A Study On The Current Situation Of Grammar Teaching In Senior High School

Grammar has always been a hot issue in the field of foreign language teaching and research. A widely acknowledged definition of grammar is given by Larsen-Freeman who claims that three dimensions should be considered in dealing with the complexity of grammar, namely, form, meaning and use. Grammatical form has been highly stressed in Grammar Translation Method which dominates English teaching for a long period of time. However, as the new English curriculum standard puts forward the idea of implementing learner-centered instruction and changing the phenomenon of overemphasis on the explanation of grammar rules, many researchers begin to study how to teach grammar more effectively. All sorts of new grammar teaching methods are proposed successively, such as the application of communicative approach in grammar teaching, task-based grammar instruction, etc. Nowadays, voices for advocating quality-oriented education get higher; therefore, it is necessary and worthwhile to find out whether teachers have changed the traditional grammar teaching method, and whether they respect students'individuality, and whether they have attached importance to cultivating students'ability to use grammar. Teachers'and students'attitudes towards grammar teaching are also worth studying.This thesis adopts research methods like classroom observation, questionnaires, as well as interviews to survey the current situation of grammar teaching in senior high schools in China, including the usual ways teachers use to teach grammar, teachers'attitudes towards grammar teaching, and students'attitudes towards teachers'way of teaching grammar. Participants in this study include 8 English teachers and 125 students from 3 senior high schools in Suzhou, Zhengzhou and Chizhou.The study reveals that the dominant way to teach grammar in senior high schools is still the deductive method. Teachers overemphasize the input of grammatical rules, ignoring cultivating students'communicative ability. Students report that grammar learning is boring and they expect diverse grammar teaching methods. Teachers hold the opinion that they attach great importance to the deductive approach and they also admit that they are not capable of conducting appealing and diversified lessons as they are not equipped with too many teaching theories. Finally, in view of the deficiency of grammar teaching situation, the author puts forwards some feasible grammar teaching strategies in order to render some insight into grammar teaching in practice.