1. A brief introduction
Human languages are not chaotic or unsystematic. They are orderly and follow certain predictable rules and patterns. These rules and patterns are the grammar of language. Therefore, grammar is the study or science of the changes of the words and structure of a language (A.S. Hornby, E.V. Gatenby & H. Wakefield 1978:471).
1.1 The importance of teaching English grammar
Most foreign language teachers love teaching grammar, but most of their students dislike learning it. Language teachers often feel secure and in control when teaching grammar, because they know all the rules.
However, many students feel discouraged when they study grammar because they think they will never really be able to understand and remember all the many complicated grammar rules.
Nevertheless, teachers need to teach grammar because their students need to pass national tests and their performance on these tests can determine their professional future.
Besides, separated from the grammar and vocabulary, language learning would become impossible. Having learned grammar, the students can learn a language more quickly and better. Apart from grammar, language learning will surely be a type of practice with no aim. Without learning grammar, you will surely make twice as much effort to acquire the language.
In the concrete practice of teaching，fostering language skill and teaching language information always supplement and complement each other. So English grammar teaching must be put in a right position. Although, in the new teaching syllabus, we are required to teach English as a tool of communication in the daily life, we also should value the imparting of language knowledge. Teachers should allow students to acquire the language through using it. And by means of continuous practices and repeated application, the students are required to master a variety of language usages and genuinely obtain various skills from their basic knowledge of the language.
1.2 The goal to reach in English grammar teaching
Language knowledge and language skill are two concepts not only related with but also different from each other. Language knowledge is the information about a certain language, which is the common regulations and rules summed up from the complicated language appearances. Language skill is the capability for a person to capture information, to grasp information and to exchange messages with others. So it is demanded that the students should not only have a good mastery of the language knowledge but also possess the ability to use the language. Hence, the study of language knowledge is an essential means by which to achieve the goal of communicating, while developing the students’ ability to communicate is the ultimate aim of language teaching. In English teaching, teachers should not merely impart English knowledge to their students, they should also pay as much attention as possible to the following two aspects: training the students to use English to communicate in speech and in written form initially and improving their observation, attention, memory, thinking, imagination and connection, which is the principle teachers must follow throughout their teaching.
2. The defects of the traditional grammar- teaching method
2.1 Paying too much attention to teaching students knowledge of English
The traditional grammar-teaching method over-emphasizes the learning and imparting of the language knowledge, and teachers explain in detail the grammatical knowledge and sentence construction persistently, forcing their students to proceed a flood of mechanical training only around the language knowledge and language phenomena again and again, for example, constructing sentences with words, mimicry drills in sentence construction etc.. They neglect developing the students’ ability to use English. As a result, the students fail to acquire any skill to apply English freely, let alone communicate with people in English.
2.2 Neglecting the ability of student to apply the language
Such a method places emphasis on teaching the language itself but not the relevant language knowledge. Thus teachers always present new words, new expressions and new sentence structures with dialogues and organize pattern drills with the structures in the dialogues; the students learn the dialogues by imitating and repeating what their teachers say. The teachers tend to teach grammar knowledge according to the sentence structures, hoping to reach this degree ─ through large quantities of mechanical and repeated speech activities, their students can possess right reaction to English and a whole set of right language habits. They persist to the translation between the native language and English, sticking to the exploitation of object teaching, the scene and the context. They concentrate on analyzing English in comparison with the native language, and their method of teaching as well as what is to be taught in their lectures is formulated only on the basis of their understanding of the differences between the two languages (Hu Chundong 1995:337). They also devote great attention to the comparisons inside the English language, such as the comparison between tenses of verbs, long and short vowels and singular and plural numbers. Logically, they are constantly trying their best to prevent the students from making mistakes by means of controlling the contents of their lectures according to what they take for so-called difficulties.
2.3 Serious results caused by the traditional grammar-teaching method
As is known to all, language learners acquire a language through mistakes. With the method discussed above, teachers usually treat the students commandingly, seldom or even never considering permitting the students to participate in the process of study. If so, the consequences would be serious. Judging from the entire process of the classroom teaching, the teachers decide everything with the students dependent on them; the instant effect of the classroom teaching seems perfect－the teachers have completed their teaching plans and the students have learned knowledge.
However, regarding the long-term results of the classroom teaching, the teachers’ absolute authority is established at the cost of ignoring the students’ participation in classroom activities. Neglecting the cognition and thought capability of human brain, they emphasize the mechanical mimicry and memory unilaterally, regardless of the meaning and communicative function of English, easily making the students tired of learning the language. The function of English grammar is overlooked in the teaching. The importance of developing the students’ ability and skills in reading and writing is neglected. As a result, although the students have learned numerous grammar rules, words and sentence structures, they can't express themselves or exchange information with accuracy when they speak and write in English. It is hard to imagine that a student, who is poor at listening, speaking, reading and writing, can communicate with people around him in English freely.
3. Present situation
3.1 Neglecting the importance of teaching English grammar
The new syllabus demands that teachers form a new mode of educational thought, namely, they should change the mode of laying stress on teaching language knowledge but paying little attention to speech activities in the traditional teaching method and they should strengthen the interaction between students and teachers in classes.
However, many teachers emphasize the communicative function of English, giving their students little or even no explanation of English grammar. Developing the students’ ability to study English by themselves doesn’t mean ignoring rudimentary knowledge or basic skills. On the contrary, ensuring students to master the rudimentary knowledge and obtain basic skills in using English is an important mission that English teaching in high schools absolutely can't neglect. Only when the students master the rudimentary knowledge can they remove obstacles in learning a foreign language and then use consciously the right way to experience their own process of thought. Only when the students are in control of certain range of knowledge can they compare what they have learned with what they are to learn and then acquire knowledge and skills. Only when the students have an accurate method of thinking can they control and adjust their thinking and then turn their attention from the study results to the perception process. In a word, only when the students have acquired all the necessary knowledge and skills can they apply what they have studied synthetically and automatically.
3.2 Paying too much attention to the communication function of English
With the communicative method, teachers arrange the contents of teaching with such concrete communicative items as greeting, invitation, visiting, seeing a doctor and so on as the main clues. They do not arrange the contents in the language form. They fix the target of teaching according to the tasks for the students in the future (Hu Chundong 1994:349). It is commonly believed that the study of a foreign language is to use the language properly in real circumstances. Therefore, in the whole teaching process, they try hard to fit any form of communicative activities in different stages of their teaching process, in order that their students can express their minds and sentiments by using their language knowledge creatively. The teachers usually create a scene for the students, who are free to decide the topic and positively participate in such communicative activities in groups. The teachers start the activities among the students and sometimes join in the activities. From the very beginning, the students learn to speak English, read English and write in English. They first learn simple forms used for each function, and then complicated forms. The key points are always focused on the selected topics, and the native language does not play any role.
In addition, it is emphasized to arouse the students’ enthusiasm to learn the language. This teaching process can be divided into three stages. Firstly, the students are drawn into various dialogues in lifelike scenes. Secondly, the students practise after models. A certain grammatical item is chosen as the topic, and then the students repeat it continuously, making a lot of sentences according to a specific language rule. This is usually done in the conversational mode of “questions and answers”. Thirdly, the students are made to use what they have learned to express their ideas in an imaginary environment
3.3 Various problems existing at present
Over-emphasizing the communicative procedures of classroom teaching also causes serious consequences. Not knowing English grammar, the students often make silly mistakes in their speech and writing, let alone the standardization of their speech. Easy language constructions always appear together with difficult ones in teaching items with the same function, which usually brings the students some difficulty in their studies. If teachers neglect the mistakes students make and do not correct them in time, the students cannot grasp the spirit of English or use it with accuracy.
Nowadays, the world is changing fast, science and technology improve with each passing day and knowledge is always renewing along with the development of the ages. Without a good mastery of the pronunciation regulation, a student cannot read aloud reading materials easily and smoothly outside classes. Without knowing the fundamental knowledge of grammar a student will surely have much difficultly in capturing information through reading articles in science and technology.
4. Principles of successful grammar teaching
Therefore, in grammar teaching, how to develop the students’ fundamental skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing and how to train them to use English to communicate in speech and in written form initially becomes one of the important topics for teachers in high schools to discuss. Here are some principles teachers must adhere to in the procedures of their teaching.
4.1 Combining imparting grammatical knowledge with developing students’ fundamental skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Language learners learn grammar so that they can complete communicative mission. There are at least three advantages when grammar is learned together with communicative missions in meaningful scenes. First, learning grammar will become vivid and fascinating when it is divorced from dull grammatical forms. Second, grammatical signs deliver meaningful information, from which students learn and acquire ways of judging, reasoning and synthesizing. And third, the ultimate aim of learning English grammar is realized for grammatical forms act as means of completing communicative tasks. During this course, the students participate in all practice activities, and at the same time, their innovation capability is improved.
4.2 Involving the students as often as possible
A wise person once said, “Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand” (B.Carvill & H. Westra 1994:61). In a teaching process, students play two parts: the educational objects and the active learners. They will not receive knowledge inactively. On the other hand, it is impossible for a teacher to squeeze mechanically the brains of his or her students with the language knowledge. Only when students love to learn actively through their own thoughts can teaching results be good.
In an English class, the teacher must be skilful at conducting and directing; he or she must treat the students as the leading roles in the class; he or she ought to work hard to urge the students to participate in the communicative activities, offering each student the same opportunities to join in the classroom activities and ensuring them to experience the joy of achievement. In English teaching, involving the students seems to be of particular importance. If a teacher just lectures to his or her students, the students will not develop their own communicative skills. If the teacher involves the students in communicative activities, the students will be more motivated and interested.
4.3 Doing practice more than detail explanation
English teaching is a kind of common activities that a teacher and the students participate in together. So communicative activities in the classrooms are intended to be student-centered not teacher- centered. The teacher must give the students enough time to practise as much as possible in a class. If he or she explains too much about a certain language phenomenon, the students are deprived of the limited time to do practice in English, which is equal to depriving their rights to learn the language.
Therefore, while the teacher gives full play to his or her active function, he or she must do more to make sure that the students positively participate in the communicative activities in the language study. He or she must try every means to encourage each student to take an active part in these activities. He or she should reduce the numbers of “questions and answers”, because with this method, only a few students join in the communicative activities. It is suggested to the teacher that the students should work in pairs, rows, lines or groups. In short, so long as the students behave in good order in class, the teacher should increase the amount of language practice and give the students as much time to do the practice.
4.4 Speaking in English as much as possible
English is a subject that has its special features. A teacher who uses Chinese too often will be robbing the students of their best opportunities to communicate and practise in English. A teacher who uses English as much as possible will be challenging his or her students to communicate in English. Most of the students will learn from the teacher. So a teacher of English should speak it for the students as often as possible. This also has the advantage of letting the teacher continue practising and improving his or her own English proficiency (B.Carvill & H. Westra 1994:61).
In concrete English teaching in high school, in order to carry through the principle of “teaching English communicatively”, teachers of English should follow the teaching mode of “five steps” suggested to them. The teachers should act as “mediators” in classes, and should not force-feed the students with English knowledge but elicit, inspire, induce and direct them.
5. A new mode of teaching English grammar
From those above, a new mode of teaching English grammar can be deduced, which consists of ‘presentation’, ‘repetition’, ‘summarization’ and ‘application’.
5.1 Presentation
The teacher gives English example sentences orally, and the students listen to him or her. These sentences may be selected from learned texts or other materials. But they must be short and concise. Language scene of the sentences must be clear so that the students can have clear ideas of the grammar items and where and when to use them.
5.2 Repetition
The students repeat orally the example sentences they have heard. The teacher observes whether the students understand and remember the new grammar knowledge, then analyze and ask questions about each sentence, encouraging the students to think actively. The purpose of doing that is to enable the students to discover grammatical rules.
5.3 Summarization
The teacher inspires the students to sum up the grammar rules and key points all by themselves. The teacher gives the students some instruction. When necessary, he or she should explain difficult points in detail so that the students can understand them. If so, the students can experience the joy of achievement from such summarization.
5.4 Application
The students do some communicative activities designed according to what they have just learned. Either the teacher or the students create a language scene; the students carry out the communicative activities in speaking or writing, practicing the new-learned grammar item.
6. A practical example of the new grammar-teaching mode
Let’s take teaching Present Perfect Tense as an example. The teacher need not tell the students the construction of this tense, the differences between HAVE and HAS, changes in sentence structures, answers to questions or the main usages of the tense. He or she should encourage the students to discover and summarize those through the example sentences.
Step One: Presentation & Repetition
The students listen carefully while teacher says the following sentences.
a) Father has gone out for a walk.
b) I have caught a bad cold.
c) They have just phoned me.
d) Has she just come back? Yes, she has. No, she hasn’t.
e) Have you answered her letter yet? Yes, I have. No, I haven’t.
The students are required to repeat the sentences a few times. Then the teacher writes these sentences on the blackboard and encourages the students to observe carefully and try to discover some rules in the sentences such as: the construction of Present Perfect Tense, the differences between HAVE and HAS, how to change a statement into a question, one of the main usages of this tense.
f) He and I have known each other for a long time. (i.e. I knew him a long time ago.)
g) We have studied English for two years. (i.e. We began to study English two years ago.)
h) She has been in hospital since last week. (i.e. She went to the hospital last week.)
He has lived here since 1997. (i.e. He moved here in 1997.)
After the students repeat the sentences above several times the teacher can write the sentences on the blackboard and encourage the students to discover the other main use of the tense, the characteristics of the verbs used and how to use SINCE and FOR correctly.
Step Two: Summarization
The students sum up their discoveries with the instruction of the teacher.
a) The construction of this tense is “HAVE or HAS + past participle”.
b) When changing a statement into a question, you must place HAVE or HAS before the subject.
c) SINCE is followed by a point of time or a clause, while FOR a period of time.
d) When SINCE or FOR is used in a sentence, the verbs must be of continuity.
e) This tense can be used to express an action that is completed at the moment of speaking.
f) This tense is chiefly used to express an action or a state that began in the past and which has continued up to and into the present.
Step Three: Application
In each scene, the students are demanded to make a correct sentence.
Scene 1: the teacher asks a student to open the door of the classroom.
Students: “He or She has just opened the classroom door.”
Scene 2: the teacher writes on the blackboard.
Students: “You have written some words on the blackboard.”
Scene 3: They came to this city three days ago.
Students: “They have been /stayed in this city for three days.”
Scene 4: Mary went away in 1997.
Students: “Mary has been away since 1997.”
The communicative practice can also be done in other forms like pair work, group work and so on. By using the sentences above, the teacher does the final summarization: The Present Perfect Tense can also be used to express an action that occurred at an unspecified time in the past but its result is felt at present and one that has happened once or many times in the period of time that has continued up to the present. So it is a present tense that implies a relationship with the present time, while the Simple Past and other past tenses usually express actions that have nothing to do with the present time ( Zhan Yimei 2002:72).
7. Conclusion
As is pointed out clearly and definitely in the new syllabus for full-time high schools, the aim of teaching English is to offer the students the rudimentary knowledge, to develop their fundamental skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing, to train them to use English to communicate in speech and in written form initially, especially their reading skill, to ensure the students to obtain specified ability to study on their own, to lay a solid foundation for their future study and application of English, to stimulate their interest of study, and to improve their observation, attention, memory, thinking, imagination and connection, as well as developing their intelligence ( Hu Chundong 1995:15).
The goal of grammar-teaching is to allow the students to have a good command of the regulations and rules and enable them to carry on such practical activities as listening, speaking, reading and writing better and more freely, namely, grammar-teaching should be subordinated to developing the students’ speaking skill.
So, focusing on students and communication, teachers should teach English grammar communicatively.
BIBLIOGRAPGY
Hornby A.S., Gatenby E.V., and Wakefield H. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Carvill Barbara, and Westra Hellen. Listen and Speak: Methodology Handbook for English Teachers in China. China: English Language Institute, 1994.
Hu Chundong. English-teaching Methodology. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 1995.
Zhan Yimei. English. Sichuan: Electronic Science and Technology University Press, 2002.