# On Teaching Patterns of English Grammar under the Background of “Internet+”

Authors: Shujiang Zhou; Zhi Quan
Journal: Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing
 (2022)

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## Abstract

English grammar is an indispensable aspect of English as foreign language (EFL) teaching. As the teaching concept has been renewed, nowadays English grammar is no longer treated as a knowledge carrier. Instead, it is regarded as a fifth skill after listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with its term changing from “grammar” into “grammaring”. The new concept of English grammar teaching adapts itself to “Internet+” mode, and consequently various teaching patterns, such as MOOCs+flipped classroom, Internet+cooperative learning, and Internet+experimental learning, can be used for grammar teaching. The thesis analyzes the patterns with the aim of providing insights for the future English pedagogical reform in China.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

In China today, English is regarded as a compulsory course which students in schools of almost all levels—from primary school students up to college and university ones—are required to learn. Since the very beginning of English teaching in China, there has existed an argument as to what should be considered as a priority in the course: language knowledge or communicative skills. Traditionally, teachers used to take the English course as a knowledge carrier mainly and have language point explanation and practice as the priority of English teaching arrangement. Consequently, students could only obtain some dead knowledge, with language skills, especially spoken and listening skills, almost unimproved.Compared with the other branches of English courses, grammar teaching is a field typically affected by the above traditional teaching idea. As a collection of rules and regulations, grammar has usually been taught with a knowledge-oriented teaching mode. In spite of this, both teachers and students have regarded grammar as one of the most important branches of the course and treated it as the basis of all the other branches, and thus, they feel that it is urgent to achieve good mastery of grammar. It is well known that only students have grasped grammar well can they acquire a systematic understanding of English language thoroughly, and only on the basis of thorough understanding of grammar can they express their ideas in a more accurate way in daily communication. However, in Chinese schools today, the traditional teaching methods of English grammar are quite unsatisfactory [1]. The typical grammar teaching mode now is like this: teachers explain grammatical rules to students and what students do is merely to listen to the teachers passively. In the grammar classes, there are few bidirectional communications between teachers and students nor multidirectional communications among students. Such a teacher-centered teaching model has led to a boring learning environment and consequently has reduced the learning efficiency of the course.In recent years, there have been some changes in the teaching idea of English as a foreign language (hereinafter "EFL") in China. The teachers have gradually realized the importance of language abilities, and the teaching focus of English courses in many schools has slowly shifted from knowledge learning to skill acquisition. In order to promote the teaching reform, the relevant government departments of various levels in China have made a series of regulations and guides concerning the teaching aims, teaching principles, and teaching modes of English. InA Guide to College English Teaching (2020 version) by the China National Ministry of Education, the objective of EFL teaching in colleges and universities is described as “to develop the students’ abilities to communicate with foreigners in English” [2].Luckily enough, now our world has embarked on the “Internet+” era, which focuses on the universality and mobility of the Internet. The development of information technologies enables people to visit Internet through smart terminals (smartphone, computer, etc.) almost anywhere and anytime, consequently changing the learning ideas and modes in Chinese schools of all levels. As a part of English teaching, grammar is no exception and has been experiencing dramatic changes in teaching process both in and out of the classroom.With the above understanding, the thesis firstly analyzes the “Internet+” model and then summarizes the changes English grammar teaching ideology has experienced these years. On the basis of summary, the thesis subsequently lists and analyzes different patterns concerning English grammar teaching and learning under the mode with the aim of providing insights for the future English teaching reform in China.


## 2. The “Internet+” Mode

The “Internet+” mode refers to the blending and application process of the Internet-centered informational technologies (including mobile Internet, cloud computing, and big data technology) in all the social fields. It is in fact a practical consequence of the Internet thinking mode and can represent the advanced productivity. In recent years, the new mode has created a broad Internet platform for social reform, innovation, and development. In China, “Internet+” has already risen into a national strategy since 2015 and has been paid more and more attention by the authorities of all levels and even common people. Through unremitting efforts, Internet has now been combined with various traditional industries, forming into new models which have promoted technological progress and higher efficiency, thus enhancing the innovation of politics, economy, and society.To put it in a simple way, “Internet+” mode is the combination of the Internet and another industry, but the combination is not the simple addition of the two. Instead, the two fields are deeply integrated through information technology and the Internet platform to create a new development ecology. In other words, “Internet+” mode does not only lie on the surface but is the process of transforming abstract symbols into entities, and it will promote the continuous evolution of social forms. In recent years, this formed combination, i.e., industrial Internet, has developed rapidly in China. From the following chart, the tendency of the development during the period from 2015 to 2020 can be clearly shown. See Figure1.Figure 1
Size and growth rate of industrial Internet in recent six years in China.From the above chart, we can see that the size of the industrial Internet has been expanding very fast since 2015. The growth rate has annually been over 14%. Such expansion has provided a convenient platform for the combination of Internet with other industries both in social and natural fields.Among all the social fields, education is the one that is mostly suitable for the synergy to be carried out under the underground of “Internet+” mode. Now the mode of “Internet+education” has already been seen as an important indicator of education modernization [3]. As far as the education system is concerned, in the mode of “Internet+education,” the Internet accelerates the flow of information resources, promotes interaction between teachers and students, and creates a free and convenient learning environment for students. In the mode, Internet can break down the barrier and boundary to create a free space. Consequently, both the space and time in the field of education can be expanded to achieve the aim of education. The connotation of “Internet+education” is in fact the process in which education is taken as the base, supplemented by Internet tools to promote the optimization of educational activities. The combination of Internet and education promotes the change and update of teaching and management methods [4].As a foreign language course, the English course in China lacks the necessary environment that English-speaking countries have. Compared with all the other courses in schools, ELF teaching demands the convenience from Internet the most urgently. Thus, here we come up with the teaching mode: “Internet+English.” In the “Internet+English” teaching mode, Internet can provide multimedia teaching means and digital teaching resources for the language teaching and learning, making up for the deficiency of communicative context both in and out of the classroom. “Internet+English” mode can promote the independent and personalized innovation and healthy development of foreign language teaching, so that the teaching is no longer limited within the teachers’ teaching in the classroom only. In recent years, under the underground of “Internet+” mode, many new teaching forms, such as MOOCs, flipped classroom, and mixed teaching, have constantly been emerging. Now, it is quite normal for college English teaching to embed various teaching resources, such as microcourses and MOOCs, and to make comprehensive use of various network platforms, such as Rain Class, Blue Ink Cloud Class, and Super Star Learning Connects.Under the basis of the above analysis, this thesis focuses on the teaching reform of English grammar under the underground of “Internet+English” mode in Chinese colleges and universities. After analyzing the new idea of English grammar teaching, we will list several teaching modes of English grammar appearing in the Internet era now in China and summarize the roles which Internet plays in English grammar teaching process.


## 3. From Grammar to Grammaring

Since the very beginning, linguists have attached importance to grammar and regarded grammar as an indispensable aspect of language. Through research, researchers have concluded that without grammar a language would become chaos. Consequently, the importance of grammar teaching has always been one of the central topics in the history of linguistic research. However, grammar has long been considered as a collection of rules and regulations since then and it has been taught in a traditional mode. When teaching grammar in class, teachers tend to carry out the teaching process consisting of 3Ps, i.e., presentation, practice, and production, with the first P as its focus. Under this mode, it is the teacher who controls the teaching process and the students have to listen to the teacher passively. In the course of classroom teaching, the grammatical knowledge is still explained by the teacher only, and there is no interaction between the teacher and students. The students may have little motivation in the leaning process and cannot grasp English grammar efficiently.English grammar has been considered as an important guideline for learning English in an effective way [5]. In order to change the unfavorable situation concerning English grammar teaching, many researchers have been making a series of studies on the definitions and teaching methods of grammar. Yu argues that grammar should be observed from several different perspectives including semantically, textually, pragmatically, and cognitively [6]. He points out that grammar should be considered as a dynamic phenomenon in the communication rather than the static part of the language structure. Ellis believes that the purpose of teaching English grammar is to improve students’ communication and application ability, so that they can express themselves appropriately and fluently [7]. Consequently, mastery of grammar knowledge and improvement of language communication ability should be integrated instead of being separated.Among the researchers at home and abroad who study grammar definitions and grammar teaching, Larsen-Freeman is among the most influential ones. Compared with others, she observes grammar from a quite different perspective and coins a new term “grammaring.” According to Larsen-Freeman, grammaring is the ability to use grammar structures accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately [8] (p. 143). She argues that grammar has three interrelated dimensions: form, meaning, and use. She also asserts that grammar should be seen as a fifth skill after listening, speaking, reading, and writing rather than an area of knowledge. Students should not only be able to produce grammatical forms accurately but also use them meaningfully and appropriately.From the definitions mentioned above, it can be seen that grammar is a system not only of rules but also meaning and use. Among the three primary aspects of grammar (form, meaning, and use), form, including vocabularies and sentence patterns, is the basis, with meaning as its content, while use, as the practice of form, is the objective of learning a language and is decided by meaning. Therefore, grammar teaching should not merely focus on form but on meaning and use as well. In fact, when the meaning is held more or less constant, speakers will face socially or discursively motivated grammatical choices concerning forms. In college English teaching, there is often more than one right answer to a question about grammar. Students should be taught to make the choices based on social-interactional factors. “We are not teaching language, rather, we are teaching students” (p. 154).Nowadays, the rapid development of Internet technology provides a rich and lively social-interactional environment for the dynamic teaching mode of English grammar so that proper teaching methods and activities can be adopted under the background of “Internet+English” mode. Only through practice in the authentic environment can grammar knowledge be really grasped by students. Task-based activities for English grammar can be carried out by students on the Internet platforms without the limitation of time and space, with the learning efficiency raised greatly.


## 4. Integrating English Grammar Teaching with “Internet+” Mode

A Guide to College English Teaching (2020 version), formulated by the China National Ministry of Education, formally proposes that “English classroom teaching mode should be based on the Internet,” emphasizing that universities and college should rely on the Internet technology, so that English teaching is no longer restrained by specific teaching places and time. The integration of computer and English language teaching is called “computer-aided language learning” or "computer-assisted language learning" (CALL for short) [9]. This integration has experienced three stages in China, as shown in Table 1.Table 1
The developmental process of CALL in China.
StagePeriodCharacteristicsBehavioristic CALL1970s—1980sBe limited, mainly for vocabulary and structure leaning and practiceCommunicative CALL1980s—1990sProviding more authentic environment for language leaningIntegrative CALL21st centuryWith Internet technology, the learning process being interactiveLimited by the Internet technology and also the traditional teaching ideology, only simple operations, e.g., learning vocabulary and language structure, were carried out in EFL practice before the 1980s in China. However, gradually with the technological advancement, more authentic activities and environment could be created. Now, we are at the third stage and have the suitable conditions to combine the Internet technology with English teaching and learning, thus forming the “Internet+English” mode. Under the background of this mode, many specific teaching patterns for English grammar have come into being. Till now, there have mainly appeared three such patterns, as shown in Table2.Table 2
Three teaching patterns under the “Internet+English” mode.
NameAdvocator(s)Contents“MOOCs+flipped classroom” patternKhan AcademyThree Ps: preview, practice, and productionCooperative learningR. T. Johnson & D. W. JohnsonA learning process in which students carry out a division ofresponsibilities for a common learning taskExperimental learningDavid KolbConcrete experience, thinking observation, abstract concept,and active practice


### 4.1. “MOOCs+Flipped Classroom” Pattern

The term “flipped classroom” was firstly put forward by the researchers in the University of Miami in 2000 and then put into practice by Khan Academy in the US [10]. Gradually, the concept and teaching pattern of flipped classroom has been spread to the other countries of the world, including China. The flipped classroom, which is also defined as the inverted classroom, is a typical model of the microclassroom. Compared with the traditional teaching pattern, the flipped classroom also consists of 3 Ps, i.e., preview, practice, and production, with the first P in traditional 3Ps—“presentation”—changing into “preview.”As analyzed above, in the traditional teaching pattern of English grammar, presentation, which is long and very boring, constitutes the main part of the teaching process and occupies most of the teaching time in class. Even worse, as presentation is carried out mainly by teachers, and it is teachers instead of students who are the masters and controllers of the class, students have to listen to the teachers passively, which leads to a boring and inefficient teaching process. By contrast, within the new teaching pattern, we have three Ps that are all done by students, which means that students become the master of the process, while teachers retreat into the instructors and supervisors. This change in the English grammar teaching is very critical because it can not only ensure the students’ learning actively but also activate the initiative and creativity of students so as to improve the learning efficiency.Nowadays, under the background of “Internet+English” mode, it is easier for the new teaching pattern to be carried out in English grammar classes. In order for students to do preview stage successfully, students are required to prepare enough qualified material suitable for the teaching arrangements. MOOCs online today can satisfy the need, thus a new pattern “MOOCs+flipped classroom” for English grammar having been formed. The term “MOOCs (massive open online courses)” was first put forward by Canadian scholar Dave Cormier and American scholar Bryan Alexander in 2008. Since then, it has rapidly become the new educational information tide, influencing all the disciplines in colleges and universities, and English grammar is no exception.Now, there are many MOOCs online concerning different parts of English grammar and there are more added every year. Teachers can choose the most suitable one or ones from them according to the teaching arrangement. With the tasks assigned by the teacher, students watch the concerned lectures by themselves. No doubt, this task-based activity provides the motivation and urgency for students’ learning, being able to make a deeper impression on students than the traditional presentation done by teachers. Furthermore, with the easy access to the Internet, students can learn the online courses anywhere and anytime, making the learning process more interesting and convenient.In class, on the basis of students’ self-learning, teachers summarize and emphasize the main points very briefly, and then, the main part in class should be students’ performance, i.e., practice and production. Through practice, students can firstly figure out those they could not understand in the preview process and also consolidate the newly learned points.In a word, the “MOOCs+flipped classroom” pattern can truly realize the ideal vision that students are the masters of the classroom, which completely removes the “leading role aura” from the teachers of the traditional teaching style to the students—the real masters of the learning with the new mode. Teachers have also changed from the traditional lecturers and classroom controllers to the guide and promoter of students’ learning. Under the flipped classroom pattern, students have also changed from learning mechanically under the teacher’s “lectureing” to active researchers of learning. Its teaching form has also changed from traditional classroom explanation and homework to pre-class study and in-class research. In class, teachers’ main task has changed from explaining knowledge to actively exploring questions with students.


### 4.2. Cooperative Learning with the Aid of Internet

The former Soviet psychologist Vygotsky puts forward the theory of “zone of proximal development” [11]. He believes that the gap between a student’s actual level of problem-solving on his own and his potential level of development under the guidance of a teacher or in cooperation with a capable partner is called the zone of proximal development. Hence, cooperative learning between or among learners of different levels plays an important role in students’ development of abilities. Cooperative learning is a teaching theory and strategy system that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s. It refers to a learning process in which students carry out a clear division of responsibilities for a common learning task. In the early 1990s, Chinese educational researchers introduced the concept of cooperative learning in response to the reform of the basic education curriculum.According toA Guide to College English Teaching (2020 version) by the China National Ministry of Education, the overall goal of the English curriculum is to develop students’ ability to learn independently and cooperatively so as to cultivate effective English learning strategies and students’ comprehensive language ability. In order to improve students’ grammaring level, many different skill-based and task-based activities need to be assigned to them, and students should work together with the partners or even teachers to finish the tasks. Ideally, cooperative learning of English grammar should adhere to the principle of authenticity that is providing students with real language knowledge and abilities by designing real tasks, creating a real teaching environment, and using real teaching materials. However, implementing this principle in English grammar teaching in China is no easy task due to the lack of an authentic environment both in and out of the classroom. However, under the background of “Internet+English” mode, we can have the key to the problem, i.e., combining cooperative learning of English grammar with the Internet.The "marriage" of cooperative learning of English grammar and the Internet can be shown on different aspects. Firstly, the Internet can introduce the current and real situations into the task-designing process so that the tasks for English grammar learning can be more closely combined with society and be more practical, which will no doubt increase students’ interest to accomplish the tasks with their partners. Secondly, the Internet provides the authentic environment for students to work together to perform their learning tasks. In traditional classes, students are required to do the grammar exercises usually independent from context, which is tedious and useless. But now, with the aid of Internet, rich and colorful context can be added to the task performance so as to make the dead language rules alive. Thirdly and more importantly, the Internet makes cooperative learning and practice of English grammar more convenient. No longer limited within the classroom, the learners can perform their learning tasks together anywhere and anytime, making their spare time more valuable.As is known to all, there are many difficult points in English grammar, and grammar learning is sometimes boring for the young EFL learners. Learning with peers may better the situation. Due to Internet aid, many different cooperative learning activities, including pair discussion, group discussion, and teacher-student discussion, can be performed both in and out of class. Discussing with teachers and students can help learners understand the difficult points and grasp the important points well. And also, this kind of activities online can make students familiar with different learning strategies so that they can do their self-study more easily and efficiently later. More importantly, discussion in English can improve learners’ communicative abilities, and putting grammatical knowledge into speech can make the dead knowledge alive, thus leaving a deeper impression on them. The most important benefit of cooperative learning should lie on the students’ development of positive sense. During the process of learning together, students respect and help each other, developing the sense of collectivism.All in all, the Internet is the natural friend of cooperative learning and the two factors combine into a very efficient pattern for English grammar teaching and learning.


### 4.3. Experiential Learning in the Internet Environment

The experiential learning model of foreign language is a new one, which obtains language communicative competence through the experiential learning mechanism of participation, pleasure, and resonance via going through situational, interactive, task/project, and cooperative learning. In 1984, Kolb, an American social psychologist, formally proposed the concept of “experiential learning,” referring to the teaching and learning process in which teaching situations are purposely created to stimulate students’ emotions, guide students to perceive and comprehend knowledge, and finally realize the construction of the knowledge they have learned [12]. Kolb further divides the model of experiential learning into four steps: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.Instructing grammar not only focuses on transmitting discrete grammar knowledge but also helps learners to understand English grammar and use it more effectively in their writing, speaking, and daily lives [13]. The ability to use grammar and the ability to understand grammar complement each other. For students to improve such abilities effectively, a comprehensive and high-quality English learning environment should be created through various channels, Internet platforms, in particular. The experiential teaching and learning pattern based on “Internet+English” mode puts students at the center of language teaching, emphasizing students’ individual needs and personalized learning styles. Consequently, this pattern can arouse students’ interest in learning English grammar, improving their learning efficiency and effectiveness.Experiential teaching takes “learning to learn” as an important content of educational objectives, and its teaching concepts are characterized by emphasizing “learning by doing,” attaching importance to and highlighting the training and cultivation of will, character, and social adaptability. The characteristics of its teaching and learning methods are to let students learn, feel, and improve through experience. There are numerous English grammar learning resources on various websites, and students are taught to sort them out according to their own needs and make good use of such resources in their grammar practice.Emotion plays an important role in students’ experimental learning of English grammar. In the experimental learning of English grammar, students can form different “learning communities” on the Internet platforms. In each “learning community,” a balanced learning ecology is created, in which students can get help and receive positive feedback from the peers, thus experiencing pleasure for their progress in English grammar learning. Using such a learning mode, students’ positive and effective learning can help each other forward, and they work together to form a virtuous circle for the learning process.


## 4.1. “MOOCs+Flipped Classroom” Pattern

The term “flipped classroom” was firstly put forward by the researchers in the University of Miami in 2000 and then put into practice by Khan Academy in the US [10]. Gradually, the concept and teaching pattern of flipped classroom has been spread to the other countries of the world, including China. The flipped classroom, which is also defined as the inverted classroom, is a typical model of the microclassroom. Compared with the traditional teaching pattern, the flipped classroom also consists of 3 Ps, i.e., preview, practice, and production, with the first P in traditional 3Ps—“presentation”—changing into “preview.”As analyzed above, in the traditional teaching pattern of English grammar, presentation, which is long and very boring, constitutes the main part of the teaching process and occupies most of the teaching time in class. Even worse, as presentation is carried out mainly by teachers, and it is teachers instead of students who are the masters and controllers of the class, students have to listen to the teachers passively, which leads to a boring and inefficient teaching process. By contrast, within the new teaching pattern, we have three Ps that are all done by students, which means that students become the master of the process, while teachers retreat into the instructors and supervisors. This change in the English grammar teaching is very critical because it can not only ensure the students’ learning actively but also activate the initiative and creativity of students so as to improve the learning efficiency.Nowadays, under the background of “Internet+English” mode, it is easier for the new teaching pattern to be carried out in English grammar classes. In order for students to do preview stage successfully, students are required to prepare enough qualified material suitable for the teaching arrangements. MOOCs online today can satisfy the need, thus a new pattern “MOOCs+flipped classroom” for English grammar having been formed. The term “MOOCs (massive open online courses)” was first put forward by Canadian scholar Dave Cormier and American scholar Bryan Alexander in 2008. Since then, it has rapidly become the new educational information tide, influencing all the disciplines in colleges and universities, and English grammar is no exception.Now, there are many MOOCs online concerning different parts of English grammar and there are more added every year. Teachers can choose the most suitable one or ones from them according to the teaching arrangement. With the tasks assigned by the teacher, students watch the concerned lectures by themselves. No doubt, this task-based activity provides the motivation and urgency for students’ learning, being able to make a deeper impression on students than the traditional presentation done by teachers. Furthermore, with the easy access to the Internet, students can learn the online courses anywhere and anytime, making the learning process more interesting and convenient.In class, on the basis of students’ self-learning, teachers summarize and emphasize the main points very briefly, and then, the main part in class should be students’ performance, i.e., practice and production. Through practice, students can firstly figure out those they could not understand in the preview process and also consolidate the newly learned points.In a word, the “MOOCs+flipped classroom” pattern can truly realize the ideal vision that students are the masters of the classroom, which completely removes the “leading role aura” from the teachers of the traditional teaching style to the students—the real masters of the learning with the new mode. Teachers have also changed from the traditional lecturers and classroom controllers to the guide and promoter of students’ learning. Under the flipped classroom pattern, students have also changed from learning mechanically under the teacher’s “lectureing” to active researchers of learning. Its teaching form has also changed from traditional classroom explanation and homework to pre-class study and in-class research. In class, teachers’ main task has changed from explaining knowledge to actively exploring questions with students.


## 4.2. Cooperative Learning with the Aid of Internet

The former Soviet psychologist Vygotsky puts forward the theory of “zone of proximal development” [11]. He believes that the gap between a student’s actual level of problem-solving on his own and his potential level of development under the guidance of a teacher or in cooperation with a capable partner is called the zone of proximal development. Hence, cooperative learning between or among learners of different levels plays an important role in students’ development of abilities. Cooperative learning is a teaching theory and strategy system that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s. It refers to a learning process in which students carry out a clear division of responsibilities for a common learning task. In the early 1990s, Chinese educational researchers introduced the concept of cooperative learning in response to the reform of the basic education curriculum.According toA Guide to College English Teaching (2020 version) by the China National Ministry of Education, the overall goal of the English curriculum is to develop students’ ability to learn independently and cooperatively so as to cultivate effective English learning strategies and students’ comprehensive language ability. In order to improve students’ grammaring level, many different skill-based and task-based activities need to be assigned to them, and students should work together with the partners or even teachers to finish the tasks. Ideally, cooperative learning of English grammar should adhere to the principle of authenticity that is providing students with real language knowledge and abilities by designing real tasks, creating a real teaching environment, and using real teaching materials. However, implementing this principle in English grammar teaching in China is no easy task due to the lack of an authentic environment both in and out of the classroom. However, under the background of “Internet+English” mode, we can have the key to the problem, i.e., combining cooperative learning of English grammar with the Internet.The "marriage" of cooperative learning of English grammar and the Internet can be shown on different aspects. Firstly, the Internet can introduce the current and real situations into the task-designing process so that the tasks for English grammar learning can be more closely combined with society and be more practical, which will no doubt increase students’ interest to accomplish the tasks with their partners. Secondly, the Internet provides the authentic environment for students to work together to perform their learning tasks. In traditional classes, students are required to do the grammar exercises usually independent from context, which is tedious and useless. But now, with the aid of Internet, rich and colorful context can be added to the task performance so as to make the dead language rules alive. Thirdly and more importantly, the Internet makes cooperative learning and practice of English grammar more convenient. No longer limited within the classroom, the learners can perform their learning tasks together anywhere and anytime, making their spare time more valuable.As is known to all, there are many difficult points in English grammar, and grammar learning is sometimes boring for the young EFL learners. Learning with peers may better the situation. Due to Internet aid, many different cooperative learning activities, including pair discussion, group discussion, and teacher-student discussion, can be performed both in and out of class. Discussing with teachers and students can help learners understand the difficult points and grasp the important points well. And also, this kind of activities online can make students familiar with different learning strategies so that they can do their self-study more easily and efficiently later. More importantly, discussion in English can improve learners’ communicative abilities, and putting grammatical knowledge into speech can make the dead knowledge alive, thus leaving a deeper impression on them. The most important benefit of cooperative learning should lie on the students’ development of positive sense. During the process of learning together, students respect and help each other, developing the sense of collectivism.All in all, the Internet is the natural friend of cooperative learning and the two factors combine into a very efficient pattern for English grammar teaching and learning.


## 4.3. Experiential Learning in the Internet Environment

The experiential learning model of foreign language is a new one, which obtains language communicative competence through the experiential learning mechanism of participation, pleasure, and resonance via going through situational, interactive, task/project, and cooperative learning. In 1984, Kolb, an American social psychologist, formally proposed the concept of “experiential learning,” referring to the teaching and learning process in which teaching situations are purposely created to stimulate students’ emotions, guide students to perceive and comprehend knowledge, and finally realize the construction of the knowledge they have learned [12]. Kolb further divides the model of experiential learning into four steps: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.Instructing grammar not only focuses on transmitting discrete grammar knowledge but also helps learners to understand English grammar and use it more effectively in their writing, speaking, and daily lives [13]. The ability to use grammar and the ability to understand grammar complement each other. For students to improve such abilities effectively, a comprehensive and high-quality English learning environment should be created through various channels, Internet platforms, in particular. The experiential teaching and learning pattern based on “Internet+English” mode puts students at the center of language teaching, emphasizing students’ individual needs and personalized learning styles. Consequently, this pattern can arouse students’ interest in learning English grammar, improving their learning efficiency and effectiveness.Experiential teaching takes “learning to learn” as an important content of educational objectives, and its teaching concepts are characterized by emphasizing “learning by doing,” attaching importance to and highlighting the training and cultivation of will, character, and social adaptability. The characteristics of its teaching and learning methods are to let students learn, feel, and improve through experience. There are numerous English grammar learning resources on various websites, and students are taught to sort them out according to their own needs and make good use of such resources in their grammar practice.Emotion plays an important role in students’ experimental learning of English grammar. In the experimental learning of English grammar, students can form different “learning communities” on the Internet platforms. In each “learning community,” a balanced learning ecology is created, in which students can get help and receive positive feedback from the peers, thus experiencing pleasure for their progress in English grammar learning. Using such a learning mode, students’ positive and effective learning can help each other forward, and they work together to form a virtuous circle for the learning process.


## 5. Conclusion

As an indispensable aspect of English as foreign language teaching, English grammar has been attached importance to by researchers and teachers. With the teaching concept renewed, English grammar is no longer treated as a knowledge carrier only. Instead, it is now regarded as grammaring, i.e., a fifth skill after listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students should not only be able to produce grammatical forms accurately but also use them meaningfully and appropriately. The new idea of English grammar teaching adapts itself to “Internet+” mode, and consequently, various teaching patterns, such as flipped classroom, cooperative learning, and experimental learning, have been used in the teaching process. The easier access of Internet technology has provided the materials, methods, and environment for English grammar learning, enriching the teaching patterns so that the teaching and learning efficiency has been greatly improved.There is no denying that concerning the combination of English grammar teaching with the Internet, we still have a long way to go. Today in China, the traditional teaching ideas and methods are still quite influential in the college English teaching process. Therefore, in order to popularize the new teaching modes of English grammar, new teaching concepts should firstly be advocated. Only on the basis of that change can the reform of teaching patterns of English grammar under the background of “Internet+” mode achieve its ideal goal.



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*Source: 9028764-2022-05-04.xml*