nbsp; dominant position, there appeared Audio-lingual method in the US foreign language teaching. The American linguists have formulated a plan to train skills that were good at oral speaking. The Direct Method developed into Audio-lingual method under the influence of structural linguistics. The Direct Method’s characteristics were that, to master the grammar rules through a lot of listening and speaking practice, not to use native language and translation as far as possible. For example, in Fries’s Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language, he considered that the difficulties of foreign language learning are the result of different language structure system’s conflict.
Audio- lingual Method and other teaching method, which based on the theory of structural linguistics, their teaching point is on the sentence constitution rules. Afterward, as the use of the electrified aids, the audio-lingual method developed into the Audio—Visual Method. The criticism to the Direct Method, Audio-lingual method and other teaching method is their too limited grammar conception and abstract grammar teaching that divorced from the reality. Those students who were educated under these teaching methods cannot communicate with others naturally. There is another weakness that the Direct Method, Audio-lingual method neglects students’ acknowledged ability and language creation ability.
Otherwise, Hymes advanced his famous view about “communicative ability”. In his opinion, people should have the ability of language and communication, so they can communicate with others at anytime, anywhere, with anyone, in any way. Advocated by Hymes and Labov, the social linguistics flourished in USA .The foreign language teachers began to realize that it’s positive to practice grammar rules in the meaningful context; however, context was limited, mechanical practice can not foster students’ communication flexibility. Therefore, there appeared the Communicative Approach. It took the cultivation of communicative ability as their teaching aim; it emphasized on the meaning but not the accuracy of the sentence pattern. Grammar teaching must follow the communicative approach; some grammar rules are even completely neglected.
In the late 70’s, Krashen distinguish the conception between “acquisition “ and “study “. He proposed that study was to learn language rules, but it is useless to master language. Therefore, in Krashen’ theory, grammar lost its position. Till late 80’s, Krashen started publicly to reject the grammar teaching’s important position in the foreign language teaching. During 80’s, grammar teaching had once disappeared in class.
Nowadays, many foreign language teachers considered that grammar teaching could make language learning more easily. They emphasize on the importance of the grammar teaching in the class. After the development of teaching method, people all focus on the grammar awareness, they disagree to learn grammar rules through mechanical practice, their research stress is to find a best way to master grammar .So, how to teach grammar effectively is an important task. [1] p1-3
2. The Status Quo of English Grammar Teaching
From 1980’s, task –based grammar teaching
