Action Research On Learning Strategies In English Grammar Teaching For Senior High Schools

For a long time, the argument about grammar teaching in foreign language teaching has never stopped, and even becomes increasingly furious. Grammar teaching has been ignored since1970s, as many researchers doubted whether formal grammar teaching is useful in foreign language learning. However, a large number of researchers and teachers of EFL or ESL devote to proving the necessity of formal grammar teaching in both theoretical and practical ways. In recent years, with the deepening new curriculum reform in basic education of China, it puts forward a higher requirement for grammar teaching in senior high schools. The traditional grammar teaching which is based on repetitive memorization of rules is not suitable for the goal of current English curriculum which stress comprehensive learning abilities.This article takes the perspective of learning strategy of students in senior high schools, exploring new ways of improving grammar teaching by action research. In pre-research activities, it is found that the students’level of learning strategy is of medium level or slightly lower as a whole, and grammar learning relies on the teachers’ explanation and summary. In the first phase of action research, the teacher applied various learning strategies into grammar teaching according to the results of questionnaire. For example, affective strategies and social strategies to regain the learners’ learning confidence, to stimulate their interests in independent and cooperative learning; metacognitive strategies to guide the student to carry on the autonomous learning, to plan their grammar learning management; memory strategies and cognitive strategies to reduce the dependence on teachers. In the second stage of action research, the teacher gave the grammar lecture firstly according to students’needs, then asked the students to choose their own assignments, to discuss in groups and to demonstrate results. The teacher was not limited learning strategy instruction, but could observe interactive actions and different performance of different learning-strategy-oriented learners in group discussion.This article adopts action research and other research methods, such as investigation, observation and literature research. The author contrasts the results and records the changes of students during the period of study, which could serve as good practice of English grammar teaching for learning strategy instruction in senior high schools.