A Study On The Application Of PACE Model To English Grammar Teaching In Senior High School

The traditional explicit-deductive grammar instruction pays too much attention to the language form but neglects the meaning and use of language.The PACE model(a four step grammar instructional approach—Presentation,Attention,Co-construction and Extension),by contrast,integrates the form,meaning and use of language.Its effectiveness has been widely examined in the previous studies.However,most studies focus on the effectiveness of the PACE model in teaching relatively simple grammatical structures such as comparative,superlative,and simple past tense.It remains unclear whether the PACE model is effective in teaching complex grammatical structures.The present study,therefore,represents an endeavor in this line of research.More specifically,it is intended to examine the effect of PACE model instruction on English non-finite verbs and its influence on learners’ beliefs about grammar instruction.Based on Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis,cognitive-discovery learning theory and the theory of zone of proximal development,this study attempts to explore two questions:(1)What are the effects of PACE model instruction on senior high school students’ learning of non-finite verbs?(2)What are the effects of PACE model instruction on learners’ beliefs about grammar instruction? A total of 100 senior high school students participated in the present study.They came from two intact classes of grade one in Fang Xian No.1 Senior High School in Hubei province.One is the experimental class,the other is the control class,with 50 students in each class.The PACE model instruction was employed in the experimental class,whereas the traditional explicit-deductive instruction was adopted in the control class.The teaching content consisted of two kinds of non-finite verbs: the –ing form of verbs and the infinitives,which were required to be mastered by the senior English textbook compulsory course 3 published by the People’s Education Press.Students’ learning was measured by the receptive task(grammar test)and the productive task(contextualized writing).After the experiment,grammar test,contextualized writing,questionnaire and interview were used as research tools to collect data.SPSS 26.0 was used to analyze the data.The results reveal that both instructional groups have shown progress in learning English non-finite verbs.However,the participants receiving the PACE model instruction have achieved higher grammatical gains in both the receptive grammar posttest and the productive contextualized writing.Meanwhile,the PACE model instruction has a positive effect on learners’ beliefs about grammar instruction,which is beneficial to promoting students’ grammar learning.The implications of this study are that grammar instruction should integrate explicit grammar instruction and implicit grammar instruction,focusing not only on the language form but also on the meaning and use of language.Interest plays an active role in grammar learning.Teachers should keep in mind learners’ beliefs and their expectations about grammar instruction,select authentic teaching materials,and create real contexts for students to practice using language,thereby stimulating students’ interest in grammar learning and promoting the transformation of students’ grammar knowledge into language competence.