| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第1-4页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第4-5页 |
| LIST OF TABLES | 第5-6页 |
| LIST OF FIGURES | 第6-7页 |
| LIST OF APPENDICES | 第7-11页 |
| Chapter One Introduction and Background | 第11-14页 |
| ·The current English classroom | 第11页 |
| ·What is good teaching? | 第11页 |
| ·Small group discussion and acquisition | 第11-12页 |
| ·Why we bother to talk about small group discussion | 第12页 |
| ·The present study | 第12-14页 |
| Chapter Two Small Group Discussion | 第14-25页 |
| ·Definitions of small group discussion | 第14页 |
| ·Components of small group communication | 第14-15页 |
| ·Types of group discussion | 第15-17页 |
| ·Types divided according to tasks | 第15-16页 |
| ·Types divided according to format | 第16-17页 |
| ·The procedures of group discussion | 第17-18页 |
| ·The responsibility of group members | 第18页 |
| ·Teacher's primary roles in group discussion | 第18-19页 |
| ·Group discussion task design | 第19-20页 |
| ·Definition of tasks | 第19页 |
| ·Selection of tasks | 第19-20页 |
| ·Sources of good topics | 第20页 |
| ·Group | 第20-21页 |
| ·Group size | 第20-21页 |
| ·Group formation | 第21页 |
| ·Teacher-selected or student-selected groups | 第21页 |
| ·Mixed gender and mixed proficiency | 第21页 |
| ·Planning the physical environment | 第21-23页 |
| ·The classroom settings | 第21-22页 |
| ·Seating arrangement | 第22-23页 |
| ·Purposes of discussion | 第23页 |
| ·Benefits of small group discussion | 第23-25页 |
| Chapter Three Theoretical Foundations | 第25-31页 |
| ·Receptive skills & productive skills | 第25-26页 |
| ·Receptive skills | 第25-26页 |
| ·Productive skills | 第26页 |
| ·The input hypothesis & output hypothesis | 第26页 |
| ·The input hypothesis | 第26页 |
| ·The output Hypothesis | 第26页 |
| ·Interaction hypothesis | 第26-27页 |
| ·Experiential learning theory | 第27-28页 |
| ·Humanistic language teaching theory | 第28页 |
| ·Collaborative learning theory | 第28-30页 |
| ·Peer teaching--- the effect of 'collective scaffolding' | 第30页 |
| ·The constructivist learning theory | 第30-31页 |
| Chapter Four Experiments | 第31-39页 |
| ·Objectives and research questions | 第31页 |
| ·Objectives | 第31页 |
| ·The study questions | 第31页 |
| ·Subjects | 第31页 |
| ·Methods | 第31-32页 |
| ·Instrument | 第31-32页 |
| ·Sources of the questionnaires | 第32页 |
| ·Procedure | 第32-33页 |
| ·Pilot study | 第32-33页 |
| ·Current study | 第33页 |
| ·Data analysis | 第33页 |
| ·Results | 第33-39页 |
| ·Students' general attitudes towards group discussion | 第33页 |
| ·The ranking order of factors causing group discussion failure | 第33-34页 |
| ·Ranking of the factors concerning students | 第34-36页 |
| ·Ranking of facilitating factors concerning students | 第34-35页 |
| ·Students' feedback on other factors (correction, introversion and silence) | 第35-36页 |
| ·The ranking order of facilitating factors concerning teachers | 第36页 |
| ·The Ranking order of factors concerning SGD itself | 第36-39页 |
| Chapter Five Discussion and Conclusion | 第39-60页 |
| ·How do students like small group discussion in the current classroom? | 第39-40页 |
| ·Discussion on the factors that are most likely to cause small group discussion failures | 第40-46页 |
| ·Poor preparation | 第40页 |
| ·Low proficiency of English | 第40-41页 |
| ·Low morale | 第41页 |
| ·Monopoly | 第41-42页 |
| ·Correction | 第42-43页 |
| ·Unpleasant experience | 第43-44页 |
| ·High anxiety | 第44-45页 |
| ·Interlocutors of Chinese | 第45页 |
| ·Criticism and sarcasm | 第45-46页 |
| ·Negative intermember relations | 第46页 |
| ·Discussion on students' own characteristics that most likely affect small group discussion | 第46-51页 |
| ·Respect | 第46-47页 |
| ·Confidence | 第47页 |
| ·Patience | 第47-48页 |
| ·Negotiation of meaning | 第48-49页 |
| ·Sense of achievement | 第49页 |
| ·Risk-taking | 第49-50页 |
| ·Introversion | 第50页 |
| ·Silence | 第50-51页 |
| ·Discussion on the teachers' factors that most likely affect small group discussion | 第51-55页 |
| ·Morale boosting | 第51-52页 |
| ·Teacher's body language | 第52页 |
| ·Praise | 第52-53页 |
| ·Teacher's good characteristics | 第53页 |
| ·Open-ended questions | 第53-54页 |
| ·Favoritism | 第54页 |
| ·Rewarding | 第54-55页 |
| ·Discussion on the factors concerning the activity itself | 第55-58页 |
| ·Top five factors concerning the activity itself | 第55-56页 |
| 5 5.2 Other factors to be discussed | 第56-58页 |
| ·Grouping and group size | 第56-57页 |
| ·Group leader | 第57-58页 |
| ·Occasional intergroup competition | 第58页 |
| ·Conclusion | 第58-60页 |
| Chapter Six Pedagogical Implications | 第60-65页 |
| ·Pedagogical Implications | 第60-61页 |
| ·Sources of frustrations EFL teachers usually encounter in group discussion | 第60-61页 |
| ·Remaining influence of educational tradition | 第60页 |
| ·Students' problems in conducting discussion | 第60-61页 |
| ·Teachers' misunderstandings in conducting discussion | 第61页 |
| ·Solution to frustrations EFL teachers usually encounter in group discussion | 第61-64页 |
| ·Dealing with teacher's problems | 第61-63页 |
| ·Keeping teachers' voices in balance | 第61页 |
| ·Teachers should have realistic expectations about the method | 第61页 |
| ·Teachers should develop good personalitics and qualities needed for success | 第61-62页 |
| ·Teachers should develop skills needed for successful small group discussion | 第62页 |
| ·Teachers should build positive teacher- student relationships | 第62-63页 |
| ·Dealing with student's problems | 第63-64页 |
| ·Teachers should prepare students for the experiences | 第63页 |
| ·Teachers are expected to encourage and reinforce students' helpful behaviors in the classroom | 第63-64页 |
| ·Dealing with the problems of the activity itself | 第64页 |
| ·Discussion is not a panacea | 第64-65页 |
| Bibliography | 第65-78页 |
