The Effects of Differentiated Instruction on English Grammar Learning of Junior High School Students

本研究旨在探討國中英文文法課堂中使用差異化教學之成效，主要的研究目標分別是：（一）差異化教學是否能提升學生的文法學習成效。（二）差異化教學在能提升低中高三組學生的文法學習成效上是否有差異。（三）學生對差異化教學的看法。 本研究採準實驗研究法，教師以差異化教學策略中的階梯式任務和彈性分組法進行文法教學。在暖身階段，教師以全班式教學講授文法重點後，低中高成就學生分別接受不同的階梯式任務和彈性分組法進行練習；低成就學生須以小組形式完成文法選擇題練習，中成就組學生兩人一組完成文法填空題練習，高成就組學生獨立完成文法看圖造句練習。針對七年級學生進行11週差異化教學後，使用教師自編文法測驗前後測成績進行獨立樣本t檢定和共變數分析，並以焦點團體法瞭解低中高成就三組學生接受差異化教學之後的想法。 研究結果顯示：（一）接受差異化教學的學生在前後測結果上有顯著性差異(p<.05)；（二）進一步針對低、中、高成就組學生進行分析，發現除了低分組在文法測驗選擇題中有顯著的學習進步之外，其他兩組與控制組無明顯差異。（三） 高成就組學生對於差異化教學喜好度比中、低成就組學生低；（四）高成就組學生認為差異化教學材料對他們的幫助程度較低；（五）低成就組學生反應他們的 學習困難為單字和造句；中成就組學生為單字、造句及口說；高成就組則為閱讀、口說、聽力及文法。低、中成就組學生皆認為差異化教學有助於他們克服學習困難。This current study investigated the effects of integrating differentiated instruction into grammar teaching in junior high school English classes. The main purposes were to explore whether or not differentiated instruction improved the students' grammar achievements in general, whether students, when divided into, low, intermediate and high proficiency levels, respectively benefited from such instruction on grammar learning, and what students' experiences and thoughts were after receiving differentiated grammar instruction. The participants of this quasi-experimental study were 54 seven graders who received differentiated instruction for a total of eleven weeks. The researcher adopted two differentiated instructional strategies, tiered tasks and flexible grouping, to teach grammar. In the warm-up stage, the instructor taught grammar points in the whole class model. After the instruction, low, intermediate and high proficiency learners received different tiered tasks and flexible grouping respectively to do the grammar exercises. Low proficiency learners (LPL) were required to finish multiple choice exercises in small groups, intermediate proficiency learners (IPL) had to complete fill-in exercises in pairs and high proficiency learners (HPL) did the sentence making exercises with picture cues independently. Their performance on the pre- and posttest designed by the researcher was analyzed by independent t-test and ANCOVA. Their thoughts about experiencing DI were collected through focus group interviews. And the findings of the study were summarized as follows: 1. Students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group significantly (p<.05). 2. When students in the experimental group were divided into three subgroups, only LPL improved their performance on the multiple choice section, and the other two groups showed no significant differences in comparison to their counterparts in the control group. 3. HPLs' preferences for DI were lower than those of LPL and IPL. The learning difficulties of LPL were vocabulary and sentence-making; of IPL were vocabulary, sentence-making, and speaking, and of HPL were reading, speaking, listening and grammar. Both LPL and IPL thought DI was beneficial for them to overcome the learning difficultie