An Experimental Study On Task-based Instruction In Junior Middle School English Grammar Teaching

Grammar, together with vocabulary, writing, and reading, constitutes an important part of a language. The grammar is a key part in the success of mastering a language. Therefore, grammar teaching is particularly important. English grammar teaching in general begins from junior high school. In traditional grammar teaching of junior high school, teachers directly infuse knowledge most of the time and the task of students is memorizing grammar rules and doing a lot of mechanical practice. The traditional way of grammar teaching suppresses students’ initiative to use English language in communication. Therefore, in recent years, Task-based Instruction has emerged to activate students’ initiative.Task-based Instruction is not only to cultivate the students’ comprehensive ability of using language, but also takes students as the subject in learning. It maximizes students’ subjective initiative, and has improved the efficiency of English learning. The meaning of the task and the relevant theories of Task-based Instruction are analyzed in this thesis. The present research uses a questionnaire, interview and experiment to explore the feasibility and influence of Task-based Instruction in English grammar teaching in junior high school.The study aims to discover if the students’ interest in learning English grammar can be aroused with Task-based Instruction, whether the grammatical accuracy of using present continuous tense can be improved with Task-based Instruction; and if the communicative accuracy of using present continuous tense can be improved through the Task-based Instruction. 100 students in Class 3 and Class 5 in Grade 8 from Xingtai NO.15 Middle School participated in the experiment as subjects. There are 50 students in Class 3 and 50 students in Class 5. Class 5 was the Experimental Class which was taught with Task-based Instruction and Class 3 was the Control Class which was taught with Grammar-translation Method by the same teacher.A pre-test was carried out at the beginning of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, there was a questionnaire and a post-test.By analyzing the results of the questionnaires and tests of the students in the experiment class and control class, it was found that the students’ ability in English grammar of the experimental class is much better than those in the control class. Task-based Instruction can improve students’ interest in English learning. At the time, the grammatical accuracy and the communicative accuracy of using the present continuous tense has improved.