Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Research Background
Grammar has played a significant role in foreign language learning and teaching,yet it is also “one of the most controversial and least understood aspects" (Thombury,2003，p.ix). There have always been arguments and debates about the necessity ofgrammar learning in the field of EFL. The traditional English teaching approachesusually lay great emphasis on grammar, regarding it as the foundation of languagelearning. As the system of rules of language organization, grammar is believed to helplearners enhance understanding and accuracy during the learning process, and thuscan facilitate the language acquisition (Ellis, 2002; Hinkel & Fotos, 2002; Ikpia，2001;Ur，1988). On the other hand，however, the effectiveness of grammar learning hasbeen greatly challenged by some researchers. Krashen (1982) held the opinion thatformal grammar instruction would not contribute to the development of language,which could only be achieved by participating in authentic communication. Prabhu(1987) also tried to show that learners could acquire second language naturalisticallythrough meaning-focused tasks instead of explicit grammar explanation. Thecontroversy of this issue has led to the swing and development of EFL learning andteaching methods. From absolute emphasis on language form, to the transfer of focuson meaning and communication, and to the re-recognition of the value of grammar，the history of English learning and teaching is，as Thombury (2003，p. 14) put it, "thehistory of the claims and counterclaims for and against the teaching of grammar".
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1.2 Purpose of the Research
In the Chinese EFL field, grammar is an aspect that can hardly be neglected. Inthe past decades, the traditional English teaching and learning activities largelycentered around the teaching and learning of grammar. The study of language wasbased on the memorization of grammatical rules. Then，with the development of theresearches of SLA and ELT，the form-based, grammar-focused methods were doubtedand challenged. The new approaches such as the Communicative Language Teaching,The Natural Approach and so on began to thrive. The grammar learning was, for atime, considered to be ineffective and was criticized by some scholars. Nowadays,there is a trend of combining forms and meaning in EFL teaching (He & Wang, 2004)，which means that both accuracy and fluency of language should be focused on. Themodem grammar learning approaches lay more emphasis on the fimction and use oflanguage, and employ the new theories of SLA.In spite of the development of grammar learning theories and methodologies, thegrammar learning materials in China have yet to be improved. Most of the materialsin the market are simply reference books with well-organized grammar points, yetfew advanced learning theories have been employed. In addition，it is rare to findresearches about the evaluation of grammar learning materials, especially in theChinese EFL context. And there are no proper evaluation criteria which are designedfor this particular type of materials.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Grammar Learning
Definitions of grammar have been proposed by various researchers and scholars，and so far no complete agreement has been achieved.Harmer (1987) considers grammar as the way in which words change themselvesand group together to make sentences; the grammar of language is what happens towords when they become plural or negative，or what order is used when we makequestions or join two clauses to make one sentence. This definition focuses on twomain levels of grammar, namely, the word level and the sentence level. Thombury(2003，p.2) offers a more specific description by stating that "The system of rules thatcover the formation of words is called morphology... The system of rules that coverthe order of words in a sentence is called syntax... Grammar is conventionally seen asthe study of the syntax and morphology". This also agrees with Celce-Murcia's (1988，p.16) opinion that grammar is "a subset of those rules which govern theconfigurations that the morphology and syntax of a language assume".Some other researchers lay more emphasis on the function and purpose ofgrammar in their definitions. According to Batstone (1994，p.11), "grammar is notsimply a formal network, but a communicative device which is 'functionallymotivated，，，. Similarly, Leech (1982) thinks that grammar can be seen as themechanism or rules according to which language works when it is used tocommunicate with other people.
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2.2 Learning Materials
Learning materials are the important element within the curriculum, and areoften the most tangible and visible aspect of it (Nunan，1991). They may come indifferent shapes and formats, and there are various concepts and definitions of them.Tomlinson (2001) defines materials as anything that can be used to facilitate thelearning of a language. This is quite a generalized definition which includes almosteverything used in the learning process. Cheng (2002) states that we can definematerials either in a broad sense or in a narrow sense. According to him，broadly,materials may refer to anything that is used by teachers or learners in and out ofclassroom to facilitate language learning，such as textbooks, reference books，workbooks, dictionaries, videos, CD-ROMs，and other authentic materials likenewspapers, TV programs and so on; on the other hand, the narrow concept ofmaterials refers exclusively to the textbooks used in class.In the current study, a relatively broad definition of materials is adopted, sincegrammar learning usually happens both in and outside of the classroom. Learnersobtain grammatical knowledge partly from the formal instruction by teachers, andpartly from their independent study. Therefore, the grammar learning materials in this thesis mainly refer to the books which help learners to study grammar during theirwhole language learning process.
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Chapter 3 Theoretical Criteria of Grammar Learning Materials........ 27
3.1 Compiling Principle ...... 27
3.2 Grammar Instruction ......30
3.3 Language Input...... 34
3.4 Grammar Practice...... 36
Chapter 4 Research Methodology ...... 37
4.1 Research Questions ...... 37
4.2 Research Design ...... 39
4.3 Participants of the Survey...... 42
4.4 Three Grammar Learning Materials for Evaluation ......42
4.5 Instruments ......44
4.5.1 Questionnaire ...... 45
4.5.2 Evaluation checklist...... 45
4.6 Data Collection ......46
Chapter 5 Learner Needs Analysis of Grammar Learning Materials......48
5.1 Opinions about mar Learning ......48
5.2 Satisfaction with Grammar Learning Materials ...... 50
5.3 Needs and Expectations for Grammar Learning Materials ......52
Chapter 6 Practical Criteria and Evaluation of ThreeGrammar Books
6.1 Construction of Practical Criteria for the Evaluation of GrammarLearning Materials
After analyzing related theories and learners' practical needs, some importantpoints for evaluating grammar learning materials were summed up and an originalevaluation model was constructed, which is shown below in Figure. The 11 questions compose a checklist of practical criteria for grammar learningmaterials，which integrates both the theoretical criteria and the results of the survey.Different from other evaluation criteria, the present criteria were originally developedand particularly tailored to EFL grammar learning materials，with the major emphasison theories and approaches about English grammar learning and teaching.Taking Tomlinson，s (2008) evaluation framework as reference, we chose severalmaterials and evaluate them against the criteria, using a 10-point scale (minimum 1 tomaximum 10). With each criterion, we offered some comments on and reasons of whywe give such a score. Finally we added up the scores and converted the score of 110(10 points X 11 criteria) into 100. Through this framework, we could not only get ageneral measurement of the materials，but also get the insight into their specificstrengths and weaknesses. Also，it is convenient to compare the advantages anddisadvantages of different materials in terms of the various aspects.
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Conclusion
The present study explores what characteristics are needed in grammar learningmaterials. It has summarized the points of both related theories and learner needsanalysis，and then constructed a set of practical criteria, which are used in the internalevaluation of three grammar learning materials.First of all, by reviewing theories in the fields of grammar learning and teachingas well as materials evaluation, we have summed up the theoretical criteria forgrammar learning materials. According to previous literatures, the compiling principleof the materials needs to "focus on form”，which means both language forms andlanguage meaning should be emphasized. As for the grammar instruction, explicitmethod is more appropriate for grammar learning materials; inductive and deductiveapproaches could be used flexibly. It is highly suggested that the materials should usegraphs to explain and illustrate grammatical rules. The language input in the materialsshould be contextualized. It is important to provide enough context so as to enablelearners to learn grammar in use. Besides, the language input should possess properauthenticity. It would be better to use authentic texts but make some modificationsaccording to the learning target and learners' level. It is also essential for the contentto be interesting and attractive. The grammar practice should be diverse in type andtarget at language accuracy, fluency and restructuring. Some characteristics such asrepetitive，communicative and integrative features need to be included in the practice.
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Reference (omitted)