Chapter 1 Statement of the Problem and Structure of the Book 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem 1
1.2 The Format of the Book 5
Chapter 2 Inadequacies of EFL Input in Guizhou China:Historical and Political Aspects 8
2.1 Guizhou:A Multiethnic and Multilingual Province in China 8
2.2 Guizhou University 11
2.3 An Inspiration from the Ethnic Minority Students'Learning of L2:Chinese 12
2.4 Disadvantages for English Teaching Compared with Chinese Teaching 14
2.5 TEFL in China 17
2.5.1 The Start of TEFL in China:Prior to 1902 18
2.5.2 Turning from the Japanese to the Western Model:1902-1949 20
2.5.3 The Early Development of TEFL in New China:1949-1966 22
2.5.4 A Decade of Great Disaster during the Cultural Revolution:1966-1976 26
2.5.5 A Renaissance for TEFL in China:from 1976 to the Present 27
2.6 TEFL in Guizhou 29
2.7 A Critique of Coursebooks for English Majors in Guizhou University 33
2.7.1 Theoretical Inadequacy in Methodological Orientation 34
2.7.2 A Shifting from Politicisation to Westernisation 37
2.7.3 An Examination of Linguistic Input from Textbooks 40
2.8 The Research Questions 47
Chapter 3 EFL Input:Form-Focused,Meaning-Focused and Cultural 49
SECTION 1 INPUT AND INTERACTION 49
3.1 Input and Interaction in Children's L1 Learning 49
3.2 Studies of the Role of Input and Interaction in SLA 51
3.3 The Conversion of Input into Intake 55
3.3.1 A Theoretical Review:Gass,Mac Whinney and Chaudron 56
3.3.2 Quantity and Quality of Input:Enhancing the Conversion into Intake 61
3.4 The Limitations of Anglophone Input in the Chinese Social Setting 62
Summary 64
SECTION 2 FORM-FOCUSED VERSUS MEANING-FOCUSED INPUT 65
3.5 The Emergence of Study on Classroom L2 Acquisition:A General Review 65
3.5.1 Some Differences between the Form-focused and the Meaning-focused Approaches 69
3.5.2 The Meaning-based Approach:the Natural Method 71
3.5.2.1 The Rationale for the Natural Method 72
3.5.3 Grammar--a Burden or an Aid in SLA? 74
3.5.3.1 The Naturalistic View of Grammar 76
3.5.4 Is Learning/Acquisition Conversion Possible? 80
3.5.5 Integrating Form-focused Instruction and Meaning-based Practice 82
Summary 87
SECTION 3 THE CULTURAL DIMENSION 88
3.6 The Meaning of Culture 88
3.6.1 Signs and Sense 89
3.6.2 Cultural Difference 91
3.6.3 Intracultural and Intercultural Discourse 92
3.6.4 On Intercultural Communicative Ability 93
3.6.5 TESOL Culture 94
3.7 Language and Literature 95
3.7.1 Language in Literature 97
3.7.2 Language Competence and Literary Competence 98
3.7.3 The Status of Literature in EFL 99
3.7.4 The Developmental Cognitive Stages in Literary Appreciation 100
Summary 101
Chapter 4 Objectives and Design of the Study 102
4.1 Research Aims and Objectives 102
4.2 The Structure of the Research Project 103
(Visual Presentation of the Experimental Design) 104
4.3 Investigating the Effect of the Methodological Input:Study 1 105
4.3.1 Rationale for the Design of the Experiment in Phase Ⅰ，Study 1 106
4.3.2 Subjects 107
4.3.3 Materials 107
4.3.4 Method 108
4.4 Investigating the Effect of Semantic Input:Study 2 110
4.4.1 Investigating the Effect of Anglo-American Literary Input on English Majors in SLA:Section 1 111
4.4.1.1 Subjects 111
4.4.1.2 Method 111
4.5 Exploring the Comprehensibility and Applicability of Linguistic Input:Section 2 112
4.5.1 Subjects for Item 1 113
4.5.2 Method for Item 1 113
4.5.3 Subjects for Items 2-4 114
4.5.4 Method for Item 2(Sentence Reading) 115
4.5.5 Method for Item 3(Passage Reading) 116
4.5.6 Method for Item 4(One-Week Memory Testing) 117
PHASE Ⅱ 119
4.6 Testing the Generalisability of the Research Findings in Phase Ⅰ 119
4.6.1 The Scale of the Quasi-experimentation 120
4.7 Testing the Generalisability of the Combined Approach:Part 1 120
4.7.1 Subjects 120
4.7.2 Method 120
4.8 Testing the Practicability of Home Cultural Input in Formal Teaching:Part 2 121
4.8.1 Subjects and Teaching Material 121
4.8.2 Teaching Methodology and Testing 122
4.9 Timescale of Implementation 122
Chapter 5 Investigating the Effects of Methodological Input on Students'English Acquisition:Phase Ⅰ，Study1 124
5.1 Making a Start:the Pilot Study 124
5.1.1 Organising Groups for the Pilot Study 125
5.1.1.1 The Method of Grouping 125
5.1.1.2 The Results of Grouping 126
5.1.2 The First Class for Each Group 127
5.1.2.1 Method for Group A 128
5.1.2.2 Method for Group B 129
5.1.2.3 Method for Group C 131
5.1.3 Student Feedback on the Methodology(Pilot) 132
5.1.4 Some Modifications of Teaching Materials and Time Arrangement 137
5.1.5 The Second Class for Each Group 137
5.2 The Main Study 138
5.2.1 The Student Attendance 139
5.2.2 The Reviewing Class 140
5.2.3 Some Modifications of the Methodology 140
5.3 Data Collection 141
5.3.1 The Transformation of the Raw Scores 143
5.3.2 Data Processing 144
5.4 The Presentation of the Experiment Results 144
5.4.1 Results of Linguistic Exercises 145
5.4.1.1 Syntactic Structure 148
5.4.1.2 New Phrases 149
5.4.1.3 Reading Comprehension 151
5.4.2 Written Production Results 153
5.4.3 Oral Production Results 158
5.4.4 Student Views of the Experiment 161
5.4.4.1 Subjects in Group A 161
5.4.4.2 Students in Group B 163
5.4.4.3 Students in Group C 166
5.5 Analysis and Discussion 167
5.5.1 The Interrelationship between Teaching and Learning 167
5.5.2 Can Students Raise Their Own Linguistic Consciousness in Class without Instruction? 169
5.5.3 An Evaluation of the Role of Grammar 173
5.5.4 The Strengths of the Combined Approach 176
5.6 Conclusion 178
Chapter 6 Investigating the Effects of Semantic Input on EFL Students in SLA:Phase Ⅰ，Study2 179
6.1 Introduction 179
6.2 Investigating the Effect of Anglo-American Literary Reading on the English Majors in SLA(Section 1) 180
6.2.1 The Preparation for the Test and Data Collection 180
6.2.2 Data Processing 182
6.2.3 The Presentation of the Research Results 182
6.2.3.1 The Result of Vocabulary Exercises 183
6.2.3.2 The Result of Sentence Comprehension 184
6.2.3.3 The Result of Paragraph Comprehension 185
6.2.4 The Qualitative Data from Group Interview 186
6.2.4.1 The Obstacles to Be Surmounted 187
6.2.4.2 Rewards of Perseverance 188
6.2.4.3 The Effects of Anglophone Input on Linguistic Skills 190
6.2.5 Analysis and Discussion 191
6.2.5.1 On the Result of Vocabulary and Expressions 192
6.2.5.2 On the Result of Sentence Reading 193
6.2.5.3 On the Result of Paragraph Reading 195
6.2.6 Conclusion 197
6.3 Evaluating the Comprehensibility and Applicability of Linguistic Input:Section 2 197
6.3.1 Students'Performance in the Selection of Words for Learning:Item 1 199
6.3.1.1 Data Collection 200
6.3.1.2 The Presentation of the Result of Item 1 200
6.3.2 Exploring the Effect of Linguistic Input on Learners' Receptivity and Productivity:Items 2-4 205
6.3.2.1 The Pilot Study 206
6.3.2.1.1 The Consultation with the Teachers Concerned 206
6.3.2.1.2 The Implementation of the Pilot Test 207
6.3.2.2 The Main Study for Items 2-4:Data Collection 210
6.3.2.3 Data Processing 211
6.3.2.4 The Presentation of the Results of the Serial Testing 211
6.3.2.4.1 The Test Result of Item 2(Sentence Reading) 211
6.3.2.4.2 The Test Result of Item 3(Passage Reading) 216
6.3.2.4.3 The Test Result of Item 4(One-Week Memory Testing) 223
6.3.3 Analysis and Discussion 227
6.3.3.1 The Value of Input:Comprehensibility and Applicability 227
6.3.3.2 Appropriate Linguistic Input for Successful L2 Learning 230
6.3.3.3 Task Complexity and Learners'Internal SLA Development 233
6.3.3.4 Stimulating the Working Mechanism for L2 Productivity 235
6.3.4 Conclusion 238
Chapter 7 Testing the Generalisability of the Findings in Phase Ⅰ：Phase Ⅱ 240
7.1 The Purpose of Phase Ⅱ 240
7.2 The Scheme for Phase Ⅱ 240
7.3 Setting up the Teacher Training for Phase Ⅱ，Part 1 241
7.3.1 The Briefing Meeting 242
7.3.2 The Training of the Teachers 243
7.3.2.1 The First Tuition 243
7.3.2.1.1 Basic Principles for Teaching 243
7.3.2.1.2 Teaching Methodology 244
7.4 Instruments for Obtaining Data from the Students 245
7.4.1 The Written Tests 245
7.4.2 The Oral Tests 246
7.4.3 The Questionnaire 246
7.4.4 Group Interview 247
7.5 Instruments for Obtaining Data from the Teachers 248
7.5.1 Individual Interview with the Teachers 248
7.5.2 The Submission of a Work Report 249
7.5.3 Sitting in on the Class 249
7.6 Data Processing 251
7.7 The Presentation of the Students'Test Results(Part 1) 252
7.7.1 The Written Tests 252
7.7.1.1 The Results of Language Exercises 253
7.7.1.2 The Results of the Written Production 256
7.7.2 The Oral Production 260
7.8 The Result of the General Survey(Part 1) 264
7.8.1 A Comparison of English Skills before and after the Experimentation 264
7.8.1.1 Listening Ability 264
7.8.1.2 Speaking Ability 266
7.8.1.3 Reading Ability 268
7.8.1.4 Writing Ability 269
7.8.2 Students'Self-Evaluation of Their Improvement 271
7.9 The Result of Group Interview with the Students(Part 1) 273
7.9.1 English Learning in the Middle School 273
7.9.2 English Learning in the University 274
7.9.3 The Real Obstacle in Learning:Mental Translation 275
7.9.4 Improvement after Three Months 277
7.9.5 The Role of Grammar 277
7.9.6 Students'Self-Evaluation 278
7.10 The Teachers'View(Part 1) 278
7.10.1 The Quantitative Data from the First Three Items 279
7.10.2 The Qualitative Data from the Teachers 280
7.10.2.1 The Problems Observed by the Teachers 282
7.10.2.2 Teachers'Proposals 283
7.11 Testing Generalisability of Home Cultural Input:Phase Ⅱ，Part 2 284
7.11.1 Data Collection 284
7.11.2 The Oral Test Result of…English for Tourists Guides…(Part 2) 285
7.11.3 Students'Views on Home Cultural Input 287
7.12 Analysis and Discussion 289
7.12.1 The Concurrence between Teaching Methodology and Linguistic Input 290
7.12.2 Cultivating Learners'Ability for Comprehension and Application 292
7.13 Conclusion 294
Chapter 8 Conclusions 295
APPENDIX 1:Reading Passages and Test Papers for Phase Ⅰ，Study1 300
（1）Pilot Study 1:The Indian Tiger 300
Test Paper for Pilot Study 1 300
（2）Pilot Study 2:The Most Important Thing in Life 302
Test Paper for Pilot Study 2 303
（3）Unit 1:Standing up for Yourself（Ⅰ） 304
Test Paper for Unit 1 305
（4）Unit 2:Standing up for Yourself（Ⅱ） 306
Test Paper for Unit 2 307
（5）Unit 3:Girl Dancing 308
Test Paper for Unit 3 309
（6）Unit 4:A Different Kind of Heroism 310
Test Paper for Unit 4 311
（7）Unit 5:The Best Advice I've Ever Had 312
Test Paper for Unit 5 314
（8）Unit 6:Remembering my Grandparents 315
Test Paper for Unit 6 316
（9）Unit 7:Learning by Doing 317
Test Paper for Unit 7 318
（10）Unit 8:Transportation and Public Transportation 320
Test Paper for Unit 8 321
（11）Unit 9:On Visiting a Bookshop 323
Test Paper for Unit 9 325
（12）Unit 10:Mind Your Manners 327
Test Paper for Unit 10 328
APPENDIX 2:Reading Materials and Test Papers for Phase Ⅰ，Study2 331
（1）The Anglo-American Literature Test 331
（2）Test for Item 1:Vocabulary Test 333
（3）Test for Item 2:Sentence Reading 334
（4）Test for Item 3:Passage Reading 335
（5）Test for Item 4:One-Week Memory Comparison 338
APPENDIX 3:Test Papers for Phase Ⅱ，Part1 343
Test 1 343
Test 2 344
BIBLIOGRAPHY 346