A Study of Middle School English Grammar Teaching in the CLT Framework 交际语言教学模式下的中学英语语法教学研究 17页

AStudyofMiddleSchoolEnglishGrammarTeachingintheCLTFramework交际语言教学模式下的中学英语语法教学研究AbstractAsanessentialpartoflanguage,grammarplaysanimportantroleintheprocessoflanguagelearning.Grammarteachingisaheatedlydiscussedtopicinforeignlanguageteachingcircle.SincetheapplicationofCLTinChina,grammarteachinghascausedmoreconcernthanbefore.Thisthesisillustratesthenecessityofgrammarteachinginthetheoreticalandpracticalperspectives.Intheory,thegoalofCLTistocultivatestudents’communicativecompetenceandgrammaticalcompetenceispartofit,soCLTdoesnotexcludegrammarteachingbutincludeit.Inpractice,ChineserealisticconditionsdeterminethatgrammarshouldbetaughtintheCLTframework.Thenthisthesisproposessomestrategiestoimprovegrammarteaching,whichtendstogivesomeenlightenmenttoEnglishteachers.Keywords:grammarteaching;CLT(communicativelanguageteaching);communicativecompetence;grammaticalcompetence摘要语法作为语言的重要组成部分，在语言学习中起着非常重要的作用。语法教学是外语教学界讨论最多的话题。自中国实施交际教学法以来，语法教学更是受到了前所未有的关注。本文从理论和实际角度探讨了语法教学的必要性。理论上，交际教学法的目标就是培养学生的交际能力，而语法能力是交际能力的一部分，所以交际语言教学模式并不排斥而是包含语法教学；从实际角度看，中国的具体国情决定了在交际语言教学模式下语法必须教。本文又提出了在交际语言教学模式下推进语法教学的几点意见，希望能给广大英语教学工作者提供一些启示。关键词：语法教学；交际教学法；语法能力；交际能力 Contents1.0Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------12.0AnIntroductiontoCommunicativeLanguageTeaching----------------22.1FeaturesofCLT---------------------------------------------------------22.2PrinciplesofCLT-------------------------------------------------------33.0NecessityofGrammarTeachingintheCLTFramework---------------34.0RealisticReasonsofTeachingGrammarinChina-----------------------64.1EnvironmentofEnglishLearning-------------------------------------64.2GoalofEnglishLearning-----------------------------------------------74.3FormofEnglishAssessment-------------------------------------------75.0StrategiesofGrammarTeachingintheCLTFramework---------------75.1CreatingAuthenticSituations------------------------------------------85.1.1MakingFullUseoftheClassroom-----------------------------85.1.2CreatingSituationswithPictures-------------------------------85.2OrganizingCommunicativeActivities--------------------------------95.2.1Role-playing------------------------------------------------------95.2.2AdoptingDiscussionandDebate--------------------------------95.3TeachingGrammarinDiscourse--------------------------------------105.4MakingOldThingsNew-----------------------------------------------11 6.0Conclusion-------------------------------------------------------------------12References---------------------------------------------------------------------13Acknowledgements-------------------------------------------------------------15AStudyofMiddleSchoolEnglishGrammarTeachingintheCLTFramework1.0IntroductionAsanessentialcomponentoflanguage,grammarplaysanimportantroleintheprocessoflanguagelearning.Grammarisalsoahottopicinforeignlanguageteachingresearch.LookingbackatthehistoryofforeignlanguageteachinginChina,wecanfindthatpeople’sdifferentattitudestogrammarhavebecomeaclueofmodernforeignlanguageteachingresearch.Grammar-translationmethodoccupiedEnglishteachingforaverylongtime.Inthetraditionalclass,theteacherwasthecenteroftheclassroomandthefocuswasonteachinggrammaticalstructuresandrules,andstudentswereforcedtomemorizetheserules.Inthe1970s,communicativelanguageteaching(CLT)aroseandwongreatpopularityamongmanycountries.CLTaimstocultivatelearners’communicativecompetence,anditadvocateslearninglanguagethroughuse.Inthe1980s,CLTwasintroducedtoChinaandcarriedoutthroughoutthewholecountry.However,theapplicationofCLTinmiddleschoolEnglishteachingmakesgrammarteachingaprominentproblem.BecauseofvagueorevenmisleadingconceptionsofCLT,someteachersthinkthatCLTexcludesgrammarteachinganditisunnecessarytoteachgrammarinaCLTclass,whilesomeotherteachers,deeplyinfluencedbytraditionalways,stillspendtoomuchtimeteachinggrammaticalstructures.Bothofthetwocasesarebadtostudents,becausetheformermakesstudentsfailtooutputgrammaticallycorrectsentences,andthelattermakesstudentsloseinterestinlearning English.OnthebasisofCLT,thisthesisaimstomakecleartwopoints:(1)ShouldgrammarbetaughtinmiddleschoolEnglishteaching?(2)Howtoteach?Inthisthesis,abriefintroductiontoCLTismadeatfirst,whichcanhelpclarifytheunderstandingofCLT.Thenanattemptismadetoillustratethenecessityofgrammarteachinginmiddleschoolfromfourperspectives:(1)TherelationshipbetweencommunicativecompetenceandlinguisticcompetencedemonstratesthatCLTdosenotexcludegrammarteaching,becauselinguisticcompetenceispartofcommunicativecompetence;(2)TheenvironmentofEnglishlearninginChinarequiresgrammarteaching;(3)ThegoalofEnglishlearningneedsgrammarteaching;(4)Grammarisstillanimportantcomponentinvariousexaminations.Finally,somestrategiesareputforwardconcerninggrammarteachingintheCLTframework.2.0AnIntroductiontoCommunicativeLanguageTeaching2.1FeaturesofCLTHymes(1972)firstintroducedtheconceptof“communicativecompetence”,whichreferstotheabilitynotonlytoapplygrammaticalrulesofalanguageinordertoformgrammaticallycorrectsentencesbutalsotoknowwhenandwheretousetheserulesandtowhom.However,“Hymes’communicativecompetence,whichissocialinguitically-oritentedonthebasisofone’snativelanguage,doesnotseemtobeverysuitableforforeignlanguageteaching”(Gao,2003:51).Later,CanaleandSwain(1980)combinedtheconceptofcommunicativecompetencewithforeignlanguageteaching,anddevelopeditintofourcomponents,namely,grammaticalcompetence,sociolinguisticcompetence,discoursecompetenceandstrategiccompetence.Onthebasisofthetheoryofcommunicativecompetence,anewapproachtolanguageteaching—communicativelanguageteaching—arose,anditemphasizesthatthegoaloflanguageteachingistodeveloplearners’communicativecompetence.InordertohelpunderstandCLTclearly,manyscholarsmakestatementsaboutthefeaturesofCLT.AspointedoutbyLittlewood(2000:1):“oneofthemost characteristicfeaturesofcommunicativelanguageteachingisthatitpayssystematicattentiontofunctionalaswellasstructuralaspectsoflanguage,combiningtheseintoamorefullycommunicativeview.”Nunan(1991)listsfivefeaturesofCLT:1.anemphasisonlearningtocommunicatethroughinteractioninthetargetlanguage.2.theintroductionofauthentictextsintolearningsituation.3.theprovisionofopportunitiesforlearnerstofocusnotonlyonlanguagebutalsoonthelearningprocessitself.4.anenhancementoflearners’ownpersonalexperienceasimportantcontributingelementstoclassroomlearning.5.anattempttolinkclassroomlanguagelearningwithlanguageactivitiesoutside.ThesefivefeaturesshowthatCLTpaysmuchattentiontotheneedsandinterestoflearners,sostudentsbecomethecenteroftheclassandthelanguageteacherdonotplayadominantrole.CLTisquitedifferentfromtraditionalapproach,soitisnecessarytounderstandtheprinciplesofCLT.2.2PrinciplesofCLTOnthebasisofpreviousliterature(e.g.Nunan,1991),theprinciplesofCLTcouldbesummarizedasbeingcontext-oriented,experience-basedandlearner-centered.Bybeingcontext-orientedismeantthatanewitemshouldbepresentedandpracticedincontext.Fromacommunicativepointofview,languageitemsonlytakeonmeaningasaresultofthecontextinwhichitisused,thatistosay,anitemdevoidofcontextcannotproperlybesaidtohaveameaningatall.Forexample,onewordmayhavemanymeaningsinthedictionary,butitisthecontextinwhichitissetthatdecideswhichmeaningisrightandsuitable.Learner-centerednessmeansthatlearnersarethecenteroftheclassroom.CLTlaysemphasisonlearnersandlearning.Learnersareseenasactiveparticipants,rather thanpassiverecipientsofinformationprovidedbytheteacherorthetextbook.CLTinvolveslearnersinthewholeprocessoflearningandmakeslearnerslearnbydoing.Therefore,teachersarenolongerregardedasanauthorityonlanguage,butafacilitator,amanagerandanadvisoroflearners.3.0NecessityofGrammarTeachingintheCLTFrameworkAsthefactthatthegoalofEnglishteachingistocultivatelearners’communicativecompetencehasbeenacceptedbyresearchersandEnglishteachers,CLThasbeenwidelyappliedinourcountry.TheemergenceofCLTmakessometeachersthinkthatCLTisadvancedandobjectstothetraditionalmethod,sotheyneglectgrammarteachingintheclassroom.However,theoverlookofgrammarbringsaboutbadinfluences,thatis,studentscannotoutputgrammaticallycorrectsentences.Manyteachersareconfusedwhethergrammarshouldbetaughtornot.Ofcoursetheanswerisaffirmative.Infact,CLTdoesnotexcludegrammarteaching,andthiscanbeillustratedfromtherelationshipbetweengrammaticalcompetenceandcommunicativecompetence.AccordingtoHymes,communicativecompetencereferstotheabilityofhowtouseknowledgeofrulestounderstandandproduceappropriatelanguageinavarietyofsocioculturalsettings,andhe(1972:19)thinkscommunicativecompetenceincludes:1.knowledgeofthegrammarandvocabularyofthelanguage;2.knowledgeofrulesofspeaking(e.g.howtobeginandendconversation);3.knowinglanguagefunction(e.g.agreeing,disagreeing,arguingandadvising.etc.);4.knowinghowtouselanguageappropriately(talkingtoafriendisdifferentfromtalkingtoyourboss);Hymes’interpretationofcommunicativecompetenceputsgrammarinthefirstpart,sogrammarisnecessarytocultivatecommunicativecompetence.Latter,CanaleandSwain(1980)developedanewinterpretationofcommunicativecompetenceconsistingoffourcomponents: 1.Grammaticalcompetence.Itistheknowledgeoflexicalitemsandofrulesofmorphology,syntax,sentence,grammar,semanticsandphonology.2.Sociolinguisticcompetence.Itistheknowledgeofsocial-culturalrulesoflanguageanddiscourse.3.Discoursecompetence.Itistheabilitytoconnectsentencesinstretchesofdiscourseandformameaningfulwholeoutofaseriesofutterances.4.Strategiccompetence.Itistheverbalornonverbalcommunicativestrategiesthatmaybecalledintoactiontocompensateforbreakdownsincommunicationduetoperformancevariablesorduetoinsufficientcompetence.CanaleandSwain(1980)agreedthatbothgrammaticalcompetenceandsociolinguisticcompetenceareimportantelementsinanytheoreticalframeworkofcommunicativecompetence.They(1980:5)say:“justasHymes(1972)wasabletosaythattherearerulesofgrammarthatwouldbeuselesswithoutrulesoflanguageuse,sowefeelthattherearerulesoflanguageusethatwouldbeuselesswithoutrulesofgrammar.”SogrammarisnecessaryandessentialforcommunicationtotakeplaceLittlewood(2000:6)suggeststhatthefollowingfourdomainsofskillmakeupaperson’scommunicativecompetenceandmustberecognizedinforeignlanguagelearningandteaching.1.Thelearnermustattainashighadegreeaspossibleoflinguisticcompetence,thatis,hemustdevelopskillsinmanipulatingthelinguisticsystem,tothepointwherehecanuseitspontaneouslyandflexiblyinordertoexpresshisintendedmessage.2.Thelearnermustdistinguishbetweentheformswhichhehasmasteredasapartofhislinguisticcompetence,andthecommunicativefunctionswhichtheyperform.Inotherwords,itemsmasteredaspartofalinguisticsystemmustalsobeunderstoodasapartofcommunicativesystem.3.Thelearnermustdevelopskillsandstrategiesforusinglanguagetocommunicatemeaningsaseffectivelyaspossibleinconcretesituations.Hemustlearntousefeedbacktojudgehissuccess,andifnecessary,remedy failurebyusingdifferentlanguage.1.Thelearnermustbecomeawareofthesocialmeaningoflanguageforms.Formanylearners,thismaynotentailtheabilitytovarytheirownspeechtosuitdifferentsocialcircumstances,butrathertheabilitytousegenerallyacceptableformsandavoidpotentialoffensiveones.InLittlewood’sdefinitionofcommunicativecompetence,linguisticcompetencealsooccupiesaprominentposition.Hestatedtheimportanceofgrammarasfollows:“Acommunicativeapproachtothecontentofacourseneednotinvolveabandoningtheuseofstructuralcriteriaforselectionandsequencing,…,Masteryofthestructuralsystemisstillthebasicrequirementforusinglanguagetocommunicativeone’sownmeanings”(Littlewood,2000:77).Wilkins(1976:66)alsoadmittedtheimportanceofgrammar.Asarguedbyhim,“itistakenheretobealmostaxiomaticthattheacquisitionofthegrammaticalsystemofalanguageremainsamostimportantelementinlanguagelearning.Thegrammaristhemeansthroughwhichlinguisticcreativityisultimatelyachievedandaninadequateknowledgeofthegrammarwouldleadtoaseriouslimitationonthecapacityforcommunication”(Wilkins,1976:66).Fromtheanalysisandstatementsabove,itcouldbesafelyconcludedthatgrammarisnecessaryintheCLTframework,andtheapplicationofCLTdoesnotexcludegrammarteaching.“Withoutgrammaticalknowledgeasthefoundation,itisimpossibleforlanguagelearnerstogofarindevelopingtheircommunicativecompetenceofaforeignlanguage”(Gao,2003:51).4.0RealisticReasonsofTeachingGrammarinChina4.1EnvironmentofEnglishLearningAccordingtoKrashen(1981),grammarteachingisunnecessary,becauselanguageincludinggrammarcanemergeasaresultofcomprehensibleinput.Thatistosay,beingexposedtothetargetlanguageenvironment,learnerscannaturallyacquireitandinternalizethegrammarrules.Thisispartlytrueinacquiringasecond language,butEnglishistypicallytaughtasaforeignlanguageinChina,andlearningplaysamoreimportantrolethanacquisitionintheprocessofmasteringEnglish.Secondlanguageteachingtakesplacewithinthetargetlanguagecommunity,whileforeignlanguageteachingiscarriedoutoutsidethetargetlanguageenvironment,mostlyintheclassroom.Foreignlanguagelearningusuallyrequiresmoreformalinstructionforthelackofenvironmentalsupport.Acquisitionreferstosubconsciouslearninginthenaturalenvironment,whichisnotinfluencedbyexplicitformalinstruction.Learningalanguageisaconsciousprocessoflanguagedevelopment,whichneedstheintendedandexplicitformalinstructionintheartificialenvironmentsuchasthelanguageclassroom.AsmostChinesestudentslearnEnglishinChina,whichisfarawayfromEnglishspeakingcountries,theycannotacquireEnglishandinternalizegrammaticalrulesbybeingexposedtoit.Insomepoorareas,teachersandtextbooksaretheonlylanguagesource,solanguageinputislimited.Whatisworse,studentshavetodealwithothersubjectsandthetimeandenergyassignedtoEnglishlearningislimited,sothechancesforthemtoacquireEnglishareverysmall.Theformalinstructionintheclasswillovercomethedifficultiesofpooracquisitionalenvironmentandacceleratetheirlearningprocess.4.2GoalofEnglishLearningThegoalofEnglishlearningisnotsimplytoimprovespokenEnglish,buttodeveloplistening,speaking,readingandwritingskillswholly.Studentswillcomeacrossmanylongandcomplexsentencesintheprocessofreading.Amasteryofgrammaticalruleswillundoubtedlyhelpthemtoanalyzethesecomplicatedsentences,andthiswillgivethemasenseofsuccessandhelpthembuildtheirconfidence.InthebeginningstageoftheapplicationofCLT,manyteacherspaidmuchattentiontofluency.Theyspentmuchtimepracticinglisteningandspeakingskillsintheclassroomandavoidedexplicitgrammarteaching.Asaresult,studentscouldnotoutputcorrectlywithoutenoughknowledgeofgrammar.TheirEnglishlevelcouldnotbeimprovedtoalargeextent,andtheirinterestandconfidencewouldbeaffected badly.Inthecourseofcultivatingcommunicativecompetence,accuracyisasimportantasfluencyandisthebasisforsuccessfulcommunication.“Whenpeoplespeakandwrite,grammarwillfunctionasamonitortomakesurethattheirproductionisaccurate”(Gao,2003:51).4.3FormofEnglishAssessmentInChina,itisdifficulttoavoidgrammar-basedtestforstudents.Theyneedadequategrammaticalrulestodealwithmanykindsofexaminations.TestsforHighSchoolandNationalMatriculationEnglishTestaretwoimportantentranceexaminationsforChinesestudents.Passingthemtoenterexcellenthighschoolsorcollegesforfurthereducationismoststudents’dream.Thoughthedesignoftheseexaminationshaschangedalot,grammar-orientedexercisesstilloccupyanimportantplace.ThereforestudentshavetoknowtherulesofEnglishgrammarinordertodowellinsuchtests.5.0StrategiesofGrammarTeachingintheCLTFrameworkThegoalofmiddleschoolgrammarteachingisnotonlytomakestudentsmasterthegrammarstructuresbutalsotomakethemcommunicatesuccessfullyusingappropriategrammaticalrules.Asgrammarisnecessaryandimportant,teachersshouldadoptflexiblewaystopromotegrammarteaching.5.1CreatingAuthenticSituationsInordertomakestudentslearngrammarmoreeasily,teacherscancreateauthenticsituationstopresentgrammaticalpoints.Thesituationcanbeauthenticorsemi-authenticbutshouldbeclosetostudents’life.5.1.1MakingFullUseoftheClassroomIfitisnecessaryandavailable,teacherscanmakefulluseoftheclassroom.Forexample,whenpresenting“therebe”structure,theteachercandescribetheclassroomusingthefollowingsentences:Thereisablackboardinourclassroom. Therearefourwindowsinourclassroom.Therearetwodoorsinourclassroom.Thereisaboxonthedesk.Now,studentsmayrealizethefunctionandthemeaningofthisstructure,andthentheteachermayencouragestudentstodiscovertherulesbythemselves.Next,theteachermakessomecorrectionsandassuresthestudents’guesseswithproperstructure.Finally,theteacherencouragesstudentstodescribetheirbedroomsordrawingroomswiththelearnedstructure.5.1.2CreatingAuthenticSituationsWithPicturesTherearemanypicturesinEnglishtextbooks,sotheteachercanmakefulluseofthesepicturestocarryouttheteachingprocess.Thepicturescangivestudentsalivelyimpression.Forexample,iftheteacherwantstoteachthepresentcontinuoustensetothestudents,heorshecanusethepictureonPage17,Book2ofGoforit!(LiuDaoyi:2005)Teacher:Lookatthepicture,whatcanyousee?Students:Wecanseealotofboysandgirls.Teacher:Whataretheydoing?(Itisanewitemandtheteachermaytranslatewhilewritingitdownontheblackboard.)Students:They…(Studentsnowhaveadesiretoexpresswhattheboysandgirlsinthepicturesaredoing)Thestrongdesirewillmakethemlistentotheteacher’sillustrationwithhighattention.Theteachercanalsocollectsomepicturesindailylifesothattheywillusetheminthefuture.5.2OrganizingCommunicativeActivities5.2.1Role-PlayingRole-playingactivitiesarethoseinwhichstudentsareaskedtoimaginewhotheyareindifferentsituationsandactaccordingly.Moststudentsliketoplaygames,so role-playingwillundoubtedlystimulatetheirinterest.Theywillfocusontheknowledgeaswellastheactivities.Forexample,thereisastoryhappeninginamall,andthepassivevoiceofthepastprogressiveaspectcanbeintroducedinthestory.First,theteacherassignstherole,studentAplaysthecustomer,studentBplaysthethiefandtheteacheristhedirectorandseller.AftertheteachertellsAandBhowtoplay,therestseethefollowingscene:Aisselectinggoods,BiswalkingtoAandpickingthepurseoutfromA’sbagandrunsquickly.Afeelsherbagmoved,suddenlysheseesBrunningnervously,andfindsherpursestolen,thensheshoutsloudly:“oh,mybagiscut,mypurseisstolen”.HearingA’sshouts,theselleralsoshouts:“Let’schasethethief”,thentheyarechasingthechief.Atthesametime,theteacherspeaksinahighvoice:“Herbagiscut,andthethiefisbeingchased”,atthesametime,theteacherwritesthesentencesontheblackboardandasksthestudentstofollowher.Whenthegameisfinished,theteachermayasktwoquestions:(1)Whathappenedtothecustomer?(2)Whathappenedtothechief?Thenthestudentswillansweractively:“Herpursewasstolen,thethiefwasbeingchased.”Atlast,theteachersummariestheruleandfunctionofthepassivevoiceofthepastprogressiveaspect.5.2.2DiscussionandDebateDiscussionsanddebatesaremeaningfulcommunicativeactivities,inwhichstudentscanexchangeopinionsfreelyandillustratetheirownviewsinthetargetlanguage.However,itislikelytobesuccessfulforupper-intermediateandadvancedlevellearners.Besides,theteachermaymakesomechangesbystartingwithsomecontrolledpractice,andthenleadtheworkintomorecommunicativeactivities.Hereisanexample.First,theteachertellsstudentstowritedownthesentencehereads.Howdoyouthinksmokinginpublicplaces?(Possibly,it’sthefocusofthetextthathasjustbeenlearned.)Second,theteachertellsstudentstorewritethesentencetosuittheirideas. Forexample,Ithinksmokinginpublicplacesshouldbebannedbecauseitisharmfulfornon-smokers.It’shisrightforanyonetodecidewherehesmokes.Thebanonsmokinginpublicplacesistakentooseriously.Third,theteacherreadsorwritessomeofthesentences,givingstudentsadequatetimetowritetheirown.Fourth,theteacheraskssomestudentstoreadtheirwritingandwritesomesentenceswhicharecontroversialastopicsofdiscussionontheblackboard.Fifth,theteacherdividesstudentsintogroups,lettingthemdogroupworkbydiscussingthem.Lastly,whenfinishingthis,everygrouphasaspokesmantomakeamini-speechonthetopic.Discussionsanddebateswillbeveryusefulinteachingreadingandwriting.Somestudentsoftenfeelrefrainedwhentheycometowritingessays.Forexample,theydonotknowhowtobeginortheyhavelittleinformationaboutthetopicforthetimebeing,whereassomestudentsmayknowalotaboutthetopicbutthereisnocentralideaintheirworkorthecentralideaisawayfromtherequirement.Therefore,throughdiscussion,theformer’sviewswillbebroadenedandthelatter’sviewswillbeinorder.5.3TeachingGrammarinDiscourseInthetraditionalclassroom,grammaticalpointsareoftenintroducedinsinglesentenceswhicharenotsetinspecificdiscourses.Whatisworse,toillustratesomeitems,someteachersoftenfabricatesomesentencesrarelyusedinauthenticcommunication.However,writtensentencesinspecificdiscoursesarejustlikespokenutterancesindailycommunicationinwhichtheirmeaningsofsentencesaredeterminedbythecontext.Therefore,theexamplesusedbymostteachersinthepastcutofftherelationbetweengrammaticalrulesandfunctions.Teachinggrammarindiscoursewillstrengthenstudents’awarenessofdiscourseandmakethemrealizedthatgrammaticalrulesarenotonlyinfluencedbysinglesentencesbutalsoaffectedby thediscourse.Forexample,whenintroducingthepassivevoiceofpresenttense,theteachermayhavestudentsreadthefollowingessays:Whichlanguageisspokenbythelargestnumberofpeopleintheworld?Ofcourse,theanswerisChinese.Butwhichlanguageisthemostwidelyspokenintheworld?TheanswerisEnglish,EnglishisspokenasafirstlanguagebymostpeopleintheUS,GreatBritain,Canada,AustraliaandNewZealand.Butitisalsousedverywidelyasaforeignlanguageinmanyothercountriesintheworld.Afterreadingtheabovepassage,studentswillrealizethatthepassivesentencesarenotjustthetransformationofactivesentences,buttheyarealsotheresultoftheinfluencesofthediscoursetopic(GaoQiangandZhaoNa,2007:3).However,thediscourseselectedshouldbemeaningful,interestingandcomprehensible,andthetopicshouldbeup-todateandrelevanttostudents’reallife,sothematerialcanstimulatestudents’interestandtheirdesiretostudy.5.4MakingOldThingsNewManyprofessors(EditorialBoardofForeignLanguageTeachingandResearchinBasicEducation,2007)advocatethattraditionalproceduresmaynotberejectedabsolutelybutcouldbereinterpretedandextended.ThehistoryofEnglishteachingisverylonginChina,andEnglishteachershaveaccumulatedexcellentexperienceinteachinggrammar,whichshouldnotbeoverlooked.Forexample,patterndrillwasoneofthemajorwaystoteachgrammarandonceprovedtobeveryeffectiveinEnglishteachinginChina.However,withthepopularizationofCLTinrecentyears,ithasbecomeatargetofattack,becausetherepeatedtrainingofasentencepatternisfarbeyondrealcommunication.Buttheteachercangoonestepfurthertomakepatterndrillscommunicative.Paulston(1976,quotedfromRivers,1983)groupsdrillsintomechanicaldrills,meaningfuldrillsandcommunicativedrills,whichcanbringnewmeaningtotheteachingofgrammarinourcountry.Inmechanicaldrills,thereiscompletecontroloftheresponsessothatstudents donotevenneedtounderstandthedrilltoproducethecorrectresponse(asinsimplesubstitutiondrills).Paulston(1976,quotedfromRivers,1983)suggeststhatifanonsensewordcanbeinsertedaseffectivelybythestudentsasameaningfulword,thenthedrillisoneofthemechanicaltypes.Forexample:Pattern:Iamholdingabook.Cue:Magazine.Response:Iamholdingamagazine.Cue:BananaResponse:Iamholdingabanana.Inmeaningfuldrills,thereisstillcontroloftheresponses(althoughitmaybecorrectlyexpressedinmorethanoneway),butstudentscannotcompletethedrillwithoutfullyunderstandingwhattheyaresaying.Thefollowingisanexampleofmeaningfuldrill:Question:whendidyouarrivethismorning?Answer:Iarrivedatnineo’clock.Question:whenwillyouleavethismorning?Answer:Iwillleaveatsixo’clock.Inacommunicativedrill,thereisnocontroloftheresponse.Studentshavefreechoicesoftheiranswers,andthecriterionofselectionhereishisownopinionoftherealworld—whateverhewantstosay.Forexample:Question:whatdidyouhaveforbreakfast?Answer:Ihadtoastandcoffeeforbreakfast.Or:IdidnothavebreakfastbecauseIwasafraidofmissingthebus.SomestudentswhoarenotconfidentabouttheirEnglishandknowclearlywhattheteacherexpectswouldremainintheareaofpseudo-communication,butothersmayturnthisintorealinteraction.6.0ConclusionThispaperfocusesonthenecessityofgrammarteachingandthestrategiesof grammarteachinginthemiddleschool.ThenecessityofgrammarteachingisillustratedintermsoftheoriesandrealisticreasonsinChina.NowitiswidelyacceptedthatgrammarshouldbetaughtinChina.ThedetaileddiscussionaboutthenecessityofgrammarteachingcanhelpclarifytheexistingmisconceptionthatCLTexcludesgrammarteaching.Thensomestrategiesareproposedtoimprovegrammarteaching.Grammarteachingisaheatedlydiscussedtopic.Thispaperjustmakesaskin-deepstudyofit.Morestudiesshouldbecarriedoutinordertoexplorethepracticalstrategies.References[1]Canale,M.&M.Swain.Theoreticalbasesofcommunicativeapproachestosecondlanguageteachingandlearning[J].AppliedLinguistics,1980,(1).[2]GaoQ.AtentativeprobeintogrammarteachingtoEnglishmajors[J].EnglishTeachingandResearchinNormalSchool,2003,(6).[3]Hymes,D.Oncommunicativecompetence[A].inJ.B.Pride&J.Homels,(eds.)Socialinguistics[C].Harmondsworth:Penguin,1972.[4]Krashen,D.SecondLanguageAcquisitionandSecondLanguageTeaching[M].Oxford:Pergarnon,1981.[5]Littlewood,W.CommunicativeLanguageTeaching[M].Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2000.[6]Nunan,D.LanguageTeachingMethodology[M].London:PrenticeHall,1991.[7]Rivers,W.M.CommunicatingNaturallyinaSecondLanguage[M].Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1983.[8]Stern,H.H.IssuesandOpinionsinLanguageTeaching[M].Shanghai:ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,1992.[9]Wilkins,D.A.NotionalSyllabuses[M].Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1976. 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