The Application Of Learning Cycle Model In English Grammar Teaching In Junior High School

Over the years,with the implementation and advance of Chinese new curriculum reform,people emphasize the enforcement and permeation of the concepts,and the reform of teaching and learning method was enforced gradually.Though many researchers intend to study and practice exploratory learning,most of them are natural science field.which achieved better results.At present,there is no satisfied empirical study on the methods and effects of implying the exploratory learning in grammar teaching.In order to change this situation,the author attempts to apply exploratory learning method in the grammar teaching in junior high school.Compared with conventional learning method,exploratory learning method has the advantages of encouraging creative thinking,cultivating the ability of innovation and enterprising and linking theory and practice.Exploratory teaching emphasizes the participation of students themselves in the training of English application.The aim of exploratory learning is to enable learners to observe the world with the idea of inquiry and spark their curiosity and learning interest so that they can have a better understanding towards their lives and the world around them.There are many operating models for exploratory learning,the author of this thesis attempts to apply the learning cycle model in grammar teaching.Learning cycle consists of five steps of a sequence for teaching and learning: Engagement,Exploration,Explanation,Extension,Evaluation.For the purpose of testifying the feasibility and effectiveness of learning cycle model on improving students' grammar competence,the author of this thesis carries out an empirical study in a Jinan middle school taking 60 ninth-grade students from two classes as research subjects.The author randomly chooses one class as the experimental class(EC)and the other as control class(CC).The aim of this research is to answer the following two questions: First,compared with the traditional Presentation Practice Production(PPP)model,is learning cycle model more effective to raise students' English grammar scores? Second,can learning cycle be recognized and accepted by junior high school students?In order to control the experiment,Class 5 Grade nine is the EC,Class 6 CC.At the beginning of the experiment,the author gave out the first questionnaire in EC,which is designed to investigate students' opinions on the importance and methods of grammar learning.The author also conducted a pre-test at the beginning of the experiment to testify if there existed any differences in the reading level of the two classes.In the concrete teaching process,learningcycle model was employed to train students in EC,while students in CC were taught with traditional method.At the end of the experiment,a second questionnaire was distributed in EC to find out whether changed or not students' opinions on the importance and methods of grammar learning after a whole semester's training.A post-test was also carried out in EC and CC and the results were analyzed by SPSS 22.0.Besides,at the end of the experiment,several representatives in EC and CC were chosen by the author to conduct an interview.The post-test results show that the mean score of students in EC is higher than that of the students in CC.What's more,compared with the pre-test,students in EC have made more progress in their grammar scores than students in CC.That is to say,students in EC,who received the training of learning cycle have made more obvious progresses in their grammar competence than students in CC,who received regular way of traditional grammar training.The results from the questionnaire and interview show that most students like the learning cycle model,which is recognized and accepted by many of them.However,there exists some differences in students' personality,learning habit and their prior learning experiences.And some students are accustomed to traditional grammar teaching method,therefore,the degree of participation in class activities still needs to improve.The results of this research have the following pedagogical implications for English grammar teaching: first of all,students should be given sufficient space to explore.Second,The English grammar teaching should be in real situation and cooperative or communicative grammar activities should be utilized to consolidate the grammar knowledge students have learned.Third,for the purpose of gaining maximum benefit out of the implementation of learning cycle model,teachers should improve their own professional knowledge and teaching skills.