元认知策略在初中英语语法教学中的应用研究.pdf 68页

分类号：G652密级：公开学校代码：11065学号：2016021192专业硕士学位论文元认知策略在初中英语语法教学中的应用研究作者姓名田鑫鑫指导教师娄永强讲师专业领域学科教学（英语）培养单位外语学院答辩日期2018年5月17日 AStudyontheApplicationofMetacognitiveStrategiestoEnglishGrammarTeachinginJuniorHighSchoolsTianXinxinSupervisor:LouYongqiangQingdaoUniversity2018-5-17 摘要语法是语言的重要组成部分，英语语法是整个英语教学中不可或缺的一个部分。近年来在国内初中英语语法教学中，存在两个方面问题：教师方面，一些初中英语老师强调语言技能的练习，强调交际教学法，因而忽略语法的教学，而另外一些老师过于强调语法翻译的课堂教学方法而忽视语言知识的实际运用；学生方面，一些初中学生缺乏良好的英语语法学习策略，在语法学习方面存在困难，缺乏语法学习的动力。元认知策略是关于学习策略的策略，越来越多的研究者认识到它在提高学生学习效率方面起重要作用。《我国2011版义务教育英语课程标准》提出中小学英语教师应指导学生运用元认知策略对学习过程进行计划、监控和调节。然而，很少有研究关注英语语法学习中的元认知策略，以初中生作为研究对象的研究更是少见，因此本研究旨在查明元认知策略在初中英语语法教学中的应用及存在问题并提出解决问题的建议或措施。本研究采用查莫特和奥马利（Chamot&O’Malley）的元认知策略分类，认为元认知策略分为计划、监控和调节策略。作者在朝阳中学选取80名初二学生作为研究对象，其中40名学生为控制组，其余40名学生为实验组。作者对实验组进行了为期5个星期的元认知策略培训。为了了解学生在英语语法学习中应用元认知策略的情况，作者在进行该培训之前对所有研究对象进行调查问卷，组织一次英语语法测试以便与培训后的测验做对比，并对4位一线英语教师进行了访谈。问卷调查结果显示初中学生在语法学习中没有主动使用元认知策略的意识。访谈结果显示因为老师没有受过专门的元认知策略培训，他们在指导学生运用元认知策略方面存在困难。两次测试结果明显不同表明，元认知策略培训能够促进初中学生的英语语法学习。基于研究问题和研究结果，作者提出两方面建议：（1）初中英语教师需要更新他们的英语语法教学理念，为学生提供更多有用的学习策略，特别是元认知策略；（2）学生应该积极地运用元认知策略使自己的英语语法学习更加有效率。关键词:元认知策略；元认知策略培训；英语语法教学 AbstractGrammarisanimportantcomponentofalanguage.EnglishgrammarisanindispensablepartofEnglishlanguageteaching.Inrecentyears,therehavebeentwoproblemsinEnglishgrammarteachinginjuniorhighschoolsinChina.Ontheonehand,somejuniorhighschoolEnglishteachersputmuchemphasisoncommunicativeteachingandpracticeoflanguageskillsbutneglectgrammarteaching,whileanumberofteachersstillfocusonthetraditionalteachingofgrammarandtranslationandneglectthepracticalusageoflanguageknowledge.Ontheotherhand,somejuniorhighschoolstudentshavedifficultiesingrammarlearningduetoknowinglittleaboutefficientstrategiesofEnglishgrammarlearningandhavinginsufficientmotivationforgrammarlearning.Metacognitivestrategiesarestrategiesaboutlearningstrategies.Moreandmoreresearchershaverealizedthatmetacognitivestrategiesplayanimportantroleinimprovingstudents’learningefficiency.TheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardemphasizesthatEnglishteachersofprimaryandsecondaryschoolshouldguidethestudentstousemetacognitivestrategiestoplan,monitorandevaluatetheirEnglishlearningprocess.However,therehavebeenfewstudiessofarconcernedwithmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearning,evenfewerwithjuniorhighschoolstudentsassubjects.ThisresearchaimstofindoutabouthowmetacognitivestrategiesisappliedinEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.TheresearchadoptsChamotandO’Malley’sclassificationofmetacognitivestrategiesintoplanningstrategies,monitoringstrategiesandevaluatingstrategies.Altogether80studentsofgrade8inZhaoyangJuniorHighSchoolarechosenasresearchsubjects,40intheexperimentalgroupand40inthecontrolledgroup.Theauthorhasconducteda5-week-longtrainingofmetacognitivestrategiestothestudentsintheexperimentalgroup.Inordertofindoutabouthowmetacognitivestrategiesareappliedinthestudents’Englishgrammarlearning,theauthorhasdistributedamongallthe80studentsaquestionnaireandinterviewed4Englishteachersoftheschool.Besides,apre-testofEnglishgrammarisconductedtothe80studentssothatacomparisoncanbemadewiththepost-test.TheresultsofthequestionnaireshowthatmetacognitivestrategiesarenotconsciouslyusedinEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.TheresultsoftheinterviewsshowthatjuniorhighschoolEnglishteachershavedifficultiesinguidingtheirstudentstousemetacognitivestrategiesintheirEnglishgrammarlearningonaccountof thefactthattheyhavereceivedlittlespecializedtrainingofmetacognitivestrategies.Thetwotestshaveclearlydifferentresults,whichshowsthatthestudentsintheexperimentalgrouphavemadegreaterprogressingrammaraspectsthanthoseinthecontrolledgroup.Basedontheresearchquestionandtheresearchresults,theauthorproposessomesuggestionsintwoaspects.EnglishteachersofjuniorhighschoolshouldrenewtheirnotionofEnglishgrammarteachingandprovidemoreusefullanguagelearningstrategiesfortheirstudents,especiallymetacognitivestrategies.JuniorhighschoolstudentsshouldusemetacognitivestrategiesactivelytoenhancetheirefficiencyofEnglishlearning.Keywords:metacognitivestrategies;metacognitivestrategytraining;Englishgrammarteaching ContentsIntroduction································································································1ChapterOneLiteratureReview······································································31.1MetacognitiveStrategies·······································································31.1.1DefinitionsofMetacognitiveStrategies············································31.1.2MetacognitiveStrategiesasLanguageLearningStrategies····················51.1.3MetacognitiveStrategyTraining·····················································71.2EnglishGrammarTeaching··································································101.2.1ImportanceofEnglishGrammar···················································101.2.2PerspectivesofGrammarTeachinginChina····································101.2.3EnglishGrammarLearningStrategies·············································111.2.4ProblemswithEnglishGrammarTeachinginChina··························12ChapterTwoResearchPlan·········································································142.1ResearchQuestions···········································································142.2ResearchSubjects·············································································142.3ResearchInstruments·········································································152.3.1Questionnaire···········································································152.3.2Interviews···············································································162.3.3Pre-testandPost-test··································································162.4ResearchProcedure···········································································172.5InnovationsoftheResearch·································································22ChapterThreeResultsandDiscussions··························································243.1ResultsandDiscussionsoftheQuestionnaire···········································243.1.1TheGeneralInformation·····························································243.1.2ThePresentSituationofEnglishGrammarLearning··························253.1.3TheApplicationofMetacognitiveStrategies····································273.2ResultsandDiscussionsoftheInterviews···············································343.3ResultsandDiscussionsoftheTwoTests················································373.3.1ThePre-test·············································································373.3.2ThePost-test············································································38ChapterFourSuggestionsfortheApplicationofMetacognitiveStrategies···········404.1SuggestionsforTeachers·····································································404.1.1UpdatingConceptsofGrammarTeaching·······································40 4.1.2InstructingStudentstoUseMetacognitiveStrategies·························404.1.3EncouragingStudentstoWorkinGroups········································414.1.4CombiningExplicitGrammarTeachingwithImplicitGrammarTeaching424.1.5ArousingStudents’InterestinGrammarLearning·····························424.2SuggestionsforStudents·····································································424.2.1AdoptingEffectiveLearningStrategiesforGrammarLearning·············434.2.2AskingforHelpBravely·····························································43Conclusion································································································44Bibliography·····························································································46AppendixⅠ·····························································································49AppendixⅡ·····························································································51AppendixⅢ·····························································································55AppendixⅣ·····························································································59Acknowledgements·····················································································60Statements································································································61 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityIntroductionLanguagelearningstrategiesplayanimportantroleinlanguagelearning.Metacognitivestrategiesarehigherlearningstrategiesusedtomonitororregulatecognitivestrategies(Flavell1978).Manyresearcheshaveassignedgreatimportancetotherolethatmetacognitivestrategiesplayinimprovinglearningoutcomeandachievinglearnerautonomy.InChina,scholarshavealsorealizedtheimportanceofmetacognitivestrategiesinlanguagelearning,strategiesconcerningthinkingaboutorcontrollinglearners’ownthinkingandlearningprocess.TheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard(shortenedas“theStandard”)emphasizesthatteachersshouldguidethestudentstomasterlearningstrategiestoimprovetheirlearningefficiency.TheStandardhasalsoaddedmanagementstrategiesasmetacognitivestrategies,aimingatpromotingstudents’autonomouslearning.AccordingtotheStandard,metacognitivestrategiesareconcernedwithactionsorproceduresofstudents’learningplan,implementationandreflection.Theyareexecutivestrategiesthatcanbeappliedtoalllanguagelearningtasks,includinggrammarlearning.Withonecycleofplanning,monitoringandevaluating,learnerscanbeconsciousabouttheirlearningobjectives,theirprogressesanddeficiencies.Languageknowledgeincludestopics,functions,vocabulary,grammarandphonetics(TheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculum2011).Grammarisconcernedwiththestructureofalanguageandcontributestoproducingsentences.Definitely,grammaroccupiesaprominentpositioninlearningaforeignorsecondlanguage,especiallyontheearlystagesoflanguagelearninglikethestageofjuniorhighschool.Nomatterwhetherwecommunicatebyspeaking,readingorwriting,wehavetohavegrammarinourmind.Howeverimportantthecomponentsofalanguagemaybeinthemselves,theyareconnectedtoeachotherthroughgrammar(Cook2000).ThefamouslinguistWilkins(1972)statesthatwithoutgrammar,verylittlecanbeconveyed.Grammarcannotonlyhelplearnerstoconstructmoreaccuratesentences,butalsohelplearnerstopreventmisunderstandingwhatissaidindailylife.Inthepastdecades,grammarwasfarmoreimportantthanlistening,speaking,readingandwriting.Theobjectiveofstudents’languagelearningwastopassthewrittenexamswhichweredesignedtoteststudents’knowledgeofsentencestructureandgrammar.Inrecentyears,withtheintroductionandpopularityoftheCommunicativeLanguageTeachinginChina,bothteachersandstudentshaveshiftedtoemphasizefluencyoveraccuracyandstresscommunicativeskills.Yet1 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityaccordingtoourinvestigationandresearchofEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,manyjuniorhighschoolstudentshaveaverylimitedknowledgeofEnglishgrammarandamodestabilitytolearnEnglishgrammar.Theyfailtogainmarksduetogrammarerrors.Therearemanyfactorspreventingthestudentsfromlearninggrammardeeply.Fromtheperspectiveofstudents,thelackoflearningstrategiesisclearlyanimportantreasonforthisproblem.Therefore,fortheirEnglishgrammarlearning,studentsshouldbetrainedinlearningstrategies,especiallymetacognitivestrategies.However,sofarfewresearcheshaveaddressedthequestionwhetherandhowmetacognitivestrategiescanbeappliedtoEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.ThuswehavesufficientreasonstocarryoutthestudyofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.ThepurposeofthisstudyistofigureoutthepresentsituationoftheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiestoEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,toexploretheeffectivenessofmetacognitivestrategiesinEnglishgrammarlearning,andtooffersuggestionstogrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Thestudyissignificant.Ontheonehand,byfindingthesituationoftheusageofmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,thisstudywillhelpteacherstounderstandmetacognitivestrategiesbetterandmakemoreteacherstakeintoconsiderationmetacognitivestrategiesfortheirstudents’grammarlearning.Thisthesishasalsodesignedapieceoflessonplanandproposedsomesuggestionsforteachers.Ontheotherhand,theapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschoolswillbenefitlearners,too.Studentscanplan,monitorandevaluatetheirgrammarlearningprocesswiththeguidanceofmetacognitivestrategiesfromtheirteachers.Metacognitivestrategiescanimprovestudents’learningefficiencyandpromotetheirautonomouslearning.Thebulkofthethesis,precededbyanintroductionandfollowedbyaconclusion,isdividedintofourchapters.Chapteroneisliteraturereview,whichinvolvesthreefields:metacognitivestrategies,Englishgrammarlearninganddeficienciesofexistingstudies.Theauthorintroducesthemainstudies,abroadandinChina,ofmetacognitivestrategiesandEnglishgrammarlearning,summarizestheproblemsanddeficienciesinthesestudies.Chaptertwoexplainsresearchplan,whichgivesanaccountofhowtheresearchwillbeundertaken,coveringresearchquestions,subjects,instruments,procedures,anditsinnovations.Chapterthreeanalyzesresearchresultsandputsforwarddiscussionsaroundtheresults.SuggestionsarediscussedbothforteachersandstudentsinChapterFour.2 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityChapterOneLiteratureReviewThischapterisofliteraturereview,includingdefinitions,classificationsandimportantstudiesofmetacognitivestrategiesandEnglishgrammarlearningstrategies,andabriefsummaryoftheweaknessesofthestudies,sothatsometheoreticalbasisisestablishedforourownresearchofhowmetacognitivestrategiesareappliedinEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.1.1MetacognitiveStrategiesInthissection,definitionsandclassificationsareintroducedandreviewedofmetacognitivestrategies,metacognitivestrategiesaslanguagelearningstrategiesandmetacognitivestrategytraining.1.1.1DefinitionsofMetacognitiveStrategies“Metacognition”isoneofthelatestbuzzwordsineducationalpsychology.ThetermwasfirstputforwardbyAmericanpsychologistJ.H.Flavell.Heusesthewordtodenote“one’sknowledgeconcerningone’sowncognitiveprocessandproductsoranythingrelatedtothem”(Flavell,1976:232).Thenhegivesafurtherexplanationofmetacognition“theactivemonitoringandconsequentregulationandorchestrationoftheseprocessesinrelationtothecognitiveobjectsordataonwhichtheybear,usuallyintheserviceofsomeconcretegoalorobjectives”(Flavell,1976:232).Metacognitionissimplydefinedas“thinkingaboutthinking”or“cognitionofcognition”(Flavell,1978:8-19).Scholarshavedifferentopinionsaboutthestructureofmetacognition.Mostscholars,includingFlavell,BrownandKluwe,holdthedichotomousview.InFlavell’s(1976:233)pointofview,metacognitioninvolvestwointerrelatedcomponents:metacognitiveknowledgeandmetacognitiveexperiences.“Metacognitiveknowledgereferstoacquiredknowledgeaboutcognitiveprocesses,knowledgethatcanbeusedtocontrolcognitiveprocesses.”(Flavell,1976:233)“Metacognitiveexperiencesareanyconsciouscognitiveoraffectiveexperiencesthataccompanyandpertaintoanyintellectualenterprise.”(Flavell,1978)A.L.Brown(1987)pointsoutthatmetacognitionconsistsofknowledgeaboutcognitionandregulationofcognition.Knowledgeaboutcognitionreferstoindividuals’knowledgeabouttheirowncognitivecapacityandstrategies,andknowledgeabouthowtoapplythesestrategiestowhatsituationstobringtheircognitivecapacity3 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityintofullplay.(Brown,1987:65-116)Knowledgeaboutcognitioncanbesubdividedintothreeprocessesforfacilitatingthereflectionofmetacognition:declarativeknowledge,proceduralknowledgeandconditionalknowledge.Kluwe(1982:202)holdsthatmetacognitioncanbedividedintotwoparts:metacognitiveknowledgeandmetacognitivestrategy.Chinesescholars(Dong&Zhou,1994)synthesizethesesscholars’viewsandclaimthatmetacognitionincludesthreeparts:metacognitiveknowledge,metacognitiveexperienceandmetacognitivestrategies.Metacognitivestrategies,whichhelptoestablishone’smetacognitiononlearning,isregardedasanessentialaspectoflearningstrategies.Metacognitivestrategiesarehigherlearningstrategiesusedtomonitororregulatecognitivestrategies.(Flavell,1978:8-19)Metacognitivestrategiesaredefineddifferently.MetacognitiveStrategiesasProcessBothJ.RubinandR.Ellisthinkthatmetacognitivestrategiesisaprocess.Rubin(1981)claimsthatmetacognitivestrategiesareusedtooversee,regulateorself-directlanguagelearning,involvingvariousprocessessuchasplanning,prioritizing,settinggoals,andself-management.R.Ellis(1994:583)positsthatmetacognitivestrategiesincludestrategiesofregulatingcognitiveactionsandprocessesaswellasmakingplans,checkingtheeffectivenessofanyattempttosolveproblems,monitoringandevaluatinglearningprocessandlearningstrategies.InChina,thestudyofmetacognitivestrategiesdidnotbeginuntilthe1990s.WenQiufang(2003),whohaspioneeredmuchoftheworkinthefieldofmetacognitivestrategiesinourcountry,putsforwardthetheoryofEnglishlearningstrategiessystemanddivideslearningstrategiesintotwocategories:managementstrategieswhichareconcernedwithlanguagelearningprocessandlanguagelearningstrategieswhicharedirectlyrelatedtolearningmaterials.Hermanagementstrategies,asamatteroffact,aremetacognitivestrategies.Theyarehigherthanandcontrolotherlearningstrategies.Themanagementstrategiesmanagenotonlycognitiveprocessbutalsoaffectiveprocess.AccordingtoWen,theyincludesettinggoals,planning,selectingstrategy,self-monitoring,self-evaluation,andself-adjustment.MetacognitiveStrategiesasMentalOperationsAccordingtoO’Malley&Chamot(1990:44),metacognitivestrategiesarehigherorderexecutiveskillsthatmayentailplanningfor,monitoring,orevaluatingthesuccessoflearningactivity.They(1990:105)notethatmetacognitivestrategiesarementaloperationswhichlearnersusetoregulatetheirlearning,andthattheyinvolveknowledgeaboutlearning,knowledgeofone’scognitiveprocess(metacognitiveknowledge),and4 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitycontrolorregulationoverlearning.MetacognitiveStrategiesasActionsAccordingtoR.L.Oxford(1990:135),metacognitivestrategiesareactionswhichgobeyondpurelycognitivedevices,andprovidewaysforlearnerstoregulatelearningprocess.Oxforddeemsthatmetacognitivestrategiesareessentialforeffectivelanguagelearning.Theyareconcernedwiththecontroloflearners’cognitionandrequirelearnerstoregulatetheirlearningprocessbycentering,arranging,makingplansandevaluating.Wenden(1991)viewsmetacognitivestrategiesasaseriesofactions,whichincludeplanning(preandpost),monitoringandevaluatingbywhichlearnerscanexecuteandregulatetheirownlearningprocess;namely,regulatoryskills,cognitivecontrol,self-regulationandself-directionalsorefertothisgroupofstrategies.Metacognitivestrategiesareacknowledgedasessentialtechniquesforeffectivelanguagelearning.Learnerscanusethemtoregulatetheirlearningprocessthroughplanning,monitoringandevaluating.1.1.2MetacognitiveStrategiesasLanguageLearningStrategiesBeforemetacognitivestrategiesarediscussedindetail,it’snecessarytoexplainaboutlanguagelearningstrategies.Astolanguagelearningstrategies,researchershavegivendifferentdefinitions,whichcanbecategorizedintothreetypes.First,languagelearningstrategiesasapproaches.Chamot(1990)emphasizesonthelanguagelearningstrategiesas“techniques,approachesordeliberateactionsthatstudentstakeinordertofacilitatelanguagelearning,recallofbothlinguisticandcontentsareainformation”.Wenden&Rubinalsodefinelearningstrategiesas“anysetsofoperations,steps,plans,routinesusedbythelearnerstofacilitatetheobtaining,storage,retrieval,anduseofinformation”(Wenden&Rubin,1987:19).Second,languagelearningstrategiesasbehaviors.AccordingtoWeistein&Mayer,languagelearningstrategiesare“behaviorsandthoughtsthatalearnerengagesinduringlanguagelearningwhichareintendedtoinfluencethelearners’languageencodingprocess”(Weistein&Mayer,1986:135).Third,languagelearningstrategiesasprocess.Cohen(1990:4)believesthatalanguagelearningstrategyisalanguagelearningprocesswhichisconsciouslyselectedbythelearner.Accordingtothedifferentcriteria,therearedifferentclassificationsoflanguagelearningstrategies.AccordingtoO’Malley&Chamot(1990:44-46),languagelearningstrategiesaredividedintocognitivestrategies,metacognitivestrategiesandsocial/affectivestrategies.Cognitivestrategiesarecloselyrelatedtocognitiveprocess,5 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitywhichconsistofperceiving,reasoning,remembering,understanding,judging,problem-solving,andinferring.Metacognitivestrategiesinvolve“executiveprocess”inplanningoflearning,monitoringone’scomprehensionandproduction,andevaluatinghowwellonehasachievedalearningobjective(O’Malley&Chamot,1987:242).AccordingtoO’Malley&Chamot(1990:44),metacognitivestrategiesare“higherorderexecutiveskillsthatmayentailplanningfor,monitoring,orevaluatingthesuccessofalearningactivity”.Astosocial/affectivestrategies,itcanbestatedthattheyarerelatedtosocial-mediatingactivityandtransactingwithothers.InOxford’sclassification,twocategoriesareintroduced:directstrategiesandindirectstrategies.Directstrategiesincludememorystrategies,cognitivestrategies,andcompensationstrategies,whicharesimilartoO’Malley&Chamot’scognitivestrategies.Indirectstrategiesareto“provideindirectsupportforlanguagelearning”whichincludemetacognitivestrategiesandsocial/affectivestrategies.WenQiufang(1996:5)reportsthatEnglishlearningstrategiesinvolvetwoaspects.Theformerisinconnectionwithlanguagelearningprocess,whilethelatterisinrelationtolanguagelearningmaterialsdirectly.Learningstrategiesarecomposedofmanagementstrategiesandlanguagelearningstrategies.Metacognitivestrategies,asacomponentoflanguagelearningstrategies,havenotreceivedasmuchasacademicattentionascognitivestrategiesuntilthe1990s.Researchershaveproposeddifferentclassificationsofmetacognitivestrategiesaslanguagelearningstrategies.ThemostinfluentialclassificationsareOxford’sandO’Malley&Chamot’s.Oxford(1990)holdstheviewthatmetacognitivestrategiesareconstituentsofindirectlearningstrategies.Heidentifiesthreecategoriesofmetacognitivestrategies:(1)centeringyourlearning,(2)arrangingandplanningyourlearning,(3)evaluatingyourlearning.Altogethertenstrategiesareexpoundedunderthesethreecategories.Thefirstcategorycentersaroundpersonallearninginwhichlearnersarerequiredtopayattentiontoimportantpoints,overviewandlinkwithalreadyknownmaterials,anddelayspeechproductiontofocusonlisteninginlanguagelearning.Thesecondcategoryisconcernedwitharrangingandplanning,whichconsistsoffindingoutaboutcharacteristicsanddifficultpointsofalearningtask,settinggoalsorobjectives,identifyingthepurposeofalanguagetask,planningforalanguagetaskandseekingopportunitiesofpractice.Thethirdgroupisaboutevaluationofyourlearningprocesswhichincludesself-monitoringandself-evaluating.O’Malley&Chamot(2001)dividemetacognitivestrategiesintothreecategories:planningforlearning,monitoringthelearningprocessandevaluatingtheperformanceoflearning.Planningstrategiesinclude6 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityplanningofaimsorobjectives,learningprocessesandlearningprocedures,whicharevitalforlearnerstostartlearningalanguage.Learnersarerequiredtomakeclearlearningaimsorobjectives,graspimportantanddifficultpoints,arrangetimeschedules,andsoon,beforelearning.Theonlymonitoringstrategyconcernsregulatingormanagingthelearningprocess,bywhichlearnerspayattentiontolearningmethodsaswellastheirperformancewhenexecutingplansorschedulesduringtheprocessoflearning.Theevaluatingstrategyisconcernedwithfeedback.Theyareaboutevaluationsoflearners’progressorshortcomings,theeffectofstrategyuseandlanguagelearningproficiency.O’Malley&Chamotfurtherclassifysevenmetacognitivestrategiesunderthecategories.Therearefiveplanningstrategies:“(1)advanceorganizers:makingageneralbutcomprehensivepreviewoftheorganizingconceptorprincipleinananticipatedactivity;(2)directedattention:decidinginadvancetoattendtoingeneraltoalearningtaskandtoignoreirrelevantdistracters;(3)selectiveattention:decidinginadvancetoattendtospecificaspectsoflanguageinputorsituationaldetailsthatcuetheretentionoflanguageinput;(4)self-management:understandingtheconditionsthathelponelearnandarrangingforthepresenceofthoseconditions;(5)functionalplanning:planningforandrehearsinglinguisticscomponentsnecessarytocarryoutanupcominglanguagetask”(O’Malley&Chamot,1985:557-584).Themonitoringstrategyis“self-monitoring,thatis,correctingone’sspeechforaccuracyinpronunciation,grammar,vocabulary,orforappropriatenessrelatedtothepeoplewhoarepresent”(O’Malley&Chamot,1985:557-584).Theevaluatingstrategyis“self-evaluation,thatis,checkingtheoutcomesofone’sownlanguagelearningagainstaninternalmeasureofcompletenessandaccuracy”(O’Malley&Chamot,1985:557-584).O’Malley&Chamot’sclassificationschemeismorespecificandreasonablethanthatofOxford.Forourresearch,weadopttheirclassificationofmetacognitivestrategiesintoplanningstrategies,monitoringstrategiesandevaluatingstrategies.1.1.3MetacognitiveStrategyTrainingConcerningmetacognitivestrategytrainingandtheeffectofusingmetacognitivestrategiesinlanguagelearning,therehavebeenanumberofinfluentialempiricalresearches.Exceptfewscholars,likeWenden(1998),whocarriesoutametacognitivestrategytrainingwithuniversitystudents.However,mosttraineesthinkit’sauselesstraining.Wendenexplainsthatpuremetacognitivestrategytraininghasnoidealeffectiveness,whichgivesusenlightenmentthatthetrainingwayshouldbeinaccordance7 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitywiththestudents’learningexperience(Wenden,1998:516).Mostresearchersagreethatlearnerscanimprovetheirlanguagelearningbyusingmetacognitivestrategiesorreceivingmetacognitivestrategytraining.O’Malley(1987)chooseshighschoolstudentsasthesubjectstousemetacognitivestrategiesinlisteningandspeaking.Themaincontentofthetrainingisaroundmetacognitivestrategiesincludingplanning,monitoringandevaluating.Chamot&Kupper(1989)conductathree-yearstudyabouttheuseofmetacognitivestrategiesbyforeignlanguagelearnersinordertotestifythatmetacognitivestrategiesarehelpfulforstudents.Carrell(1989)carriesoutaresearchofmetacognitivestrategiesonreadingwith26universitylanguagelearnersofmixedlinguisticbackgroundsintheU.S..Thetrainingincludestwoparts:semanticmappingandexperience-text-relationship(ETR),whichhelpstudentstounderstandapassagebeforereadingbysemanticassociationandmakingacomparisonbetweenthepriorbackgroundknowledgeandnewknowledge.Inordertoimprovestudents’metacognitiveawarenessinwritingexposition,Tabolt(1995)uses“mapping”totrainmetacognitivestrategiesinHongKongUniversity.Theresultsinthesestudiesprovethatstudentswhohavebeentrainedwithmetacognitivestrategiesperformbetterintheirlanguagelearningthanthosewhohavenotreceivedsuchtraining.Chinesescholarshavealsopaidattentiontometacognitivestrategytraining.ThemetacognitivestrategytrainingonEnglishreadingconductedbyJiKangli(2000)choosescollegefreshmenasthesubjectsandconsistsoffourparts:helpingthestudentsbeawarenessofthelearningprocess,evaluatingbythemselves,settinggoalsandmakingplans(JiKangli,2002:20).Ji’strainingaimstofindawaytocultivatestudents’consciousnessofforeignlanguagelearningandtheirmetacognitiveknowledgeofhowtomakefulluseoflearningstrategies.Fromtheexperiment,wecanfindthatmetacognitivestrategiescanhelpstudentstocultivatetheirthinkingability.Withmoreandmoreattentionpaidtolanguagelearningstrategies,itisgenerallybelievedthatsuchlearningstrategiescanbetaughttoimprovelearners’self-learningabilityandlearningproficiency.Althoughnoempiricalevidencehasprovedthatthereisabestmethodofmetacognitivestrategytraining,O’Malley&Chamot’sandWangDuqin’sproposalsarewidelyacceptedforsuchtraining.CognitiveAcademicLanguageLearningApproach(CALLA)isdesignedbyO’Malley&Chamot.CALLAlessonsconsistoffivestages:preparation,presentation,practice,evaluation,andexpansion,whichincludenotonlyteacher-centered,butalsolearner-centeredactivities.Inhisorherpreparation,“CALLAteachersinitiatelearningstrategyinstructionbyfindingoutwhatstrategies8 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitystudentsarealreadyusingfordifferentlearningactivities”(O’Malley&Chamot,1990:209).Onthisstage,teacherscaninterviewstudentsaboutwaystheyusuallyuseforclassroomtasksandalsohelpstudentstobecomeawareoftheirmentalprocesses.Afteridentifyingstudents’currentlearningstrategies,teachersselectandteachnewstrategiesinthestepofpresentation.“CALLAteachersfirstexplainthepurposeandutilityoflearningstrategies,namethestrategytobetaught,andexplainthebenefitsstudentswillderivefromusingit.”(O’Malley&Chamot,1990:210)Next,CALLAteachersencouragestudentsandrepeatedlyprovideopportunitiestostudentsinordertopracticethenewstrategiesindependently.Thepracticecantakeplaceinallkindsoflearningactivities,suchaslargegroupsandpairwork.Studentsalsoneedtoevaluatetheiruseofthestrategiesimmediatelyafterpractice.Theyshouldwritedownthestrategiesusedimmediatelyaftercompletingatask,thendiscussandanalyzetheprocessofusingthem.Inthelaststep,inordertoexpandstudents’useofthestrategiesbeyondtheCALLAclassroom,studentsarerequiredtotransferthestrategiestonewtasks.WangDuqin(2003)presentsatwo-semestermetacognitivestrategytrainingprogramwhichcontainsthreestagesandthreesteps.“ThethreestagesaretheCognitiveStage,theAssociativeStageandtheAutonomousStage.IntheCognitiveStage,declarativeknowledgeofcognitiveandmetacognitivestrategiesistackled.Thenplansaremade,objectivesaresetandtasksaredesigned.DuringtheAssociativeStage,studentsaregivenplansheets,monitorsheetsandevaluationsheetstofillin.Inthisway,studentscanlearntomonitortheirlearningprocessandevaluatetheirprogress.DuringtheAutonomousStage,teachersinstructstudentstomanagetheirlearningprocessandapplythestrategiesautonomouslyandeffectively.Intheprocessoftraining,a3-stepprocedureisadopted,thatis,presentation,curedpractice,andevaluation.”(Wang,2003:43-46)Inthepresentationstep,teachersteachthestrategyexplicitlyby“modellingthestrategybythinkingaloudthroughthetask;modellingthestrategybydemonstratingtheprocessofthinkingwithsketchesontheblackboard;givingthestrategyaname;describingwhen,how,andforwhatkindsoftaskstheycanusethestrategy”(Wang,2003:44).Curedpracticemeansprovidingenoughopportunitiesforstrategyapplicationthroughactivitieswhichincludecuecardsdialogueandsilentresponse.Teachersshouldalsodevelopstudents’metacognitiveawarenessofwhichstrategiesworkforthemthroughself-evaluationactivitieslike“debriefingdiscussionsafterusingthestrategiesandcomparingthestudents’ownperformanceonatask”(Wang,2003:49-50).Withthethree-stagethree-stepapproachadopted,fourmetacognitivestrategiesaretrained,namely,settinggoals,planning,monitoring,and9 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityevaluating.Forourresearch,weadoptCALLAtoconductmetacognitivestrategytraining.Theapproachisrecursiveratherthanlinearsothatbyexplicitstrategytrainingstudentscanregulatetheirownlearningandenhanceautonomouslearning.Forourresearch,theapproachmeansachallengesincefewresearcheshaveconductedaboutitsapplicationingrammarlearning.1.2EnglishGrammarTeachingInthispart,theauthorreviewstheimportanceofEnglishgrammarfirstandthenhasanoverviewofdifferentperspectivesofgrammarteaching,somegrammarlearningstrategiesandproblemsexistedingrammarteaching.1.2.1ImportanceofEnglishGrammarLanguageisthemostimportantcommunicativetoolforhumanbeingsinthatthelanguageitselfissystematicwithacompletesystemofinternalrules.Therulesofwordandsentenceformationinalanguageconstituteitsgrammar.Carrollarguesthat“alanguageisafinitesetofwell-formedsentenceswhilegrammarisaformaldevicewithafinitesetofrulesthatgeneratesthesentencesinthelanguage”(Carroll,2000:34).AsBrownpointsout,“grammarisasystemofrulesgoverningtheconventionalarrangementandrelationshipofwordsinasentence”(Brown,2001:347).Yalden(1981:16)claimsthatcommunicationcannottakeplacewithoutgrammar.Grammarteachingorlearningisobviouslyanimportantpartoflanguageteachingorlearning.Cookholdstheviewthat“theuseofexplicit(grammar)explanationimpliesthatsecondlanguagelearningcanbequitedifferentfromfirstlanguagelearning,especiallyforadultlearners”(Cook,2000:35).Hence,thereisnodoubtthatgrammarhasregaineditsimportantpositioninNationalEnglishCurriculum.GrammarisanindispensablecomponentoflanguageknowledgeintheframeworkofobjectivesinthenewNationalEnglishCurriculum.“Withgrowingconcernaboutaccuracyinlearners’language,moreattentionhasbeenpaidtoareassertionofgrammarinthedesignandcontentoflessonsandeventoformsandrules.”(Hedge,2000)1.2.2PerspectivesofGrammarTeachinginChinaItiswidelyacknowledgedthatgrammarteachingorlearningplaysanimportantroleinlanguageteachingorlearning.Asfarasgrammarteachingisconcerned,therehave10 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitybeenthreedifferentperspectivesamongEnglishteachers:“teachinggrammarasaproduct,teachinggrammarasprocessandteachinggrammarasaskill”(Huang,2007).Teachinggrammarasproductfocusesonteachers’presentationandstudents’practice.Teachinggrammarasprocessthinksthatgrammarteachingshouldprovidestudentswithopportunitiestopractice.Itisrelatedtotask-basedlanguageteaching.Teachinggrammarasaskillemphasizesthatstudentsarerequiredtouselanguageinrealsituations.Allthesethreeperspectivesarebasedontheimportantpositionofgrammarteachinginlanguageteaching.1.2.3EnglishGrammarLearningStrategiesRubin(1981)stressesthatlearningstrategiesmayhelpstudentstomastertheformsandfunctionswhichareneededforcomprehensionandproductioninsecondlanguageacquisition.Cohen(1998:12)holdsthat“learners’learninggrammaticalknowledgemaysometimesreceivebenefitfromtheeffectiveuseofastrategy”(Cohen,1998:12).However,therearefewstudiesaboutapplyinglearningstrategiesingrammarlearning.AccordingtoO’MalleyandChamot(1990:128,206),successfullearnerswouldusesomelearningstrategiestolearngrammarsuchastranslation,induction,deductionandtransfer.Hedivideslearningstrategiesintothreecategories:cognitivestrategies,metacognitivestrategiesandsocialoraffectivestrategies.AllthesethreecategoriescanbeappliedtolearningEnglish,includinggrammarlearning.Naiman(1978)identifiessuchtechniquesbyfocusingonspecificaspectsoflanguagegrammarlearningasfollowingrulesgivenintexts,inferringgrammarrulesfromtexts,comparingL1andL2,memorizingandpracticingstructures.Rubin&Thompson(1994)offereightgrammarlearningmethodsintheirbookHowtoBeaMoreSuccessfulLinguisticLearner:activelylookingforandconcludingself-comprehensivegrammarrules,learninggrammarrules,organizinggrammarrules,experimentinggrammarrules,doinggrammaticalexercisesformastering,avoidingrepeatingthesamegrammaticalerrors,concerningextremeexercise,andhavingthepatiencetolearninggrammar.Theyrecommendsomeconcretetechniqueswhichareusefulforlearnerstolearngrammar.However,thesemethodsareconcernedwithcognition.ChineselanguageexpertshavetheirviewsofhowEnglishgrammarislearned.InhisbookStrategiesforEnglishLearning,ChengXiaotang(2002:74)suggestsinthechapter“StrategiesinLearningEnglishGrammar”thatgrammarlearningshouldbelinkedwithcontextandfunctions,becausegrammarisusedtoenhancecomprehensibleinputandto11 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitymonitoreffectiveoutput.Sogrammarlearningstrategiesfocusonlearningthroughcomprehension,learningthroughinduction,learningfromerrors,andlearningthroughcommunication.InaccordancewiththeexistingstudiesofEnglishgrammarlearningstrategiesabroadandinChina,conclusionscanbedrawnintwoaspects.First,therehavebeenfewstudiesofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginsecondaryschoolsorjuniorhighschools,althoughthereareanumberofstudiesaroundgrammarlearningwithseniorhighschoolstudentsorEnglishmajorsincollegeoruniversity.Second,manyresearchesgivesomegeneralsuggestionsforfuturegrammarlearningorteaching,buttherearefewconcretesolutionsforrealproblemswithEnglishgrammarlearning.Therefore,ourresearchofmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearningisespeciallyvaluableinthatwewillintroducespecificstepsofEnglishgrammarlearninganddesignapieceoflessonplanforgrammarteachingaccordingly.1.2.4ProblemswithEnglishGrammarTeachinginChinaEnglishgrammarisimportantforthelearningofEnglishasaforeignlanguageinChina,especiallyforstudentsoncompulsoryeducationstages.Becauseofthepressureofseniorhighschoolentranceexamination,EnglishteachersinjuniorhighschoolsspendmuchtimeonEnglishgrammarteachingandurgetheirstudentstolearnEnglishgrammarfirstaswell.GrammarpointsusuallyoccupyalargeproportioninEnglishtests.YetwiththeintroductionandpopularityofnewteachingorlearningmethodsofforeignlanguagesinjuniorhighclassroomsinChina,thetraditionalgrammartranslationmethodforEnglishteachingorlearninghasbeenwidelyattackedandforsakenindisguiseinChina.ConsequentlyEnglishgrammarlearninghasdegradedtoembarrassmentanddifficultyinChinesejuniorhighschools.TheproblemswithEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschoolscanbedividedintotwocategories,teachers’problemsandstudents’problems.FromtheperspectiveofEnglishgrammarteaching,ontheonehand,someteachersstillsticktotheold-fashionedwayofduck-stuffingandthetraditionalGrammar-TranslationMethodinEnglishgrammarteachingunderthegreatpressureofseniorhighschoolentranceexamination.“Grammarteachingisdivorcedfrompracticalapplicationoflanguage.Teachersoveremphasizeformsoflanguagesothattheyignoreitsfunctionsandmeanings.”(Cui,2013:44)Englishgrammarisnotonlytaughtinreadingclass,butalsoinspeakingclassandlisteningclasssothatlanguageskillsarenotmuchpracticed.Studentsintheseclassesareevaluatedbyrotelearningofgrammaticalrules12 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityandpassiveacceptanceofteachers’instruction.Teacher-centerednessisregardedasthemainmodeingrammarteaching,whichinhibitsstudents’enthusiasmandinitiative.Grammarteachingisnomorethanexplanationofgrammarpointsanddoingexercises.Ontheotherhand,thewideapplicationofCommunicativeLanguageTeaching,whichcontributestomoreemphasisoncommunicativefunctionsoflanguage,leadstosomeinsufficientunderstandingofEnglishgrammarteaching.Andwiththedevelopmentofnewcurriculumreform,Cui(2013)holdsthatsomeEnglishteachersinjuniorhighschoolsemphasizetheimportanceofstudents’communicativecompetenceandavoidteachinggrammar(Cui,2013:44).Theythinkthatgrammarteachingisnolongerimportant,whichleadstoteachers’ignoranceofEnglishgrammarteachingandstudents’ignoranceofEnglishgrammarlearning.Theseteachersholdtheviewthattheyshouldgetridofoldconceptsandmovetowardstudent-centeredteaching.Totheseteachers,themajortaskofEnglishteachingistodesignandorganizetasksthatstudentscanperformintheclassandthemainpurposeofEnglishteachingistocultivatestudents’languagecommunicativecompetence.Theyattachimportancetoskillsinlistening,speaking,readingandwritingandneglecttheimportantroleoflanguageknowledgeandtendtothinkthatthereislittleneedtoteachgrammar.Studentspracticetheirspeakingandlisteningbyfollowingteachers’instructions.Theoveremphasisontheimportanceoflanguagecommunicativecompetenceandignoranceofgrammarknowledgecauseproblemswithstudents’Englishgrammarlearning.Fromtheperspectiveofstudents,therearetwoproblemsinEnglishgrammarlearninginChina.Onetheonehand,it’sdifficultforstudentstolearngrammaronaccountoftheirweakmotivationofgrammarlearning.Studentsdonotrealizetheimportanceofgrammarlearningsothattheylackawarenessoflearninggrammaractively.“Studentshavenochoicebuttolearngrammarbecauseofseniorhighschoolentranceexamination.Theygetboredorloseinterestingrammarlearningintheprocessofcrammingteaching.”(Cui,2013:44)Moststudentsholdtheviewthatgrammarlearningisdifficultforthemtomaster.Sotheyhavenoconfidenceingrammarlearning.Ontheotherhand,studentsgenerallybelievethatlearninggrammarisjustmemorizingthegrammaticalrules.Therearefewreferencesofthisaspect,whichdemonstratesthatlittleacademicattentionhasbeenpaidtotheapplicationoflanguagelearningstrategiesingrammarlearning.Studentsdon’thavescientificlearningmethodsorlearningstrategies.Scientificlearningmethodsarethebasisforeffectivegrammarlearning.Studentscannotlearngrammarknowledgewithouttheeffectivepresentationandinstructionofteachers.13 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityChapterTwoResearchPlanTheresearchisdesignedandconductedtofindoutaboutthepresentsituationoftheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesinEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschoolsandproposesuggestionormeasuresfortheeffectiveapplicationofthemetacognitivestrategies.Researchquestions,subjects,instrumentsandprocedureswillbeintroducedinthischapter.2.1ResearchQuestionsFortheresearch,theauthorhasinmindthefollowingquestionsabouthowmetacognitivestrategiesareappliedtoEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschoolsandhopestoprovidesatisfactoryanswerstothem.1)WhataretheproblemsordifficultieswithEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools?2)HowaremetacognitivestrategiesappliedinEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools?3)Canteachers’instructionaboutmetacognitivestrategiesfacilitatestudents’Englishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools?Inwhatway(s)?4)HowcanmetacognitivestrategiesbemoreeffectivelyappliedtoEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools?2.2ResearchSubjectsFortheresearch,allthesubjectsarechosenamongthestudentsandteachersinZhaoyangJuniorHighSchool.Forthequestionnaire,altogether50students,30boysand20girls,arechosenfromtwograde8classesoftheschool.Weintendtoselectgrade8studentsasresearchsubjectsbecausetheyarewelladaptedtothestudyandlifeinjuniorhighschools,andtheyarewellexperiencedinEnglishgrammarlearning.Inordertomakesurethatdatacollectingisscientificandauthentic,thetwoclassesarechosenrandomly.Therefore,thesestudentscanbegoodrepresentativesofjuniorhighstudentsintheirattitudestowardsandtheiropinionsofEnglishgrammarlearningandtheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesintheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Fortheinterviews,4Englishteachersoftheschoolareinvitedtovoicetheir14 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityopinions.TheteachersaredifferentinageandhavebeenteachingEnglishfordifferentyears.Besides,theyareallexperiencedinEnglishgrammarteaching.Theparticipantsinthepre-testandpost-testare80studentsfromtwoclassesinthejuniorhighschool.Thereare22girlsand18boysinthefirstclass,chosenastheexperimentalgroup(EG).Thereare21girlsand19boysinthesecondclass,selectedasthecontrolledgroup(CG).AllthesestudentshavebeenlearningEnglishforatleastfouryears.ThesetwoclassesareselectedbecausethestudentshavesimilarEnglishlevelaccordingtotheirscoresinthefinalexamlastterm.2.3ResearchInstrumentsSomeinstrumentsareemployedtoconductthisresearch,includingaquestionnaire,interviews,apre-testandapost-test,aimingtofigureoutthetruesituationofstudentsapplyingmetacognitivestrategiestotheirEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.2.3.1QuestionnaireThequestionnaireisdividedintothreeparts.InthefirstparttherearethreequestionsfromQuestion1toQuestion3,mainlyaboutthegeneralinformationofthestudentssurveyed,includingtheirgender,theirEnglishlevelanddifficultiestheyhaveinEnglishlearning.ThesecondpartincludesfourquestionsfromQuestion4toQuestion7,aboutthesituationoftheirEnglishgrammarlearningintheschool.Thispartaimstofindoutthestudents’generalattitudetowardoropinionsaboutEnglishgrammarlearning,themethodsthattheyuseforEnglishgrammarlearning,andtheirknowledgeaboutEnglishgrammarlearningsuchasmotivationsforEnglishgrammarlearning.ThethirdpartcontainstherestofthequestionsfromQuestion8toQuestion22,aboutthestudents’learninghabitsinEnglishgrammarlearning.ThepurposeofthelastpartistoinvestigatethepresentsituationofthestudentsusingmetacognitivestrategiesintheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Thequestionsaboutmetacognitivestrategiesonthequestionnairearecategorizedintothreetypes,accordingtoO’MalleyandChamot’sclassificationofmetacognitivestrategies,thequestionsfromQuestion8toQuestion11aboutplanningstrategies,thequestionsfromQuestion12toQuestion18aboutmonitoringstrategies,andthequestionsfromQuestion19toQuestion22aboutevaluatingstrategies.Theplanningstrategiesareaboutsettinggoalsandmakingplansbeforetheirgrammarlearning.Themonitoring15 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitystrategiesareconcernedwiththestudentsregulatingtheirlearningprocessincludingwhethertheirlearningperformancesfollowtheirplans,whethertheyapplyproperstrategies,whethertheychecktheirlearningresults,whethertheyreviewwhattheyhavelearned,andwhethertheyanalyzethereasonsfortheirerrors.Byusingevaluatingstrategies,thestudentsadjusttheirlearningmethods,drawlessonsfromtheirerrors,asktheirteachersorpeerstohelptoevaluatetheirgrammarlearning,especiallywhentheirlearningresultsispoor.Theresultsofthequestionnairewhichgiveadetaileddescriptionofthesituationofthestudentsusingmetacognitivestrategiescanhelptheauthortodesignandconductatrainingofmetacognitivestrategiestothestudent.2.3.2InterviewsTheinterviewswiththeteachersarecomplementarytothequestionnairetothestudents.ThefourinterviewedteachersallteachEnglishfromgrade7tograde9.TheninterviewsaimtogainfurtherunderstandingofthecurrentsituationofteachersusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarteachinginjuniorhighschools.Bytheinterviews,wecometoknowhowmuchjuniorhighEnglishteachersknowaboutmetacognitivestrategies,howtheyteachorstudentslearnEnglishgrammar,whatguidanceorsuggestionstheygivetostudentsabouthowtousemetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.2.3.3Pre-testandPost-testAllthe80studentsintheexperimentalandthecontrolledgrouparerequiredtocompleteapre-testandapost-test.Thepre-testistakenbeforetheauthorgivesthemetacognitivestrategytrainingsothattheauthorcanformsoundopinionaboutthestudents’initiallevelofEnglishgrammar.Afterthe5-week-longmetacognitivestrategytraining,thestudentsaretestedagain.Thepost-testisformulatedtoexaminetheeffectivenessofthemetacognitivestrategytraining.Boththepre-testandpost-testconsistofmultiplechoice,fillingintheblankswiththegivenwordsintheirproperforms,completingthesentencesaccordingtotheChinese,rewritethesentencesasrequiredandtranslatingwhichconcernstheusageofthegrammaticalrules.Thevalidityandreliabilityofthetwotestsarealsotakenintoaccount.Thegrammartestswillmainlytakethetextbookasreference.Theyaresimilarinform,difficultyandstandardforevaluation.Thetwotestsaredesignedonlytomeasurethe16 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitygrammaticalachievementinthelearningofthegrammarunderthemetacognitivestrategytraining.2.4ResearchProcedureThewholeprocessoftheresearchlasts7weeksfromSeptember,21toNovember,20,inwhichtheauthorstayedinXJuniorHighSchooltocarryouteverystepoftheresearch.Thewholeprocessoftheresearchcanbedividedintothreestages:thepre-teststage,thewhile-teststageandthepost-teststage.Thepre-teststageisoneweeklonginwhich50studentsarerequiredtofinishthequestionnaire,4teachersareinterviewedfortheiropinionsandthepre-testofEnglishgrammarisorganizedamongthe80students.Thewhile-teststagelasts5weeksfromOctober,8toNovember,14,inwhichtheauthorconductsatrainingofmetacognitivestrategiesforthestudents.Thelastweekisthepost-teststageinwhichthestudentstakethepost-testfortheassessmentoftheeffectofthetraining.ThePre-testStageInthepre-teststage,atfirst,theauthorselectstwoclassesastheresearchsubjectswhichhavethesimilarscoresaccordingtotheirlastfinalexam.Oneisselectedrandomlyastheexperimentalgroup.Theotherisconsideredascontrolledgroup.Thenthequestionnaireandinterviewsareconducted.Theauthorchooses50studentsfromeachofthetwoclassestofinishthequestionnaire.Thequestionnairewhichaimstofindoutthecurrentsituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearningshowsstudents’generalbeliefsandtheirlearningstylesorhabitsaboutgrammarlearning.Theinterviewstotheteachersareregardedascomplementarydescriptionstoinvestigatethepresentsituationoftheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearning.Atlast,studentsfrombothexperimentalgroupandcontrolledgrouparerequiredtoconductthepre-testtomakeacontrastwiththepost-testinscores.TheWhile-testStageInthewhileteststage,theauthorspends5weeksconductingthemetacognitivestrategytraining.Onthisstage,boththeexperimentalgroupandcontrolledgrouphavetheirEnglishclassesasusual.TheonlydifferencebetweenthetwogroupsisthateverySaturdayafternoontheexperimentalgroupisgivenadditionalinstructionofmetacognitivestrategiesfortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.OnthebasisofO’MalleyandChamot(1994)metacognitivestrategytrainingmodelnamedCognitiveAcademicLanguageLearningApproach(CALLA),ourtrainingconsistsoffivesteps:preparation,17 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitypresentation,practice,evaluationandexpansion.Step1:PreparationThisstepconcentratesonhelpingstudentstorecognizethestrategiestheyalreadyuseandintroducingsomeusefulstrategiesincludingbothcognitivestrategiesandmetacognitivestrategies.Soatfirst,thestudentsarerequiredtoreflectontheirlearningprocessandrecognizethestrategiestheyuseinlearninggrammar.Thentheinstructorprovidesadescriptionofsomelearningstrategieswhichofthemostimportantaremetacognitivestrategies.Flavell(1979:907)holdstheviewthatmetacognitionconsistsoftwointerrelatedcomponents:metacognitiveknowledgeandmetacognitiveexperience(Flavell,1979:907).Thelatterisbasedontheformer.Soourmetacognitivestrategytrainingbeginswithmetacognitiveknowledge.Accordingtowhetheritfocusesonthelearners,thelearningtasksorthelearningprocess,metacognitiveknowledgeisrelatedtothreevariables,thepersonvariable,thetaskvariableandthestrategyvariable.Knowledgeofthepersonvariableconsistsofgeneralknowledgeofcognitiveandaffectivefactorsstudentshaveacquiredtofacilitatetheirlearning,andknowledgeofstudents’ownlearningprocess.Knowledgeofthetaskvariableinvolvesthepurposeofataskandhowitwillsatisfytheneedsoflearner’slanguagelearning,theinformationaboutthenatureofatask,andinformationaboutatask’sdemands.Knowledgeofthestrategyvariablereferstoknowledgeaboutchoosingeffectivestrategiesforaparticulartasktopromotelearners’languagelearning.Johnsonbrothers(2008:15-16)havefoundthatcooperativelearningcanencouragestudentstousehigh-levelstrategies,generatenewideasandsolutions,transferwhatthey’velearnedtowhattheycandoinrealcontextsandarouseintrinsicmotivation(D.W.Johnson&R.T.Johnson,2008:15-16).Forthisreason,thestudentsintheexperimentalgrouparedividedintosixgroupssothattheycancooperatewithinthesegroupsforthetraining.Theauthortakesintoaccountthethreecategoriesofknowledgeanddesignsthefollowingeightquestionsforgroupdiscussion:(1)WhatdoyoulearnEnglishfor?(2)Doyouthinkit’simportanttolearnEnglishgrammar?(3)AreyouinterestedinlearningEnglishgrammar?(4)DoyouhavedifficultiesincatchingnewEnglishstructureswhentheyappearforthefirsttime?(5)DoyouhavedifficultiesinrelatingnewEnglishstructurestotheonesyouhavelearned?18 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity(6)DoyoupaymuchattentiontogrammarlearningandspendlargeamountoftimeandenergyonEnglishgrammarlearning?(7)HaveyoumadeaplanforyourEnglishgrammarlearning?(8)DoyouoftenreviewyourEnglishexercisesafterdoingthem?(9)WhatarethemethodsandstrategiesthatyouusuallyuseforyourEnglishgrammarlearning?Thefirstthreequestions,aroundthepersonvariable,demonstratethestudents’attitudetowardEnglishgrammarandtheirmotivationoflearningEnglish.Question4toQuestion6canhelpthestudentstogainadeepunderstandingoftheirdifficultiesingrammarlearningandreflectonwhethertheyfocusonlearninggrammar.Theauthorbelievesthatstudentsinjuniorhighschoolsdon’tconsidermuchaboutwhattheylearnEnglishfor.SothesequestionscanmakestudentsthinkseriouslyabouttheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Thelastthreequestionsarerelatedtothestrategyvariable.Intheirdiscussions,thestudentscanrecallwhatmethodstheyusuallyuse.However,theycan’tknowwhatstrategiesthemethodsbelongto.Thestudentshavementionedmethodssuchasrepetition,note-taking,deduction,induction,keywords,andtranslation.AllthesemethodsbelongtocognitivestrategiesaccordingtoO’Malley&Chamot(1985:34).Thestudentsshoulduseproperstrategiesaccordingtotaskvariableandspecificcircumstances.Asthediscussionsshown,theinstructorhasidentifiedthestudents’littleknowledgeoflearningstrategies.Soatfirst,theinstructorintroducesfourtypesofstrategiesbrieflyincludingcognitivestrategies,resourcestrategies,affectivestrategies,andsocialstrategies.Cognitivestrategiesinvolvetakingnotesintheclass,doingcorrespondingexercisestoconsolidategrammar,summarizingspecialcasesofgrammar,practicingmechanicallysuchasrecitingsentencespattern,induction,deduction,contextualizationandtranslation.Byresourcestrategies,thestudentscanovercomegrammardifficultiesbyreferringtodictionariesorgrammarbooks,consultorlearngrammaticalknowledgebysurfingontheInternet.Byaffectivestrategies,thestudentsaresupposedtodeveloppositiveattitudetowardEnglishgrammarlearning.Bysocialstrategies,thestudentsareencouragedtoasktheirEnglishteachersorclassmatesforhelpandexchangegrammarlearningexperiencewithpeers.Interestingexamplesaregiventoshowhowthesestrategiesareeffectivelyused.Thentheinstructorpresentsthestudentswithsomebasicknowledgeofmetacognitivestrategieswhichinvolvethedefinitionofmetacognitionandmetacognitivestrategies,theclassificationofmetacognitivestrategies.Introductionof19 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitymetacognitivestrategiesisakeypartofthisstep.Asweallknown,itisimpossibleforstudentsinjuniorhighschoolstounderstandthatmetacognitionis“thinkingofthinking”or“cognitionofcognition”andmetacognitivestrategiesareregardedasmentaloperations.Sotheauthordecidestoexplaintheknowledgeofmetacognitivestrategiesbasedontheclassificationofmetacognitivestrategies.Metacognitivestrategiesaredividedintoplanningstrategies,monitoringstrategiesandevaluatingstrategies.Theinstructortriestoraisethestudents’metacognitiveawarenessinpreparationstep.Step2:PresentationThisstepaimstoshowhowtousemetacognitivestrategies,whenandwheretousethem.Sotheinstructorprovidesagrammarlessontodemonstratetheprocedureofusingmetacognitivestrategiesandtheeffectivenessofmetacognitivestrategies.TheauthorselectsUnit4,GoForItBook4publishedbyPeople’sEducationPress.Forthisunitlearning,studentsshouldlearnanewgrammarpoint:thesuperlativedegree.InUnit3,thestudentshavelearnedcomparativedegree,soit’snotdifficultforthemtolearnsuperlativedegree.Afterlearningthisunit,thestudentscanusethecomparativedegreeandthesuperlativedegreetocomparedifferentthings.Atthebeginningoftheclass,thestudentsarerequiredtowriteashort-termplanwhichincludestheirtimedistribution,strategiestheywanttochoose,whethertheytakenotes,howlongtheyreviewgrammar,andsoon.Thentheinstructorprovidessomeexercisesasleading-intohelpthestudentstoreviewthecomparativedegreethattheyhavelearned.Next,theinstructorusestheinductivemethodtoteachsuperlativedegreesothatthestudentscanrealizegrammarruleswithoutanyformofexplicitexplanation.Intheclass,theinstructorshowsapictureonwhichtherearethreeboysTom,JohnandBobofdifferentheights.Thentheinstructorgivessentenceslike:JohnistallerthanBob.TomistallerthanJohn.SoTomisthetallestboy.Afterseveralsimilarexamples,thestudentseasilynoticethedifferencebetweenthecomparativedegreeandthesuperlativedegree.Attheendofthisstep,theinstructorasksthestudentstoinducethetwopoints:thecomparativedegreeexpressescomparisonbetweentwothings,whilethesuperlativedegreeexpressescomparisonamongthreethingsormore.Step3:PracticeInthisstep,thestudentsareinvitedtopracticethenewly-presentedgrammarpointin20 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityordertoconfirmwhethertheyhavemasteredthesuperlativedegree.Atthebeginning,thestudentsarerequiredtodosomemechanicalpracticeasinthefollowingactivitieswithsomeprompts.Activity1:small→smaller→?large→larger→?big→bigger→?easy→easier→?beautiful→morebeautiful→?Activity2:What’sthebestmovietheater?Thebestmovietheaterhasthebiggestscreen/themostcomfortableseats/thebestservice/.Thestudentsarerecommendedtofinishtheseexercisesbyusingdifferentlearningstrategiessuchastranslationandlookingupinthedictionary.Whenperformingtheseexercises,studentsareencouragedtoconsulttheirteacherorclassmatesforanydifficultiestheycomeacross.Thisprocessmeansthatthestudentscanmonitortheirlearningstrategiesforgrammarlearning.Forexample,ifthestudentsfinditishardforthemtofinishactivity1,theymayusethestrategyof“elaboration”todotheactivity.Elaborationmeansrelatingnewinformationtopriorknowledge.Theycanfillintheblankswithsuperlativeformsaccordingtocomparativeforms.Inordertofinishactivity2,theinstructorcanusemindmappingtoinspireherstudents.Abouthowtochoosethebestmovietheater,thestudentscangiveanswersfromthreeaspects:service,qualityandprices.Inthemechanicalpractice,thestudentspayrepeatedattentiontothekeyelementsofthestructure.Thentheinstructordesignsameaningfulpractice:Findthesuperstarsinyourclasslikethefastestrunner,themosttalenteddancerandsoon.Thestudentsarerequiredtodiscusswiththeirgroupsandwritedownthenamesofthe“superstars”.Iftheyhavedifficulties,theycanasktheirteacherorclassmatesforhelpintheprocessofgroupdiscussion.Thispracticecanchecktheirmasterydegreeofthesuperlativedegree.Step4:EvaluationThisstepaimstonotonlycheckhowmuchstudentshavemasteredthenewstructure,butalsoevaluatewhethertheyaresuccessfulinemployingnewlearningstrategies.Thestudentsshoulddiscussthesequestionswiththeirgroupmembers.(1)HaveIpaidspecialattentiontothekeyanddifficultgrammaticalpoints?(2)HaveIrelatedthisparttowhatIhavelearned?(3)HaveImadeaclearplanforthelearningofsuperlativedegree?(4)HaveIappliedthenewstrategiestogrammarlearningasdemonstratedbytheteacher?(5)HaveIconsideredwhatstrategiesworkbestforthegrammarlearning?(6)HaveInoticedthisstructurewhenreadingandlistening?21 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity(7)HaveIcheckedforaccuracyafterdoinggrammarexercises?Throughansweringthesequestionsthestudentscanrecallwhatlearningstrategiestheyuseandwhetherthesestrategiesareusefulintheprocessofgrammarlearning.Theymakeself-evaluationabouttheirownperformanceintheexercisessothattheycanknowabouttheirstrongandweakpointsandfurtherdevelopself-evaluationinsightsintheprocessofgrammarlearning.Thestudents’self-evaluationisfollowedbytheteacher’sevaluation.Theteacherassessesnotonlywhetherandwhatstrategiesstudentsusebutalsotheeffectoftheuseofthestrategiesandtheirlanguagelearningproficiency.It’sunrealisticfortheteachertoevaluateeverystudenteveryday.Whattheteachercandoislimited.Opportunitiesshouldbegiventostudentstotalkwiththeirpeersabouttheirperformanceincludingbothprogressandshortcomings.Groupdiscussioncanhelpthemtolearnfromeachother.Step5:ExpansionInthisstep,theteacherencouragesthestudentstopracticemetacognitivestrategiesinnewtasksinordertomaintaintheirmetacognitiveawareness.Theyshoulduseplanningstrategiesindependently,thenmonitortheirlearningprocessandevaluatetheirlearningoutcomesimmediatelyafterpractice.Theytransferthestrategiestonewtasks,combinethestrategiesintoclusters,developarepertoireoftheirpreferredstrategies.ThePost-testStageThelastweekisthestageofassessment.Apost-testofEnglishgrammar,whichissimilartothepre-testinquantity,typeanddifficultlevel,isconducted.ItisformulatedtoexaminetheeffectofthemetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearning.Boththeexperimentalgroupandcontrolledgroupattendthepost-test.Theauthoranalyzesthedataandseeswhethertherearedifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsintestscores.2.5InnovationsoftheResearchUntilJuly1,2017,wehavefoundinCNKIonly3referencesaroundboth“metacognitivestrategies”and“Englishgrammarlearning”whichareallmaster’stheses.Xi’sthesisdiscussestheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarteachinginseniorhighschool.Chen’sthesisinvestigatestheimpactofmetacognitivestrategiesonEnglishgrammarlearningincollege.Sun’sthesisdiscussestheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginvocationalschool.MuchmorereferencescanbefoundinCNKIconcernedwithboth“metacognitivestrategies”and“Englishlearninginjuniorhighschools”,whichinvolvereading,writing,vocabulary22 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityandsoon,yetnoreferencescanbefoundabouttheinvestigationofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.YearTitleAuthorUniversity2006TheApplicationofMetacognitionXiYuehongLiaoningNormaltoEnglishGrammarTeachinginUniversitySeniorHighSchool2006AQuasi-experimentalStudyoftheChenLiwanFujianNormalImpactofMetacognitiveStrategyUniversityTrainingforGrammarLearning2015AStudyontheApplicationofSunLijunHenanUniversityMetacognitiveStrategiesinGrammarTeachinginHigherVocationalSchoolsOurresearchiscreativeintwopoints.ThefirstpointisanalyzingtheeffectofmetacognitivestrategiesonEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Littleattentionhasbeenpaidtogrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,letalonetheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiestoit.Theauthortriestofindwhetherteachers’instructionaboutmetacognitivestrategiescanfacilitatestudents’Englishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,whichisanattempttofillthegap.Thesecondpointisdesigningapieceoflessonplanforteachinggrammarbetter.Thisstudyintendstobeofpracticalsignificance.Fewteachersacceptmetacognitivestrategytraining,sotheydonothaverichexperienceinthisarea.Thispieceoflessonplancanoffermorespecificinstructionsforteacherstoconductmetacognitivestrategytraining.23 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityChapterThreeResultsandDiscussionsInthischapter,thedatacollectedfromtheresearchwillbeanalyzedbothqualitativelyandquantitatively.Then,basedontheresultsoftheresearch,suggestionswillbeputforwardaccordinglyinthenextchaptertohelpEnglishgrammarlearningforstudentsaswellasteachingforteachersinjuniorhighschools.3.1ResultsandDiscussionsoftheQuestionnaireInordertoinvestigatethepresentsituationofjuniorhighschoolstudents’knowledgeandtheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearning,wedesignaquestionnaireasourfirstresearchinstrumentdistributedamong50studentsfromtwoclassesingrade8ofZhaoyangJuniorHighSchool.Thequestionsonthequestionnairecanbedividedintothreeparts:questionsaboutgeneralinformationofthestudents,questionsaboutthepresentsituationofEnglishgrammarlearningandquestionsabouttheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesofthreecategoriesinjuniorhighschools.3.1.1TheGeneralInformationThefirstpartofthequestionnairecoversthefirstthreequestions,mainlyaboutthegeneralinformationofthestudents,includingtheirgender,theirEnglishlevelanddifficultiestheyhaveinEnglishgrammarlearning.Whengenderisconsidered,60%ofthesubjectsareboysand40%aregirls.InPingdu,allstudentslearnEnglishfromgradethree,sothereisnobigdifferenceforthese50studentsinthetimeoflearningEnglish.Table3-1showsEnglishlevelofthe50studentsaccordingtotheirperformanceatlastfinalexam.only12%ofthemareoflevelA,thebestlevel;36%ofthem,oflevelB;42%,whichisthebiggestproportion,ofthem,areoflevelC;andtherest10%,oflevelD,thelowestlevel,whichsuggestthesestudentshavemuchdifficultyintheirEnglishlearning.SowecanmaketheconclusionthatmorethanhalfofthestudentsareofthelowerlevelsandshouldpaymoreattentiontotheirEnglishlearning.AccordingtoTable3-2,36%ofthestudentshavedifficultiesinlearningvocabularies;46%ofthemhavedifficultiesinlistening,yetalmostallthe50studentshavedifficultiesinlearninggrammar.FewofthestudentsfeeleasyandconfidentaboutlearningEnglish,especiallyingrammarlearning.Inthispart,wecanknowthatthestudentssurveyedaresimilarintimeofEnglishlearning,butdifferentintheirEnglish.Andmorethanhalfofthemshouldimprovetheir24 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityEnglishproficiency.Table3-1theFiftyStudents’EnglishLevelNPercentValidPercentValidA612.012.0B1836.036.0C2142.042.0D510.010.0Total50100.0100.0Table3-2DifficultiesthatStudentsHaveinEnglishLearningNPercentValidPercentValidA1836.036.0B4284.084.0C2346.046.03.1.2ThePresentSituationofEnglishGrammarLearningThesecondpartofthequestionnairecoversthequestionsfromQuestion4toQuestion7,whicharedesignedtoinvestigatethepresentsituationofEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Table3-3WhethertheStudentsKnowaboutTheirEnglishGrammarLevelNPercentValidPercentValidYes3366.066.0No1734.034.0Total50100.0100.0Question4isaboutwhetherthestudentsknowabouttheirEnglishgrammarlevel,whichiscognitivefactorthatmayinfluencegrammarlearning.TheresultscanbeseenfromTable3-3.AbouttwothirdsofthestudentsareclearabouttheirEnglishgrammarlevel.Theothersfeelconfusedabouttheirgrammarlevelsothattheydon’trealizethattheirEnglishproficiencyshouldbeimproved.TheresultsinTable3-4showthestudents’attitudetowardsEnglishgrammar25 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitylearningwhichistheaffectivefactorthatinfluencesstudents’grammarlearning.Forthe50students,37studentsthinkthatEnglishgrammarlearningisdifficultandboringsothattheydon’tlikelearningEnglish,althoughEnglishgrammaraccountsforalargeproportionoftheirEnglishlearning.Only26%ofthemhavepositiveviewsandtheylikelearninggrammar.ItiseasytofindthatmoststudentsdislikelearningEnglishgrammar.Table3-4Students’AttitudetowardsEnglishGrammarLearningNPercentValidPercentValidYes1326.026.0No3774.074.0Total50100.0100.0BothQuestion4andQuestion5arerelatedtotheknowledgeofthepersonvariable,whichconsistsofgeneralknowledgeofthecognitiveandaffectivefactorsthestudentshaveacquiredtofacilitatetheirlanguagelearning.Knowledgeofthepersonvariableisacomponentofmetacognitiveknowledgewhichisoneofthepreconditionsofusingmetacognitivestrategiesproperly.Ifthestudentshavemoreknowledgeofthepersonvariable,theywillbemoreclearlyconsciousoftheirstrongandweakpointsintheirlanguagelearning.Question6isaboutstudents’attitudetowardsgrammarlearningstrategies.Excepttwostudents,48studentsagreethatlearnersneedproperstrategiestolearnEnglishgrammar.Question7isaboutthestrategyvariable,acomponentofmetacognitiveknowledge.Itisalsoapreconditionofusingmetacognitivestrategiesproperly.Question7aimstofindoutthestrategiesthestudentsusefortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.FromTable3-5wecanseethatdoingexercisesandrecitinggrammarrulesarethemostpopularstrategiesingrammarlearning.MostofthestudentsemploytheformertolearnEnglishgrammar.42%ofthestudentsusethelatterforgrammarlearning.Combiningoldwithnewknowledge,summarizingandmakingsentencesarethethreelower-frequencystrategies.Exceptforthesestrategies,twostudentsmentionthattheylearngrammarfromgrammarbooks,whichisaresourcestrategy.Sowecandrawtheconclusionthatthefrequencyofoverallapplicationofgrammarlearningstrategiesofjuniorstudentsisintherelativelylowrange.Inthispart,wefindthatmostofthestudentsdislikegrammarlearningandtheylearnEnglishgrammarbysometraditionalmethodssuchasrecitinganddoingexercise.26 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityMetacognitionmeans“cognitionofcognition”.Onlywhenstudentsknowmuchaboutcognitivestrategies,cantheychoosebetteronesandthenmonitorandevaluatetheirlearningprocess.Becauseofthisresult,theauthordecidestointroducesomeusefulcognitivestrategiestostudentsbeforethemetacognitivestrategytraining.Table3-5Students’GrammarLearningMethodsNRecitingSummarizingMakingDoingConnectionsOthersValidfromcontextssentencesexercises(oldandnew)4251145823.1.3TheApplicationofMetacognitiveStrategiesThethirdpartofthequestionnaire,fromQuestion8toQuestion22,isdesignedtoinvestigatetheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesinjuniorhighschools.TheauthoradoptsO’MalleyandChamot’sclassificationofmetacognitivestrategieswhichconsistsofstrategiesofthreecategories.Sothequestionsinthispartarecategorizedinthreeaspects:questionsaboutplanningstrategies,questionsaboutmonitoringstrategies,andquestionsaboutevaluatingstrategies.StudentsinjuniorhighschoolsarerequiredtohaveclearobjectivesabouttheirEnglishlearningaccordingtoRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardforNine-yearCompulsoryEducation.Question8isaboutwhetherthestudentshavelong-termgoals.AsshowninTable3-6,only24%ofthestudentshavetheirownplansoflearninggrammar,whiletheothershavenoideaabouttheirpersonalgrammarlearningplans.Theydon’thavethehabitofmakingplansfortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Table3-6WhethertheStudentsHaveLong-termGoalsNPercentValidPercentValidYes1224.024.0No3876.076.0Total50100.0100.0Althoughmostofthestudentsdon’tmakelong-termplans,theybelievethattheyhavetheabilityofmakingplansfortheirgrammarlearningaccordingtoTable3-7.88%27 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityofthestudentscanmaketheirplans.Onlysixstudentsadmittheycan’tmakelong-termplans.Table3-7WhethertheStudentsCanMakePlansNPercentValidPercentValidYes4488.088.0No612.012.0Total50100.0100.0Makingaplanisjustabasicstepofgrammarlearning.Themoreimportantstepisimplementingtheplan.Asweallknow,it’seasyforustomakeaplanbutdifficulttoimplementtheplan.Table3-8showstheresultofQuestion10whichisaskedtoexaminewhethertheycanimplementtheirlearningplansiftheycanmakesuchplans.Morethanhalfofthestudentsanswerthattheycan’timplementtheplans.Withoutimplementation,planmakingdoesnotmakeanysense.Table3-8PlanImplementationNPercentValidPercentValidYes1122.022.0No3162.062.0NotSure816.016.0Total50100.0100.0Table3-9KnowingabouttheGrammarLearningProcessNPercentValidPercentValidYes1428.028.0No3672.072.0Total50100.0100.0Question11aimstoknowwhetherthestudentsareclearabouteachstepintheirgrammarlearningprocess.Spendingtimeonplanningwillmakestudentsrealizewhattheyshoulddo.Themoredetailedaplanismade,thebetterstudentswilllearnEnglishgrammar.Table3-9showsthatonly28%ofthestudentsareclearaboutwhattheyshoulddotolearngrammarbetter.Theothersdon’tknowwhattheyshoulddointheprocessof28 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitygrammarlearning.Thesefourquestionareconcernedwithplanningstrategies.ThefollowingsevenquestionsfromQuestion12toQuestion18areaboutmonitoringstrategies.Table3-10istheresultofQuestion12.Thequestionistoinvestigatewhetherthestudentscangetimprovementintheirgrammarlearningasaresultoftheimplementationoftheirplans.72%ofthestudentsagreethattheycangetimprovementduetotheimplementationoftheplans.28%ofthestudentsthink,planningisavaluelessstrategyfortheirgrammarlearning.Table3-10WhethertheStudentsImprovethroughImplementingthePlanNPercentVa;idPercentValidYes3672.072.0No1428.028.0Total50100.0100.0Question13isaboutwhetherthestudentschecktheimplementationoftheirplansandmakeadjustmentstotheirplans.Plansaremadebeforegrammarlearning.Butinreallearningsituations,complexgrammarinEnglishlearningmayincreasethedifficultyofEnglishlearning.Consequentlystudentsmaynotfinishtheirplansintime.Inthiscase,it’snecessaryforstudentstoadjusttheirplans.Adjustingtheirlearningplansisstudents’reactiontoregulatetheirlearningprocess.Only24%ofthestudentscheckwhethertheyhavefinishedtheirplansandadjustthemintime.Theothersdonotchecktheirplansoradjustthemaccordingly.Table3-11WhethertheStudentsCheckTheirPlansandAdjustThemNPercentValidPercentValidYes1224.024.0No3876.076.0Total50100.0100.0ThedatainTable3-12ofQuestion14isaboutwhetherthestudentschecktheirlearningoutcomeandadjusttheirlearningmethods.Thisalsoreferstostudentsregulatingtheirlearningprocess.MorethanhalfofthestudentscanchecktheirlearningoutcomesandmakeadjustmentstotheirlearningmethodssothattheycanlearnEnglishgrammar29 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitybythemostappropriateorbestlearningmethod(s).Table3-12WhethertheStudentsCheckLearningOutcomeandAdjustMethodsNPercentValidPercentValidYes2856.056.0No2244.044.0Total50100.0100.0AstherevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardforNine-yearCompulsoryEducationdescribesaboutlearningstrategies,studentsinjuniorhighschoolsshouldreviewactivelywhattheyhavelearned.AccordingtoQuestion15,wecanknowwhetherthestudentsreviewregularlythegrammarpointsorstructuresthattheyhavelearned.Table3-13showsthatonly16%ofthestudentsdoregularandtimelyreviewstothegrammarthattheyhavelearned,whereasmostofthestudentsdonothavethegoodhabitofreviewinggrammarintime.Table3-13WhethertheStudentsReviewGrammarInTimeNPercentValidPercentValidYes816.016.0No4284.084.0Total50100.0100.0Table3-14istheresultofQuestion16whichisdesignedtofindoutwhetherthestudentscanlearnEnglishgrammarwellwithoutsupervisionoftheteacherortheirpeers.26%ofthestudentscanlearnEnglishgrammarwellwithoutsuchsupervision.Threequartersofthestudents,however,cannotlearnEnglishgrammarwellwithoutsuchsupervision.Table3-14WhethertheStudentsCanLearnGrammarWellwithoutSupervisionNPercentValidPercentValidYes1326.026.0No3774.074.0Total50100.0100.030 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityQuestion17isaboutwhetherthestudentsaskforhelpfromtheteachersortheirpeers.TheresultsofTable3-15showthatonly34%ofthestudentsarebraveenoughtoaskhelpfromothers,but66%ofthemchoosetoseeknohelpanddonothingtotheproblems.Table3-15WhethertheStudentsAskforHelpfromTheirTeachersandPeersNPercentValidPercentValidYes1734.034.0No3366.066.0Total50100.0100.0Question18isaboutwhetherthestudents,whentheymakegrammarmistakes,analyzereasonsanddrawlessons.WecanseeclearlyinTable3-16thatonly16%ofthestudentscananalyzereasonsanddrawlessonsfortheirgrammarmistakessothattheycanavoidthemistakesintheirlaterEnglishlearning,while68%ofthestudentsgiveuplearningbymistakes.Table3-16WhethertheStudentsAnalyzeReasonsforGrammarMistakesNPercentValidPercentValidYes1632.032.0No3468.068.0Total50100.0100.0Therestquestionsofthequestionnairearearoundevaluatingstrategies.Thefirstquestionofevaluatingstrategiesisaboutthestudents’evaluationoftheirownmasteryofEnglishgrammar.IftheyevaluatethattheirEnglishgrammarlearningissatisfactory,theysummarizetheirlearningmethodsandsticktothem.IftheyevaluatethattheirEnglishgrammarlearningisproblematic,theysummarizeandanalyzethereasonsfortheproblemsandsetupplansforreview.Table3-17showsthatonly14%ofthestudentscanevaluatethemasteryofgrammarandtheirlearningmethods,while72%ofthestudentsdonotworkwellinthis.Question20andQuestion21areaboutteachers’evaluationandpeers’evaluationrespectively.Question20isdesignedtocheckwhetherthestudentsjustwaitfortheirteacherstoevaluatetheirgrammarlearning.Table3-18tellsusthatabouttwothirdsof31 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitythestudentswaitfortheirteacherstoevaluatetheirgrammarlearningandaboutathirdofthemcanevaluatetheirgrammarlearningwithouttheirteachers’help.Table3-17WhethertheStudentsEvaluateTheirOwnMasteryofGrammarNPercentValidPercentValidYes1428.028.0No3672.072.0Total50100.0100.0Table3-18WhethertheStudentsWaitforTeacherstoEvaluateTheirGrammarLearningNPercentValidPercentValidYes3468.068.0No1632.032.0Total50100.0100.0Cooperativelearningisapowerfulwaytopromotestudents’interestinEnglishgrammarlearning.Questions21isaboutwhetherthestudentsasktheirpeerstocheckandevaluatetheirgrammarlearning.AccordingtoTable3-19,onlyabout28%ofthestudentsasktheirclassmatestoevaluatetheirgrammarlearningandaskthemtogivehelpfulsuggestions,while72%ofthemstudentsjustlearnbythemselvesandrefusehelpfromtheirpeers.Table3-19WhethertheStudentsAskPeerstoEvaluateTheirGrammarLearningNPercentValidPercentValidYes1428.028.0No3672.072.0Total50100.0100.0Table3-20WhethertheStudentsEvaluateTheirLearningStrategiesNPercentValidPercentValidYes816.016.0No4284.084.0Total50100.0100.032 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityThelastquestionisdesignedtocheckwhetherthestudentsevaluatetheirlearningstrategies.TheresultsinTable3-20showthatmostofthestudentsdonotevaluatetheirlearningstrategiesorlearningmethods.Only8studentsworkthiswayfortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Thequestionnaireisdesignedtoanswerthefirstandsecondresearchquestion,thatis,toseekatruepictureofthepresentsituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.OuranalysisofthedatacollectedfromthequestionnaireprovidefruitfulfindingsconcerningtheproblemswithEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Thefindingsoftheproblemscanbesummarizedintwoaspects,thestudents’attitudetowardsEnglishgrammarlearningandthesituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearningamongjuniorschoolstudents.ThedatashowsthatEnglishgrammarknowledgeisdifficultinjuniorhighschoolssothatthestudentshavelittleenthusiasmingrammarlearning.AlthoughmoststudentslearnEnglishgrammarinclass,theyaredifferentinEnglishproficiency.MoststudentsbelievethatgoodlearningmethodsarehelpfulforthemtoimproveEnglishlevel.However,infact,theyknowlittleaboutlearningstrategies.Theyalwaysusetraditionalmethodsingrammarlearning,suchasrotelearningafterteachers’presentation.Fewofthemcancorrectlyapplythenewly-learnedrulesinpractice.Sotheirabilityofgrammarlearningshouldbeimproved.Metacognitivestrategies,requiredinRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard,shouldbeintroducedtothestudentsfortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.TheotheraspectoftheproblemsisaboutusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Ouranalysisofthequestionnairedata,mostofthestudentshavelittleawarenessofusingmetacognitivestrategies.Metacognitivestrategiesaredividedintoplanning,monitoringandevaluatingstrategies.Asfarasplanningstrategiesareconcerned,thestudentscandowellinmakingplans,buttheydonotperformwellinimplementingplans.Asformonitoringstrategies,manystudentschoosetodoexercisestochecktheirgrammarlearningoutcomes,buttheydonotworkwellincheckingtheirlearningplans.Anoldsayinggoes,“Onewillgetsomethingnewinlookingoverone’soldstudies”.Soreviewisanimportantwaytoconsolidatelearnedknowledge.However,thestudentscannotcontrolthemselveswellinreviewingthegrammarthattheyhavelearned.Thestudentsneedsupervisionsfromtheirteachesorpeerstohelpthemfinishtasksofgrammarlearning.Drawinglessonsfrommistakesisanimportantpartofmanagingtheirprocessofgrammarlearning.Whentheymakegrammar33 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitymistakes,mostofthestudentsjustletthemistakespassratherthananalyzethereasonsforthemistakes.Thestudentsarepassiveinevaluatingtheirgrammarlearning.Theyjustwaitfortheirteacherstoevaluatetheirgrammarlearningandneglecttheimportanceofcooperativelearning.Theydon’tinvitetheirpeerstohelpthemevaluatetheirgrammarlearning.Accordingtotheaboveanalysis,wecanmaketheconclusionthatthepresentsituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschoolsisnotoptimistic.Studentshavelittleawarenessofusingmetacognitivestrategiesandtheydonotverywellinusingthem.TheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesshouldbeencouragedforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.3.2ResultsandDiscussionsoftheInterviewsInordertoinvestigatefromtheperspectiveofteachersthepresentsituationofstudentsusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarteachinginjuniorhighschools,interviewsareconductedwithEnglishteachersinjuniorhighschools.4teachersareselectedforinterviewfromthethreegradesinXJuniorHighSchool.Thesixinterviewquestionscanbedividedintothreeparts.Thefirsttwoquestionsareabouttheteachers’knowledgeofmetacognitivestrategies:1.Haveyoueverlearnedsomeknowledgeofmetacognitivestrategies?2.SincetheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardhasaddedmanagementstrategiesasmetacognitivestrategies,haveyouevertrainedyourstudentstousemetacognitivestrategiesingrammarlearning?The4teachersallgraduatefromnormaluniversitiesorcollegesandhavelearnedaboutmetacognitivestrategies.Althoughtheyknowthatmetacognitivestrategiesaredividedintoplanningstrategies,monitoringstrategiesandevaluatingstrategies,theyhavenotattendedanysystematicstudyabouttheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearning.Theiranswerstothesecondquestionarenotasoptimisticasthosetothefirstquestion.Becauseofthepressureofseniorhighschoolentranceexamination,teacherspaylessattentiontometacognitivestrategiescomparedwithcognitivestrategies.Studentsarealwaysrequiredtousecognitivestrategies,suchasnotetakingandtranslatingratherthanmetacognitivestrategies.AsRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardsays,metacognitivestrategiescanhelpstudentslearnandpromotetheirownautonomyandstudentsshouldlearnandmasterthesestrategies.Teachersarejusttoldthattheyshould,however,theydonotknowhowtodometacognitivestrategy34 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitytrainingforstudents.Thesecondpartincludesthethirdandthefourthquestion,abouttheteachers’EnglishgrammarteachingandproblemswiththeirEnglishgrammarteaching:3.HowdoyouteachEnglishgrammar?4.WhatproblemsdoyouhaveforEnglishgrammarteaching?Forthethirdquestion,theteachers,fromdifferentgrades,havedifferentanswers.Theteacherofgrade7expressesthatthegrammarpointsingrade7textbooksareeasyforthestudents.Sohealwaysprovidesthestudentswithauthenticlanguageandinducesthemtorealizegrammarruleswithoutanyformofexplicitexplanation,whichiscalledtheinductivemethod.Itishelpfultoexpandthestudents’abilitytothink.Thestudentsarealsoencouragedtotakenotesaboutthegrammarpointsandwritedownthemistakestheyhavemade.It’sveryimportantforgrade7studentstoformgoodlearninghabits,sograde7teachersintroduceeasylearningstrategiestotheirstudents.Twograde8teachersusedifferentmethodsfortheirgrammarteaching.Whentheirstudentsencountersomedifficultgrammarpoint,theyusethedeductivemethod.Forexample,theycomparethenewlypresentedstructurewiththepreviouslylearnedstructure.Grade8teacherstelltheirstudentsmoreoflearningstrategies.Becauseofseniorhighschoolentranceexam,grade9teachersalwayssummarizegrammarrulesandmakestudentsdomanyexercisestochecktheirlearningoutcomes.Grade9studentsarerequiredtomakeplansforreviewingallgrammarpointsofrulesthattheyhavelearned.Forthefourthquestion,the4teachersputforwardtheproblemsbasedontheirteachingexperience,whichcanbesummarizedasfollows:(1)Althoughstudentsremembergrammarrules,theycannotapplytherulesinpractice.Studentsjustmechanicallyrememberwhatispresentedbytheirteachersinclass,butwithoutfurtherthinking.StudentslearnEnglishgrammarbyjustfollowingtheirteachers.Asaresultofteachers’presentation,studentsgraduallylosttheirabilitytolearngrammarbythemselves.Theylistentotheirteachersforgrammarlearninganddonothavetheirownlearningplansorlearningstrategies.(2)StudentsarenotinterestedinandconfidentabouttheirEnglishgrammarlearning.ManystudentsthinkthatEnglishgrammarissoboringthattheydon’tliketolearngrammar.Becauseofstudents’lowerenthusiasmforgrammarlearning,theyspendlittletimeongrammarlearning.Theyjustlearngrammaronclass.Theydonotwanttospendtimemakingplans,monitoringtheirlearningprocessandevaluatingtheirlearningoutcomes.(3)Forteachers,themethodsofEnglishgrammarteachingaresimpleandlackvariety.Thesimpleteachingmethodsalsoexplainstudents35 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitylosinginterestandconfidenceinEnglishgrammarlearning.Ur(1996)suggeststhatagoodpresentationofEnglishteachingshouldbebothoralandwritteninbothformandmeaning.Itdependsonteachers’abilitytopersonalizeteachingandmakeactivitiesengaging.(4)Teachersoveremphasizecultivatingthestudents’communicativecompetenceandneglecttheimportanceofgrammarteaching.Teachersspendlittletimeexplaininggrammaticalrulesinordertocreatevibrantclassatmosphere.Thelastpartoftheinterviewquestionsisaboutteachers’guidancetotheirstudentshowtousemetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearningandtheirsuggestionsaboutstudentsusingmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools:5.Whatistherolethatateachershouldplaywhenstudentslearngrammarbymetacognitivestrategies?6.WhatisthedifficultyincarryingoutmetacognitivestrategytrainingforEnglishgrammarlearning?Andwhat’syoursuggestion?Forthefifthquestion,allthe4teachersbelievethatstudentshavelittleknowledgeaboutmetacognitivestrategies.Soteachers’firstroleisthedeliveryofknowledge.Teachersshouldintroducesomebasicknowledgeofmetacognitivestrategies.Then,theypositionthemselvesasguidesandinstructstudentstousethestrategiesindailylearningsothatstudentscanformahabitofusingmetacognitivestrategiesfortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Asforthesixthquestion,teacherAandteacherCthinkthatit’sdifficultforstudentstoformagoodhabitofusingmetacognitivestrategies.Soteachers’supervisionisnecessaryforstudentstocontrolthemselves.Teachersshouldencouragestudentstouseplanning,monitoringandevaluatingstrategies.TeacherBwhoteachesgrade8saysthatplanningstrategiesareeasyforstudentstouse.Shethinksthebiggestdifficultyforstudentsistheapplicationofmonitoringandevaluatingstrategies.TeacherDwhoteachesgrade9hasthesimilaropinion.Studentsbothinthelowergradesandhighergradeshavethesamequestions.Students’abilityofcontrolthemselvesisweakinjuniorhighschools.Sotheyneedexternalsupervisionwhichinvolvesbothteachers’andpeers’help.It’steachers’responsibilitytohelpstudents.Butpeers’helpisnoteasyforstudentsinjuniorhighschoolsbecausetheymayfeelshytoasktheirclassmatesforhelp.Teachersshoulddividestudentsintogroupsforgrammarlearningtocultivatetheirawarenessofcooperativelearning.Groupworkandpeerworkarehelpfultosolvetheproblems.Inshort,accordingtotheteachers’answerstotheinterviewquestions,wecanfindthatthepresentsituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforgrammarteachingisnot36 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityoptimistic.Teacherspaylittleattentiontoinstructingstudentstousemetacognitivestrategies.ItisurgenttoapplythemetacognitivestrategiestogrammarlearningsincetheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandardhasaddedtherequirementabouttheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategies.Althoughtherearemanyproblemsingrammarlearningandteaching,teachersshouldtrytheirbesttosolvethem.Theyshouldchangetheirteacher-centeredteachingandprovidestudentswithsomeusefulstrategiesincludingmetacognitivestrategieswithstudentsandinstructstudentstousethestrategiestoimprovetheirautonomouslearningability.3.3ResultsandDiscussionsoftheTwoTestsTwotestsareorganizedinthisresearchinboththecontrolledgroupandtheexperimentalgroup.Thepre-testistakenbeforeourmetacognitivestrategytrainingsoastoknowaboutthestudents’initiallevelofEnglishgrammar.Thepost-test,carriedoutafterthetraining,isformulatedtotesttheeffectivenessofthemetacognitivestrategytraining,comparedwiththepre-test.3.3.1ThePre-testThetestisconductedtoestablishhomogeneitybetweenthecontrolledgroupandtheexperimentalgroupintheirperformanceofEnglishgrammarlearningbeforethetraining.AsshowninTable3-21,themeanscoreoftheexperimentalgroupwhichis47.8issimilartothatofthecontrolledgroup;thestandarddeviationoftheexperimentalgroupwhichis10.741isalsoverycloseto11.258ofthecontrolledgroup.FromTable3-22,thesigis0.902whichisbiggerthanthestandarddataof0.05.TheresultsindicatethatthereisnotanysignificantdifferenceinEnglishproficiencybetweentheexperimentalgroupandcontrolledgroup.Thatis,thetwogroupsarehomogeneousintheirgrammarlearningbeforethetraining.Table3-21StatisticsofthePre-testGroupNMeanStd.DeviationExperimentalgroup4047.810.741Controlledgroup4046.511.25837 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityTable3-22IndependentSamplesTTestBetweentheTwoGroupsforPre-testFSig.tSig.(2-tailed)Pre-testEqualvariances0.0610.7940.1240.902scoresassumedEqualvariances0.1240.902notassumed3.3.2ThePost-testAfterthetrainingofmetacognitivestrategies,thepost-testisconductedtothestudentsofthetwogroupstofindoutbycomparingtestresultsofthetwogroupshoweffectivethetrainingisinimprovingthestudents’abilityofEnglishgrammarlearning.ComparingtheresultofTable3-23withthatofTable3-21,wecanfindthatscoreshavebeenimprovedinbothtwogroups.AsTable3-23shown,thereisdifferenceinresultsofthepost-testbetweenthetwogroups.Themeanscoreoftheexperimentalgroupis53.6,whichishigherthanthatofthecontrolledgroup.Comparedwiththatofthepre-test,themeanscoreoftheexperimentalgroupincreasesby5.8whiletheincreaseisonly1.7forthecontrolledgroup,whichprovesthatmetacognitivestrategytrainingcanimprovestudents’grammarlearningproficiency.Thestandarddeviationoftheexperimentalgroupinpost-testhasreducedby1.316comparingwiththatofthepre-test.Thisdemonstratesthatmetacognitivestrategytrainingcannarrowthegapbetweengoodstudentsandstudentsencounteringdifficultiesinlearninggrammar.Table3-24showsthatthesigofthepost-testscoreis0.007whichislowerthan0.05,whichrepresentthedifferenceissignificant.Accordingtothecomparisonoftheresultsofthetest,thescoresofthegrammartestoftheexperimentalgrouparehigherthanthatofthecontrolledgroup.WecanmaketheconclusionthatthosewhohaveahighawarenessofmetacognitivestrategiesperformbetterfortheirEnglishgrammarlearning.Sometacognitivestrategiesplayanimportantroleinjuniorhighstudents’Englishgrammarlearning.Metacognitivestrategytrainingcanimprovejuniorhighstudents’metacognitiveawarenessaswellastheiruseofmetacognitivestrategiessothatthestudentscanimprovetheirabilityofEnglishgrammarlearning.Inthestudy,metacognitivestrategytrainingcontributestotheenhancementofthestudents’learningmotivationandhelpsthestudentstoplan,monitorandevaluatetheirperformanceeffectively.Developingmetacognitivestrategiesawarenessingrammar38 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversitylearningisvitalforstudentstolearnEnglishgrammarindependently.Table3-23StatisticsofthePost-testGroupNMeanStd.DeviationExperimentalgroup4053..69.425Controlledgroup4048.211.367Table3-24IndependentSamplesTTestBetweentheTwoGroupsforPost-testFSig.tSig.(2-tailed)Post-testEqualvariances0.0170.7961.2680.007scoresassumedEqualvariances1.2650.007notassumed39 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityChapterFourSuggestionsfortheApplicationofMetacognitiveStrategiesInthischapter,suggestionsareproposedfortheapplicationofmetacognitivestrategiesinEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Thesesuggestionsareexplainedbothfromtheperspectiveofteachersandtheperspectiveofstudents.4.1SuggestionsforTeachersBasedontheresearchresults,fivesuggestionsareproposedforteachersforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.4.1.1UpdatingConceptsofGrammarTeachingTeachersshouldrenewtheirownnotionsofgrammarteaching.InthetypicalpictureofEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschoolscurrently,teachersexplaingrammarrulesindetail,andstudentsarebusytakingnotesandhavefewopportunitiestothinkabouttheirlearning.Rotelearningisregardedasabasiclearningtechnique.Teachersoveremphasizetheimportanceofgrammarteachingonteachers’controloverstudents’behaviorandpaylittleattentiontostudents’learning.Nowadays,teachersareexpectedtopayattentionto“student-centered”teaching.Theyshouldnotonlyteachknowledge,butalsotellstudentshowtolearnEnglishwellsuchasinstructingstudentstouselearningstrategies.AutonomouslearningiscommonlyacceptedasthedesirablegoalofeducationaccordingtotheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard.ThegoalofEnglishlearningincompulsoryeducationistodevelopstudents’overalllanguageability.Learningstrategiesareoneofthemostimportantaspectsofoveralllanguageability.Teachersplayanimportantroleinintroducingsomelearningstrategiestopromotestudents’automaticlearningability.Onlywhenstudentsknowenoughaboutlearningstrategies,maytheyhavemuchmorechoicestochooseaproperoneintheirlearning.4.1.2InstructingStudentstoUseMetacognitiveStrategiesTeachersshouldtrytheirbesttohelpstudentstolearnanduselanguagelearningstrategiesincludingmetacognitivestrategies.SincemetacognitivestrategieshavebeenaddedintheRevisedNationalEnglishCurriculumStandard,teachersshouldencouragestudentstousemetacognitivestrategies.40 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityThefirststepistohelpstudentscultivatemetacognitiveawarenessingrammarlearning.It’sdifficultforstudentsinjuniorhighschoolstocontrolthemselves.Teacherscanplayakeyroleinmakingstudentsfosteragoodhabitofacquiringmetacognitivestrategies.Teachersshouldusedifferentmethodssuchasmindmappingandgroupdiscussiontohelpstudentstoknow,shareandapplymetacognitivestrategies.Teacherscanalsodesignsomecuecardsaboutlanguagelearningstrategiesandputthemupontheclassroomwalltoimprovestudents’metacognitiveawareness.Thenteachersshouldencouragestudentstosetupappropriatelearningplans.Goalsandplansaredesignedtogivestudentsaclearpictureofwhatgrammartasks’expectationsareandwherestudentsshouldpaytheirattentionto.Plansincludebothshort-termplansandlong-termplans.Duetolackofpersistencebysomestudents,plansforoneweekoronemontharemucheasierforstudentstoaccomplishtheirgoalsthanthoseforwholesemester.Whenplansareimplementedandgoalsareachieved,studentscangainasenseofaccomplishment.Lastly,teachersshouldhighlightstudents’self-monitoringandself-evaluation.Self-monitoringisthemostdifficultaspectinmetacognitivestrategies.Itisaprocessofkeepingtrackoftheirlearningprocessandprogress.Studentsarerequiredtowritedowntheirevaluationsabouttheirgrammarlearningwhichcanguidethemforfurtheractions.Themainpurposeistoprovidestudentswithopportunitiestoevaluatetheirownsuccessbyusingmetacognitivestrategies.Teachersshouldencouragestudentstoidentifytheirstrengthsandweaknessestomakefurtherimprovement.4.1.3EncouragingStudentstoWorkinGroupsInmostcases,therearemorethanfortystudentsinoneclass.Soteachersdonothaveenoughenergytosuperviseeverystudentineachclass.Peersingroupscandothat.Groupactivitiescanprovidestudentswithopportunitiestoshareplansandmonitortheirlearningprocess,whichisofgreatvalueforthemtoevaluatethemselves.Theycanlearnfromeachother.Whentheylearnanewgrammarpoint,theymayfacedifficultiessuchashowtorelatenewknowledgetooldknowledgeandhowtocorrecterrors.Groupdiscussionsareusefulwaysforstudentstosolvetheseproblems.Asweallknow,studentsinjuniorhighschoolshavelowself-controlability.Sotheycanaskforexternalsupervisionwiththehelpoftheirgrouppeers.Forthepurpose,eachgroupshouldinvolvestudentsofdifferentEnglishlevels.Teachersencouragestudentstoworkingroupssoastolearnfromoneanotherandachievecommondevelopment.Thisdoesnotmeanthat41 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityteachers’roleofmonitoringandevaluatingisnotimportant.TeachersplayaleadingroleinEnglishgrammarlearning.Teachersandgroupmembersbothprovideexternalsupervisionstostudents.4.1.4CombiningExplicitGrammarTeachingwithImplicitGrammarTeachingByexplicitgrammarteaching,teachersmakelanguagestructurestransparentandhelpstudentstounderstandtheunderlyingprinciplessothatstudentscangainasenseoforder,consistency,andcoherenceaboutthewaythelanguageoperates.Implicitgrammarteachingisaboutunconsciouslanguageacquisition.Studentslearngrammarinanactualornaturalenvironment.Theformeremphasizesthedominanceofteachersandthepassivityofstudents,whereasthelatterfocusesonstudent-centeredness.TeachersshouldcombineexplicitteachingwithimplicitteachinginEnglishgrammarteaching.Theyintroduceactuallearningenvironmentintogrammarteachingwiththepurposeofmakingstudentssummarizegrammarrulesactively.Thenteachersmakenicegeneralizationswithsomeexplicitexplanationswhichinvolvestudents’nativelanguageorgrammaticalterms.4.1.5ArousingStudents’InterestinGrammarLearningManystudentshavedifficultieswithEnglishgrammarlearning,sothatteachers’explanationscannotretainstudents’interestingrammar.Duetostudents’lackofinterest,teachersshouldtrytheirbesttoarousestudents’interestingrammarlearningandhelpthemtolearngrammarruleseasily.Itisessentialforteacherstoknowhowtopresenttheformsandmeaningsofastructureinawaythatisclear,simpleandhelpful.Agoodpresentationshouldincludebothoralandwrittenandbothformandmeaning.Soteacherscanuseplentyofcontextualizedexamplesofthetargetstructures.However,ifthestructureisnoteasyforthelearnerstodiscoverthemselvesevenwithacontextprovided,itisbettertoteachtheruleexplicitly.Onlyinthesewaysstudentscanfeelrelaxedandhaveinterestingrammarlearning.Teacherscanalsopresentgrammaticalruleswithvisualmaterialsandintuitiveimagessuchasgraphs,tables,andjingleswhichareeasiertolearnandrememberforjuniorhighschoolstudents.Vividvideoscanalsoassiststudentsingrammarlearning.4.2SuggestionsforStudentsConsideringthecurrentsituationofEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,twosuggestionsareproposedforstudents.42 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity4.2.1AdoptingEffectiveLearningStrategiesforGrammarLearningAsaresultofourresearch,wehaveconcludedthatmetacognitivestrategytraininghelpsstudentstoplan,monitorandregulatetheirgrammarlearningeffectively.Oncestudentsgainknowledgeofmetacognitivestrategies,theycanbecometherealmasteroftheirEnglishlearning,whichwillbenefitthemalltheirlives.Sostudentsshouldusemetacognitivestrategiestoimprovetheirabilityofautonomouslearning.Firstofall,preparationandplanningareimportantmetacognitiveskillswhichhelptoimprovestudents’Englishgrammarlearning.Ineverylearningtask,studentsneedmakeplansorpreparationstoachievetheirgoals.Intheprocessofplanmaking,studentscanthinkaboutwhattheyaregoingtodoandhowtheycanfinishthetask.Theirplansmayinvolvetimedistribution,grammarreviewfrequency,andsoon.Thenstudentsarealsorequiredtolearnmonitoringstrategies.Studentsareabletokeepthemselvesinlinewiththehelpofmonitoringstrategies.Afterlearninggrammar,studentsshouldreflectontheirlearningprocess,keepingtrackofwhatworksandwhatdoesn’twork.Theyshouldthinkabouttheirstrengthsandweaknessesingrammarlearningandtrytoimprovethemselves.4.2.2AskingforHelpBravelyStudentsshouldaskteachersorpeersforhelpbravelywhentheygetintrouble.It’sdifficultforstudentsinjuniorhighschoolstocontrolthemselves.Sostudentscanworktogetherwiththeirpeersformutualsupervision.Teachers’orpeers’supervisionandevaluationaregoodwaystoimprovestudents’abilityoflanguagelearning.Inclass,teachersoftenorganizestudentstodogroupworkorpeerwork.Studentsshouldgetinvolvedingroupdiscussionsactively,notonlyinclass,butalsoafterclass.Studentsshouldreflectontheirlearningprocessandaskpeersforusefullearningstrategieswhentheydonotworkwellintestsorexams.Whatismore,notalllanguagelearningstrategiesworkequallywellforallstudents,sostudentsshouldmonitortheirownlearningstrategiesandadjustthemifthestrategiesarenotsuitableforthem.43 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityConclusionThisresearchaimstoinvestigatethepresentsituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearning,toexaminetheeffectofmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearningandtohelpstudentstoplan,monitorandevaluatetheirEnglishgrammarlearningeffectivelyinjuniorhighschools.TheresultsofthequestionnaireindicatethatthegeneralsituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesinEnglishgrammarisfarfromsatisfactory.Moststudentshavenoawarenessofusingmetacognitivestrategies.Theinterviewswiththeteachershavethesameresults.StudentsusecognitivestrategiesinEnglishlearningbutknowlittleaboutmetacognitivestrategies.Teachersdonotacceptaspecializedmetacognitivestrategytrainingsothattheydonotverywellinapplyingmetacognitivestrategiestogrammarlearning.TheresultsofthetwotestsshowthatstudentsintheexperimentalgrouphavemadegreaterprogressinEnglishgrammarlearningthanthoseinthecontrolledgroupandasaresultofmetacognitivestrategytrainingstudentscanenhancetheiroverallabilityoflanguagelearning.Throughdifferentresearchinstruments,wecanreachsomeconclusionsfromtheperspectiveofteachersandstudents.Studentshaveweakabilityofindependentlearningandhavenokeeninterestinlearninggrammar.Grammarlearningismoredifficultthantheotheraspectsoflanguagelearning.Studentsjustremembergrammarrulesbutdon’tknowhowtoapplygrammarrulesinpractice.Althoughteachers’instructionaboutmetacognitivestrategiescanfacilitatestudents’Englishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools,thegeneralsituationofapplyinglearningstrategiesinEnglishgrammar,infact,isfarfromsatisfactory,letaloneapplyingmetacognitivestrategies.Therefore,students’overallabilityofapplyingmetacognitivestrategiestoEnglishgrammarshouldbegreatlyenhanced.Teacherspaylittleattentiontoanddolittleworkaboutinstructingstudentstouseplanning,monitoringandevaluatingstrategiesaswellasmetacognitivestrategiesingrammarlearning.Teachersshouldencouragestudentstoseekothers’supervisionorothers’advicetoovercomeobstacles.Basedontheresultsmentionedabove,theauthorhasputforwardsomesuggestionsfromtwoperspectives.Ontheonehand,teachersshouldrenewtheirownnotionsofgrammarteachingandimprovethemselvesinteachingstrategiesormethods.Itisimportantforteacherstotellstudentslearningobjectivesofeachlesson.Inthesametime,itisnecessaryforteacherstoprovidemoreusefullanguagelearningstrategiestostudents.44 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityMetacognitivestrategiesareeffectivelearningstrategiesandshouldbeintroducedtostudentsinordertoimprovetheirlearningautonomy.Inaddition,teachersshouldencouragestudentstoworkingroups,whichisconvenientandusefulforthemtosolvetheirproblems.Teachersarealsorequiredtocombineexplicitgrammarteachingwithimplicitgrammarteachingingrammarteachingsothatstudentscandeveloptheirinterestingrammarlearning.Ontheotherhand,studentsshouldadoptproperlearningstrategiestolearngrammarandaskteachersorpeersforhelp.Theyshouldactivelygetinvolvedingroupworknotonlyinclass,butalsoafterclass.Theycansharetheirplans,monitorandevaluatetheirlearningprocesswiththehelpofexternalsupervision.Despitethefindingsandbeneficialimplicationsindicatedinthisstudy,afewlimitationsofthepresentstudyareworthmentioning.Firstly,thenumberofthesubjectsisnotlargeenough.Only80studentsand4teacherstakepartinthestudy,whichcannotfullyrepresentthetruesituationofusingmetacognitivestrategiesforEnglishgrammarlearninginjuniorhighschools.Secondly,thepotentiallyinfluentialvariablessuchaslearners’motivation,attitudes,learningstylesandotherimportantfactorsarenottakenintoconsideration.Lastly,thetimeofourexperimentislimited.Itishopedthatbetterresultswillbegainedandmorepowerfulsuggestionswillbeproposedinourfutureresearchaboutapplyingmetacognitivestrategiestodevelopstudents’grammarlearningability.45 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Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityAppendixⅠ关于元认知策略在初中英语语法学习中的应用调查亲爱的同学们，你们好！感谢你们在繁忙的学习中抽出宝贵的时间来完成这份问卷。为了了解你在英语语法学习中对元认知策略运用的情况，以便我们更好地改进英语语法教学，特设计本调查问卷。此问卷仅供研究使用，采用匿名方式，所以请放心填写，非常感谢你们的参与与配合，祝学业进步！请在符合你条件的选项上划“√”1.性别：男女2.你的英语成绩通常属于：ABCD3.英语学习存在哪方面困难？(可多选)A.词汇B.语法C.听力4.你是否清楚的了解自己的英语语法水平？A.是B.不是5.你喜欢学习语法吗？A.是B.不是6.你是否认为学习语法需要正确的方法策略？A.是B.不是7.在语法学习中，你通常采用的方法有（可多选）A.背诵老师讲授的语法法则B.根据语境总结语法C.根据语法造句D.题海战术E.新旧语法之间联系F.其他（请写出)8.你是否对自己的语法学习有明确的长期目标？A.是B.不是9.你是否能根据需要制定自己的语法学习计划？A.是B.不是10.若你制定了学习计划，你是否能够坚持实施？A.是B.否C.不确定11.在语法学习过程中的每一步你是否清楚地知道自己要做什么，该如何去做？A.是B.否12.若你制定了语法学习计划，并严格实施了，你的语法学习是否有了提升？A.是B.否13.你是否经常检查自己是否完成了计划，并适时调整计划？49 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityA.是B.否14.你是否会时常检测自己的语法学习成果，并适时调整学习方法？A.是B.否15.你是否及时复习前面所学过的语法？A.是B.否16.在没有老师或同伴的监督下，你是否也能很好地完成语法学习任务？A.是B.否17.在语法学习遇到困难时，你是否会向同学和老师请教？A.是B.否18.当你用错语法时，你是否会分析错误原因并总结经验？A.是B.否19.你是否会对自己的语法掌握情况作出评价，若好，就会总结好的方法；若不好，则会分析原因，做好复习计划。A.是B.否20.你是否等待老师来检测你的语法掌握情况，如果老师不评价你的语法学习，你不会询问老师对你的评价和建议。A.是B.否21.你是否会请同伴帮助你检测语法掌握情况，并虚心接受同伴对你的语法学习做出的评价。A.是B.否22.你是否考虑过你在语法学习中的优点和缺点，并试图利用学习策略来提升自己的语法学习。A.是B.否问卷到此结束，感谢你的配合！50 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityAppendixⅡGrammarPre-testⅠ.Choosethebestanswer.(30points)1.I_toJim’sbirthdaypartybecauseIwasbusyathome.A.didn’tgoB.wentC.don’tD.go2.Theywere_vacationwhenI_tovisitthem.A.for;goB.in;comeC.to;cameD.on;went3.Lilyisagoodstudent.She_lateforschool.A.ishardlyB.isn’tneverC.isoftenD.isalways4.Canyouhelpme_thefloor?A.cleaningB.withcleanC.ofcleaningD.toclean5.Althoughtheyfeeltired,_theystillgoonworking.A.andB.butC./D.so6.Howwastheweatheryesterday?-Itrained_.Peoplecould_goout.A.hardly;hardB.hard;hardC.hardly;hardlyD.hard;hardly7.Theroomisn’t_toholdsomanypeople.A.bigenoughB.enoughbigC.smallenoughD.enoughsmall8.Ican’tbelieve_alittlegirlcanwrite_well.A.so;soB.such;soC.so;suchD.such;such9.MissZhangdidn’tcometowork_herillness.A.becauseB.soC.becauseofD.and10.Manypeopleareplayinggamesonthebeach.Someareplayingvolleyball;_arePlayingsoccer.A.othersB.otherC.theotherD.another11.-Whotoldyoutheinterestingstory?-MycousinbrotherPaul_.A.doB.doesC.didD.willdo12.OurteachermakesusreadpassageinEnglisheveryday.Ithinkit’sagoodway_English.A.oflearningB.tolearningC.oflearnD.learn13.Playingsportssuchasbasketball,soccerandvolleyball_fun.A.areB.soundsC.tastesD.were51 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity14.LiLeilikes_aredhat.A.puttingonB.toputonC.wearingD.wears14.Thedaughter_whenherfathercouldgocampinginthecountry.A.wassurprisedB.surprisedC.wassurprisingD.surprises15.Nooneinmyfamily_toeatfishnow.A.likeB.likesC.wantD.feellike16.Weshouldkeep_hard.A.worksB.workC.toworkD.working17.-Whoareyouwaiting_?-Mysister.A.toB.forC.atD.with18.Everyonejumpedupanddown_.A.excitedB.excitingC.inexcitementD.excite19.Ifyouwanttobehealthier,youmusteat_junkfood,Ithink.A.moreB.muchC.fewerD.lessⅡ.Filltheblankswiththegivenwordsintheirproperforms.(10points)1.Wethinkthe_(good)waytorelaxisthroughexercise.2.Wedecided_(visit)museumsthissummer.3.Therewasnothingmuch_(do)intheevening.4.Myfamily_(read)somethinginterestingnow.5.SamwatchesTV_(one)aweek.6.Ihavetoo_(many)homeworktodotoday.7.Oh,Iwouldlike_(eat)something.8.Ifeellike_(ride)abicycleonSundaywithmyfriends.9.Wefeltverycoldbecauseweforgot_(bring)anumbrella.10.Janenevergoestothedentist_(clean)herteeth.Ⅲ.CompletethefollowingsentencesaccordingtotheChinese.(10points)1.在中国有相当多可以参观的好地方。Thereare___wonderfulplacestovisitinChina.2.你在那个城市遇到友好的人了吗？Didyoumeet__friendlyinthatcity?3.我每个周至少去看两次电影。Igotothemovies___aweek.4他有时在家帮着做家务。Hesometimes___athome.52 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity5.我晚上睡眠通常少于七个小时。Iusuallysleepfor__sevenhoursatnight.Ⅳ.Rewritethefollowingsentencesasrequired.(10points)1.Howwastheweatherinyourcity?(改为同义句)_____inyourcity.2.Torelaxbyexercisingisgood.(改为同义句)____byexercising.3.Mylegswereverytired.Iwantedtostop.(两句合并为一句)Mylegswere_tired_Iwanttostop.4.Stillnooneseemedtobebored.(改为同义句)Still_seemed_.5.Tomspent80yuanonthatT-shirt.(对划线部分提问)___Tom_onthatT-shirt?Ⅴ.Translate.（10points）1.我妈妈想让我喝它，她说它对我的健康有益。2.你喝牛奶吗？几乎不喝，我不喜欢。3.你的好朋友放学后通常干什么？他通常锻炼。4.百分之四十五的学生每周锻炼四到六次。5.关于看电视的问题答案也很有趣。前测参考答案Ⅰ.Choosethebestanswer.(30points)1-5ADADC6-10DDBCA11-15CABCA16-20BDBCDⅡ.Filltheblankswiththegivenwordsintheirproperforms.(10points)1.best2.tovisit3.todo4.arereading5.once6.much7.toeat8.riding9.tobring10.tocleanⅢ.CompletethefollowingsentencesaccordingtotheChinese.(10points)1.quiteafew2.anyonefriendly3.atleasttwice4.helpsdohousework5.lessthanⅣ.Rewritethefollowingsentencesasrequired.(10points)1.What’s;the;weather;like2.It’sgoodtorelax3.So;that4.nobody;boring53 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity5.How;much;did;spendⅤ.Translate.(10points)1.Mymotherwantsmetodrinkit.Shesaysit’sgoodformyhealth.2.Doyoudrinkmilk?Hardlydrink,Idon’tlikeit.3.Whatdoesyourbestfriendusuallydoafterschool?Heusuallyexercises.4.Forty-fivepercentofstudentsexercisefourtosixtimesaweek.5.Theanswerstothequestionsaboutwatchingtelevisionwerealsointeresting.54 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityAppendixⅢGrammarPost-testⅠ.Choosethebestanswer.(30points)1.Thisismyfriend.Heis_outgoingandfunnierthanIam.A.muchB.muchmoreC.alittleD.alotofmore2.Hisjobis_exciting_hissister’s.A.more;asB.so;asC.as;asD.much;as3.Wehopeourlifecanget_.A.bestandbestB.betterandbetterC.goodandgoodD.wellandwell4.MyCDis_thanhers.A.moreexpensiveB.mostexpensiveC.morecheapD.mostcheap5.Doyouknowwhocansing_inyourclass?A.beautifulB.themostbeautifulC.beautifullyD.themostbeautifully6.Theoldwomandoesn’tmind_otherpeoplethinkof_.A.how;sheB.how;herC.that;herD.what;her7.Ilovesoapoperas.Ilike_thestoryandseewhat_next.A.tofollow;happensB.tofollow;happenedC.tofollowing;happensD.following;happened8.JimpassedEnglishtestagain,andhismotherbecame_happier.A.veryB.moreC.muchD.too9.Sheisverygoodatpainting.Shecanpaint_herteacher.A.asbetterasB.asbestasC.asgoodasD.aswellas10.I’msureyoucan_aprize.A.winB.beatC.takeD.make11.Therearemanyhouseson_sidesofthestreet.A.allB.everyC.eachD.both12.YeShiwenistalented_swimming.A.atB.onC.withD.in13.Lucyhas_moreforeignfriendsthanLily_.A.very;isB.much;hasC.alittle;doesD.alot;has14.Theyspent_readingstory-books.A.thealldayB.thewholedayC.wholethedayD.aallday55 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity15._youworkhard,you’llgetbettergrades.A.SoB.AsC.AslongasD.When16.Wemustkeeptheclassroom_.A.cleaningB.tocleanC.cleansD.clean17._alltheboysinhisclass,Tomistheshortest.A.OfB.ForC.FromD.In18.-Thanksforgivingmesomuchinformation.-_.A.That’sallrightB.NoproblemC.Itdoesn’tmatterD.BothAandB19._carefulyouare,_mistakesyou’llmake.A.Thefew;thelittleB.Themore;thefewerC.Themore;thefewD.Thefewer;themore20.Someonesaysasuperstarwillcometoourschool.Wereallywanttoknow_.A.WhatheisB.whatisheC.whoheisD.whoisheⅡ.Filltheblankswiththegivenwordsintheirproperforms.(10points)1.Tomis_(friendly)and_(outgoing)thanSam.2.I’mlouderthantheother_(kid)inmyclass.3.Miller’sisaverygoodstore.Wecanbuyclothesthemost_(cheap)there.4.MostpeoplethinkMr.Beanisoneof_(funny)actors.5.Ericenjoys_(play)tennis.6.Themembersoftheband_(perform)intheBirdNestlastweek.7.Itis_(hot)insummerofayear.8.Thesongis_(popular)thanthatone.9.Hedoesn’thaveajob.Sohehasnothing_(do)everyday.10.Itwasmyfirsttime_(see)themovie.Ⅲ.CompletethefollowingsentencesaccordingtotheChinese.(10points)1.你的钢笔和我的一样。Yourpen_____.2.我们学好英语很重要。It’s_____Englishwell.3.我的爸爸和妈妈都是作家。56 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity__my__writers.4.让我们去最近的饭店吃饭吧。Let’sgoto___fordinner.5.谢谢你告诉我去邮局的路。___methewaytothepostoffice.Ⅳ.Rewritethefollowingsentencesasrequired.(10points)1.Iliketohavefriendswhoaredifferentfromme.(对划线部分提问)___friendsdoyouliketohave?2.Theoneisgood.Thatoneisbetter.(合并为一句)Thatoneis__thisone.3.Ididn’tbuyanythingformyself.(改为同义句)I__formyself.4.Tarasingswell.Tinasingswelltoo.(合并为一句)Tarasins___Tina.5.Gameshowsmaynotbeveryexciting.(改为同义句)_gameshows_veryexciting.Ⅴ.Translate.(10points)1.你可以最舒适地坐着因为他们有最大的座位。2.你认为你们班谁唱歌最好？3.只要孩子们高兴，我愿意和他们一起玩。4.事实上，Tom比我更不努力。5.你认为选秀节目怎么样？我无所谓。后测参考答案Ⅰ.Choosethebestanswer.(30points)1-5BCBAD6-10DACDA11-15DDCBC16-20DADBCⅡ.Filltheblankswiththegivenwordsintheirproperforms.(10points)1.friendlier;morepopular2.kids3.cheaply4.thefunniest5.playing6.performed7.thehottest8.morepopular9.todo10.toseeⅢ.CompletethefollowingsentencesaccordingtotheChinese.(10points)1.The;same;as;mine2.important;for;us;to;learn3.Both;of;parents;are4.the;closet;restaurant5.Thanks;for;tellingⅣ.Rewritethefollowingsentencesasrequired.(10points)57 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversity1.What;kind;of2.better;than3.brought;nothing4.as;well;as5.Maybe;areⅤ.Translate.(10points)1.Youcansitthemostcomfortablybecausetheyhavethebiggestseats.2.Whodoyouthinksingsthebestinyourclass?3.I’dliketoplaywiththekidsaslongastheyarehappy.4.Infact,Tomismuchnothard-workingthanme.5.-Whatdoyouthinkoftalentshow?-Idon’tmindthem.58 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityAppendixⅣ访谈提纲1.你曾经学过有关元认知策略的知识吗？2.自修订版英语课程标准增加调控策略也就是元认知策略后，你曾经指导过学生在语法学习中运用元认知策略吗？3.你怎样讲授语法知识？4.在语法教学中，你存在什么问题？5.你认为老师应该在学生使用元认知策略学习语法过程中起什么作用？6.在语法教学中进行元认知策略的培训会遇到什么困难？你的建议是什么？59 Master’sThesisofQingdaoUniversityAcknowledgementsOnthecompletionofmythesis,Iwouldliketotakethisopportunitytothankallthosewhohaveassistedmetoaccomplishthisthesis.Firstofall,Iespeciallywanttoexpressmysinceregratitudetomysupervisor,Dr.LouYongqiang,whohasgivenmealotofworthyguidancefromthebeginningofthetopic,thefirstdrafttothefinaledition.Hehasprovidedmewithalotofconstructivesuggestions.Withouthispatientguidance,insightfulcomments,andconstantencouragement,itwouldhavebeenimpossibleformetocompletethisthesis.Especiallyhisstrictattitudetowardsacademicresearchimpressesmemost,andinspiresmeinthefutureworkandstudy.Next,mysincereandheartythanksalsogotomytutoroffcampus,Ms.ZhangZhiqingandteachersintheDepartmentofEnglish,whoseinstructionhasbroadenedmyhorizonandequippedmewiththecompetencetocarryouttheresearch.Undertheinfluenceoftheseteachers,Ihavelearnedtheoriesandresearchmethodology.Lastbutnottheleast,Iwouldliketothankmybelovedfamilyfortheirsupportandencouragement.I’malsogratefultomyfriendsandallthosewhohavegivenmehelptoworkoutmyproblemswhenconductingthisresearch.Thankallthestudentsandteacherswhohaveparticipatedinthisstudy.Withouttheircooperationandsupport,thedatacannotbecollectedsuccessfully.60 Ｍ５ａｓｔｅｒｓＴｈｅｓｉｓｏｆｉｎｄａｏＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙＱｇＳｔａｔｅｍｅｎｔｓ学位论文独创性声明本人声明，所呈交的学位论文系本人在导师指导下独立完成的研究成果。文中依法引用他人的成果，均已做出明确标注或得到许可。论文内容未包含法律意义上已属于他人的任何形式的研究成果，也不包含本人已用于其他学位申请的论文或成果Ｄ一切责任和后果本人如违反上述声明，愿意承担由此引发的。论文作者签■名：日期：年Ｊ月扣日学位论文知识产权权属声明本人在导师指导下所完成的学位论文及相关的职务作品，知识产权归属学校。学校享有以任何方式发表、复制、公开阅览、借阅以及申请专利等权利。本人离校后发表或使用学位论文或与该论文直接相关的学术论文或成果时，署名单位仍然为青岛大学。本学位论文属于：保密□，在年解密后适用于本声明。不保密／ｇ“”（请在以上方框内打ｖ）论文作者签名：日期：年Ｊ：月日导师签名：日期：年：Ｔ月ｋ日（本声明的版青岛大学所有，未经许可，任何单位及任何个人不得擅自使用）６１