On The Schema Theory And The Instruction Of English Listening

Listening is a vital component of the English language teaching and learning, and provides the base for the enhancement of reading, writing, and speaking abilities of learners. Because of the important position of listening in the four basic language skills, teachers and students have attached more and more importance to the cultivation of the ability of listening comprehension.Currently, one of the prevailing perspectives toward the analysis of listening learning process is the Schema Theory. A lot of researches about the application of the Schema Theory to the listening teaching have been done. The research findings have proved that the Schema Theory is feasible and effective in the listening teaching. However, everything has two sides. The application of the Schema Theory to the listening teaching also has some limitations.This thesis mainly discusses the following two questions: (1) Does there really exist a positive correlation between the richness of schemata and the correctness of listening comprehension? (2) What are the factors affecting the application of the Schema Theory to the instruction of English listening? Thus, the author chose the freshmen from Fujian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine as the subjects for the experiment. The experimental result of this thesis has shown that the high degree of the richness of schemata does not always correspond with the high scores in listening tests; the development of listening ability does not certainly depend only on the listener's schemata, it is hindered by other factors as well.Therefore, the author argues that the listener should activate his schemata actively and effectively instead of over-relying on it blindly. This study will have both theoretical significance and practical value for the instruction of English listening.