A Study Of Listening Strategies Used By Non-English Major Students In A Chinese University

Since the 1970s, the focus of research on second language acquisition has been shifted from exploring how teachers should teach to examining how individual students should learn. Many researchers began to investigate the language learning strategies employed by second language learners. Of all the studies on language learning strategies, researches on listening strategies have been receiving more and more attention. However, most studies in this area have been carried out either in English-speaking countries or in countries where English is used as an official language. Little research has been done in the Chinese context regarding non-English majors'use of listening strategies. The present study aims at obtaining an understanding of listening strategy use by non-English majors in a Chinese university.The study employed the quantitative method, and statistics were collected through a questionnaire on listening strategy use and English final exam papers. The subjects in the study were 174 non-English majors in Jiangxi Normal University. With the purpose of fully understanding how students'use of listening strategies was affected by their proficiency level and gender, the study was expected to find ways to help teachers improve students'listening proficiency in various ways. Specially, this study attempted to find out: 1) the overall employment of listening strategies by non-English majors; 2) the correlation between listening strategies and listening performance; 3)differences in the use of listening strategies between high proficiency students and low proficiency students; and 4) differences in the use of listening strategies between males and females. The data in the study were analyzed by SPSS11.5, and descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, ANOVA analysis and independent sample t-test were used to answer the relevant questions respectively. The study has revealed a number of findings concerning the students'use of listening strategies. First, Chinese non-English major students do use listening strategies in listening comprehension. However, they use them at the medium level. In general, students use meta-cognitive strategies most frequently, followed by cognitive strategies and social/affective strategies. Secondly, positive relationships are detected between listening proficiency and three major listening strategies, with meta-cognitive strategies having the highest correlation with listening proficiency. Thirdly, high proficiency listeners tend to use significantly more listening strategies than low proficiency students. The most significant difference between the two groups lies in the use of self-management. Finally, females use the strategies, especially meta-cognitive strategies and social/affective strategies, more frequently than males.The findings above can suggest several pedagogical implications for English teaching and learning in Chinese universities. As an English teacher, he or she should first make students know the importance of listening strategy use and cultivate students' awareness of using listening strategies in English listening comprehension. They should encourage their students to make a wide range of use of various listening strategies in the process of their teaching of English listening comprehension. Meanwhile, students themselves should also widen their use of listening strategies, and learn how to use different listening strategies for various listening tasks.