Task-based Grammar Instruction In Junior Middle School English Teaching

At present teachers all over China are enthusiastically carrying out the New English Curriculum Criterion for Middle Schools, which suggests adopting Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) in English teaching in schools. The new curriculum doesn't give teachers any details, only a general framework, which gives teachers a considerable freedom for developing innovative teaching practice. Some teachers think students should finish tasks one after another in class, there is neither need nor time to make efforts to teach them grammar. As a result, the language abilities of the students are unfavorably affected. In this regard, task-based grammar teaching is particularly important and necessary to a better fulfillment of the new curriculum reform and the New English Curriculum Criterion for Middle Schools.Based on Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), the in-put/out-put theories and the constructivist theory, this thesis analyzes the existing state of grammar teaching in the framework of TBLT at home and abroad, elaborates on the significance, the features and principles of grammar teaching in TBLT. At the same time, the author probes into practicality and feasibility of grammar teaching in the framework of the TBLT in China. The author holds that the aim of task-based learning is to develop students' ability to communicate in the course of fulfilling different tasks with language, and the general principle of grammar teaching in TBLT is to organically integrate grammar with tasks. Communication takes place through using the grammatical system of the language, and 'communicative competence' can only exist on a good foundation of 'grammatical competence'. Inputting and outputting language knowledge is the key part in class. Task-based grammar teaching in this paper requires students to work with authentic English materials and with the purpose of preparing to meet the challenges of real-world English functions, so strategies for integrating grammar with tasks are suggested and sample teaching plans are given. This paper also provides empirical evidence to prove that task-based grammar teaching can improve the students' speaking and writing abilities and that it is feasible and can be applied to junior middle school English teaching in China.