Applying Schema-theory-based Teaching Approach To Improve The Teaching Of English Listening In A College

Listening is one of the most important communication skills and the basis of thedevelopment of speaking, reading and writing abilities. However, for a long time,listening comprehension has been considered as a passive process. In terms of theteaching of listening, teachers have done a little both in practical side and theoreticalside. It is not surprising that teachers regard the teaching of listening as a way ofpassing knowledge, and students only play passive receiving role. This way ofteaching makes students feel frustrated, and lose the interest of English listening. So anew efficient teaching approach is needed to find out how to enhance students’listening comprehension ability.In order to do this, this study employs schema theory to improve the teaching oflistening in a college. Based on the review of current research in this area, the authorputs forward the schema theory-based listening teaching approach in the teaching oflistening. The aim of this paper is to answer the following two questions:(1) Is theschema theory-based listening teaching approach more effective than the traditionalteaching approach in enhancing students’ listening comprehension in a Five-yearConsistent System College?(2) What are the students’ attitudes towards the schematheory-based listening teaching method? It is hoped that this study can bring someimplications for the teaching of English listening in Five-year Consistent SystemCollege. It is expected to help teachers adopt better teaching method and improvestudents’ listening learning outcomes.The present study uses the schema theory-based teaching approach to conductthe one-term experiment for the teaching of English listening. Two classes areselected from ChongRen Normal School in Five-year Consistent System Colleges.One is instructed with the traditional teaching method, and the other is taught with theschema theory-based teaching approach. Tests, questionnaire and interviews arepresented in this research. The pre-test is conducted in the two classes, and thenpost-test is carried out after one-term listening teaching. After all data are collected,SPSS is utilized to analyze all the data.The results of this study are as follows: students’ listening scores in theExperimental Class are largely higher than those of the Controlled Class. This can prove that the schema theory-based teaching approach is able to improve the students’listening comprehension ability. At the same time, questionnaire and interviewsdemonstrate that the students in Five-year Consistent System College have positiveattitude towards the schema theory-based teaching approach. This teaching approachcan help students master some listening strategies and stimulate their interest inlistening learning.On the basis of the above results, some pedagogical implications can beoffered. First, in the process of teaching, the teacher should be a guider ratherthan a tester in the listening class. The teacher should use all kinds of activities tostimulate students’ interest. Second, the teacher should pay attention to students’listening processes, and facilitate the listening comprehension by activating orbuilding related schema. Finally, the teacher should combine the listening withspeaking.