【浅谈小学英语语法教学（英文版）（论文）】

OnTeachingEnglishGrammarinPrimarySchoolsChapter1IntroductionResearchbackgroundThehistoryofforeignlanguageteachingshowsthatforeignlanguageteachinghasalwaysevolvedbetweentwodifferentperspectives,proandantigrammarteaching.Animportanttopicinappliedlinguisticsandsecondlanguageacquisitionresearchisthedebateaboutwhetherlearnersshouldpayattentiontogrammar(seeWei-DongDaiandQing-MeiRen,2006).TheEFLapproachesthatfavourgrammarteachinginclude:thetraditionalgrammar-translationapproachandthecognitiveapproachbasedontransformativegenerativegrammar.ThesetwoapproachestoteachingEnglishusuallyuseanexplicitgrammarapproachanddonotpayenoughattentiontomeaningandtheactualuseoflanguage.Anti-grammarapproachestoEnglishlanguageteachingincludetheauditoryandcommunicativeapproaches.Thesetwoapproachesadvocateanimplicitapproachtoteachinggrammar,ignoringorevenabandoningit,tothedetrimentofstudents'accuracyofexpressionandwrittenlanguageskills.Sincetheearly1990s,thecommunicativemethodhasbeeninastrongpositioninEnglishteachinginChina.Sincethe1990s,scholarshavebeenreconceptualisingandresearchinggrammarteaching,andexploringnewwaysofteachinggrammarhasbecomeahottopicinlanguageteaching.Inordertoexplorenewwaysofteachinggrammar,itisnecessarytoimplementatop-downreformofgrammarteaching,startingwiththeconstructionofanewgrammarsystem,changingEnglishteachers'viewofgrammarandgrammarteaching,developingteachingmaterialsthatsuittheneedsofstudentsatdifferentlevels,andreflectinganewviewofgrammarandgrammarteachingingrammarteaching.Itiswellknownthatthebestwaytolearnalanguageistoacquireitasifitwereyourmothertongue.Manypeoplebelievethatwhenwefirstlearnedourmothertonguewedidnotlearnthecomplexrulesofgrammaranddidnotevenunderstandtheword'grammar',butovertimewenaturallymasteredourmothertongue.However,weoftenoverlookthefactthatwelearnourmothertonguebybeingimmersedinit,surroundedbyalotofinformationfromit,andonlyafterayearortwoofsilencedowemastersomeofthebasicwordsofeverydaycommunication.Incontrast,theteachingofEnglishinprimaryschoolstodaylacksapurelyEnglish-speakingenvironment,andmoststudents'learningofEnglishislimitedto45minutesintheclassroom,withlittleopportunitytocommunicateinEnglishafterschool,leavingthemwithverylimitedtimeandopportunitiestolearnEnglish.Basedonthisbackground,wemustnotneglectthelearningofbasicEnglishgrammarknowledgewhileemphasisingthedevelopmentofcommunicativecompetence.WeshouldseegrammarasacrutchtosupportstudentsontheirwaytolearningEnglish,andshouldnotsimplyexcludegrammarteaching.1.2ResearchsignificanceIntoday'ssociety,theimportanceofEnglishteachingisself-evident.Inrecentyears,China'sEnglishcurriculumhasundergoneaseriesofreforms,andfromthegrammarteachingrequirementssetoutinthelatestEnglishcurriculumstandardsforcompulsoryeducation,wecanseethatgrammarteachingisanessentialpartofprimaryschoolstudents'Englishlearning.Grammaticalcompetenceisalsoanimportantpartofcommunicativelanguageskills,ameanstoachievecommunicativepurposesandaservicetodevelopstudents'abilitytouselanguageinacomprehensiveway.TeachingEnglishgrammarintheupperprimarygradesisparticularlyimportantinordertomotivatestudentstoexpressthemselvesboldlyandaccuratelyandtoimprovetheircommunicativecompetence.Grammaristheinternalruleoflanguage,andonlywithabasicknowledgeofgrammarandbasicEnglishstructurescanweimproveourlearningofEnglish.ThisstudyanalysesthecurrentsituationofteachingEnglishgrammartoprimaryschoolstudentsfromtheperspectiveofsomebasictheoriesinthefieldsoflinguistics,languageteachingandpsychology,andcombinesthemwiththespecificrealityofEnglishteachinginprimaryschoolsinChinatoseekpracticalstrategiesforprimaryschoolstudentstolearnEnglishgrammar,toenrichanddevelopthecauseofEnglishbasiceducationinChina,andtocontributetothescientificresearchonEnglishinChina.FromtheperspectiveofEnglishclassroompracticeinprimaryschools,alargenumberofobservationsaremadeespeciallyonsomedailyEnglishlessons.Throughquestionnairesandinterviewswithstudentsandfront-lineteachers,relevantdataarecollatedtoanalysethevariousproblemsthatariseintheirgrammarteaching.Onthisbasis,wecombinethecharacteristicsofprimaryschoolstudents'physicalandmentaldevelopment,andcombinelinguistictheoryandpedagogytoputforwardcorrespondingcountermeasuresandsuggestions,aimingtoimprovetheeffectivenessofprimaryschoolEnglishteaching,tohelpprimaryschoolstudents'Englishlearning,andtoprovidereferenceandinspirationforprimaryschoolEnglishteachersingrammarteaching.1.3ResearchpurposeAfteralongperiodofteachingpractice,theMinistryofEducationpromulgatedtheEnglishCurriculumStandardsforFull-timeCompulsoryEducation(2011Edition)in2011,andthisreformclearlylistedthegrammartobelearnedatprimaryschoollevelinAppendix2.Sincetheimplementationofthenewstandards,theawarenessofteachersandscholarsabouttheteachingofgrammarinprimaryschoolshaschangedgreatly,andthereisaclearunderstandingofwhetherEnglishgrammarshouldbetaught,andtheimportanceofteachingEnglishgrammarhasonceagainbeenpushedintotheprimaryclassroom.Theteacheristhemainsubjectoftheimplementationofthenewcurriculumconcept,andthekeytothesuccessofthereformliesintheteacher'sclassroomteaching.Thispaperexaminesthistopicinthiscontext.1.4Literaturereview1.4.1RelevantresearchesinChinaThroughoutthehistoryofEnglishgrammarteachinginChina,fromthefoundingofthecountryin1949untiltheendofthe1960s,EnglishgrammarteachinginChinamainlyadoptedthegrammartranslationmethodprevalentintheWestinthe18thand19thcenturies,andthefocusoflearningwasontheexplanationofgrammarrulesandtheanalysisofforms.Bythemid-1970s,theshortcomingsofthegrammar-translationmethodweregraduallyidentifiedandEnglishteachinginChinawasreformed,withgrammarteachingenteringaphaseofexploration.Sincethereformandopeningup,Englishteachinghasdevelopedtremendously.Inthe1980sand1990s,Englishgrammarteachingbegantoadoptthecommunicativeteachingmethod,fromthepast,whentheemphasiswasongrammarastheoutline,tothepast,whentheemphasiswasentirelyongrammar.Inthe1980sand1990s,thecommunicativeapproachtoteachingEnglishgrammarbecamewidespread,andtheemphasisongrammarasasyllabuschangedtoacompleteneglectofgrammarteaching.Inthelastdecadeorso,somenegativeconsequenceshavebecomeincreasinglyevidentinteaching.ThescholarZengXianmo(2003)pointsoutthat:students'listeningandspeakingskillshavesuperficiallyimproved,buttheiraccuracyhasgreatlydecreased;thespeedofreadingisfasterthaninthepast,butthedegreeofcomprehensionhasgreatlydecreased;andinwritingandtranslation,studentsarenow,onthewhole,farworsethanbefore.R.Thus,inrecentyearsexpertshavefoundthattheteachingofEnglishinChinahasnotbeeneffective,andafteranalysingandsummarisingthesituation,finallytheteachingofEnglishgrammarbackexplicitlyintotheteachingprogramme.Afterthesetwoextremesintheteachingofgrammar,weshouldnolongerdebatewhetherweshouldteachgrammar,butratherexaminethequestionofwhatweshouldteachandhowweshouldteachit.AccordingtoShuangDingfang(1996),"thestatusandroleofgrammarinthewholeforeignlanguageteachingisnotaquestionofwhethergrammarshouldbetaught,butaquestionofwhattoteachandhowtoteachit.""Whattoteach"isthescopeofgrammarthatshouldbetaught;"howtoteach"shouldbetheteachingmethodthatteachersshouldadoptinthepastfordifferentgrammarteachingcontents.InprimaryschoolEnglishgrammarteaching,"whattoteach"thisproblem,inthe11theditionofthesyllabushasbeenclearlydefined,withthisscope,primaryschoolgrammarteachinghasabasicbasis,butintheteachingofspecificlearningwhich,towhatextent,butalsoneedteacherstocarefullyconsider.Thequestionof'howtoteach'isthefocusofthispaper,andthereisawiderangeofopinionsontheteachingofgrammarinprimaryschools,aseachteacherhasadifferenttheoreticalbaseandteachinglevel.LiHong(2011),ateacherintheimplementationofthenewcurriculum,pointsoutthatprimaryschoolgrammarteachingshouldbecombinedwithmultimediatoformintuitiverepresentations;itcantaketheformofchildren'ssongsandjinglestoattractstudents'interest;itcanbecombinedwithlifepracticeandbeusedflexibly;andmoreexercisescanbedonetomakerealknowledgecomeoutofpractice".HuangMingminandWuJinhong(2012)putforwardfiveprinciplesthatprimaryschoolEnglishteachingshouldadhereto:①thethree-dimensionalcombinationofform,meaningandusage;②theprincipleoflearningstages;③theprincipleofcommunicative;④theprincipleofdiversity;⑤theprincipleofinteractivity.Accordingtothesefiveprinciples,itisbelievedthatprimaryschoolgrammarteachingshouldcreateacontext,usechanttosensegrammar,andsummarizegrammarthroughtaskactivities.RenCuiqin(2007)suggeststhattheteachingofgrammarinprimaryschoolsshouldbe"human-centred"andshouldfollowtheprinciplesofimplicit,meaning-firstandappropriateness.YuLin(2007)proposesfourteachingstrategiesforgrammarteaching:visualperceptionstrategy,visualisationofgrammar;inductivedeductionstrategy,autonomyofgrammar;raprhymestrategy,simplificationofgrammar;fairytaleperformancestrategy,funofgrammar.DifferentschoolsofgrammarteachingabroadhavehadaprofoundimpactonEnglishgrammarteachinginChina,butweshouldnotsticktooneschoolofthought;wecanreformanduseanymethodthatisconducivetoimprovingtheeffectivenessofEnglishteaching.1.4.2RelevantresearchesinforeigncountriesInthe18thand19thcenturies,the'grammar-translationmethod',firstproposedbytheGermanscholarsMedingerandFeck,longdominated.Itadvocatedtheanalysisoflinguisticrules,thepredominanceofwrittenlanguageasthelearningmaterial,andthefactthatlearningaforeignlanguagemeantlearningandmemorisinggrammaticalrulesandreinforcingthemthroughextensivemechanicaltranslationexercises.Theadvantagesofthegrammar-translationmethodare:①ithelpsstudentstomastertheknowledgestructureofEnglish;②itsavestimeandefficiencybyteachinginthemothertongue;⑧itemphasisesthetrainingofreadingandtranslation,whichcanimprovethequalityofstudents'readingandtranslationskillsandincreasetheirhorizons.Thelimitationsofthisapproachare:①over-emphasisontheteacher'sroleinexplaining,neglectingstudents'practicalcommunicativetraining;②emphasisonthedevelopmentofreadingandwritingskills,neglectingspeakingandlisteningtraining;③emphasisonmechanicaltraining,lackofalivelylanguageenvironment,neglectingstudents'abilitytocreatelanguage.Attheendofthe19thcentury,awaveofreformwassetoffintheworldofforeignlanguageteaching,andcountriesbegantostrengthentherequirementsforspeakingskills,andthegrammar-translationmethodwaschallenged.TheGermaneducatorFietowasthefirsttoproposethe'directmethod',whichemphasisedtheuseofthetargetlanguageintheclassroom,focusingonoralexpressionandnaturalcommunication,avoidingtheuseofthemothertongueandtranslationexercises.Grammarrulesarenevertaughtdirectly,andstudentsaretaughtEnglishgrammarinaninductiveway.Thedirectapproachaimstodevelopstudents'communicativecompetenceinEnglish,butitoveremphasisesanddistortsthesimilaritiesbetweenlearningEnglishinthenaturalcontextofthemothertongueandintheclassroom,equatingclassroomteachingwithexternalrealityandlackingsomelinguistictheoreticalbasis,andhasbeenrepeatedlycriticised.Thisapproach,whichemphasisedcommunicationattheexpenseoflinguisticaccuracy,wasdetrimentaltothefuturedevelopmentofprimaryschoolchildren'slanguageskills.Asthe20thcenturyprogressed,languageteachingbegantofocusonthedevelopmentofeverydayoralandcommunicativeskills,andinthe1940s,duetothedominanceofstructuralismintheUnitedStates,the'listeningmethod'emergedinEnglishteaching,emphasisingtheemphasisonstudents'listeningandspeakingskills,withrepeateddrillsandexercises,followedbyreadingandwritingskills.Inthelate1970sandearly1980s,TracyTerrelandStephenKrashenproposedthe"naturalapproach"toforeignlanguageteaching.Theyarguedagainstteachinggrammarintheclassroom,arguingthatgrammardidnotrequireexplicitanalysisorspecialattention.However,asresearchintosecondlanguageacquisitioncontinued,itbecameclearthatoppositiontotheteachingofgrammarleddirectlytoadeclineinstudents'oralaccuracyandliteracyskills.Swain(1985)foundthatevenwhenlearnerswereexposedtoalargeamountoflanguagematerial,theywerestillunabletousecertaingrammaticalformscorrectlyandhadtogothroughformalgrammarinstruction.asurveyconductedbyCelce-Murciain1984atanAmericanuniversityshowedthatsomeforeignstudentsattheuniversityhadnotreceivedgrammarhadnotbeentaughtgrammar,andalthoughtheyhadlivedthereforoversevenyearsandwereveryfluentinoralexpression,theirwrittenexpressionwasverylow.Therefore,manyresearchersbelievethattheultimategoaloflanguagelearningistocommunicate,andthequestionofhowtoachieveafocusonbothcommunicationandgrammarintheclassroomhasbecomecentraltoresearchers'concerns.ThescholarHengRenquan(2007)hassortedthroughdifferentteachingmethodsofgrammaticalknowledgeinlanguageteachingabroadinrecentyears,andthemainonesarethefollowing:processingteachingmethods,interactivefeedback,reinforcementinthispaper,task-basedteaching,collaborativeoutputtasksanddiscourse-basedgrammarteachingmethods.Infact,anylanguagegenrehasitsownvalueandmeaning,andthereformofgrammarteachingisnotanovernightprocess,butisdevelopedthroughcontinuousexploration.Weshouldsummarisethestrengthsandweaknessesofvariousteachingmethods.Nomethodcanbeperfect,andweshouldbeabletomakethebestofourstrengthsandavoidourweaknesses,andmakeeffectiveuseofdifferentteachingmethodsatdifferentstagesindifferentperiodsinordertooptimiseEnglishgrammarteaching.

Chapter2CurrentSituationofprimaryschoolgrammarteaching2.1LessattentiontogrammarteachingIn2001,theMinistryofEducationissuedtheEnglishCurriculumStandardsforFull-timeCompulsoryEducation(ExperimentalDraft),whichclearlystatedthat"thefocusofthisEnglishcurriculumreformistochangethetendencyoftheEnglishcurriculumtopaytoomuchattentiontotheteachingandtransmissionofgrammarandvocabularyknowledgeandtoneglectthecultivationofstudents'practicallanguageskills.ThefocusofthisEnglishcurriculumreformistochangethetendencyoftheEnglishcurriculumtoplacetoomuchemphasisontheteachingandtransmissionofgrammarandvocabulary,andtoneglectthecultivationofstudents'practicallanguageskills.Withtheintroductionofthiscurriculumstandard,thetraditionalgrammar-translationteachingmethodfacedahugechallengeandwascriticisedbymanyteachersandexperts.Someteachersmistakenlybelievethatintheclassroomtheyshouldonlypayattentiontothedevelopmentofstudents'listeningandspeakingskillsandcanignoregrammarteaching.Someteachersstarttosetupvarioustaskactivitiesintheclassroomandletstudentsrepeatverballyorimitatemechanicallyintheactivities,butdonottalkaboutthegrammarphenomenon.Inthelongrun,althoughstudents'oralexpressionabilityhasimprovedcomparedtothepast,duetothelackofcorrespondinggrammaticalknowledge,studentsmakefrequenterrorsintheirspeechandfragmentedsentences,andtheaccuracyandappropriatenessoflanguageisgreatlyreduced,whichisverydetrimentaltotheimprovementofstudents'futurelanguageability.ProfessorHuChun-donghaspointedoutthat:-"PrimaryEnglishteachingcannotexcludebasiclanguagerules,suchasgrammarrulesandpronunciationrules,andmustnotblamethefailureofteachinglanguagerulesonthelanguagelawsthemselves."ThescholarQiuLanalsopointedoutafteranalysingandstudyingnearly70Englishlessons:"ThemostfundamentalfactorthatrestrictsthequalityandefficiencyofcurrentprimaryschoolEnglishteachingistheneglectoftheteachingoflanguagerules."Asweallknow,publicobservationlessonsshouldcoincidewithregularteachingasmuchaspossible,anditspurposeistospreadadvancedteachingideasandmethods,todiscussthelawsofteaching,topromoteteachingexperienceasanimportantcommunicationplatform,andtoprovidefront-lineteacherswithvisualexamplesofteaching.Intheactualclassteachingprocess,grammarteachinginpublicclassesisgreatlyrejected.Itisworththinkingaboutwhythemajorityofteachersignoregrammarteachinginpublicobservationclasses.Therealpurposeofopenlessonsshouldbetobeauthenticandpractical,nottoputonashow,nottowhitewasheducation.Ifwetalkaboutgrammarinpubliclessons,grammarteachingisboundtosuffer,andthepubliclessonswilllosetheirdemonstrationrole.Thus,theimportanceofgrammarteachinginprimaryEnglishisunanimouslyrecognised,butitsstatusinsomeexemplaryclassroomsisworrying.2.2LowinterestinlearninggrammarAlbertEinsteinsaid,"Interestisthebestteacher."Interestplaysacrucialroleinstudents'learningprocess,especiallyinprimaryschoolstudents.Intereststimulatesthedesiretolearnandisthedrivingforcebehindlearning.Oncestudentshavedevelopedaninterestinwhattheyarelearning,theyhaveastrongmotivationtolearnandareabletomaintainsustainedattentiontowhattheyarelearning,whichdirectlyaffectstheirlearningoutcomes.Throughtheinterviews,teachersgenerallyagreedthatstudentsinthelowerprimarygradesareveryinterestedinEnglish,butasthegradesgoup,somegrammarknowledgeincreases,students'interestinlearningEnglishgraduallydecreases,classparticipationbecomesmoreandmorepassive,andthepolarisationbetweenthetwolevelsisveryserious.Inthefaceoftheboringgrammarcontent,theheavyteachingloadandthelimitedclassroomtime,fewteachersareabletosetupdifferentcontextsforstudentsinrelationtogrammarknowledge.Mostofthemfollowtherequirementssetoutinthetextbooksandlessonplans,anddonotrecognisetheactualmasteryofstudents.Inparticular,someabstractconceptsandtermsthatareuniquetoEnglishareunfamiliartostudentsandarenoteasilyunderstoodbythemandoftenconfused.Withoutfullunderstanding,studentscanonlymemorisetheserulesbyrote,andtheycaneasilymakemistakesintheprocessofoutputbecausetheydonotrememberthemwell.Inordertostimulateandcultivatestudents'interestinlearninggrammarknowledge,itisnecessarytomaketheboringgrammarteachinginteresting,tocreategoodsituationsforstudentstouselanguage,andtohelpthemsummariseinthesituationssothatthegrammarknowledgetheylearncanbememorisedandputintopractice.ManyprimaryschoolEnglishteachersfindgrammarteachingverytricky,asstudentsareveryinterestedinthestoriesandscenariosineachthematicunit,butarenotexcitedwhenitcomestogrammar,makinggrammarteachingtheleastpopularaspectoftheEnglishclassroom.Theauthorfoundthroughclassroomvisitsandinterviewswithfrontlineteachersthatmostteachersteachgrammarinasingleway,usuallyusingthesameteachingmethodsfordifferentgrammaticalknowledge.Forexample,someteachersliketousethemethodofenhancingthetextdisplay.Whenevergrammaristaught,theteacherisalwaysthefirsttothinkofusingbold,italicandunderlinetoattractstudents'attention,andonlyifthismethoddoesnotworkwilltheteacheruseanotherteachingmethod.Instead,mostteachersoftenusetherepetitivedrillmethod,wherestudentsuseanewlylearnedsentencepatternandkeepimitatingitverballyuntiltheymasterit.Inaddition,withthepopularityofinformationtechnology,manyteachersliketodownloadsomelessonplansormultimediacoursewarefromtheInternet.AfterlisteningtoseveralEnglishlessons,wefoundthatmostteachersinthesameyeargroupusedthesameteachingmethodwhenteachingthesamegrammaritems,followingthelessonplansorPowerPoint.Fewteacherswereabletodesigntheirownteachingsessionsaccordingtothecharacteristicsoftheclass'learningandknowledge,andadoptdifferentteachingmethodsfordifferentgrammaritems,lackingflexibilityandinnovation.2.3LackofstudentparticipationTeachingisakindofinteractionbetweenteachersandstudents,andstudents'initiativeismainlyreflectedthroughtheirparticipationintheclassroom,whichisalsoanimportantindicatorforevaluatingtheeffectivenessofclassroomteaching.Althoughinotheraspectsofteachingandlearning,manyteachersareabletobringintoplaythemainroleofstudents.However,mostteachersneglectedstudents'classroomparticipation.Teachersheldthemainpositionintheclassroom,focusingonlyontheinculcationofgrammaticalknowledgeanddetailedexplanations,andmainlyadoptinggrammarteachingmethods.Theteacher'slecturesaredryandthestudentsaredistracted,anditisdifficultforthemtoconcentrate.Interviewsrevealedthatmostteachersbelievethatclassroomtimeisveryvaluableandthatstudentsshouldspendalotoftimepractisingrepeatedly,whilesummarisinggrammaticalknowledgerequiresahighleveloflanguageskillsandrequiresalotofdifferentlanguagephenomenaforstudentstounderstand.Asaresult,teachersusuallyconcentrateongrammaticalknowledgeinteaching,andstudentsaremostlypassiverecipientsofgrammaticalknowledge,whichmakesitdifficulttomotivatethemtolearngrammar.

Chapter3Analysis3.1WrongteachingmethodorientationWhengrammarteachingismentioned,peoplewillnaturallyassociategrammarteachingwiththetraditionalgrammartranslationmethod.Thegrammar-translationmethodwasfirstproposedbyMedingerandFeckinGermany,andhadlongheldadominantpositioninearlyEnglishteachinginEuropeandChina.Thegrammar-translationmethodadvocatesgrammarlearningasthecentreoflanguagelearning,wherelearningaforeignlanguagemeanslearningandmemorisingalargenumberofgrammarrules,theanalysisandexplanationofsentencecomponents,followedbyextensivetranslationpractice.ThismethodofteachinghasproducedalargenumberofexcellenttranslatorsforChinaandhasbeenheldinhighesteembysomeolderteachers.However,withthecontinuousreformoftheEnglishcurriculumandthepromotionanddeepeningofthetaskandcommunicativemethodsinclassroomteaching,teachersareeagertoimprovetheirstudents'abilitytocommunicateindialogue,simplyassumingthatcommunicativecompetenceincludesonlylisteningandspeakingskills.Ifgrammaristaughtintheclassroomitrunscountertothephilosophyofthecurriculum.Itiscommonforteacherstobelievethatteachinggrammarisopposedtoteachingthecommunicativemethodandthatgrammarshouldbeavoidedintheclassroomasmuchaspossible.Infact,thisviewhasbeenformedunderthelong-standinggrammar-translationmethodofteaching,togetherwithallthecriticismsofthedisadvantagesofthegrammar-translationmethodofteaching,whicharethatsuchteachingcanonlyproducedumbEnglishandthatstudentssimplycannotuseEnglish.Asaresult,teachersoftenequategrammarteachingwithgrammar-translationteaching,andthisviewisdeeplyrootedintheirminds.3.2Students'limitedcognitivelevelStudents'cognitiveleveldirectlyaffectstheirlearningandtheeffectivenessofteachers'teaching.Thecognitivedevelopmentofprimaryschoolstudentsisstilllowduetotheirimmatureknowledgeandmentaldevelopment.Piaget'stheoryofcognitivedevelopmentsuggeststhatlanguageacquisitionshouldbebasedonone'sowncognitiveabilityandshouldnotgobeyondthisstageofcognitiveability.AccordingtoPiaget'sfourstagesofcognitivedevelopment,primaryschoolstudentsareintheconcreteoperationalstage.Thisstageischaracterisedbythefactthatstudentsareprimedwithabstractconceptsintheircognitivestructureandarecapableofsimplelogicalreasoning,butgenerallyrelyonvisualimagesofthingsandhaveastrongcapacityforfigurativethinking.Grammar,ontheotherhand,isasetofrulesthatpeoplehavesummarisedthroughlong-termlanguagepractice,andishighlyabstractandgeneralinnature.Ifteachersdonotdesignvisualandvividsituationsforstudentstomemorisedirectly,thoseabstractgeneralisationskillsthataretoofarfromconcretethingsarestillverydifficultforprimaryschoolstudentsduetotheirlackofknowledgeandexperience.Ifitisbeyondthestudents'cognitiveability,thentheeffectivenessofgrammarteachingcanbeimagined.Anyknowledgeislearnedthroughthethreebasicprocessesofassimilation,conformityandbalance,andwhentheexternalinformationhasexceededthecognitivestructureofthestudents,itisdifficulttoachieveconformityandbalancelater.3.3TeacherslacktheoreticalknowledgeAtpresent,inprimaryschoolEnglishclassrooms,especiallyinsomeopenclasses,teachersareabletodesignvariousteachingsituations,storiesorperformances,andthewholeclassroomisfullofinterest.Theteacherisstudent-centred,withavarietyofactivitiesrunningthroughouttheclass,andthestudentsperformlivelyandvividly,makingitmoreofasuccessfulEnglish