Non-English Majors’ Listening Materials And Listening Anxiety:a Correlational Study Among Higher Vocational Colleges

In higher vocational colleges, listening plays a crucial role in language learning, which can not be neglected in non-English majors’curriculum. Nevertheless, the efficiency of English listening teaching fails to satisfy non-English majors in present-day context. So, in the PRETCO, namely, Practical English Test for Colleges, the listening test part is the weakest for listeners. Traditional English listening teaching attaches more importance to the training of language skills as well as the understanding of language structures on the level of words and sentences, but holistically speaking, takes no notice of genres of material and structures of discourse. Thus, such phenomenon results in learners’low listening efficiency. In the process of listening comprehension, inability to response instantaneously, unfamiliarity with the genres, difficulty of the given materials, lack of confidence as well as insufficiency in basic language skills make it easier for learners to experience a certain level of anxiety. Prior research on the analysis of listening materials concerns more with phoneme, speed, sound, and difficulty of language themes together with the presentation of listening materials. And the correlational studies between listening anxiety and listening materials are mostly from the perspective of English majors but meager studies concerning non-English majors have been conducted. Therefore, the present paper attempts to analyze listening anxiety from the angle of three genres of listening materials and undertakes the research by a correlational study. It is suggested that both parts of instructors and learners should make full use of listening strategies according to different types of materials and the holistic structure of discourse during listening instruction. In this way, listeners’ listening efficiency would be ameliorated.There are some theories, on the one hand, about factors affecting listening anxiety; on the other hand, about a literature review of domestic and foreign researches on foreign language listening anxiety mentioned in the present paper. Also, the listening test, the questionnaire and the correlational analysis are employed to investigate the relationship between the three types of materials and listening anxiety. Finally, major findings and insights are obtained by means of the analysis of the statistical method. The research manifests that English listening anxiety universally exists among non-English majors in higher vocational colleges; a moderate significant correlation is found between listening anxiety and the three styles of materials. As the English listening materials changes from dialogue, conversation and passage spot dictation, the English listening anxiety will be higher and higher. There exists correlation between learners’ general listening anxiety and listening achievements, and a significant negative correlation is found between spot dictation and listening anxiety; the level of listening anxiety differs significantly from male learners to female ones; male learners are more prone to be anxious about English listening than female counterpart.The research results have shed light on foreign language instruction as follows. Firstly, human cognition, comprehension and memory are closely associated with their background knowledge which establishes relevant connections with listening materials. In the course of information processing and filtering, the application of schemata to English listening teaching helps learners obtain a vivid illustration of some boring listening materials. In this way, vividness of schema may help ease anxiety to some extent. Secondly, instructors should adopt teaching strategies in accordance with learners of different learning styles and different genders; thirdly, instructors should teach their learners how to adjust their listening strategies according to different types of listening materials, which can make learners more sophisticated while they encounter listening anxiety.