The Effects Of Processing Instruction And Meaning-based Output Instruction On Students’ English Attributive Clauses Learning In Senior High School

Processing instruction is a form-focused instruction,and is a grammar teaching model that emphasizes the quality of input and input-learner interaction.Meaning-based output instruction is focused on the real-life communicative use of the target grammar through the production of a large amount of meaningful output.Many researchers have paid much attention to processing instruction and meaning-based output instruction.However,the results of these studies are inconsistent.Therefore,whether processing instruction and meaning-based output instruction promote successful grammar acquisition is a question worth investigating.Based on this,the questions set in this study are: What are the effects of processing instruction and meaning-based output instruction on students’ interpretation of attributive clause? What are the effects of processing instruction and meaning-based output instruction on students’ production of attributive clause? What are the long-term effects of processing instruction and meaning-based output instruction on students’ learning of attributive clause?One hundred and twenty students from three classes of a senior class in Taiyuan participated in this study after pre-test screening,and the subjects were divided into two experimental classes,processing instruction class,meaning-based output instruction class,and one control class,according to different instructional interventions.The target grammar for this study was the attributive clause.The processing instruction class received instruction in three steps: presenting explicit information about the attributive clause;presenting explicit information about the processing strategy;and structured input activity.The meaning-based output instruction class received instruction in three steps: presenting explicit information about the attributive clause;presenting explicit information about the processing strategy;and structured output activity.The control class,on the other hand,received PPP instruction.In addition,pre/post-tests were used to determine the effectiveness of these instructional interventions,with test types divided into two categories: interpretation and production categories.The pre-test and post-test questions were derived from adaptations of university entrance exam questions.Scores from the three tests were used as research data for this paper,and the data were entered into SPSS 24.0 for descriptive analysis and post hoc tests of variance.The results showed that subjects in both processing instruction class and meaning-based output instruction classes outperformed the control class in terms of comprehension and production of the attributive clause.The results of the comparison between the two experimental classes are as follows: first,at the aspect of facilitating foreign language learners’ comprehension of attributive clause,although there was no significant difference,the subjects in the processing instruction class performed better than those in the meaning-based output instruction class,which was attributed to the fact that processing instruction emphasized correct processing input rather than meaning comprehension alone.Secondly,in terms of facilitating learners’ output of attributive clause,the meaning-based output instruction class outperformed the processing instruction class significantly,as the meaning-based output instruction focused on the use of grammar through output practice,thus enhancing the accuracy of output.Finally,the meaning-based output instruction class outperformed the processing instruction class significantly in terms of promoting the overall learning effect of the definite clause,which indicates that the output practice in the meaning-based output instruction makes students pay attention to both form and meaning and deepens their memory.Therefore,teachers should try to make students pay attention to both form and meaning in meaningful contexts to achieve a shift in acquisition.