the creation of context in Senoir English Grammar Teaching 初稿.doc

Creating Context in Senior English Grammar TeachingBy 。Under the Supervision of Professor Wang LizhongSubmitted in Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementsFor the Degree of Bachelor of ArtsForeign Language DepartmentNanchang UniversityMarch 15, 2013ABSTRACT Grammar plays an essential role in a language, especially in language teaching. Whether grammar should be taught, how to teach grammar, and how to enable student to absorb better and to adapt grammar to real life have been a controversial topic in grammar teaching area.This thesis expounds how to enable students to learn and adapt English Grammar initiatively and happily by creating context in grammar teaching, which is to accomplish the task of teaching situations, to truly understand the grammar in order to use in real life. This method is helpful to change the traditional cramming grammar teaching, which can achieve the comprehensive goal of the current new English curriculum. 摘 要语法不仅在语言中占着重要地位，而且在英语语言教育中也起着不可忽视的作用。 中学语法教不教、如何教语法、怎么样才能让学生更好地吸收并运用于实际生活成为了中学语法教学界一直以来争论的话题。本文章探讨了如何在语法教学中通过设置情景，让学生们主动地愉快地参与情景中完成教学任务，达到真正学懂语法，运用语法到现实生活的目的，这有助于改变传统的填鸭式语法教学，真正地达到现行教学大纲的综合目标。CONTENTSABSTRACT2摘 要3Chapter One INTRODUCTION61.1 Purpose and Significance of the Thesis61.2 Structure of the thesis9Chapter Two Literature Review102.1 Grammar teaching102.2 The Creation of Context112.3 The Creation of Context in Grammar teaching112.3.1 Definition112.3.2 Goal of the creation of context in grammar teaching12Chapter Three The status quo of Present Senior English Grammar Teaching133.1 Monotonous teaching methods153.2 Few interactions between students and the teacher163.3 Few relation of grammar teaching and culture16Chapter FourTHE WAYS OF CREATING CONTEXT IN SENIOR ENGLISH GRAMMAR TEACHING184.1 The teachers role184.2 The Students role204.3 The Ways of Creating Context in Senior English Grammar Teaching214.3.1 Using language214.3.2 Linking the real life to the grammar244.3.3 Using multi-media264.3.4 Using Task-based Language Teaching27Chapter Five Conclusion32BIBLIOGRAPHY33Acknowledgement34Chapter OneINTRODUCTION1.1 Purpose and Significance of the ThesisA fierce debate has arising whose focus has been on the role of grammar in language teaching and the methods in which grammar should be presented and practiced. Some hold the view that students need to be given detailed grammar rules if they are to learn a foreign language successfully, and some think one of grammar teaching is to make students aware of grammatical information. In term of methods, grammar should be taught and practiced in context. The teaching of context is the combination of teaching background, teaching scene and the teaching activities which are suitable for the learners to achieve the teaching goals. Just like a German scholar once said:” you cant eat up 15g salt if it is just salt. But if it is mixed up in a bowl of delicious soup, you can easily get it in the process of enjoying the meal” (Pachelbel Johann, 1991). The context in grammar teaching is accordance with many theories.1. Behavioral Psychology considers a language as a behavior, which is a series of stimulus and responses: S1-R1, S2-R2 S1 is the real stimulus, R1 is response. While the S1 is equivalent to what is called the context in language teaching, S2 is equivalent to the context created by the teachers language. In combination of S1 and S2, the virtual context can be transferred by language and learners finish the whole process of learning under the two stimulus. 2. The Constructivist learning theory focuses on the creation of teaching atmosphere, and criticizes the traditional teaching method which has no teaching context. It advocates that we should learn knowledge in certain kinds of context. The context learning means that learners should grasp knowledge in the process of related teaching context under the direction of the teaching objectives. According to the constructivist learning theory, knowledge is not absorbed through teachers analysis, but with the help of teachers and classmates.3. Situated Cognition holds the view that the development of knowledge and competence is like the development of language, which occurs under the activities that practice the knowledge. Whitehead，A.Npoints out that dull knowledge can only been accepted but not adopted or examined. Therefore, Situated Cognition surpasses the traditional theory of learning and focuses on the situational, real, exercisable, and social knowledge. According to the new English curriculum standards, the focus of it is to change the method which over emphases initiation of grammar and new words and ignores the development of students competence of speaking, listening and writing. It does not mean that we do not need grammar teaching any more. It means that grammar teaching should be improved and integrated with communicative competence which includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Grammar teaching should be closer to real life, arouse students interests and develop their thinking and communicative competence.It is well known that the knowledge comes from the practice, and it also reflects the objective things. The knowledge is made up of plentiful lifelike contents, while the words and textbooks are abstract and brief, and the rest job is for the teacher and students. The teaching context is to regenerate the real objects and the related knowledge background in textbooks. We should apply a new kind of teaching method in order to change the traditional grammar teaching method and improve students communicative ability. We should create teaching contexts in senior English grammar teaching.1.2 Structure of the thesisThis thesis consists of five indispensible parts. The first part serves as an introduction to identify the purpose and significance of context in Grammar teaching as the structure of this thesis.Chapter Two mainly expounds the Definition of Grammar and the method of the Creation of Context in Grammar Teaching. A conceptual framework which includes definition of grammar, context, and goal of the Creation of Context in Grammar Teaching presents.Chapter Three presents the status quo of present senior English grammar teaching. Some disadvantages are discussed in this chapter. Chapter Four is the most important part which deals with the ways of Creating Context in Senior English Grammar Teaching. In this part, those ways are put forward to enhance the ability of adopting the creating Context in Grammar Teaching presents.Chapter Five serves as the conclusion for the thesis. Chapter TwoLiterature Review2.1 Grammar teachingAccording to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Longman, 1995), Grammar is the study and practice of the rules by which words change their forms and are combined into sentences. There are two basic elements in this definition: the rules of grammar and the study and practice of the rules.Despite many different views about the role of grammar in language learning, the importance of grammar can not be denied. It is believed that teaching grammar is less important for children than for adults, and it is less important in listening than in writing. The answers to whether grammar should be taught or not and to what extent grammar should be taught are being answered.2.2 The Creation of Context What is the context? To simple level, context is the environment of language. In deep terms, context is discourses that surrounds a language unit and helps to determine its interpretation. Context is the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event. Context is a narrowly used source of information in our computing environments. As a result, we have a poor understanding of what context is and how it can be used. 2.3 The Creation of Context in Grammar teaching2.3.1 Definition Grammar is a form of language. Context is one of the elements that decide the meaning of the language: a same word would have different meanings in different contexts (Maynard, 1998). If learners have contexts or particular situations, grammar difficulties could be solved easily. As teachers, when we are teaching grammar, we must pay attention to subjective initiatives, and make grammar analysis under a kind of teaching context in order to enable students to have a deep perception. In grammatical classroom teaching, teachers should create teaching contexts as realistic as possible.As the professional know, there are different ways of presenting grammar in the classroom. Among them, there are most frequently used and discussed; they are deductive method, the inductive method, and guided discovery method. In the inductive method, the teacher provides learners with authentic language data and induces learner to realize grammar rules without any form of explicit explanation, which the difference in guided discovery method is the process of the discovery is carefully guided and assisted by the teacher and the rules are then elicited and taught explicitly. When the inductive method and guided discovery method are used, context in grammar teaching are often used. For example, in order to present the two forms this is and these are, the teacher will first hold up a book, saying This is a book. He/She will do the same showing other objects. Then the teacher holds up several books and says these are books. After several similar examples, it is hoped students will understand that these are is used with plural forms of nouns. Then students are invited to apply the newly presented structure to produce sentences with given visual aids or verbal prompts.2.3.2 Goal of the creation of context in grammar teachingThere are various forms of creating context, which combines authenticity and virtual, individual and community. By creating context, not only the roles will be presented and realized vividly, but also the relationship between the teacher and students can develop well. In class, teachers are encouraged to be adventurous as well as critical. Above all, teachers energy should be focused mainly on providing opportunities for students real language practices, and regarding grammar as a resource rather than as an end itself. Help students to learn faster to use the grammar items correctly and appropriately because its easier to learn to use the grammar items in context. As we all know, teaching contexts are very important in many forms of learning English and they are also very important in senior English grammar teaching. When teachers in senior middle school use these ways or others to create related teaching contexts in English class, both the teachers and students will benefit a lot.Chapter ThreeThe status quo of Present Senior English Grammar Teaching Oxford Advanced English-Chinese Word defines that “Grammar-rules for forming words and combing them into sentences.” That is to say, grammar is the rules to create sentences, which is the absolutely necessary part in English language learning. Therefore, grammar teaching becomes indispensable in English teaching in Senior High School. Grammar learning can improve students learning ability to stand on their own energy to lay a good foundation for lifelong learning and development of students. Looking back to the past annual college entrance examinations, multiples choice, cloze, reading comprehension and writing involve a large number of grammar studies.In the study of grammar, the factors of students and the learning attitude and learning grammar engineering degree is very important, but the teacher imparting knowledge is more important. There is a noticeable impact for teachers choosing teaching content, and teaching method. So the study of senior high school grammar teaching has a great impact on improving the quality of English Teaching. While through the current situations, we will find that there are lots of disadvantages in senior English grammar teaching. Altogether there are mainly 4 disadvantages: monotonous teaching methods, theoretical analysis of teachers, few interactions between students and teachers, and low learning efficiency of students.3.1 Monotonous teaching methodsIt is widely seen that students are busy in writing down notes in English class in Senior High School. The senior English grammar teaching methods are very monotonous. The teachers always just teach students the grammar rules and they dont give students enough time and opportunities to practice their oral English and the actual usage of the grammar. They just write down the rules but not to really use them. The teacher keeps indoctrinating and it is what we call “spoon-feed”. As a result, students learn English grammar just for the goal of learning it, even not knowing the real application. The senior English teachers seldom create related teaching context to help analyze the grammar rules. The class has few activities, games, and speaking opportunities. There are quite many teachers taking the traditional pattern of spoon-feeding, namely the teachers regard themselves as the center, ignoring the age and psychological features of students, forcing them to indoctrination grammatical knowledge. This kind of teaching method, pure examination, is not only against the teaching principle of student-centered, but also regards the students as machine, so that students do not have enough time to think independently and use the language itself. The original flexible language learning becomes boring, and students enthusiasm for learning English changes into severe damage, which does harm to their listening, speaking, reading, writing and the comprehensive competence.3.2 Few interactions between students and the teacherAs what I expound above, quite many teachers takes the traditional pattern of spoon-feeding” in English class. That leads to a inevitable result: there are few interactions between students and the teacher. Many senior middle school teachers come across a phenomenon that most students are very passive in class and they dont want to answer questions and try their best to avoid direct communications with their teachers, especially when the teacher puts forward a question over the whole class and hopes anyone of the students can answer it. 3.3 Few relation of grammar teaching and cultureLanguage is a tool for communication, which calls us for learning the culture, environment and custom of English-speaking country. When learning English, we should also learn what culture and habits that the language involves. The overall goal of new English curriculum is to develop students comprehensive ability, which includes language skills, language knowledge, affect, cultural awareness and learning strategies. Realizing the culture and real life of west can be a great help for learning grammar.Present grammar teaching lacks culture more or less. Following I explain how to combine culture and grammar by creating context in grammar teaching in Senior High School. Chapter FourTHE WAYS OF CREATING CONTEXT IN SENIOR ENGLISH GRAMMAR TEACHING4.1 The teachers roleTeaching and learning is the whole of class. While in present English class, especially in Grammar teaching, students to the teacher is what submit to authority. The relationship between teaching and learning shows: I speak, you listen; I ask, you answer; I write, you copy me, you receive. The whole teaching process just reflects students the one-way input from teachers. It is widely seen that students obey the absolute authority mechanically without thinking carefully on their own. So what is the exact right role that teachers should play when creating context in grammar teaching? From my point of view, teachers should be a guide firstly. The teachers should first understand the existing cognitive conceptual framework for students, so as to create a zone of proximal development, and then guide the students to recall the existing knowledge, and activate their existing knowledge reserve. The zone of proximal development is a concept created by seminal psychologist Lev Vygotsky, which is the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. (Vygotsky, 1978) In other words, it is the range of abilities that a person can perform with assistance, but cannot yet performance. After leading students to recall the existing knowledge, the teacher can activate the students knowledge, and put the knowledge into new learning, so that students can easily enter the active state of learning. When teaching grammar by creating context, the teacher can be a guide first and then import the new knowledge by some means.For example, When we teach grammar topics of non-finite verbs, we can start from the students existing knowledge, and enable students to create the sentence structure different from this saying “努力就会成功.” Students should be able to write parallel clauses and conditions of the two kinds of sentence patterns: “Work hard and you will succeed.” “If you work hard, you will succeed.” And then the teacher lets students to express with another sentence. Then lead students to the non-finite verbs: Working hard, you will succeed. And that is a way of creating context in Senior English Grammar teaching which will be expounded following. 4.2 The Students roleThe students are just passive language recipients if the teacher uses the traditional teaching methods. When the teacher teaches grammar by creating context, the students role should change accordingly.1) Adaptable.When