| In terms of nature of language, Skehan (1998) claims that language has dual attributes, one is analyzability, the other is formulacity. Language is both a grammar-based, relatively open-up analytic system and a memory-based, relatively close-in formulaic system. In conventional classroom teaching, vocabulary and grammar are deemed as the core of teaching, whereas holistic nature of phrasal, sentential and textual constructions is inevitably ignored. Sufficient studies show that chunks can be stored and retrieved as unanalyzed unit and be readily accessible. It is profitable for learners to identify and manipulate chunks for the purpose of saving learners'processing effort, facilitating language output in fluency and idiomaticness. Chunks theory has increasingly drawn attention of linguists for it values both language form and meaning and compromises structural approach and communicative approach. However, few studies have been reported on the effect of chunks-oriented teaching in EFL classroom of middle school.This thesis hammers at verifying the feasibility of chunks theory application on EFL teaching practice in middle school under the guidance of the whole language approach and quests for a better path to improve Chinese EFL young learners'writing in tune to their gestalt cognitive style and the nature of EFL writing.The thesis holds that chunks-oriented teaching promotes young learners'writing proficiency. Hereby, following research questions are advanced: 1. Does WLA-guided chunks teaching work better than conventional teaching method to improve Chinese EFL young learners'writing proficiency? 2. Are imitation and analogy effective vehicles to manipulate chunks in pattern writing for Chinese EFL young learners?Both literature and empirical studies have been conducted in the current study. On one hand, brief retrospect of actuality of EFL teaching & learning in Chinese setting was presented first, followed by comments on conventional views of writing of teaching and previous studies of lexical chunks with its definitions, categories, function in language acquisitions. With concise reclassification, Chunks refresh itself in the course of EFL teaching and resemble Whole Language Approach and Gestalt psychology in holistic way. In tune to teenager's gestalt cognitive style, pattern reading and writing were introduced via imitation and analogy in the hope of building learners' self-confidence in writing. Good writing habit should be nurtured at initial stage of language development.On the other hand, theoretical discussions were followed by the details and procedures of an empirical study, which fell into quantitative analysis and supplementary qualitative interpretation. The experiment lasts one semester in four steps with 80 subjects of two paralleled classes from Guangtai middle school, Handan city, Hebei Province. First, teacher questionnaire headed for investigating real status of writing in middle school; then, Pearson correlation test was processed to testify inter reliability of two raters at pre-experiment stage; subsequently, two independent sample t-tests of SPSS16.00 descriptive statistics and post-experiment student interview proceed to explore the effectiveness of chunks-oriented teaching.It came to the conclusion that both groups, more or less got improvement in writing proficiency through different teaching approaches while the experimental group achieved more. The thesis highlights that explicit chunk teaching outweighs traditional teaching methods in promoting young learners'writing proficiency with the enlightenment of Whole Language Approach and in tune to their gestalt cognitive style. Furthermore, another finding hereof reveals that low-proficiency learners tend to encounter affective and cognitive difficulties while writing due to weak awareness of chunks. Implications of the current study provide insight into EFL teaching and learning, and limitations of that suggest potential for further investigation.
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