An Experimental Study On The Application Of Linguistic Context To The Teaching Of English Grammar In High School

Grammar has always been the necessary and important part of EFL teaching andlearning. Grammar teaching methods have changed throughout the EFL teachinghistory. However, how to teach grammar is still a heated debate in the field of foreignlanguage teaching. Based on analysis of current situation and problems of grammarteaching in high school, the theory of linguistic context, the relative studies onapplying context and linguistic context to grammar teaching, this thesis attempts toexplore the principles and approaches of applying linguistic context to the teaching ofgrammar in high school as well as probe into its teaching effect. This study attemptsto explore the following two questions:(1) Can the method of applying linguistic context to the teaching of grammar inhigh school improve the accuracy of students’ grammar?(2) Can the method of applying linguistic context to the teaching of grammar inhigh school better promote learners’ ability in the actual use of grammar?To answer these two questions, the writer carried out an experiment for about aterm (sixteen weeks). The subjects involved in this experiment consisted of129students from two classes in Senior One in DongYuan High School, one designed asthe experimental class (n=66) and the other as the controlled class (n=63). In the partof grammar of every unit, the experimental class was taught with the method ofapplying linguistic context, whereas the controlled class was taught with mechanicalpractice. Pre-tests and posttests were conducted in the two classes at the same time toexamine the accuracy of students’ grammar and their ability in the actual use ofgrammar. The papers were made by the experienced teachers who were in the researchteam studying the grammar teaching methods in rural area.The statistic results of their scores were calculated by the software SPSS8.0andthe Independent Samples T-test was adopted to process the data analysis. The resultsof Independent-Samples T-test data analysis of the posttest show that:1) There was significant difference on the accuracy of students’ grammar in the two classes in posttest, which meant that the method of applying linguistic context tothe teaching of grammar can improve the accuracy of students’ grammar.2) The significant difference on writing in posttest in the two classes also showedthat the method of applying linguistic context to the teaching of grammar can betterpromote learners’ ability in the actual use of grammar.In conclusion, these findings not only solved the practical grammar teachingproblems of how to deal with the relationship between linguistic context and grammarbut also suggested the solution of how to improve the accuracy of students’ grammarand their ability in the actual use of grammar. Based on the findings, English teachersmay apply linguistic context to their teaching of grammar in the future.