A Study On English Grammatical Competence Of Junior High School Students Based On Three-dimensional Grammar Framework

Grammar is the basis of language learning and use.Especially for second language learners and foreign language learners,mastering the grammar of a language can effectively promote their listening and speaking skills.With the development of linguistics,scholars put forward the concept of grammatical competence from the perspective of communicative function gradually.The change of grammatical competence concept is mainly from one-dimensional to three-dimensional,from focusing on rules to focusing on usage accordingly.Among them,Larsen-Freeman put forward that grammar is not a set of static rules about structure,but a set of meaningful and dynamic system,which is a formal means to construct meaning and realize the function of language communication.The three-dimensional grammar framework proposed by her includes three dimensions of language form,meaning and use,which are interrelated and interact with each other,reflecting the dynamic nature of language and the essential characteristics of grammar as a formal resource for grammar construction.Therefore,it has become the consensus of applied linguistics and language education researchers.Based on Larsen-Freeman’s three-dimensional grammar framework,this study explores the current situation of grammatical competence from the perspective of students,and carries out a survey of students’ grammar learning.And from which the situations of English grammar teaching and learning are revealed.The research can provide useful reference and suggestions for future grammar teaching.This study composes a test to evaluate junior high school students’ competence of the simple past tense,followed by a questionnaire to investigate students’ grammar learning.193 students from two junior high schools in Wenshang County of Shandong Province were investigated.This study attempts to explore three questions:(1)What is the situation of junior high school students’ English grammatical competence?(2)What are the differences between students with high and low English proficiency in English grammatical competence?(3)What is the situation of junior high school students’ English grammar learning?The findings are as follows:(1)Junior high school students’ English grammatical competence is generally lower than middle level.Students’ performance is unbalanced in three dimensions,among which the performance in meaning is the best,the form is the second,and the use is the worst.(2)Junior high school students with different English proficiency have great differences in their performance of grammatical competence.Students with high English proficiency are significantly better than those with low proficiency in general and three dimensions.There is a medium high positive correlation between English proficiency and grammatical competence,which shows that English proficiency has a significant predictive effect on grammatical competence.(3)The biggest difficulty in junior high school students’ grammar learning is the use of grammar.Teachers’ grammar teaching method is mainly to explain grammar rules systematically.Students master grammar rules mainly by a large number of grammar exercises.Students have expectations for teachers to change grammar teaching methods,and high-level students show stronger learning initiative in grammar learning.Based on the above findings,the author emphasizes that teachers should study the three-dimensional grammar theory deeply,create diversified grammar classes for students with the help of texts and situations,focus on students and cultivate students’ ability to use grammar correctly.