshouldcastawaythetwoextremes—emphasizingEnglishexcessivelyandneglectingittotally.Today’sEnglishteachingandlearningshouldbeconsistentwiththedevelopmentofoursociety.SoasforEnglishgrammarteachingweshouldinsistcombininglearners’languagebasiswithlanguageuseinreallife.Wecannotchangegrammarteachinginordertochangeit.Thesubjectofourreformistoimprovelearners’Englishlearning.Furthermore,agoodmethodisthebestteacher.WeshouldchooseakindofpropermethodtoteachEnglishgrammarinordertochangethepresentsituation.Grammar-TranslationmethodcannotofferareallanguageenvironmentandacertaincontexttobettergrammarteachingandhasnotadaptedtothepresentEnglishgrammarteaching.Inaddition,communicativeteachingmethodfocusesmoreonlanguageuseinsteadoftheaccuracyoflanguageandisanotherextreme.SothereisurgentneedforustofindaproperteachingmethodtoteachEnglishgrammar.Nowwehavediscussedtheprevioustwoquestions—whetherweshouldteachEnglishgrammarandhowto13
teachEnglishgrammar.Andwecangivetheanswertothefirstquestion.WeshouldteachEnglishgrammarassertively.Asforthesecondquestion,manyprofessorshavedonealotofresearchesandputforwardmanyteachingmethodstofacilitateEnglishgrammarteaching.Inmyopinion,IthinktheInquirylearningisakindofgoodmethodtoteachEnglishgrammarandIhavedonesomeresearchestostudythismethod.Wewillknowmoredetailsaboutitinthenextchapter.2.2Inquirylearning2.2.1BackgroundofInquiryLearningThispartisadescriptionofthebackgroundofInquiryLearningathomeandabroad.WecanknowalotofteachingideasaboutInquiryLearningandrethinkaboutourteachingpracticefromthesepreviousresearches.Fromthedevelopmentofwesternscientificeducation,theinquirylearningcanbetracedthbackto18century.TheideaofinquiryisadvocatedbymanyscholarssuchasSocrates,J.J.Rousseau,J.F.Herbart,F.Bacon,J.A.Comeniusandsoon.Actually,aminorityofpeoplewasawareoftheimportanceofinquiryandmostofpeoplestillthoughtthatknowledgecanthbetaughttostudentsdirectlybefore19century.Till1835,GermaneducatorF.A.W.Diesterwegputforward“Discovery”teachingmethodthefirsttimeandadvocatedtoregardinquiryanddiscoveryasthebeliefandmethodineducation.ThenEnglisheducatorH.E.Armstrongmadearoundresearchofthepurpose,content,principle,actionandotheraspectsoftheinquiryteachingmethod.Theytwoleadtheinquirytotheeducationalcircle.thAtthebeginningof20,afamousAmericaneducatorJ.Deweyputforwardtotheapplicationofinquirytothescienceeducationinschooltobetterteachers’teachingandstudents’learning.HeoncesaidintheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofscience,hewasagainstthetraditionalscienceeducationalmethod,whichputimportancetotheaccumulationofknowledgeexcessivelybutneglectthefosterofthinkingpatterns.Deweysaidthatscienceismorethanabodyofknowledgetobelearned.Thereisaprocessor14
methodaswell.In1933,heputforwardinquirypatternandhisstudyandideahavemadeabasisforthefollowinginquirylearningresearches.Thereasonabilityandpracticalityofinquirymakeitbecomepopularandrecognizedbyalotofpeopleinthe1950sand1960s.AmericaneducatorJ.J.Schwabstudiedinquirylearningdeeplyandhisresearchesmadeabigcontributiontothedevelopmentofinquirylearning.In1964,J.J.Schwabputforwardandusetheexpressionof“inquirylearning”atthefirsttime.Inaddition,manyeducatorssuchasJ.Piaget,J.R.Suchman,R.Gagne,J.S.Bruner,D.P,AusubelallmadecontributionstotheimprovementofinquirylearningduringtheeducationalmodernmovementinAmerica.Between1925and1940,J.Piagetputforwardthetheoryofrecognizingstageinthedevelopmentofchildren’scognition,whichmadeabasisforthedevelopmentofinquirylearning.In1961,thetheoryof“DiscoveryLearning”cameupanditwasconsistentwiththetheoryofJ.J.Schwab.Nomatterwhatperspectivestheyfocusedon,theyallemphasizedthepossibilityofinquirylearningandthecreativeeducation.Andtheywerealltheexplorationstothedevelopmentofinquirylearning.Fromthe1970sand1980s,asfortheeffortsbyalotofeducators,inquirylearningexperiencedthestagefromconceptionconstructiontoactualpractice.Anditbecamepopularinmanycountriesallovertheworld.Theytreateditasakindoflearningpatterntobettertheircurriculumteaching.Since1998,Americaneducationalcirclebegantopracticetheprogram-centeredlearningandquestion-centeredlearningtobetterstudents’learningstylesandarousetheirinteresttowardslearning.Thiskindoflearningprogramincludedcooperationbetweengroupmembers,makingdecisionsbythemselves,gatheringinformationandsolvingtheproblemsandsoon.Thepurposeoftheseprogramsistochangethepresentlearningsituationtothediscoveringenvironment.In1999,theministryofeducationinJapanpointedoutthatadding“comprehensivelearningtime”,whichrequiredstudentstoformtheintegratedsocialpracticalabilityandsocialresponsibilitythroughinterpreting,experiencing,apperceptionandexplorationofnatureandsociety.Sotheirimprovementmaybeagoodwaytobetterstudents’learninginterestsandencouragestudents’creativethinkingandexploringspirit.15
Ontheotherhand,ourcountryhasattachedgreatimportancetoinquirylearningandmanyeducatorshavemadealotofresearchesofthisteachingmethod.Before1980s,themainteachingmethodinourcountryisreceivedlearning,whichstudentscanonlylearnwhattheteachersteachpassively.Thenundertheinfluenceoftheinquirylearningtheoryabroad,thismethodbegantodevelopandreceivedmanypeople’sattentioninourcountry.Andmanyschoolsbegantocarryontheireducationalreformandmadealotofteachingexperimentstoexploreawayforbetterourteachingandlearning.In1982,Guangdongprovincedevelopedatopicofexplorationbasedonexperiment.In1983,ourcountrypublishedabookcalledinquiryandexplorationinprimaryscienceeducation.Fromthenon,ourcountrybegantoentertherelatedexperimentandresearchofinquirylearninginelementaryeducation.Moreover,thenewCurriculumReformofElementaryEducationputsimportancetotheflexibleteachingmethodsandcommittedtoimprovestudents’learningability.Thisreformistorenewtheconceptofteachingandlearning,changethemethodsofteachingandlearning,andreconstructtheschoolmanagementandevaluationsystem.Theconceptofinquirylearningisconsistentwiththerequirementsoftheneweducationreform.IntheMarchof2003,thenewcurriculumstandardinseniorhighschoolforfifteensubjectspublishedandalotofprovincesbegantopracticetheteachingexperiment.Thisreformtreatedthechangingofstudents’learningpatternsasthecore.ItemphasizedthatthedesignofEnglishcurriculumofseniorhighschoolshouldbegoodforthelearningpatterns.Atthesametime,ourstudentsshouldmaximizestudents’learningpotentialityandformeffectivelearningstrategiestobetterstudents’independentlearningability.Fromthepreviousreviewofinquirylearningathomeandabroad,wecanseeinquirylearninghasmadesometheoreticalandpracticaleffects.Itisnotonlyanewteachingmethodforwesternteachingdevelopment,butalsoagoodattemptfortheeducationalreforminourcountry.Butwecanseetheapplicationofinquirylearningtoteachinginourcountrystillstaytheinitialstageandalotofteachingpracticesfocusonthesciencedepartmentratherthantheliberalparts.SoasforthedevelopmentoftheapplicationofthismethodtoEnglish,especiallyEnglishgrammarlearning,thereisalongwayforustocontinuetoexplore.16
2.2.2DefinitionofinquirylearningFirst,theOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionarygivesthedefinitionofinquiry—theactofaskingquestionsorcollectinginformationaboutsomething.Sothefirstkeypointofinquiryisquestion.ThedefinitionsarebasedonthedefinitionfromtheNationalScienceEducationStandards(NSES)(NRC,1996)--Inquiryisamultifacetedactivitythatinvolvesmakingobservations;posingquestions;examiningbooksandothersourcesofinformationtoseewhatisalreadyknown;planninginvestigations;reviewingwhatisknowninlightofexperimentalevidence;usingtoolstogather,analyze,andinterpretdata;proposinganswers,explanations,andpredictions;andcommunicatingresults.Inquiryrequiresidentificationsofassumptions,useofcriticalandlogicalthinking,andconsiderationofalternativeexplanations.(NSES,page23)2.2.3BasictheoreticalknowledgeaboutinquirylearningConstructivismConstructivismisoneofthemostimportantpsychologicalbasesoftheapplicationofinquirylearningtoteaching.ThelearningtheoriesofConstructivismincludeknowledgeview,learningviewandstudentsview.First,theknowledgeviewofConstructivisminsiststhatknowledgeisnotthecorrectreflectionofrealityoravalidanswerbutakindofexplanationorhypothesis.Itwillbereplacedbythenewhypothesis.Sowecanknowknowledgecannotbetheaccuracyrulesbutchangeforever.Weshouldchangeourknowledgeableconstructionaccordingtodifferentconcretecontexts.(Chenqi,Zhangjianwei,1998)Fromthispointofview,inquirylearningistheteachingmethodthattreatingknowledgeasachangingknowledgeandalwaysusingacriticalpointofviewtowardknowledge,whichputimportancetotheinquiryandexplorationofknowninformationinsteadoftheoldanswer.SoConstructivismadvocatesweshouldconstructknowledgeinthelearningprocess.Inaddition,thelearningviewofConstructivismemphasizeslearner-centeredandhopethatlearnerscandevelopautonomouslearningandperformpositivelyinthelearningprocess.17
Theyshouldchangethelearningsituationfromreceivingpassivelytoacceptpositivelyandformtheirowninformationstructure,meaning,interpretationandexperiencethroughautonomouslearning.ProfessorChenqiputforwardthatlearningisaprocessofconstructingmeaningpositively.Itisnotakindof“Duck-stuffing”typeofteaching.Weshouldleadourstudentstoconstructnewexperiencebyusingtheirpreviousexperience.Sostudentsshouldbetreatedastheindependentlearnersandtheycanconstructtheirknowledgeaccordingtothepresentinformation.Sothereisneedforustoprovideaninquirylearningenvironmentforourstudentstoexplorethenewknowledgeworld.What’worse,thestudents’viewofConstructivismthinkthatstudentshavepossessedmuchrichandindividualexperiencefromtheirdailystudyandlife.Sotheycanlearnbetterandformfull-scalecomprehensionfromthecooperationinthelearningprocess.SoConstructivistputforwardthattheteachingshouldmakefulluseoflearners’presentinformationoperationanddiscovertheirpotentiality.Studentsshouldconstructnewlearningeffectsundertheirpresentknowledgeoperation.Furthermore,intheprocessoffosteringinquirycapacity,wehavetoprovidealotofactivitieswhichcanbenefittotheirlearning.Andthecultivationofstudents’logicalthinkingabilityandanalysisofjudgmentabilityneedtheinquirylearningpatternurgently.PragmatismTherepresentativeofPragmatismisAmericanfamouseducatorDewey.Heputforwardtheessenceofeducationandtheviewofeducationisdevelopment,educationislifeandeducationisthetransformationofindividualexperience.Heinsiststheopinionoflearningfromdoing.Doingisabetterwaytolearnknowledgeandaccumulateexperiencethanonlylisteningtotheteachers.Deweydividesclassroomteachingintofivestages.First,constructrealcontext.Second,designrealquestions.Third,possessknowledgeequipment.Fourth,lookforthewaystosolveproblems.Fifth,verifythesolution.Thisistheteachingprocedureforthetheoryoflearningfordoing.Itadvocatesstudents’independentdiscoveryandemphasizelearningtouse.Moreover,thistheorypaysmoreattentiontofosterstudents’actualoperationalcapacity,whichprovidesthebesttheoreticalbasisforinquirylearning.Humanistictheory18
Fromtheviewofhumanism,thelearnerisa“wholeperson”whousesintellectual,social,emotional,andphysicalresourcesandisthereforenotmerelyacognitiveinformation-processingmachine(Nunan,1999:300).Theyareindependentandautonomousandhavetheabilitytorecognizeandchangethearoundworldandtheirinnerworld.Humanisticeducationadvocatesthethreepoints—allthestudents,thewholepersonandthefulldevelopmentofeverystudent.Especiallythethirdpoint,Rogerspointedouttheideaoffullyfunctioningperson.Italsoadvocatesoureducationshouldmakeacontributiontotheindividual’sallrounddevelopment,includingthementalaspectandphysicalaspect.Sofromthehumanperspective,everystudentisasubjectiveandindependentindividuality.Weshouldpaymoreattentionnotonlytotheirstudy,butalsotothelearningpatternswhichcanfitfortheirindividuality.2.2.4Characteristicsofinquirylearning1.FreedomAsRichardsandRodgers(1986)pointedout,teacherrolesarerelatedultimatelytoassumptionsaboutlanguageandlanguagelearningatthelevelofapproach.Sointheinquirylearningpattern,everylearneristhemainparticipantorlearningcenterandteachersaretheorganizerorfacilitators.Sothepremiseofthisteachingmethodistomakesurethatstudentsarefreetoexploreknowledgeundertheteachers’help.Sothismaybetherequirementtoteachersratherthantostudents.2.AutomaticityAtthepreviouspart,wehaveknownthatfreedomisacharacteristicofinquirylearning.Soeverylearnerisanindividual,independentandautonomouslearningcenter.Theyareresponsibleforthemselvesandtheycanthinkandexploreknowledgeautonomously.3.ParticipationHarmerdefinestheteacher’srolesascontroller,assessor,organizer,prompter,participantandresource-provider(Harmer,1983:201).Fromtheteachers’newroleswecanseestudentsarebecomingthemasteroftheirlearning.Especiallyintheinquirylearning19
method,itisessentialforstudentstoparticipateinthelearningactivity.Weadvocateeverystudenttakepartintheclasspositively.4.ProcessThenewNationalEnglishCurriculumadvocatesEnglishteachingshouldfocusmoreonthelearningprocessinsteadofthefinalresultoflearning.Inquirylearningisconsistentwiththecurriculumrequirementthattheinquiryforknowledgeisaprocessoflearning.Andtheevaluationisstudents’innovationandcreativepracticeinthelearningprocessratherthanthescoreofthefinaltest.5.OpennessOpennessistheinnerrequirementofinquirylearning.Becausealotoflearningcontentsarefromthelearners’dailylifeandsocialpractice,thescopeissowidethatitmustbemakesuretheopenness.Moreover,wealwaysencourageputtheoryintopractice.Throughtheopeningenvironmentstudentscanlearnanddeveloptheirthinkpatternbetter.6.InteractionInteractionisoneofthecharacteristicsofinquirylearning.Weshouldchangethetraditionalsituationthatstudentslistentotheteachersforeverintomakingteachersandstudentsbecometheequallearningparticipants.Weshouldformthecommunicationbetweenstudentsandbetweenteachersandstudents.Onlyunderthislearningenvironment,canthestudentsexpresstheiropinionspositivelyandrecognizetheirpositionoflearner-centered.2.2.5SignificanceandobjectivesofinquirylearningInquirylearningisagoodwayforteachers’teachingandstudents’learning.Itisconsistentwiththethree-levelteachingobjectivesandisbetterforstudents’participationinlearningprocess.Moreover,itcanimprovestudents’independentlearningandhelpthembecomeautonomouslearners.Mostimportantofall,itisthebestwaytoleadourstudentstolearnpositivelyinsteadoflearningpassively.Theprincipalgoalofinquirylearningistocreatelearnerswhoarecapableoflearninganddoingnewthings,notsimplyofrepeatingwhattheyaretold;tocreatestudentswhoarecreative,inventive,anddiscoverers.(HaoHuizhen:2005:248)Sowetreatinquirylearningas20
agoodmethodtoachieveourgoalssuchasimprovingstudents’exploringabilitytowardsEnglishknowledgeandfosteringourstudents’cooperativespirit,integratingtheirmemoryandcomprehensiontowardsgrammarlearning,cultivatingstudents’informationcollectionabilityandproblemsolvingability,establishingtheirlearningconfidenceandresponsibilityandsoon.Inaword,inquirylearningaimstohelpstudentsbecomeself-learners.2.3TheapplicationofInquirylearningtotheteachingofgrammarInthepreviousparts,wehavedescribedthetheoriesandpracticesofgrammarteachingandinquirylearningrespectively.Thenlet’stalkabouttheapplicationofinquirylearningtotheteachingofEnglishgrammar.Firstofall,theproblemsoftraditionalgrammarteachinglieinthatstudentsarelackofinterestofgrammarandtheincorrect“Duck-stuffing”typeofteaching.Sothegrammarteachingmethodsmustbechangedintoavividmethodtoarousestudents’learningenthusiasm.Furthermore,thenewEnglishCurriculumReformrevisestheaimofoldlanguageknowledgefromthethree-aspects—pronunciation,vocabularyandgrammartothefive-aspects—pronunciation,vocabulary,grammar,functionandtopic.Thisarrangementtowardslanguageknowledgeprovesthatgrammaristhebridgetoconnectpronunciation,vocabularywithfunctionandtopic.Inordertoreachthelevelofexpressingfunctionandtopic,studentsneedtoknowtherulestoconnectthevocabulary.Sotherequirementtowardsgrammarishigherratherthanignoringgrammarteaching.Toachievethegoalofgrammarlearning,weshouldapplyinquirylearningtogrammarteaching.Becauseitisagoodmethodtocombinethegrammarteachingwithstudents’autonomouslearninganditisthebestwaytoarousestudents’learninginteresttowardsgrammar.Butintheapplicationweshouldpayattentiontosomeperspectives.Tobeginwith,inquirylearningshouldbeconsistentwiththecertaincontextinEnglishclassroom.Contextualteachingmeansthatmakinguseofimaginetocreateconcreteandflexiblecontexttoarousestudents’learninginterest.Itisateachingmethodwhichleadsstudentstocomprehendanduselanguagecompletelyinrealcontext(LiJilin,1996).InquirylearninginEnglishteachingclassneedpromotethestudents’participationthroughthedesignofthecontext.Studentsneedparticipateinthelearning21
activitywhichissimilartothereallanguagecontext.Thenthepositivetransferoflanguagecanbeachieved.Second,thereisneedforourteacherstoimprovestudents’communicativeabilityandtheirEnglishgrammaticalknowledgewhenwepracticeinquirylearning.TheapplicationofinquirylearningtoEnglishgrammarteachinghasbeenpracticedformanyyears.Itisprovedtobeagoodmethodtobetterstudents’grammarlearning.Butthereisalsoalotofroomforustoreviseandimproveit.22
ChapterThreeResearchDesignThischapteristhedesignpartoftheresearch.Itincludesfiveparts--researchquestions,subjects,instruments,procedureandasamplelessonplan.Andtherearetwokindsoftheinstruments.Theyarethequestionnairesandtests.Thispartisthewholedesignoftheexperimentanditisthecorepartofthisteachingpractice.3.1ResearchquestionsUndertheleadingoftheNewEnglishCurriculumReform,Englishteachingandlearninghasimprovedalotandisimprovingcontinuously.GrammarisanirreplaceablepartofEnglishlearning.ButmanystudentshavetroubleinlearningEnglishgrammarbecauseofthelackofinterestorthecomplexityofgrammarknowledge.Inallusiontothesedifficultiesstudentssuffered,thisstudytrytofindtheeffectivenessofinquirylearningandexplorewhetherthislearningmethodcancultivatestudents’learninginteresttowardsEnglishgrammar.Therearetwoquestionstoexploreinthispaper.1.Ifstudents’intereststowardsEnglishgrammarlearningcanbecultivatedunderinquirylearning?2.Whetherthedifficultiesinthegrammarlearningprocesscanbesolvedthroughinquirylearning?3.2SubjectsThesubjectsare82studentsfromXingtaiForeignLanguageSchool.TheywereinGradeOneofseniorhighschoolperiod.42ofthemwereinClassOne,40ofthemwereinClassTwo.Classonewastheexperimentalclass,andtheinquirylearningisapplied.Classtwowasthecontrolclassinwhichthetraditionallanguageteachingmethodisapplied.Thetwoclassesweretaughtbytheauthor.Wechoosethetwoclassesaccordingtotherandomsamplingprinciple.Andtheauthortookeverymeanstomakesurethecomparisonbetweenthetwoclassesisobjective.Therewere42studentsintheexperimentalclass(ClassOne),23
including23malestudentsand19femalestudents.TheywereallinthefirstsemesterofthefirstyearinXingtaiForeignLanguageSchool.Therewere40studentsinthecontrolclass(ClassTwo),including18malestudentsand22femalestudents.TheywerealsointhefirstsemesterofthefirstyearinXingtaiForeignLanguageSchool.3.3InstrumentsTherearetwokindsofinstrumentsinthisresearch.Theyarequestionnairesandtests.Theseinstrumentsareusedtotestifystudents’learningdifficultiesandlearningneedandtrytofindtheeffectivewaystobetterstudents’grammarlearning.Questionnairesbeforethestudyandafteritareusedfortestifyingstudents’interestanddifficultiesingrammarlearning.Anditisimportanttoseewhethertheycanbeimprovedornot.Pre-testandpost-testareusedtoknowtheeffectivenessofinquirylearningmethod.3.3.1QuestionnairesThequestionnairecontains12questionswhichareusedtogaintheeffectiveinformationofstudents’interesttowardsEnglishgrammarlearning,motivationofgrammarlearninganddifficultiesinthegrammarlearningprocessandsoon.Therearetwoquestionnairestobeusedinthisstudy—pre-questionnaireandpost-questionnaire.Theyareusedrespectivelyinthetwopointedclassesbeforeandaftertheexperiment.Thepurposeusingthemistotestifytheinfluenceofinquirylearningtowardsstudents’grammarlearning.Whethertheirinterestiscultivated,theirabilitytowardsgrammarisimprovedandtheirdifficultiesareovercomeandtheextraimpactofthestudy.Thepre-questionnaire(seeAppendixI)includes12individual-choicesandoneopenquestion.ThequestionsaredesignedtofindwhetherthestudentswhoparticipatedintheinvestigationhadinterestintheEnglishgrammarandhadsomeopinionsandadvicetowardstheirreceivedgrammarteachingmethods.Thepost-questionnaire(seeAppendixII)alsoincludes12individual-choices.Buttwoopen-endedquestionswereincluded.Mostoftheindividual-choicesarethesameastheitemsinthepre-questionnaireinordertostudythechangethatstudentshavemadetowardsEnglish24
grammarlearningthroughthisteachingpractice.Moreover,thetwoquestionnairesaredesignedtohelpourstudentstopresenttheiropinionsandattitudestowardsEnglishgrammarlearningandexpresstheirsuggestionsandestablishtheirownlearningstylestowardsgrammar.Lastbutnottheleast,theresearcheranalyzedtheparticipants’resultsaccordingtothestatisticsofthetwoquestionnairesandmakethecomparisonoftheresultsbetweenexperimentalclassandthecontrolclassinordertomakeajudgmenttotheeffectivenessoftheapplicationofinquirylearningtoEnglishgrammarteachinganddevotetotheinnovationtotheteachingpractice.Thequestionnairesareusedby82subjectsintwoclasses.Andtherearethreeaspectsofthequestionnaires.First,thequestionnairesareusedtolearnstudents’interesttowardsEnglishgrammar.Second,theyareusedtoknowstudents’ideasoftheimportanceofEnglishgrammarlearning.Third,theyareusedtoinvestigatethestudents’opinionstowardsthenowadaysgrammarteachingmethodsandseethestudents’learningneedtogrammar.Inordertomakethequestionnairesclearenoughforbetterstudents’understandingandanswering,theywerewritteninChinese.Andthereisnoneedforstudentstowritedowntheirnamessothattheycanexpresstheirideassincerely.Thetwoquestionnairesweredistributesandgatheredinaself-studyclass.Theauthorrequeststhatourinvestigationandthestatisticsarejustusedfortheresearchandhavenothingtodowiththestudents’academicscores.Thenstudentscananswerthequestionsinthequestionnairesmoresubjectivelyandsincerelysothatwecangetmoreeffectivestatistics.3.3.2TestsTherearetwotestsforstudentstoseewhetherstudents’comprehensionandabilityofEnglishgrammarhaveimprovedaftertheoneterm’steachingexperiment.Studentswillparticipateinthepre-testandthepurposeofitistoknowstudents’presentlevelinEnglishgrammarlearningandtobetterthecomingexperiment.Afteronesemester’sexperiment,thepost-testisdesignedforallthestudentstoseetheeffectoftheteachingpracticeandtoprovetheresearcher’shypotheses.25
Thetwoteststaketheformofwrittenexaminationandtheymainlyincludeindividual-choices,clause,fillingtheblanksandwritingexercisesandsoon.Thepurposeofthepre-test(seeAppendixIII)istomakeitclearlythatthelevelofstudents’Englishgrammarabilityofthecontrolclassisthesameastheexperimentalclass.Itisusedtomakesuretheeffectoftheinquirylearningisrealandobjective.Theresultofthepre-testcanmakeusknowthestudents’presentEnglishgrammarlevelbeforetheteachingpractice.Thepurposeofthepost-test(seeAppendixIV)istoseetheeffectoftheteachingexperimentandtomakethecomparisonofthegrammaticalscoresbetweentheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclass.Thecontrolclasshasnottheevidentchangebeforeandaftertheteachingexperiment.AndtheexperimentalclasshasachievedgreatimprovementintheEnglishgrammaraftertheexperiment.Thestudents’scoreswouldbeusedastheobjectivestatisticstosupporttheteachingexperiment.3.4ProcedureTherearethreekeyelementsintheprocessofthisstudy.Theyareissuingquestionnaires,doingclassroomexperimentanddoingthetests.Inaddition,therearethreestagesfortheteachingpractice,whichincludetakingpre-testandpre-questionnaire,doingclassroomexperimentandtakingpost-testandpost-questionnaire.Thethreestageslastforoneterm,thefirstsemesterof2014-2015academicyears.Thefirststageincludesthetasksoftakingthepre-testandpre-questionnaire.Pre-testistakeninthetwoclassestotestwhethertheyaresimilartotheEnglishgrammarability.Thetestingitemsincludeindividual-choices,clause,fillingtasksandwritingexercises.theauthorassertsthereliabilityofthestudyaccordingtotheanalysisofthetestingscoresofthepre-testbeforetheexperiment.Per-questionnaireismadeupby12individual-choicesandoneopen-endedquestion.Itisusedtostudystudents’learningneedsandopinionstowardsEnglishgrammar.Thesecondstageisthemainpartoftheresearchbecauseitistheperiodofpracticingtheexperiment.Inthisperiod,thetwodifferentteachingmethods-inquirylearningmethodandgrammar-translationmethodwillbeusedintheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclass26
respectively.Andtheteachingcontentisthesameinthetwoclasses.What’sworse,thereshouldbeacontinuousdevelopmentandleadingtohelpourstudents’study.Thethirdstageisthelastpartoftheresearch,whichincludesthetasksoftakingthepost-testandthepost-questionnairetotestifytheeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningmethod.Thetypesofthetestingquestionsarethesameasthepre-testbutdifferentquestions.Itmustcontaintheknowledgeofattributiveclause,whichislearntduringtheperiodoftheexperiment.Thepost-testusedinthetwoclassesistodistinguishthedifferentgrammarabilitybetweentheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclass.Theinquirylearningmethodwillhaveagoodeffectonstudents’grammarlearningifthescoresofexperimentalclassarehigherthanthescoresofthecontrolclass.Thenwecanseetheachievementofourresearch.Inaddition,thepost-questionnaireisusedinthetwoclassestotestifytheeffectivenessoftheinquirylearning.Theindividual-choicesincludedinthepost-questionnairearethesameasthequestionsinthepre-questionnairetomakesurethedataoftheresearchisreliableandobjective.Thepurposeofthepostistoseewhetherstudents’interesttowardsEnglishgrammarhasimprovedandwhethertheiropinionsaboutgrammarlearninghaschangedthroughtheinquirylearningmethodaftertheperiodofonesemester.Afterthepost-questionnaire,wecanseetheeffectivenessofthisteachingmethodaccordingtothedifferencebetweentheresultoftheexperimentalclassandtheresultofthecontrolclass.Asfortheresultofthepre-test,wecanknowthatthedegreeofsubjects’EnglishgrammarabilityofClassOneisthesameasClassTwo.Soweasserttheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclassrandomly.Andtherearenopersonalsubjectiveelementstomakethedecision.WechooseClassOnetobetheexperimentalclassandClassTwothecontrolclass.Intheexperimentalclass,theteacherwillusetheinquirylearningmethodtoteachstudentsandthecontrolclassisthetraditionalteachingmethod.Andwemakesurethatthetwoclassesaretaughtunderthesameteachingcontentandthesametextbook.Aftertheexperiment,allthesubjectsneedtoparticipateinthefinalexamtoexaminetheprogresstheyhavemade.Thesametestpaperwillbeusedtotesttheeffectoftheinquirylearningmethodandcomparethedifferencesbetweenthetwoclasses.27
Thetwoclasseswillexperiencetwokindsofteachingmethodsaswellastwoteachingmodels.Firstofall,inquirylearningmodelisacomplexinquirycircleanditisrelatedtoalotofperspectives,suchastheleadingoftheoryandpractice;thelearningbetweenstudentsandtextbooksandthelearningbetweenstudentsandtheinternet;thecooperationbetweenstudentsandteachersandamongstudents;theclassroomstudyandthelearningopennessandsoon.Thereisakindofinquirymodelisusedalmostinallthesubjects.Itadvocatesthecontextualdesign,theautonomouslearning,thecollaborativelearning,thelearningtestandtheachievementoftheinquirylearningasthewholeprocedureofinquirylearning.Intheauthor’sresearch,theexperimentalclassistaughtundertheinquiryteachingmodelwhichincludessixsteps.Theyarethedesignofthecontext,theproposingofthequestions,theautonomousinquiry,thecollaborativediscussion,thecommunicationandfinalsummarymadebystudentsandteachersandtheconsolidation.Thedetailsoftheinquiryteachingmodelareasfollows:Step1Thedesignofthecontext.Theteachercanshowsomeinformationorreadingmaterialswhichisrelatedtothegrammaticalthemeorvideofrequencybyusingthemulti-mediatoconstructthecontextandcultivatestudents’interest.Step2TheproposingofquestionsTheteacherproposessomekeyproblemswhicharerelatedtothelearninggrammarknowledgetoleadstudents’thinkingdirection.Step3AutonomousinquiryStudentsareprovidedroomstothinktheproblemsbythemselvessothattheycanputforwardtheirownopinionsandsetuptheconceptofself-learning.Step4CollaborativediscussionTheteacherdividesstudentsintodifferentgroupsandleadsthemtogoongroupworktoexplorethegrammarrules.Thestudentsdotheirtaskstogetherwhichisbasedonthedesignedlearningactivities.Theyshoulddiscusstheproblemswitheachotherandatthesametime,theyalsoneedtoexplorethegrammaticalrulesbyusingtheinductivemethodand28
makesomenotesoftheresultsofeverygroup.Everystudentshouldtakepartinthediscussionpositivelyandcommunicatetheiropinionswitheachotheractively.Step5ThecommunicationandfinalsummaryAfterthediscussion,eachgroupshouldchoosealeadertodothereportandshowtheirresultsabouttheproblem.Thentheteachercanevaluatestudents’achievementstopointouttheiradvantagesanddisadvantages.Intheend,theteachergivesstudentsafinalsummaryaboutthegrammarofthislesson.Step6ConsolidationStudentsarerequiredtodosomerelatedexercisestoconsolidatetheresultofthegrammarlearning.Andtheexercisesshouldnotonlyfocusonformbutalsofocusonmeaning.Inaddition,thecontrolclassistaughtunderthetraditionalteachingway.Thesymbolteachingmethodoftraditionalgrammarteachingisthegrammar-translationmethod.Weusethisteachingmethodtoteachthetargetgrammarrulesincontrolclass.Theteacherisrequiredtoteachallthebasicknowledgetostudents,suchastherulesofgrammar,sentencepatternsandknowledgepointsandsoon.Theteacherleadsstudentstolearnthelanguagepointsonebyoneandthereislittleroomforstudentstoexpresstheirownopinionsonthelearningcontent.Thiskindofteachingmethodtreatsteacherasthecenterofthelearningbutnotthestudents.Soitviolatestheconceptofstudent-oriented.Itisnotagoodwaytobetterstudents’autonomousstudyandcriticalthinking.Thedetailsofthegrammar-translationteachingmodelareasfollows:Step1RevisionTheaimofthisstepistomakestudentsreviewwhattheyhavelearnedaboutEnglishgrammarknowledge.Step2presentationTheteacherpresentsthetargetlanguage,thetargetgrammaticalrulestostudents.Aftertheexplanation,theteacherpresentsalotofexamplestohelpthemtounderstandthegrammarrules.Step3Practice29
Studentsarerequiredtodosomepatterndrillswhichfocusonformtoconsolidatethegrammaticalstructure.Step4ProductionStudentsshoulddosomeclassroomactivitiesbyusingthetargetgrammaticalstructure.Step5HomeworkThestudentsneeddosomerelevantpracticetoconsolidatethegrammarknowledgeofthislesson.3.5Asamplelessonplan1.SamplelessonplanforexperimentalclassThefollowinglessonplanisusedfortheexperimentalclassundertheleadingofinquirylearningmethod.Students:Studentsintheexperimentalclass,ClassOne,GradeOneDuration:45minutesTeachingmaterial:NewSeniorEnglishForChinaStudentsBookIUnit5(People’sEducationPress)Teachingcontent:Attributiveclauseused“which,that,who,whose”Teachingaims:Knowledgeaim:Throughlearningthislesson,studentsareableto:Mastersomebasicwordsandphrases;betterinterpretthemeaningofsomeattributiveclauses;betterunderstandthestructureofattributiveclause.Abilityaim:Studentscanuseattributiveclausesproperlyincertaincontextandexpresssomesentencesaboutthisgrammarknowledge.Emotionaim:Studentscanenlargetheinquirylearningmethodtootherknowledgelearningandothersubjectstohelptheirstudy.Inaddition,students’abilityofautonomouslearningandtheabilityofcooperativelearningcanbeimproved.Teachingimportantpoints:1.Tohelpstudentstodeveloptheirindependentlearning.2.Tocultivatestudents’openedthinkingtowardsthecorrectdirectionofthestructureofattributeclause.30
Teachingdifficultpoints:1.Todesignattributiveclauseswhichareclosetostudents’lifeandcanbettertheirunderstanding.2.Tohelpstudentstounderstandthestructureandthecontextofattributeclausesothattheycanusethisgrammaticalpointcorrectlyandproperly.Teachingmethod:InquirylearningTeachingaids:pictures,blackboard,multi-media,apieceofpaperTeachingprocedure:Step1GreetingsStep2Warming-upEverydayReport(givenbyeachstudenteveryday)Step3Lead-in(createthecontext)Teachershowsaphotooftheirteachertothestudentsandgetsthemtomakeadescriptionoftheirteacherinthepicture.Thenwritedownsomeofthestudents’sentencesontheblackboard.Thefollowingshowssomeofthesentences:Themanisourheadteacher.Hewearsabrownjacketandapairofpants.HecarriesanEnglishbookinhishand.Step4ProposingtheproblemsTeacherpresentsaseriousofsimplesentencesandattributiveclausestostudentsandletsthemtrytocombinethesimplesentencestotheattributiveclausesandtofindthegrammaticalrulesinthesesentences.Forexample,Themanisourheadteacher.HecarriesanEnglishbookinhishand.Themanwho/thatcarriesanEnglishbookinhishandisourheadteacher.Step5IndependentinquiryThestudentsarerequiredtodoautonomouslearning,andtoobservetheabovetwentysentencescarefullyandtrytofindthegrammaticalrulesinthesesentences.Theyshouldthinkandanalyzethesesentencesbythemselves.Step6Collaborativediscussion31
Studentsshouldhaveadiscussionbydoinggroupworktofindthegrammaticalrulesabouttheattributiveclause.Allthegroupmembersneedtotakepartinthediscussionandtalktheiropinionstoothersandtheyshouldcommunicatewitheachothertodotheexplorationtogether.Whentheyneedhelp,theteachershouldparticipateinanyoneofthegroupsasagroupmembertohelpthem.Step7ThecommunicationandfinalsummaryEachgroupchoosesaleadertodotheirreportsandthereststudentsshouldlearnfromothers.Afterallthestudentshavepresented,theteachergivesassessmentstoallthestudentsandmakesasummaryabouttheattributiveclause.Studentsneeddosomenotesandbettertheirunderstandingtowardsthisgrammaticalpoint.Step8ConsolidationStudentsshoulddosomepracticestoconsolidatetheattributiveclause.Step9Homework1.Writeapassagetodescribeoneofstudentsinourclassandtrytousetheattributiveclauses.2.Reviewwhatwehavelearnedabouttheattributiveclause.2.SamplelessonplanforcontrolclassThefollowinglessonplanisusedforthecontrolclassunderthetraditionalGrammar-translationmethod.Students:Studentsinthecontrolclass,ClassTwo,GradeOneDuration:45minutesTeachingmaterial:NewSeniorEnglishForChinaStudentsBookIUnit5(People’sEducationPress)Teachingcontent:Attributiveclauseused“which,that,who,whose”Teachingaims:Knowledgeaim:Throughlearningthislesson,studentsareableto:Mastersomebasicwordsandphrases;betterinterpretthemeaningofsomeattributiveclauses;betterunderstandthestructureofattributiveclause.Abilityaim:Studentscanuseattributiveclausesproperlyincertaincontextandexpresssomesentencesaboutthisgrammarknowledge.32
Emotionaim:Studentscanenlargetheinquirylearningmethodtootherknowledgelearningandothersubjectstohelptheirstudy.Inaddition,students’abilityofautonomouslearningandtheabilityofcooperativelearningcanbeimproved.Teachingimportantpoints:1.Tohelpstudentstodeveloptheirindependentlearning.2.Tocultivatestudents’openedthinkingtowardsthecorrectdirectionofthestructureofattributeclause.Teachingdifficultpoints:1.Todesignsomeattributiveclauseswhichareclosetostudents’lifeandcanbettertheirunderstanding.2.Tohelpstudentstounderstandthestructureandthecontextofattributeclausesothattheycanusethisgrammaticalpointcorrectlyandproperly.Teachingmethod:InquirylearningTeachingaids:pictures,blackboard,multi-mediaTeachingprocedure:Step1GreetingsStep2Lead-inReviewtheknowledgeinlastclass.Presentthethemeofattributiveclausetostudentsandaskwhethertheyknowthisknowledgepointornot.Step3Presentation1.Makeawholeintroductionofthegrammaritemwhichtheywilllearn.2.Makeanexplanationofattributiveclauseandshowsomeexamplestotranslateinordertobetterstudents’understanding.3.Emphasizeandexplaintheprincipleandusageofrelativepronounsbyusingsomeexamples.Step4Practice33
1.Group-worktofinishtheexerciseonpage43.Completeeachsentencebyusingtherelativepronouns.Afterthediscussion,theteachershouldgivetherightanswerstostudentsandmakeasummaryaboutthisgrammaticalpoint.2.Dosomeexercisesingroupsandeachgroupshouldexplaintheiranswersandthereasonstoallthestudents.Step5ProductionStudentsshouldsosomepracticestoconsolidatetheattributiveclause.Step6Homework1.Writeapassagetodescribeoneofstudentsinourclassandtrytousetheattributiveclauses.2.Reviewwhatwehavelearnedabouttheattributiveclause.34
ChapterFourDataCollectionandAnalysisAftercollectingthedataofthequestionnaireandthetest,thenextworkistoanalyzeandcomparethedataofthequestionnaireandthetestbetweenthetwoclassesbeforeandaftertheexperimenttoseewhethertheexperimentalclasshasthesignificantimprovementaftertheexperiment.4.1Analysisofstudents’interesttowardsEnglishgrammar4.1.1Datacollectionandanalysisofthepre-questionnaireThereare82pre-questionnairesand82post-questionnaireshandedouttothetwoclassesandallofthemwerehandedinatlast.Thefollowingarethetwotablesaboutthedataofthepre-questionnaire.Table1Datafromthepre-questionnaireoftheexperimentalclass(﹪)1234567891011121strongly882461613442813245837agree2agree1511261818393411132924263disagree4848341313181147483413244strongly29331688913342613513disagreeTable2Datafromthepre-questionnaireofthecontrolclass(﹪)1234567891011121strongly1482269703944811286436agree2agree8631111136296142219253disagree565028141414145044316284strongly223619651113363119111135
disagreeTheauthorhasgainedthedatafromtheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclassofthepre-questionnaires.Andtheauthorgotalotofinformationthroughanalyzingthequestionnairesofthetwoclasses.First,thedatafromthetwoclassesshowsthatstudentsfromthetwoclassesallstayedinthesimilarlevelinEnglishgrammarlearningandtheynearlyhadthesimilarabilityandcomprehensiontowardsEnglishgrammarlearning.Sofromanotherpoint,theresultalsoprovedthatourresearchcanbecontinuedbecausethequalityofthetwosampleswassimilar.Inaddition,theauthorgettheconclusionthatalmostallthestudentsthoughttheEnglishgrammarlearningisveryimportantintheirEnglishlearning,buttheycouldnotlearnitwellbecausethelackofinteresttogrammarandthedifficultyofit.What’sworse,manystudentsinthetwoclassesthoughttheyhadtheleastinterestinlearninggrammarcomparedtothelearningofvocabularyandtexts.TheytreatedgrammarasthemostdifficultpartinEnglishlearning,whichmayformakindofpsychologicalsuggestiontoimpedetheirgrammarlearning.Besides,almostallthestudentsheldtheopinionthattheyhopetheyhaveroomtolearnknowledgebythemselvesandrejecttheteachingmodeofteacher-centered.Sothereisneedtocarryoutthestudent-centeredteachingmodeandleaveroomforstudentstothinkandteachthemselves.Lastbutnotleast,manystudentssaidthattheydonotuseEnglishindailylifebecausethereisnotthecertainenvironment.AndthoughtheywouldliketouseEnglish,theydonotknowhowtoexpresstheirideasbecauseofthepoorEnglishgrammar.4.1.2Datacollectionandanalysisofthepost-questionnaireTable3Datafromthepost-questionnaireoftheexperimentalclass(﹪)1234567891011121strongly393250473932393713424050agree2agree3437342124423229133229263disagree18241118261816244718181636
4strongly975141181310278138disagreeTable4Datafromthepost-questionnaireofthecontrolclass(﹪)1234567891011121strongly1482270703944811288/agree2agree9631111236286142214/3disagree5650281414141350443147/4strongly21361954111536311931/disagree(Note:thetwelfthquestionisabouttheinquirylearningmethod,whichisnotaniteminthequestionnaireofthecontrolclass.Sothereisnodataforthisquestion)Thepost-questionnairehasalittledifferencefromthepre-questionnaire,whichchangethetwelfthitemandchangetheopen-questionfromonetotwo.Theauthormakesthefollowingconclusionsaccordingtothequestionnairesfinishedbytheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclass.Tobeginwith,itisobviousthattheresultswerenearlythesameasthepre-questionnaireofthecontrolclass.ThestudentsfromthecontrolclassstillthoughtthegrammarisoneofthedifficultpartsintheEnglishthroughoneterm’straditionalteachingmethodlearning.Andalsotheirlearningneedandinterestwerenotcultivatedunderthegrammar-translationmethod.Sotheyhadnotanobviouschangeduringthisterm.However,theexperimentalclasshadchangedalotthroughoneterm’slearningundertheleadingoftheinquirylearningmethod.ThenumberofthestudentsintheexperimentalclasswhothoughttheylikeEnglishandEnglishgrammarandtheywanttolearnEnglishgrammarincreasedalotafterthetest.Inaddition,throughtheinquirylearning,manystudentschangedtheiropinionsfromregardingthegrammarrulesasthemostimportantpartingrammarlearningtotreatingthecomprehensionandusageofgrammarastheimportance.What’more,alotofstudentsthoughtthattheybegantohaveinterestingrammarlearning.Besides,mostofthestudentslikedtolearnbythemselvesaftertheinquirylearning.Theythoughtthattheycanlearnmoreeffectivelythroughlearningbythemselvesthanlisteningtotheirteachers37
passively.Intheend,manystudentshaveknowntheirproblemsandtheirdifficultiesinEnglishlearning,andtheyhavegraspedalotofgrammarknowledgeandtheycanexpresssomesimplesentencesfordailyexpressionbecausetheycanconnectthewordsandphrasescorrectlyundertheleadingofgrammar.Sothelearningofgrammarisoneofthebestwaystoimprovestudents’oralEnglish.Andalltheformerelementsincreasestudents’confidenceandmadestudentsenjoylearningEnglishgrammarundertheinquirylearningmethod.4.1.3AnalysisofthedifferenceFromtheabovefourtables,wecanassertonepointthatthestudents’interesthadbeencultivatedandtheirattitudestowardsEnglishgrammarlearninghadchangedalotintheexperimentalclassthroughthefourmonths’learning.Theexperimentalclasshasprovedtheimprovementbutthecontrolclasskeptnearlythesamepacewiththeirformerlearning.Wecanmakethefollowingconclusionsthroughcomparingthequestionnairesbeforethetestandafterthetest.Firstofall,althoughmostofstudentshadtroubleinlearningEnglishgrammar,theyallthoughtthatgrammarisoneofthemostimportantpartsinEnglishlearning.Nearly60%-70%studentsagreedthispoint.Sothisisakindofcontradictioninlearning.Ononehand,studentsknowtheimportanceofgrammarlearning.Ontheotherhand,theycannotlearnitwell.However,inquirylearningprovidesagoodwayforgrammarlearningtosolvethiscontradiction.Ittriestomakestudentslovegrammarinthelearningprocess.Inaddition,alargenumberofstudentsthoughtthattheylikedlearningbythemselvesratherthanlisteningtotheirteacherspassively.Butafteronesemester’steachingpractice,thestudentsintheexperimentalclasslikedself-learningmoreandimprovedtheirautonomouslearning.Theyneedagoodwaytoleadthemtolearningbythemselvesandthinktheirownthought.Atlast,studentsintheexperimentalclassnotonlymasteralotofgrammarknowledge,butalsolovetheinquirylearningmethodandnevertreattheEnglishgrammarlearningasabigtrouble.Nowtheyhadinterestingrammarlearninginsteadthatthestudentsincontrol38
classstillthoughtgrammarasabigproblem.Wecanseetheimprovementstudentsintheexperimentalclasshavemadecomparedwithstudentsinthecontrolclass.Allinall,throughonesemester’slearning,studentsintheexperimentalclasschangedtheirattitudestowardsgrammarlearningandhadinterestinlearningit.Itisobvioustoseetheirimprovementandwecanknowtheeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningfromtheresultsofthequestionnaire.4.2Analysisofstudents’difficultiesandcapabilitytowardsEnglishgrammarTheoriginalscoresofthetwotestscanbeseeninAppendixIIIandAppendixIV.Andthefollowingstatisticsareusedtoprovethevalidityandthereliabilityofthetwotests.Wecanseethesignificantdifferencesofthetwoclassesinthepre-testandthepost-test,whichprovidedagoodevidencetoprovetheeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningmethod.Thefollowingstatisticsincludethedatacollectedfromthepre-testandthedatacollectedfromthepost-test.Andweneedpaymoreattentiontoanalyzethemeanandthesignificantdifferencesinthestatistics.4.2.1Datacollectionandanalysisofthepre-testDatacollectedfromthepre-test.Table5GroupStatisticsStd.ErrorstudentsNMeanStd.DeviationMeanscoresEC4218.127.2961.126CC4017.956.9021.09139
Table6IndependentSamplesTestLevene"sTestforEqualityofVariancest-testforEqualityofMeansStd.95%MeanErrorConfidenceSig.DifferenDifferenIntervaloftheFSig.tdf(2-tailed)ceceDifferenceLoweUpperrscoresEqualvariances-2.95.055.815.10880.915.1691.5703.294assumed5Equalvariances-2.95.10879.997.914.1691.5683.289notassumed1Fromthetable5wecanseetheresultsofthepre-testofcontrolclassandexperimentalclass.Itshowsthemeanscoresofthetwoclassesare18.12(experimentalclass)and17.95(controlclass),theykeeptheequalityinthetwoclassestomakeusknowstudentsinthetwoclasseswereinthesimilardegreeoftheEnglishability,whichalsoprovedthevalidityandthereliabilityofthetest.Andtable6,presentstherelevantstatisticsofthescoresofthetwoclasses.Thescoreofthesignificantdifferenceis0.915,whichisover0.05.Itprovedthefactthatthereisnosignificantdifferencebetweenthetwoclasses.Sowecancarryonthenextstepoftheexperiment.4.2.2Datacollectionandanalysisofthepost-testDatacollectedfromthepost-test.40
Table7GroupStatisticsStd.ErrorstudentsNMeanStd.DeviationMeanscoresEC4223.008.5631.321CC4018.237.0331.112Table8IndependentSamplesTestLevene"sTestforEqualityofVariancest-testforEqualityofMeansStd.95%MeanErrorConfidenceSig.DiffereDiffereIntervaloftheFSig.tdf(2-tailed)ncenceDifferenceLowerUpperscoresEqualvariances1.457.2312.75280.0074.7751.7351.3228.228assumedEqualvariances2.76578.336.0074.7751.7271.3378.213notassumedTable7showstheresultsofthepost-testofcontrolclassandexperimentalclass.Firstly,themeanscoresofthetwoclasseschangedto23.00(experimentalclass)and18.23(controlclass),whichformagapbetweenthecontrolclassandexperimentalclass.Themeanscoreofthecontrolclasskeepsthesamelevelwiththescoreofthepre-test.Butthemeanscoreoftheexperimentalclasshaschangedfrom18.12to23.00,whichprovedstudentsintheexperimentalclasshavemadegreatprogressaftertheexperiment.Table8istheotherstatisticsofthepost-test.Wecanseethesignificantdifferenceofthepost-testis0.007,whichisbelow0.05.Soitisanevidencetoprovethereissignificantdifferencebetweenthetwoclasses.Alsoitpresentstheimprovementofthestudentsintheexperimentalclass.41
4.2.3AnalysisofthedifferenceFromtheabovefourtables,wecanmakeasummaryfromtheresultspresentedinthem.StudentsintheexperimentalclasshavesurpassedalotcomparedwithstudentsinthecontrolclassintheEnglishgrammarabilitythroughfourmonths’learning.Theexperimentalclasshasprovedtheimprovementbutthecontrolclasskeptnearlythesamepacewiththeirformerlearning.Inaword,students’EnglishgrammarabilityhasbeenimprovedthroughtheapplicationoftheinquirylearningmethodtotheEnglishgrammarlearning.Andasteachers,weshouldreformourEnglishgrammarteachingfromthislearningmethodtohelpourstudentsimprovetheirscoresandtheirlearningconfidence.4.3FindingsandDiscussions4.3.1FindingsWehavewitnessedtheresultandtheeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningmethod.Theresultofthedataafteronesemester’steachingpracticehaveprovedourhypothesesandhavegivenusthebestanswertoourquestions.NowourproblemsinEnglishgrammarteachingandlearninghavebeensolved.Asforourresearchquestions,wecanseethemfromtwoperspectives.Firstly,theresultsofthequestionnairesbeforeandaftertheexperimenthavegivenustheattitudes,learningneeds,difficultiesandinterestofstudentsintheirgrammarlearningprocess.AndwecanseethatstudentsintheexperimentalclasshavechangedtheirattitudestowardsEnglishgrammaralotandhavebeencultivatedsomeintereststolearninggrammarundertheguidanceofinquirylearningmethod.Inaddition,thetwotestswhichweremadeintheexperimentalclassandthecontrolclassbeforeandaftertheexperimenthaveprovedtheinfluenceandeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningmethod.Wecouldgetthestudents’improvementinEnglishgrammarlearningthroughobservingthechangeofthetwotests.Studentsintheexperimentalclasscouldgetmuchhigherscoresthanthestudentsinthecontrolclassafter42
onesemester’sexperiment.Thescorescouldbeapowerfulevidencetoprovetheeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningmethod.Besidestestingtherightfulnessofourresearchquestions,wehavegotmanyotherfindings.Tobeginwith,theinquirylearningmethodisagoodwaytomakeourstudentsclosetoEnglishgrammarlearning.Asforthetraditionalteachingmethod,ithasagreatweakpointthatcannotconnectEnglishlearningwithstudents’reallife.Soitcannotcultivatestudents’interestandsatisfiestheirlearningneed.However,inquirylearningmethodconnectsstudents’dailylifewiththeirlearning,whichconstructstheconnectiontobetterstudentsunderstandingtowardsEnglishgrammarknowledgeandarousestheirinteresttolearnEnglish.Thismaybeanextragainofourexperimenttohelpstudents’learning.Secondly,throughtheanalysisofthepre-questionnaireandpost-questionnaireofthetwoclasses,wecanseethatmostofthestudentsinthetwoclasseswerethirstyforbecomingthemasteroftheirlearningandhavingmoreroomforthemselvestolearn.However,thetraditionalEnglishclassalwaysadoptsthe“Duck-stuffing”teachingmodeandtreatsteachersasthecenteroftheclass,whichignoresthepositionandlearningneedofourstudents.ItmaybeoneofthereasonsthatstudentshavenointeresttowardsEnglishlearning.Theinquirylearningmethodwhichisdifferentfromthetraditionalteachingmethodisthatitregardsstudentsasthemasteroflearningandadvocatesautonomouslearning.Wecanseethatthereisasteptogivestudentstimeforself-studyandself-thinkinginthelearningprocessoftheinquirylearningmethod,whichmakesafoundationtoimprovestudents’autonomouslearningandwinstheirpositivefeedback.Inaddition,thismethodcanalsoincreasestudents’confidencetowardsEnglishlearningandhelpthemformthespiritofcooperationinthelearningprocess.Whenstudentsgivethereportsoftheirgroupsinpublictheyhavethechancetopresenttheirresultsandshowthemselvestoimprovetheirconfidenceinlearning.Andthegroupworkisalsoagoodwaytoarousestudents’cooperativespiritandeachonecanlearnfromothers.Sothismaybeakindofaffectiveinfluencethattheinquirylearningmethodhasbrought.Furthermore,wecanalsofindthatourstudentsintheexperimentalclasshadanoverallimprovementinotherEnglishskills,suchasthelistening,speaking,readingandwriting43
skillsafteronesemester’sexperiment.Becausethetestpaperswehaveusedincludedtheintegratedtestquestions,wecanseethechangebetweenthetwotests.Asthemodeofinquirylearningmethodmanystudentscanparticipateintheexplorationofknowledgeratherthanlisteningtotheirteacherspassively.SotheyhavemorechancetospeakinEnglishthaneverbefore.Moreover,students’improvementofgrammarknowledgehasagoodeffectontheirreadingandwritingskillsbecausetheycanuseEnglishmorecorrectlyandfluently.Besides,therearesomeotherpositiveinfluencesthattheinquirylearningmethodhasprovided.Forexample,student’comprehensiontowardsEnglishknowledgeandtheiranalyticalabilitieshavebeenimprovedalot.Andalotofstudentshavetheconceptoffindingandaskingquestionsthroughtheexperiment.Sothehabittheyhavedevelopedmaybeatreasureforthelearningintheirwholelife.Eventherelationshipbetweenteachersandstudentshaschangedtoamoreharmoniousway.Teachershavemoretimetotalkwithstudentsandcommunicatewithstudentsfrequently,whichconstructsacloserrelationshipbetweenthem.ItcanalsobetterstudentslearningandincreasetheirinteresttolearnEnglish.Mostimportantofall,studentscanrealizethattheyshouldbetheirmasterinlearningratherthanslavesaccordingtothesubstanceofinquirylearning.Weadvocateteachersteachstudentshowtolearnratherthanwhattolearn.Itisthedirectionthatweshouldmakeefforttoinfuture.4.3.2DiscussionsWehaveseentheeffectivenessoftheapplicationoftheinquirylearningmethodtotheEnglishgrammarteachingandstudentsintheexperimentalclasshavemadegreatprogressintheirEnglishgrammarability.Fromtheopen-questionsinthepre-questionnaire,wehaveknownstudents’attitudesandopinionstowardsEnglishgrammarlearning.AndtheyexpressedtheirideatolearnEnglishmoreflexibleandeffective.Moreover,wehavedesignedtwoopen-questionsinthepost-questionnairetocollectstudents’suggestionsaboutInquiry-LearningMethodusedingrammarlearning.Andfromthesubjects’answersandtheresultsofourquestionnaires,wecansummarizethatstudentsareinterestedingrammarlearningundertheguidanceofinquirylearningmethod.Inaddition,theyputforwardtheir44
opinionsandsuggestionstowardsthismethod,suchasputtingforwardmorespecificquestions,distributingmoreproperlearningtaskstogroupmembersandsoon.Furthermore,attheabovepartwehavecarriedononepracticingmodeoftheinquirylearningmethod.Butitisjustonekindofalllearningmodesindifferentcontexts.Weshouldchangethepracticingmodewhentheylearningcontextorsituationischanged.Besides,theinquirylearningmethodisnotsoimpeccablethatitcanbeusedwithoutanydifficultiesandproblems.Weneedseetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofitandtryourbesttosolvethedifficultieswemaysufferinthepracticingprocess.AlsowehopethatmoreprofessorsandteacherscandevotethemselvestotheresearchoftheapplicationoftheinquirylearningmethodtotheEnglishteaching,notonlyontheaspectofgrammar,butalsoonpronunciation,vocabulary,readingandwriting.Andweshouldtryourbesttomakethislearningmethodmoresuitableforourstudents.45
ChapterFiveConclusionThischaptermakesasummaryoftheapplicationoftheinquirylearningmethodtoEnglishgrammarteachingandpresentsthelimitationsofthisresearch.5.1ApplicationofthestudyEnglishgrammarlearningisthemostcontroversialtopicinEnglishlearninginourcountrysinceweattachimportancetoEnglishlearning.AlthoughwehavevalueditatthebeginningofEnglishlearningperiod,wecanhearmoreandmorevoicewhichsupportingthereformtoignoreEnglishgrammarlearning.SonowadaysEnglishteachingandlearningformthephenomenonofneglectinggrammarbutvaluinglisteningandspeaking,whichgiverisetotheresultthatstudentsmaygraspsomeoralEnglishbuttheycannotwriteanyrightsentencesingrammaticalaspectandunderstandanycomplexexpressionsinmanypassages.Italsoformsthebadinfluenceonstudents’readingandwritingabilityinEnglishlearning.SoteachersandstudentsallappealanewkindofmethodtoimprovetheEnglishlearningsituation.ThispaperistryingtotalkabouttheappropriatenessandeffectivenessoftheapplicationoftheinquirylearningtotheEnglishgrammarteaching.Therearetwoquestionstoexploreinthispaper.First,ifstudents’intereststowardsEnglishgrammarlearningcanbecultivatedunderinquirylearning.Second,whetherthedifficultiesinthegrammarlearningprocesscanbesolvedthroughinquirylearning.Andfromtheresultsandanalysistowardsourresearch,wecanseetheappropriatenessandeffectivenessoftheinquirylearningmethod.ItprovidesourteachersanewkindofmethodtoteachgrammarandmakeEnglishgrammarlearningmoreinteresting.ItisnotalsoagoodmethodtohelpstudentstoimprovetheirEnglishgrammarlearningability,butalsoagoodmethodtooffermorechancesforthestudentstoknowhowtoteachthemselvesandhowtomanagetheirstudy.Rememberingallofthegrammaticalknowledgepointsisdifficultandsterile.Butwecaneasilyrememberthemintheexploringandusingprocess.Itisalsoagoodaspectofthislearningmethod.Inaddition,46
asteachers,wearenottheprincipleandourstudentsarenotthepassivepartanymoreinthelearningprocess.Insteadwetreatthestudentsasthecenteroflearningandtheteachersastheguiderundertheinquirylearningmodel.Thisisalsoagoodmodeltobetterstudents’confidence,independentlearning,andinnovativecapabilityintheirlearningprocess.Lastbutnottheleast,weneedseetheadvantageanddisadvantageofthismethodandseetheimmatureofit.Soweneedupdatetheconcreteteachingwaysaccordingtothechangingsituationanddifferentcontext.5.2LimitationTherearesomelimitationsinthispaperandwecanseethelimitationsdividedinthefollowingaspects.Firstly,theauthoronlycollectedafewsamplesofoneoftheseniorhighschools.Andalsoonlystudentsoftwoclassesparticipatedintheexperiment,whichallcontributetothelimitationoftheexperiment.Inaddition,thispaperusethetextbookpublishedbyPeopleEducationPressasthemainresearchmaterial.Butmanyotherschoolsadoptotherteachingmaterialastheirmainteachingbasis,whichmayformanotherlimitationofthispaper.Thelastlimitationisthelimitationoftime.Theexperimenthasonlycarriedoninonesemesterandthesubjectshavenotsomuchtimetoadapttothenewlearningmethod,theyneedalong-termtoadaptandneedgetmoreattentioninthelearningprocess.Soitisthethirdlimitation.5.3SuggestionsforfurtherresearchInaword,everylearningmethodhasitsadvantagesanddisadvantagesandweshouldkeeprevisingandchangingaccordingtodifferentlearningsituationintheapplication.Theinquirylearningmethodisnoexception.ItisagoodmethodtofitforthenewEnglishteachingenvironmentandalsohasitsownweakpoints.Butwecanseetheappropriatenessandeffectivenessofthismethodinthenewteachingreform.Andatthesametime,webelieveitisagoodmethodtohelpstudentstoimprovetheirgrammarlearningandgrammaticalability.Weshouldknowthatwealsohavealongwaytogotosolvetheformer47
problemsintheprocessoftheapplicationanddoadeeperteachingpracticetochecktheeffectivenessofthislearningmethod.Andwehopemorepeoplewillparticipateintheexploration.48
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AppendicesAppendixIPre-Questionnaireforthestudents亲爱的同学:你好!我需要做一个英语语法学习方面的调查报告,这是调查内容,用你的几分钟就可以完成了。希望同学们积极配合,认真作答。谢谢你们的合作!Directions:Readingthefollowingitemsandchooseoneansweramongthegivenfouraccordingtoyourownconditions.Thankyou.(读下列题目,从所给四个选项中选择符合自己情况的一项)1---stronglyagree(非常同意);2---agree(同意);3---disagree(不同意);4---stronglydisagree(非常不同意)No.Items12341IlikelearningEnglish.我喜欢学英语。12342IlikelearningEnglishgrammar.我喜欢学英语语法。12343IwanttolearnEnglishwell.我想学好英语。12344It’sveryimportantforlearnerstoremembergrammarrules.1234记语法规则对于学习者来说很重要。5GrammarisaveryimportantpartofEnglishlanguage1234learning.语法是学英语的一个非常重要的部分。6Learningwordsisinteresting.学单词有趣。12347Learningtextisinteresting.学课文有趣。12348Learninggrammarisinteresting.学语法有趣。12349Iliketheteachertoexplaineverythingtousinclass.我喜1234欢老师在课堂上讲解所有的知识。10Iliketheteachergiveustimetolearnbyourselves.我喜欢1234老师给我们时间自学。11IamnotgoodatEnglishbecauseofthepoorgrammar123452
knowledge.我英语没学好是因为语法知识差。12IdidbadlyinEnglishbecauseIhavenointerestinlearning.1234我英语没学好是因为我没有兴趣。Open-question:Whatdoyouthinkoftheimportanceofgrammarlearning?Doyouhaveanyadviceaboutgrammarlearning?谈谈你对英语语法的教学重要性的看法和对其教学方法的建议。AppendixIIPost-Questionnaireforthestudents亲爱的同学:你好!我需要做一个英语语法学习方面的调查报告,这是调查内容,用你的几分钟就可以完成了。希望同学们积极配合,认真作答。谢谢你们的合作!Directions:Readingthefollowingitemsandchooseoneansweramongthegivenfouraccordingtoyourownconditions.Thankyou.(读下列题目,从所给四个选项中选择符合自己情况的一项)1---stronglyagree(非常同意);2---agree(同意);3---disagree(不同意);4---stronglydisagree(非常不同意)No.Items12341IlikelearningEnglish.我喜欢学英语。12342IlikelearningEnglishgrammar.我喜欢学英语语法。12343IwanttolearnEnglishwell.我想学好英语。12344It’sveryimportantforlearnerstoremembergrammarrules.1234记语法规则对于学习者来说很重要。5GrammarisaveryimportantpartofEnglishlanguage1234learning.语法是学英语的一个非常重要的部分。6Learningwordsisinteresting.学单词有趣。12347Learningtextisinteresting.学课文有趣。12348Learninggrammarisinteresting.学语法有趣。123453
9Iliketheteachertoexplaineverythingtousinclass.我喜1234欢老师在课堂上讲解所有的知识。10Iliketheteachergiveustimetolearnbyourselves.我喜欢1234老师给我们时间自学。11Igraspmuchgrammaticalknowledgenow.我现在掌握了1234很多语法知识。12IlikeInquiry-Learningmethod.我喜欢探究式学习法。1234Open-question:1.WhatdoyouthinkofInquiry-LearningMethod?你对探究式学习法有何看法?2.DoyouhaveanysuggestionsaboutInquiry-LearningMethodbeingusedingrammarlearning?你对在语法教学中使用探究式教学法有何建议?AppendixIIIPre-TestPaper河北邢台外国语学校2014-2015学年度第一学期9月月考高一英语试题第I卷第三部分英语知识运用第一节完形填空(共20小题:每小题1分,满分20分)阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。Wearewarnedbyourteachersnottowastetimebecausetime41willneverreturn.Ithinkitquite42.Whatdoestimelook43?Nobodyknows,andwecan"tseeitortouchitandno44ofmoneycanbuyit.Timeisabstract(抽象的),sowehaveto45it.Timepassesveryquickly.Somestudentssaytheydon"thave46timetoreviewtheirlessons.Itis47theydon"tknowhowtomakeuseoftheirtime.Theywasteitingoingtotheatresorplaying,and48otheruselessthings.Whydowestudyeveryday?Whydowework?Whydomostpeople49takebusesinsteadofwalking?Theansweris54
very50.Wewishtosavetimebecausetimeis51.Todaywearelivinginthe21stcentury.We52timeaslife.Whenapersondies,hislifeends.Sincelifeisshort,wemust53ourtimeandenergytoourstudysothatwe54beabletoworkandlivewellinthefuture.Lazinessisthe55oftime,foritnotonlybringsus56,butalsodoesother57tous.Ifitisnecessaryforustodoourworktoday,58usdoittodayandnot59ituntiltomorrow.Rememberthattimeismuchmore60.41.A.lostB.passedC.missedD.used42.A.importantB.trueC.interestingD.usual43.A.forB.likeC.afterD.over44.A.amountB.qualityC.quantityD.price45.A.thinkB.imagineC.examineD.check46.A.spareB.freeC.enoughD.much47.A.thatB.whyC.becauseD.certain48.A.doingB.makingC.takingD.getting49.A.needn’tB.havetoC.hadbetterD.wouldrather50.A.easyB.simpleC.stupidD.interesting51.A.worthlessB.pricelessC.readyD.little52.A.lookuponB.agreeC.thinkD.believe53.A.spendB.giveC.setD.devote54.A.mustB.shouldC.mayD.would55.A.helperB.thiefC.friendD.teacher56.A.wealthB.healthC.failureD.illness57.A.dangerB.harmC.troubleD.difficulty58.A.helpB.makeC.haveD.let59.A.keepB.remainC.manageD.leave60.A.valuableB.expensiveC.worthD.rich.55
第Ⅱ卷(非选择题共50分)注意:将答案写在答题卡上。写在本试卷上无效。第三部分英语知识运用(共两节满分55)第二节阅读下面材料,用不多于3个单词的正确形式填空(共10小题:每小题1分,满分10分)AskingfortroubleItmusthavebeenabouttwointhemorningwhenIreturnedhome.I61(try)towakeupmywifebyringingthedoorbell,butshewasfastasleep,soIgotaladder(梯子)fromtheshed(棚子)inthegarden,put62againstthewall,63beganclimbingtowardsthebedroomwindow.Iwasalmosttherewhenasarcastic(讽刺的)voicebelowsaid,“Idon’tthinkthewindowsneed64(clean)atthistimeofthenight.”Ilookeddownand65(near)fellofftheladderwhenIsaw66policeman.Iimmediatelyregretted(后悔)answeringinthewayIdid,butIsaid,“Ienjoycleaningwindows67night.”“SodoI,”answeredthepolicemaninthesametone.“Excusemyinterrupting(打断)you.Ihatetointerruptamanwhenhe’sbusyworking,butwouldyoumindcomingwith68(I)tothestation?”“Well,I’dprefer69stayhere,”Isaid.“Yousee.I’ve70(forget)mykey.”“Yourwhat?”hecalled.“Mykey,”Ishouted.Luckily,theshoutingwokeupmywifewhoopenedthewindowjustasthepolicemanhadstartedtoclimbtowardsme.第四部分写作(共二节,满分35分)第一节短文改错(共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。删除:把多余的词用(\)划掉。修改:在错的词下画一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。56
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。Inourdailylife,Iusuallyseesomebadbehavioraroundwe.Forexample,Ioftenheardpeoplespeakandlaughloudlyinthepublic.Itistoonoise.Somepeoplecutinlinewhileotherswaiting.Itmakemeunhappy.Andinourschooldininghall,Ioftenseestudentswastefood.Attimes,peopleseemunfriendlyandoffernohelpwhenothersareintroubles.Forme,myparentsarestrictwithme.Theyoftentellmebehavegood.SoIneverdroplitterabout.AndIneverdrawonthedeskoronthewall.Iampolitelytooldpeople.Ithinkifeveryonecanthinkmoreofothers,we’llhaveabetterlivingenvironment.AppendixIVPost-TestPaper河北邢台外国语学校2014-2015学年度第一学期期末考试题高一英语试题I卷(选择题共100分)第四部分语法选择题(每小题1分,共10分)56.Fromhisface,wecanseethathewasvery________athisdrivingtestresult.A.shockingB.shockedC.shockDtoshock57.Lookatthetimetable.Hurryup!Theflight_____at9o’clock.A.willtakeoffB.istakingoffC.takesoffDtotakeoff58.—Thevalueoflifedoesn’tlieinhowlongyoulive.Itliesintheuseyou_____everyday.—Iagree.A.makeupB.makeofC.makefromD.makein59.__________ofthestudentsaregirls.ATwothirdBTwothirdsCSecondthreeDSecondthrees60.Ifhecomesbackfromwork,I’lltellhimwhen______andvisithim.A.willyoucomeB.doyoucomeC.youcomeD.youwillcome61.______________wasright57
ANomatterhesaidBNomatterwhathesaidCWhaterverhesaidDWhateverhesaid62.I"vebecomegoodfriendswithseveralofthestudentsinmyschool________ImetintheEnglishspeechcontestlastyear.A.whoB.whereC.whenD.which63.IpreferstudyingEnglishathome________thematch.A.towatchingB.thanwatchingC.ratherthanwatchD.towatch64.Billsuggestedthatwe________ameetingonwhattodofortheShanghaiExpoduringthevacation.A.heldB.toholdC.holdingD.hold65.Myuncleknowsseveralforeignlanguages,________English,FrenchandJapanese.AforexampleB.suchlikeC.suchasD.thatis第II卷非选择题(共50分)语言知识运用语法填空(共10题,每个1.5分,共15分)阅读下面材料,用不多于3个单词的正确形式填空Itwas66_______frighteningnight.Thedamcrackedandthen67______(burst)undertheweightofthewater.Thewaterwentalloverthefieldsand68______(destroy)quiteafewvillagesalongtheriver.Somebuildingswerein69______andsomefarmerswere70______(trap)atthetopoftheirhouses.Deadbodiesand71______(injure)animalswereseeneverywhere.Thewaterfilledthecanalsandthe72______(well).Peoplewereshocked73______whattheyhadseen.Buttheyhadto74______thedeadforhealthreasons.75______wasaverysadtime.单句改错:假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改句子,请你修改你同桌写的句子。每句只有一个错误,每处错误只涉及到一个单词的增加、删除、或修改。(共10题,每个1.5分,共15分)76.Idon’tthinkthatpossibletomastertwodifferentforeignlanguagesinashorttime.77.Mygrandpaoftentellsmethethingsandpersonswhomhemetinthepast.58
78.Annehadtoshoutinordertomakeherselfhear.79.Johnhadnotroublewithfindinghisoffice.80.SheisgettingalongnicewithherEnglishstudy.81.Theofficercommandedthatallofthemwouldthinkofwaystosolvetheproblem.82.It’ssofineweatherthatallthestudentsrunouttotheplayground.83WhenwelearnEnglish,trytohaveafunwiththelanguage.84.Heinsistedthathisprofessorwenttoattendthemeeting.85.Thereisaboystudentoutsidewhomwantstoseeyou.AppendixVScoresofthePre-testNo.ScoresofScoresofNo.ScoresofScoresofExperimentalcontrolExperimentalcontrolClassClassClassClass13614221413229823182439172410224132325181152627269106288272097171528242787252915169171930151710151631242259
1119832231412162733101613152434131214934352723152736362014161220371613171414381823182210398151936194013182091241242120234226AppendixVIScoresofthePost-testNo.ScoresofScoresofNo.ScoresofScoresofExperimentalcontrolExperimentalcontrolClassClassClassClass13714222012235923262331618241924419202524960
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AcknowledgementsMysinceregratitudefirstgoestoProfessorZhangJingcai,mysupervisor,forherconstructivesuggestions,valuableideas,greatpatienceandencouragement.Withoutherhelp,thecompletionofthisthesiswouldhavebeenimpossible.IowegreatgratitudetoalltheteachersintheEnglishDepartment.Theirlecturesandinstructionshavebeenofgreathelptomystudy.Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmythankstomyfriendsfortheirconstantconcern,generoushelp,andmeaningfulcommentsonthestudy.Finally,ImustsayIowegratitudetomyparents.Theirloveandencouragementhavesupportedmetoovercomedifficultiesandachievethefinalsuccess.62