The Effect Of Discovery Learning Method In Grammar Teaching In Senior High School

English New Curriculum Standard points out clearly that English course should stress the further development of integrated skills, and improve the students’ abilities of achieving information, dealing with information, analyzing problems, and solving problems according to the features of senior students’ cognitive and demands of development. Teachers should encourage them to explore nature actively and obtain knowledge in different ways, so that they can form an English learning process and method characterizing high school students in English study. Actually,this kind of study can be seen as the process of discovering. The idea of discovery is outstanding in senior English grammar teaching. The new standard demands that senior English teacher should master the essence of grammar learning and change the way of teaching. Against this background,two research questions are designed to study the effect of discovery learning method in English grammar teaching:(1) By applying discovery learning method to English grammar teaching, can students’ grammar competence be improved effectively?(2) Compared with the traditional grammar teaching method, is the discovery learning method more helpful to stimulate students’ interest in learning grammar, and change their motivation to English learning?An experimental study is conducted in Langzhong high school. The subjects are 106 senior high school students from two classes; one class is the control class and the other one is the experimental class. This experiment lasts for one semester. In the experimental class, the author adopts the discovery learning method and it includes the following steps: creating a concrete context; finding the questions; discussing; making conclusions; doing exercises; practical application into the actual teaching. The traditional teaching method will be used in the control class. During the study, we will use a questionnaire and two tests to test the students’ level in English grammar, and the SPSS also be used to help the author conclude the finally results. The results are as follows. First, discovery learning method is helpful to improve students’ grammar grades. Second, discovery learning method is an effective way, which can arose students’ learning interest, inspire their motivation, change their attitudes and then improve their integrated competence in language use.This thesis consists of five parts. Part one is the introduction, and it mainly includes the background, significance of the research, and the organization of the research. Part two is the literature review, which mainly talks about the previous researches that have been done at home and abroad as to the grammar teaching and discovery learning method. Part three is the research methodology, which gives detailed descriptions of the research purpose, research questions, and the subjects of the study and the process of this research. Part four includes the analysis and discussion of the research results. At last, the author puts forward some implications and limitation of the study, some suggestions are also included in this part. This thesis tries to combine theories with teaching practice, aiming to provide some theory guidance and teaching suggestions for teachers in senior high school. Hopefully, it will make a difference to them.