Analysis Problems of English Learning among College students

白璐

【Abstract】This paper Analysis the problem of English learning among college students since English teaching has achieved great success in the past 30 years when the Gai Ge Kai Fang policy （literally meaning reform and opening-up policy） was adopted in China. As we know， China opened its doors to the world in 1978. From 1978 on， English teaching has been stressed a lot because China needed to communicate with the world. English tests are required in various fields， for example， college entrance exams，CET-4，CET6， academic title exams and also further education exams.

【Key words】college students； English teaching； CET-4； CET6

Purpose of Learning English

The concept of linguistic competence

Language competence means that people have a good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary， and he or she can speak， read and write in a correctly grammatical foreign language. In daily communication， if we make a mistake in our pronunciation， grammar or words， it will lead to misunderstanding and mislead others. If we cannot fully understand what others say， the communication of ideas cant be properly realized and the communication is not sufficient. Therefore， our purpose of teaching English is to teach students how to communicate with people and convey a correct meaning so that we must realize that the improvement of communicative competence should be based on practiced language.

The relationship between grammar competence and communicative competence

Sun（2006）reported that some teachers simply understand classroom activities in EFL context as merely a concentration on listening and speaking or language game. Other teachers think classroom activities in EFL simply means using more games to attract the students attention. Lastly， some teachers think classroom activities in EFL is a way to teach speaking but not reading and writing. Before we implement the correct classroom activities in EFL， we must figure out what the real purpose of classroom activities in EFL is. Next， when we notice that communication is more important， can we totally neglect the teaching of traditional grammar？

The relationship between grammar competence and communicative competence is that between “absorbing” and “practicing”. Firstly， students should absorb the language structure and function of the grammar through reading and listening activities. Secondly， teachers should make “absorbing” in accordance with “practicing”， and help students to use the newly learned grammar in all kinds of “practicing” to make them understood. Thus， grammar is more important in EFL， which cannot learn grammar isolated， but totally neglecting may be more harmful so that traditional teaching activities that can be modified in line with communicative methodology are preferred to totally new activities.

Analysis Problem of English Learning

With the demand by national standards for English language education， communication is the most important. Most Chinese students can read and write proficiently after 10 years of English study， however， their ability to communication is lower than their ability of reading and writing.

Chinese learners have often been projected as reserved， reticent and passive learners， and the English classroom has been defined as dominantly teacher-centered and grammar-focused. However， A survey findings indicate that Chinese learners are active learners， preferring a more interactive relationship with their teachers， and they are willing to participate in classroom activities. These findings lead to the question concerning whether students being quiet is situation-specific or culturally preset. It is possible that these students might be unfamiliar with the topic or their English might not be sufficient for effective communication. It is also likely that teachers are not interacting with students because their English does not allow for free interaction， or because， they are influenced by structuralism that underlies the grammar-translation teaching method， and they choose not to conduct communicative teaching. Consequently， Chinese students are becoming reticent and passive learners. Whats more， according to the traditional teaching method， teaching activity is limited in textbook， teacher and classroom. Teachers emphasize language knowledge such as grammar and sentence structure in textbooks and do not focus on communication directly in real life situations. Students lose the opportunity to combine theory with practice and the opportunity to practice oral English in language context of situation in this teacher-centered and traditional teaching method， therefore this method prevents the improvement of students oral English ability.

References：

[1]Sun，G（2006）.From context to Curriculum：A Case Study of Communicative Language Teaching in China.From Knowledge to Wisdom.Retrieved from http：//eric.ed.gov/？id=EJ645365.