Application Of The Task-based Language Teaching In The Junior English Grammar Class

Grammar is an essential part of language learning. And grammar teaching and learning method is also a difficult point of language teaching. In our country, grammar has been emphasized for a long time. However, in the traditional English classes, “teacher-centered” mode is mostly used. In this method, teachers mainly explain grammar knowledge to students, and let students memorize grammar rules by themselves. It is very difficult for them to understand grammar clearly, and they have no opportunity to combine the grammar learning with practice. Thus, the traditional teaching method is not a good choice for junior school students’ grammar learning. In this situation, we need to find a proper and effective way for English grammar teaching.With the development of reforms for foreign language teaching in 19 th century, the Task-Based Language Teaching(TBLT) became the center of attention. The Task-based Language Teaching sprung up in 1980 s. It uses tasks as carriers, the process of fulfillment of tasks as learning process, and the display of tasks results as educational achievement. The tasks are the center of the whole teaching process, as well as the media and connection of language input, output and learners’ interest. In this kind of class, teachers try to create a natural language atmosphere and give students an opportunity to get access to target language. By communication between teachers and students, and among students, students can naturally understand the meaning of target language during the process of fulfilling tasks and solving problems. At the same time, it uses authentic corpus and social interactions to inspire students’ sense of participation and motivation to learning. What’s more, in 2001, the English Curriculum Standards enacted by the Ministry of Education explicitly advocated Task-Based Language Teaching.Junior school period is an important period to lay foundation for future study. And students of junior schools are at the age of being curious about everything. So it is also essential to keep their curiosity and motivation to new knowledge. The traditional teaching method is not fit for them to learn so much new English grammar knowledge. And many junior school students have problems to learn grammar. Therefore, in this paper, the author tries to do an experiment to find the answers to the following questions:(1) What is the status quo of the junior English grammar class?(2) What are the main problems of the junior English grammar class for students and teachers?(3) How to use the TBLT to improve the junior school students’ English grammar?In the experiment, the author chooses two classes’ students(100) from Zhengzhou No.58 Middle School, Grade Eight. One class is chosen as the experimental class(EC), and the other is chosen as the control class(CC). And the research instruments include test, questionnaire and interview. Meanwhile, SPSS, a data analysis software, is used to analyze data for the research. In order to answer the research questions, the research is carried out as follows:The first step is the pre-test, both the EC(Experimental Class) and the CC(Control Class) have the same test at the same time. The exam time is 45 minutes. After the test, the author collects the papers and grades them.The second step is the pre-questionnaire. All the 100 students from both the experimental class and the control class have the same questionnaire at the same time in their own classrooms. And they only have to write down their class number anonymously. After they have completed them, the author collects the copies.The third step is the post-test. After almost a whole semester’s experiment, both the experimental class and the control class have the exam at the same time. The test is designed by referring to their school unified exams in this semester. By comparing the results of their papers, in the post-test, the author tries to testify whether the experimental class students have made remarkable progress in English grammar learning than the control class by using traditional methods.The fourth step is the post-questionnaire. After almost a whole semester of experiment, some students have new opinions about their grammar classes and learning. So they have the same questionnaire as the pre-questionnaire so as to know differences after the experiment.The last step is the interview. Ten students from the experimental class have the interview in an empty classroom without being bothered, and they are allowed to express their feelings freely. During the interview, there are some questions about their opinions and feelings of the TBLT. Their feedbacks could provide suggestions about the experiment. And we can also know the problems of the experiment and their studies directly.From the research, the merits and feasibility of TBLT can be known. It can not only improve students’ scores, but also can promote their interest and enthusiasm of learning English. Besides, it can also inspire students’ sense of participation and team work. What’s more, the author also gives some suggestions for the further application of the TBLT method.In this paper, there are six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction to the whole thesis. It mainly talks about the general introduction of the background, methodology, the significance of the research and research questions. The second chapter is the literature review. It introduces some related definitions of TBLT and studies of TBLT at home and abroad. The third chapter is the theoretical foundation, which includes constructivism and language acquisition theory. The fourth chapter is the research design. It includes the research hypothesis, instruments and research procedure. The fifth chapter is the results and data analyses. It shows the results of the experiment and every part’s data analyses. The last chapter is the conclusion, including major findings, limitations and suggestions.