Communicative Approach and Grammar Teaching in Senior Middle School.doc

毕业论文（设计）Communicative Approach and Grammar Teaching in Senior Middle School1. Introduction12. English grammar teaching32.1 The definition of grammar32.2 The current situation of grammar teaching42.3 The essence and significance of grammar teaching63. An overview of Communicative Approach73.1 The comprehension of Communicative Approach73.2 The basic features of Communicative Approach83.3 The application of Communicative Approach in grammar teaching93.3.1 The principles of application93.3.2 Models103.3.2.1 Byrnes Model113.3.2.2 Brumfits Model123.3.2.3 Harmers Model124. Experiment of grammar teaching in the framework of CA in senor middle school134.1 The aim of experiment134.2 The steps of experiment144.2.1 The subjects144.2.2 The materials of experiment144.2.3 The process of experiment144.2.4 The result of experiment and analysis174.3 Conclusion of the experiment195. Conclusion20References211. IntroductionIt is always a popular topic in education field whether grammar teaching is necessary. And Communicative Approach is the other pop theme in teaching. Can they combine together? That is the theme which this thesis discuses and probes into.Grammar plays a very significant role in language learning and teaching. How should grammar be taught? When considering this question, teachers should consider where grammar fits in language teaching. Some of them tend to extremes, either laying too much emphasis on grammar or just ignoring it. Neither of the two attitudes is adoptable, just as David Nunan argued “ it is wrong to imply that teachers are confronted with two mutually exclusive choices when it comes to teaching grammar, either avoiding the teaching of grammar altogether or returning to a traditional form-focused approach”(1991:151). In other words, grammar should be put somewhere on the continuum between greatly emphasizing and completely ignoring grammar. Now, more attention has been paid towards developing communicative competence in the foreign language teaching. Accordingly, grammar, as a part of language competence, should be considered as means rather than an end in itself. However, many middle school teachers especially those in the western areas insist on taking grammar knowledge as the key link in teaching. Most English teachers in China take a traditional method in foreign language teaching. Statistics show that many middle school students especially those in the countryside are taught by the Grammar-Translation Method and are tied to knowledge about English but have few chances to practice listening and speaking. Since the Grammar-Translation Method lays too great emphasis on grammar, many investigators believe this method which is opposite to the purpose of the text will produce negative effect. Although the traditional method may help develop students communicative competence to some extent, which is now believed by many applied linguists (for instance, Larsen-Freeman, 2002), it cannot achieve as much as the CA- Communicative Approach (The term Communicative Language Teaching is also used sometimes).Note that the Communicative Approach suggested in this thesis is somewhat a compromise method. Traditional procedures are not simply rejected but are reinterpreted and extended. Language knowledge is introduced in a context, grammatical items are isolated for controlled practice, and then a number of free activities are provided to reinforce what they deduce.Hopefully, this thesis will provide senior middle school teachers with some insights into grammar teaching and more preferably they will set to think about their grammar teaching methods.This thesis consists of five parts. Some basic concepts of grammar and grammar teaching, and the current situation of grammar teaching will be concluded in part two. Part three is the literature review relevant to the CA, and some theories of the application of CA and grammar teaching is mentioned. In part four, it shows the experiment, and some results and discussions concerned with the experiment are presented in this part, and then followed by the conclusion.2. English grammar teachingIn last section, it summarizes the structure of the thesis simply. This section mainly introduces some notions about grammar teaching. 2.1 The definition of grammarWhat is grammar? In Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (2004:762-63), grammar is referred to as: n. 1. U the rules in a language for changing the form of words and joining them into sentences; 2. U a persons knowledge and use of a language; 3. C a book containing a description of the rules of a language; 4. C (linguistic) a particular theory that is intended to explain the rules of a language or of language in general. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines grammar as “the study of use of the rules by which words change their forms and are combined into sentences” (1995:658). Richards (1985) defines grammar as follows: a description of the structure of a language and the way in which linguistic units such as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language. (Quoted in George Yule, 2002:11) The grammar of a language is the description of the ways in which words can change their forms and can be combined into sentences in that language (see Jeremy Harmer, 2003:59).CA has endowed the definition of grammar a new demand and meaning. It requires the student not only to inquire into language structure, but also to have the competent to make correct sentences. Whats more, they must be required to know the application of “when”, “where”, “who” and “how”. As we know from above, the notions of grammar are of abundance and have changed over the years. In a word, grammar is a description of rules for forming sentences, including an account of meaning that these forms convey.2.2 The current situation of grammar teachingLately a good deal of works has been written about grammar revival. It is widely believed that, with the introduction of CA, attention to grammar was dimmed by an emphasis on experiential learning and purely communicative goals. But it is only partly true: although some syllabuses in favor of functions appeared in 1970s, e.g. Wilkins Notional Syllabus (1976), a closer look at these syllabuses shows that they often have a strong grammar basis.Grammar teaching means different things to different teachers. For some teachers, grammar classes primarily consist of the formal explanation of grammatical rules with all of the grammatical terminology necessary for this task. For other teachers, the grammar teaching is synonymous with practice of common grammatical patterns. But for still others, the teaching of grammar means providing students with opportunities to use English in various realistic situations in order to learn to communicate effectively.Each of these views of grammar teaching has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, if we view the grammar teaching as the formal presentation of grammatical rules, it is likely for our students to learn a great deal about grammatical rules of English; however, it is possible that they will not be able to effectively use English outside of the classroom. On the other hand, if we consider the grammar teaching as the practice of common grammatical patterns, it is likely that our students will become familiar with basic English sentence patterns, but they may not know when to use these patterns in realistic situations, our students will begin to learn how to communicate in English. It is possible that they will not know how to explain some of the grammatical rules of English. Nevertheless, many English native speakers cannot do this, let alone the English non-native speakers. Grammar classes require us to pay attention to both form and function. In order to use English correctly, students need to become familiar with basic grammatical patterns of English. However, it is not enough for our students to know how to make simple statements correctly such as “please give me a coke”, they need to be aware of the fact that they are making a request and that there are other ways of saying the same thing (e.g., “a coke, please”, “would it be possible to get a coke?” etc.). Moreover, they need to know when it would be appropriate to use each form. If we want our students to learn these and to use English both correctly and appropriately, we need to include in our grammar classes attention to both form and function (see Mickay, 1987: xi-xii).2.3 The essence and significance of grammar teachingGrammar teaching has been regarded as necessity by many grammarians or linguists. Celce-Murcia said, “Noticeable and convincing proof shows teaching without grammar can only lead to crippled foreign language whether it is bases on comprehension or on communication. Students cant make progress if surpassing the stage”(1988:89). As Krashen (1987:186) points out, the monitor is the device that learners use to edit their language performance. It utilizes “learnt” knowledge by acting upon and modifying utterances generated from “acquired” knowledge. This can occur either before or after the utterance is uttered. According to the statistical analysis on the experience of foreign language teaching after things were set to rights again in 1978, Chinese students learned foreign language mainly by themselves. Teaching oneself a foreign language needs learning strategies and error correction monitoring. Spelling ability, grammatical competence and lexical knowledge are learning strategies to monitor error correction of language input and output. So English language teaching must have a foothold on language knowledge that is centered on grammar. Besides, the grammatical knowledge cannot only be used to monitor output, it can also be used to understand what is heard, read and written.What kind of position should grammar be in and what role should grammar play in EFL (English as a Foreign Language)? These issues should be made clear before we explore how to teach grammar in the framework of CA. For some time after the rise of CA, the status of grammar in the curriculum was rather uncertain. Some linguists maintained that it was unnecessary to teach grammar, that the ability to use a second language (knowing “how”) would develop automatically if learners were required to focus on meaning in the process of using the language to communicate. In recent years, some people in the English teaching circle think that grammar counts for little in EFL, thus its necessary to cut down or even eliminate grammar class. Nowadays this view has come under serious challenge, and now it seems to be wildly accepted that there is value in classroom tasks which require learners to focus on form. It is also that grammar is an essential resource in using language communicatively. 3. An overview of Communicative ApproachThe proliferation of approaches and methods is a prominent characteristic of contemporary second and foreign language teaching. The changes in language teaching methods throughout history have reflected recognition of changes in the kind of proficiency learners need, such as a move toward oral mastership rather than reading comprehension as the goal of language study. The popularity of the Communicative Approach since the final decades of last century has proved this fact well. CA is the main theme that we talk about in this section.3.1 The comprehension of Communicative ApproachDictionary of Applied Linguistics (1985:45), CA, termed as CLT, is an approach to foreign or second language teaching, which emphasizes the goal of language learning, is communicative competence.“The Communicative Approach or Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) - is the name which was given to a set of beliefs which included not only a re-examination of what aspects of language to teach, but also a shift in emphasis in how to teach” (Jeremy Harmer, 2003:84).In fact, the comprehensiveness of CA makes it difficult to define authoritatively and thoroughly. For some, it means little more than an integration of grammatical and functional teaching. David Numan claims “it is something of misnomer to talk about the communicative approach as there is family of approaches” (1991:159). Littlewood states, “One of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language” (1981:25). For others, it means using procedures where learners work in pairs or groups employing available language resources in problem- solving tasks. Follows are some comprehensions of CA:(1). The CA is an approach to Foreign or Second Language Teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language teaching is communication competence. The CA is also called Communicative Language Teaching.(2). The CA has been developed particularly by British applied linguists as a reaction away from grammar-based approaches such as the Audio-lingual Method.(3). Teaching materials used with a CA often teach the language needed to express and understand different kinds of functions, such as requesting, describing, expressing likes and dislikes.(4). The CA follows a Notional Syllabus or some other communicatively organized syllabus and emphasizes the processes of communication, such as using language appropriately in different kinds of tasks, for example, to solve puzzles, to get information, and using language for social interaction with other people.3.2 The basic features of Communicative ApproachThe Communicative Approach has many different features comprehended by different linguists. However, the aim of CA is to develop the students communicative competence. Some features are summarized as follows: (1)Language is regarded as a tool of communication.(2) Notions, functions and communicative events, are taken as contents.(3)It stresses that the teaching process itself is communicative.(4)The most necessary language courses or materials are chosen to suit certain specific communicative purposes for different learners, e.g. English for scientists, English for doctors, English for attendants.(5)The students mistakes are not corrected in a hurry.(6)It is against grammar-based teaching.(7)It holds that teaching materials should match with suitable teaching media, and multi-media in the organization of teaching should be adopted.(8)Its procedure for teaching is quite different from that of Structural Approach whose procedure is presentation of new items, drills, and then application in practical situations.(9)English essential factors are thought to play a part respectively when people use a language to communicate with each other. (see Yuan Shipu, Qi Defeng & Liu Xinyi, 1998:83-85)3.3 The application of Communicative Approach in grammar teaching 3.3.1 The principles of applicationWhile teaching grammar, you should bear some principles in mind so that you can teach it more effectively. The following are the main principles for grammar teaching based on CA.When you teach grammar, whichever technique you decide to use, it is important to keep several principles in mind. Firstly, be certain that your students always understand what they are saying. Use demonstrations, pictures, or translation. Secondly, when you introduce a new grammar point, select the model sentences carefully. In general, try to introduce only one new grammar point in a set of model sentences so that your students can be better focus on the point you wish to emphasize. Thirdly, always strive to keep the topic unified in theme and related to your students interests. Nevertheless one way to provide practice and review of the same structure, while maintaining the interest of your students, is to vary the content you use. Finally, use model sentences that reflect actual usage and try to introduce these sentences in situations in which they might actually be used by the students. Remember, in order to communicate effectively, your students must not just know how to use the language correctly; they must know how to use it appropriately (see Mickay, 1987: xiv-xv). In short, grammar presentation and practice activities should be evaluated according to: how efficient they are (the E-factor), how appropriate they are (the A-factor). The efficiency of an activity is gauged by determining: 1.Its economyhow time-efficient is it? 2. Its ease is it to set up? 3. Its efficacyis it consistent with good learning principles? The appropricacy of an activity takes into account: 1. Learners needs and interests. 2. Learners attitudes and expectations (see Thornbury, 2003:25-28).3.3.2 ModelsThere are three effective models for teaching grammar, Byrnes model, Brumfits model and Harmers model, which are summarized by three of the most influential principal architects of the CA. 3.3.2.1 Byrnes ModelThe grammar teaching models proposed by Byrne are Present-Practise-Produce or Present-Present-Practise. He thinks that Present, Practice and Produce are necessary in English grammar teaching, and that teachers should adopt a suitable model in teaching, according to their students level and teaching contents. The model Present-Practice-Produce is called “weak” version of. This model is fit for beginners of a language. For example, when a teacher is going to teach the Present Indefinite, present is very necessary if his or her students know nothing about this tense. The teacher may present the following sentenced through asking questions or talking, “I have breakfast at 7 oclock. I have lunch at 12 o clock. I have dinner at 19 oclock.” Then help the students to know that Present Indefinite is typically associated with habitual recurrent use. Finally ask the students to introduce their own habits or their families habits to each other. The “strong”