Grammar and Its Teaching： Challenging the Myths

Grammar is often misunderstood in the language teaching field.The misconception lies in the view that grammar is a collection of arbitrary rules about static structures in the lan- guage.Further questionable claims are that the structures do not have to be taught,learners will acquire them on their own, or if the structures are taught,the lessons that ensue will be boring.Consequently,communicative and proficiency-based     

Grammar and Its Teaching: Challenging the Myths

Grammar is often misunderstood in the language teaching field. The misconception lies in the view that grammar is a collection of arbitrary rules about static structures in the language. Further questionable claims are that the structures do not have to be taught, learners will acquire them on their own,     

An Analysis of the Relationship between Implicit and Explicit Knowledge——the Grammar Study

The discussions about cognition psychology in the field of second language acquisition(SLA) exert great influence on language teaching practice and theoretical research.Interface positions on the role of explicit and implicit knowledge in SLA have led to further exploration by different researchers.This paper,on the basis of previous studies,makes a brief review of the relation ship between implicit and explicit knowledge,focusing on the analysis of interface position and its role in grammar teaching and learning.     

Bits of Experience in the Oral Practice of Teaching Grammar

English learners may have such experience that most of them can‘t be able to speak English apropriately and fluently even if they have gained a lot of grammar knowledge.The approach of teaching grammar discussed in this paper focuses on training students‘ communicative ability.And it is benefical to stimulating the activeness and interest of students and fostering the ability to solve the problems independently.     

Current Developments in Research on the Teaching of Grammar

There are a number of studies that have investigated the effects of textual enhancement on drawing the learner＇s attention to grammar, and the method has been described as the least explicit and the least intrusive method of focus on form （Doughty ＆ Varela, 1998）. It involves highlighting certain features of input that might go unnoticed under normal circumstances by typographically manipulating them through boldfacing, italicizing, underlining, or capitalizing. The assumption is that such manipulations enhance the perceptual saliency of the target structures, and this, hence, increases their chance of being notieed. A related technique is the provision of numerous instances of target linguistic forms in the input, called an inputflood （Trahey ＆ While, 1993）. Again, the assumption is that frequent exposure to target items enhances their saliency and hence results in noticing the forms （ Schmidt, 1990; Sharwood Smith, 1993）. Whereas studies by Doughty （1991） and Fotos （1994） reported positive results in terms of awareness of target structures and proficiency gains resulting from textually enhanced structures,     

Comparison of Teaching Approaches of the Subjunctive Mood—Comparison of Two Grammar Books from Home and Abroad

This study compared the different approaches of introducing the subjunctive mood in Advanced English Grammar and Grammar Dimensions in the hope that it will help ESL teachers to make choice of the proper ways of teaching the subjunctive mood,one of the most serious grammatical problems ever encountered by most ESL learners in China.Also,the main causes of the students’drawbacks in learning subjunctive mood are excavated and some feasible solutions in mastering this difficult item in English grammar are presented in this study.     

Current Developments in Research on the Teaching of Grammar

With the rise of communicative methodology in the late 1970s, the role of grammar instruction in second language learning was downplayed, and it was even suggested that teaching grammar was not only unhelpful but might actually be detrimental. However, recent research has demonstrated the need for formal instruction for learners to attain high levels of accuracy. This has led to a resurgence of grammar teaching, and its role in second language acquisition has become the focus of much current investigation. In this     

Overview of Teaching Grammar

Though introducing different attitudes toward teaching grammar and summarizing some practical methods, English learners and teachers can draw on useful experience.     

Overview of Teaching Grammar

Though introducing different attitudes toward teaching grammar and summarizing some practical methods,English learners and teachers can draw on useful experience.     

Imitation and Innovation——on the Influence of Indo-European Gram mar on Chinese Grammar

The publication of the ten-chapter work Ma Shi Wen Tong by Ma Jianzhong marks the establishment of Chinese grammatical rules.For ages,in a way comparable to what was done in western languages,the study of Chinese grammar tends more or less to imitate Indo-European grammar.This paper made an attempt to discuss the influence produced by Indo-European grammatical theories on Chinese grammar and pointed that Chinese grammatical study is bound to be carried out on the basis of language self characteristics.     

Grammar

适用对象中学英语教师没有语法的英文是杂乱无章,断断续续的。没有语法的口语叫蹦词,而不是流畅的句子。语法在英语学习中有着举足轻重的地位。作家,英语教学专家Scott Thornbury再论语法,并解密攻克语法的三大绝招。     

Grammar

本期“理论园地”栏目从2001年剑桥大学出版社推出的The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speaker of Other Languages一书中,选登了Diane Larsen-Freeman所撰写的有关语法及语法教学方面的文章:Grammar,以期对国内的教师和同行在教学、研究中正确看待、处理语法这个问题作一个侧面的参考。     

Grammar

When it comes to definitions of grammar,confusion abounds.One problem is that the word grammar means different things to different people.For many,the term sugges tsa list of do's and don't's,rules that tell us we should say It is I,not It is me,that we should not say ain't,or that weshould avoid ending a sentence with a preposition.For oth     

Grammar learning and teaching： Time,tense and verb

The learning of English tenses and verbs is obviously the major and challenging part of second language learning and acquisition for Chinese students. The paper analyzes the features of simple present tense, simple past tense and verbs in them from the aspect of Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk＇s student grammar book as an instructive example. It is suggested that, it be meaningful and practical if the grammar rules are reflected rather in sentences or contexts than in the formula. Some possible pedagogical activities and materials are recommended to make tedious grammar learning and teaching more understandable and interesting.     

Beyond Grammar

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Grammar for writing? An investigation of the effects of contextualised grammar teaching on students’ writing

The role of grammar instruction in the teaching of writing is contested in most Anglophone countries, with several robust meta-analyses finding no evidence of any beneficial effect. However, existing research is limited in that it only considers isolated grammar instruction and offers no theorisation of an instructional relationship between grammar and writing. This study, drawing on a theorised understanding of grammar as a meaning-making resource for writing development, set out to investigate the impact of contextualised grammar instruction on students’ writing performance. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, with a randomised controlled trial and a complementary qualitative study. The statistical analyses indicate a positive effect on writing performance for the intervention group (e = 0.21; p < 0.001); but the study also indicates that the intervention impact differentially on different sub-groups, benefiting able writers more than weaker writers. The study is significant in being the first to supply rigorous, theorised evidence for the potential benefits of teaching grammar to support development in writing.     

Contextualized Grammar Pedagogy： Integrating Grammar Into Writing Instruction

Grammar is an important aspect of English language pedagogy in China and is taught as a subject of study in Chinese primary and high schools. Despite studying grammar for several years, however, high school graduates find it difficult to express their ideas in English especially when they are asked to write essays at university. This article reports a study that investigates students＇ views regarding the study of grammar when contextualized to their writing courses. It was found that students appreciate contextualized study of grammar as opposed to isolated learning of grammar using memorization, drills, and practices. The study suggests that a shift in the aims and methods of teaching English in high schools is necessary if students＇ preferences, which are consistent with research literature in second language teaching, are to be taken into consideration.     

The relationship between biology teachers’ understanding of the nature of science and the understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of the theory of evolution (TE) to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among biology teachers. In this context, the first objective of this study was to identify the impact of professional development programme (PDP) on teachers’ understanding of nature of science (NOS) and evolution and on the acceptance of this theory. Its second objective was to study the relationship among these variables. Three instruments were used to quantify these variables: the Views of the Nature of Science Version D (VNOS D+), the Assessing Contextual Reasoning about Natural Selection (ACORN), and the Measure of Acceptance of Theory of Evolution (MATE). The results indicate that the PDP had a positive impact on teachers, significantly improving their understanding of the NOS and natural selection, as well as their acceptance of the TE. Furthermore, a positive correlation between the understanding of the NOS obtained by teachers in the first part of the PDP and the understanding and acceptance of evolution that these teachers showed at the end of the programme was determined. However, no relationship between an understanding of the NOS and gains in the understanding and acceptance of evolution was found.     

Pragmatics and the Teaching and Leaning of English

Teh Purpose of the teaching and the learning of English is to develop communicative competence.Pragmatics is one of the most essential parts of the communicative competence .It concerns the appropriate use of language.This paper aims to show the significant role of pragmatics in the teaching and learning of English and further explores the importance of cultivating students‘awareness to improve their pragmatic ability and communicative competence。