An Application Study Of Adopting Dictogloss To Developing English Language Skills Of Non-English Majors

Dictogloss is a new type of dictation developed from traditional dictation in the1990s. Dictogloss takes discourse as its framework, task as its basis and cooperation as its main learning style through integrating three correlative language systems, syntax, discourse and semantics to realize the unity of form and meaning in the process of teaching. And it is believed to help students learn and grasp language knowledge better in the framework of discourse, comprehend accurately and utilize grammatical rules correctly to express complete thought.In recent twenty years, the research and practice on dictogloss have emerged a lot in the field of TESOL abroad. And it is widely believed that dictogloss can provide guiding output learning opportunities for learners under different frameworks of discourses and according to different tasks to reconstruct discourses with the main function of encouraging students to explore what they do not know through utilizing what they have known efficiently, which is beneficial for learners to treat language information obtained from dictolgoss with overall processing, comprehensive analysis and reconstructed output. In China’s TEFL teaching, the application of dictogloss is still in the developmental stage, and the mature research findings are rare. Based on the background of TEFL, the research whether dictogloss can be applied efficiently to promote language skills and overall level of non-English majors is even rare in the college English classroom teaching.Under the guidance of Krashen’s Comprehensible Input, Swain’s Comprehensible Output, Task-Based Language Teaching and Cooperative Language Learning, the present study explored the actual effect of dictogloss on students’ English language skills and overall level by quantitative and qualitative methodologies with82freshmen majoring in Acupuncture and Massage from Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine as subjects (41subjects per group of CG and EG).The research results show that dictogloss brings about positive effect on students’ English learnig, especially in listening, and writing after one-semester practice with dictogloss. Meanwhile, the students of three groups (HSG, MSG and LSG) obtained different positive achievements in listening, grammar and structure, reading and writing, but the students of LSG benefit most from conducting dictogloss. Thirdly, the research results also show that dictogloss not only promotes students’learning interest in English but also can reduce students’anxiety and strengthen confidence. Under the framework of discourse, dictogloss optimizes input and promotes output through cooperative learning with integrating language input, output and overall processing. Thus, the present research has certain reference value and practical significance for college English classroom teaching.Based on the research findings, the improvement opinions have been put forward to the major problems existed. And the feasible suggestions for applying dictogloss efficiently have been also offered in the end of the thesis.