An Empirical Study Of Teaching English Grammar In Primary Schools From The Perspective Of Cognitive Linguistics

With the deep development of the economic globalization,the communication between China and other countries has become closer and closer.Since English is the tool to communicate with other countries,it is very important.As one of the three elements of language(pronunciation,vocabulary and grammar),grammar is the synthesis of the inner structure rules of a language and it is the basis of language communication,which determines the accuracy of language communication.If a student doesn't master the grammar rules of English and only learns the basic vocabulary and sentences,he or she cannot use English language accurately and fluently.Therefore,grammar plays a significant role in English.According to the previous teaching internship in primary schools and questionnaire survey on current grammar learning condition of students in primary schools,the author finds two problems of grammar teaching in primary schools as follows: firstly,some students cannot use grammar structures to express themselves accurately,meaningfully,and appropriately in their daily life.In class,it seems that teachers explain the grammar structures very clearly and students learn them very well by practicing many related grammar exercises.However,after class,students are apt to make mistakes while they are speaking or writing.The fact is that even if students understand the explicit rule,they do not necessarily apply it.Long ago,Alfred North Whitehead referred to this dilemma as ‘the inert knowledge problem'.Secondly,the majority of the students are not interested in learning grammar,because they think grammar is boring.Grammar is an indivisible part of English,and we cannot learn English well without learning grammar well.To encourage the students become interested in learning grammar and use grammar structures to express themselves accurately,meaningfully,and appropriately in their daily life is the purpose of this study.The study introduces the new views of grammar teaching from perspectives of Cognitive Linguistics and Cognitive Grammar based on which the author composed the EMS-Grammar Teaching Model(E-Experience,M-Motivation,and S-Schema-centered).This model includes the following three teaching steps:(1)Experience: Activating experiences and creating contexts;(2)Motivation: Paying attention to motivation and uniting form and meaning;(3)Schema: Highlighting grammar structures and constructing image schema.Activating experiences and creating contexts brings the students' life experience into the classroom.Paying attention to motivation and uniting form and meaning explains the motivation behind the grammar structures and enables students to understand the meaning behind the rules of grammar.Motivation and understanding will arouse students' interest in grammar.Highlighting grammar structures and constructing image schema enables students to form the image schema structure of the target grammar structures.After explaining the motivation behind the grammar structures,teachers can guide the students' attention to the target grammar point and highlight it and,accompanied by repeated exercises,let students experience it repeatedly.Ultimately,the students can form the image schema of the grammar and acquire the form and meaning of the target grammar point.Then,they can use it in right context.The author carried out an experiment to verify the effectiveness of the EMS-Grammar Teaching Model in an experimental English class that had 41 students of grade 5 in a primary school in Longwan district in Wenzhou.The author used such research methods as questionnaire surveys,oral tests,and grammar tests to collect the data from the 41 students.Through data analysis,the author derived the following findings:(1)Most of the students could express themselves more appropriately and fluently using correct grammar structures.(2)Most of the students became interested in learning English grammar.The findings suggest that the EMS-Grammar Teaching Model has positive effects on improving students' interest in learning grammar and their ability to use grammar structures.In addition,the model provides guidance and a reference for English grammar teaching in primary schools.However,the study has got some limitations.The author didn't have adequate time to collect and refer to all published research literature.The experiment lasted for one month,and the student population was small.The results of this study justify further examination of the pertinent research literature and longer studies of larger and more diverse groups of students.