Eight Factors Applied in Teaching English Listening

Jing+Jianping

【Abstract】English listening proficiency is always the most difficult part for English learners as the second language especially in China-mainland. Meanwhile， English teacher always take challenges in how to teach student the skills. This paper studies different learners and their different learning type， then put forward 8 necessary factors which should be concluded in the whole teaching step.

【Key words】different learning type； 8 factors； English listening teaching

1. Background

Considering listening as an important practical method in teaching college English listening， I used to design every part of my teaching step in the form of listening activities by asking questions. I found a few students achieve amazing progress in the end while half of them failed even on the topics we had listened before in the final exam. Some of the student told me that they feel confused in the listening because it is different for them to understand what they hear if there is no visual representation of the new vocabulary， background knowledge， raised questions or outline of the listening material. I was stumped that the useful information I picked out for students was not easily accessible way to those students. I wonder how many other students who can not receive the listening practice in my way. Thus I began my explore of the research of teaching English listening hoping that my class will be appeal to all students.

2. Literature Review

Before starting this paper， Ive read about articles on the studies of English listening of recent years， finding that the former researches focus on different aspects. Pan Zhixin（2006） concentrates on needs analysis， which is the first step of communicative language teaching and learning. Based on the study of the questionnaire results， the writer puts forward five pieces of advice in English listening teaching reform. Gao Qiang， Liu Lin（2013） investigates teachers beliefs in listening teaching and the relationships between teaching beliefs and practices through questionnaire and finally talks about its research significance. Chen Mingxuan， Ren Xiaoshuai（2008） emphasizes on the understanding during the listening teaching process—clearing the target before listening， leading students understand the main contents， multi-teaching methods to check students understanding. Zhou Xiangli（2002） discusses the application of schemata theory in listening comprehension courses from the angle of cognitive psychology to move away the obstacle in the listening comprehension procedure. Wang Yanyan， Wang Yong（2013） did action research based on H.Altrichters cycle theory of action and reflection. First， they put forward problems on both students and teachers in listening class then make hypothesis. Second， they make action plan. Third， they carry on the first stage action research. Fourth， they evaluate and reflect the first stage. Last， they improve the plan in the second stage.endprint

3. Diversity of Learning Styles in the Classroom

Learning styles refer to a range of competing and contested theories that aim to account for differences in individuals' learning.（Coffield， Frank 2004） These theories propose that all people can be classified according to their style of learning， although the various theories present different views on how the styles should be defined and categorized. A common concept is that individuals differ in how they learn.（Willingham， Daniel T. 2015） Walter Burke Barbe and colleagues proposed three learning modalities ：Visualising modality， Auditory modality， Kinesthetic modality.（Barbe， Walter Burke 1979）

4. Eight Factors being concluded in Teaching for Different Learners

Since there are always different learners， teachers should concern this in his or her design of the class. Here eight factors are suggested in the teaching step. They are eliciting， modeling， personalizing， localizing， concept checking， visualizing materials， auditory material sand kinesthetic activity.

4.1 Eliciting

Eliciting means getting information from people as opposed to giving it to them. It helps the teacher encourage students to produce the target language rather than supplying it to them.For example， if you were aiming to teach the word “photo”， you could show a photo to the class. You may find that one or two students have already known the word or have a rough idea. Approaching the new language is like this， rather than immediately telling students， focuses their attention on the target language. If no students know the word， you can supply it and students will be ready and motivated to learn it. If the teacher doesnt elicit， he would be at the risk of telling the students everything and ending up with spoon-feeding them.

4.2 Modeling

Modeling is another useful teaching method. If teachers let students do any activities， teacher himself or herself should do it first before students as an example and make sure that every student knows your intention. For example， if you want students to discuss the topic “describe your first day on campus”， the teacher should talk that topic first to show students how to start like “My first day on campus was embarrassing. Because I fell down on the floor of the school cafeteria .....”. Every student is demanded to use an adjective to start his or her topic.

4.3 Personalizing

When designing the questions or topics， teachers should make sure that those questions or topics are related to personal information which make students concentrate on the class and easy to open mouth. For example， if the teacher wants to teach the topic of advertisement， he or she may ask students questions like “Where do you usually see the advertisement？ Will you influenced by advertisement when you buy something？ What is your opinion about the advertisement？ ” . It will help students to think about the topic and get engaged on class.endprint

4.4 Localizing

Information about location should be concluded in the topic to get students engaged. For example， if the the teacher aims to teach weather， he or she can lead students talking about weather in different parts of the country.

4.5 Concept Checking

Concept checking is normally achieved by the use of a set of questions designed to ensure comprehension of the target language， raise awareness of its problems and to indicate to the teacher that the learners have fully understood. Here are some basic tips for good concept questions. First， make sure the questions are simple and that no difficult language is required to answer the question. Yes/no questions， either/or questions and simple"wh"questions are particularly effective. Second， don't use the new grammar and unfamiliar vocabulary in the questions. Third， use as many questions as possible to check various aspects of the language.

4.6 Visualizing Materials

Visual learners will find it easier when they see something. So teachers should consider more for students like them. Videos， pictures， PPT can be applied in the teaching procedure to help the students learn. Thus， teachers should try to find more visual type of materials for each lessons.

4.7 Auditory Materials

Auditory learners learn well if they listen. In this situation， the teacher should try to explain more by speaking or find some listening materials for students. Or teachers can design some questions about the teaching topic and let the students discuss those questions with their partners and finally present what they hear from their partners.

4.8 Kinesthetic Activity

Kinesthetic learners have to move while they are learning. When designing the teaching procedure， teachers have to think about some moving activities inserted into the teaching. For example， teachers may ask students to stand up or keep sitting on the chair to express their opinion or ask students to the blackboard to write their ideas.

5. Conclusion

English listening class is not only difficult for students to learn but also difficult for teachers to teach. For each lesson， the eight factors can be concerned in the teaching steps which can help teachers think more about how to teach and the students will also find the lesson more interesting.

Reference：

[1]陳明選，任曉帥.多媒體網絡環境中著重理解的大學英語聽力教學設計——以“Holidays and Celebrations”為例[J].課程與教學研究，2008（5）.

[2]高強，劉琳.大學英語教師教學信念及其教學實踐關系探究[J].外語界，2013（2）.

[3]潘之欣.大學生英語聽力需求分析[J].外語界，2006（3）.

[4]王艷艷，王勇.循環模式視角下的大學英語聽力教學行動研究探析[J].外語教學理論與實踐，2013（1）.

[5]周相利.圖是理論在英語聽力教學中的應用[J].外語與外語教學，2002（10）.

[6]Coffield，Frank； Moseley，David； Hall，Elaine； Ecclestone，Kathryn.Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning：a systematic and critical review Style[M].London：Learning and Skills Research Centre，2004.

[7]Barbe，Walter Burke； Milone，Michael N.“What we know about modality strengths”[J].Educational Leadership，1981：378–380.

[8]Willingham，Daniel T.； Hughes，Elizabeth M.； Dobolyi，David G.“The scientific status of learning styles theories”[J].Teaching of Psychology，2015，42 （3）：266–271.

作者簡介：景建平，女，漢族，新疆人，講師，研究生學歷，新疆農業大學科學技術學院，英語教學。endprint