Application of Online Questionnaires in Grammar Teaching

Abstract

The consciousness-raising approach to grammar teaching aims to provide opportunities for students to identify some grammatical components through noticing activities and then make their own hypotheses about those components. This chapter proposes the application of the WebCT questionnaire to develop outside-class activities through which students are able to test and refine their hypotheses in order to internalize the grammar rules. It was found that students were more motivated and participated in the activities of testing and refining their hypotheses than in the past. Besides, students were exposed to more interlanguage samples that might have helped them refine their hypotheses. It is hoped that this chapter gives teachers better understanding of the needs of Chinese university students in grammar learning and offers them some innovative and effective teaching ideas in grammar teaching.

Key Terms in this Chapter

WebCT: A web-based course authoring, delivery and management tool.

Product Approach to Grammar Teaching: Students are exposed to a clear and explicit framework about the language, e.g. the form or the structure of the target language.

Process Approach to Grammar Teaching: Students learn the target language through using the language, for example, in some task-based learning activities.

Interlanguage: The language outputs produced by second-language learners in their learning process which are different from those the native speakers would produce when they convey the same meaning