A Complementary Mode of College English Listening Instruction

A Complementary Mode of College English Listening Instruction【Abstract】ThisarticleaimstodiscoverandaddresstheproblemsoccurinthecollegeEnglishlisteningclassfornon-EnglishmajorsinamedicaluniversityinGuizhouprovince.Byanalyzingthecontextwherthesituationtakesplace，acomplementarymodeoflisteninginstructionispropsedtotackletheapparentreticenceandthelackofinteractionofthestudentsinlisteningclass.【Keywords】listeninginstruction；interactivelisteningteaching；motivation1.IntroductionThisarticlefocusesonthelisteningclassofthenon-EnglishmajorstudentsinamedicaluniversityinGuizhouprovince，southwestChinawherEnglishisregardedasaforeignlanguage.TheChinesecollegeEnglishsyllabusstatesthattheimportanceofcollegeEnglisheducationshouldbefocusedondevelopingstudentscommunicativelanguageability.Therefore，howtoimprovestudentscommunicativeabilityshouldbeoneoftheprioritiesforcollegeEnglishteacherstoconsiderwhentheyaredesigningtheirownlessons.Listening，whichoccupiesalmosthalfofthetimethatapersonisengagedincommunication，playsacrucialroleinimprovingstudentsL2communicativelanguageability.Thus，theteachingoflisteningisundoubtedlyessentialincollegeEnglisheducation.However，inGuizhou，theteachingoflisteningseemstohavebeenandstillbeneglectedespeciallyinmiddleschools.NolisteningtrainingisprovidedinmostofthemiddleschoolsduetothefactthatlisteningisnottestedintheEnglishTestofCollegeEntranceExaminationinGuizhouprovince.Someofthestudentshadneverreceivedanyformaleducationaltraininginlisteningbeforetheyenteredtheuniversity.Theydonthaveaclearclueofwhatislisteningandwhatexactlytheyshoulddointhelisteningclass，sotheyaretooconfusedandreluctanttogiveactiveresponsestotheteacherinclass.Sothisarticleaimstofindasolutionstotheproblemsofthelisteningclassinthecurrentuniversity.2.TheproblemsofthelisteningclassIntheuniversitydiscussedinthisarticle，thecollegeEnglisheducationisdividedintotwolevels.ThestudentsaretaughtelementarycollegeEnglishinthefirsttwoacademicyears，whilemedicalEnglishinthelasttwoorthreeyears.Theclassisusuallymadeupoffiftytoseventyintermediate-advancedstudents，whichisregardedasabigmultilevelclassbymostoftheteachers.Theteachersfeeldifficulttohandlethiskindofclassesbecausethelanguageproficiencyofthestudentsisnotbalanced，anditisunablefortheteacherstomeettheneedofeachstudentinclass.Somestudentsseldomorevenneveractivelyparticipateinclassroomactivities，soitrequirestheteacherstospendmoretimepreparingforthelessonsandthinkingofdifferentwaystomotivatethestudentsandinvolveasmanyofthemastheycaninclassroomactivities.Thelisteninglessoninthecurrentuniversityisoftengivenatthebeginningofeachunitofthetextbook.Eightlessonsforeachunit，listeningoccupiestwolessons40minutesforonelesson.basedontheteachersteachingexperienceandpreviousobservationsofthelisteningclasses，thelisteningclassgenerallyfollowstheroutineshowninthefollowingtable.Table1，TheroutinelessonplanLessonplanforthelisteningsectionofoneunitinthetextbookPre-listeningIntroduceculturalnotesonthetopicofthelisteningtasks.TeachvocabularyorlisteningstrategiesWhile-ListeningListeningtoshortconversations.MultiplechoicestaskListeningtolongconversations.Firstlistening：listeningforgistSecondlistening：finishingmultiplechoicestaskListeningtolongpassages.Firstlistening：listeningforgistSecondlistening：listeningfordetailsThirdlistening：checktheanswersofthetasksPost-listeningRe-listentosomerecordingswithpausesandaskthestudentstorepeattherecording.Aswemaynoticefromtable1thattheteacherandtherecordingsarethecenterofthelisteningclass.Listeningismorelikelytobetestedthantaughtintheclass.Teachersareonlyrecordplayersandanswersproviders.Studentsonlyrespondtothequestionsinthelisteningexercises.Itiseasilyobservablethatinthelisteningclassesthestudentsarerelativelyreticentandpassivethaninotherclasseslikereadingandspeaking.Someofthestudentscomplainthatwhattheyaredoinginlisteningclassistoendlesslylistentotherecordings，finishtheexercises，andcorrecttheanswers.Listeningtothemisonlyapassiveactivityinwhichtheyjustsitintheirseatswithsoundscomingthroughtheirears.Theinteractioninthelisteningclassisextremelylimitedandlisteninginstructionbecomesaunidirectionalprocessforourstudents，thustheyoftenfeeldullandunmotivatedtoparticipate.StudentsarenotmotivatedtolearnEnglish.Fromtheconversationswiththestudentsandalsowiththeteachers，itisnothardtofindthatmostofthestudentsareprimarilymotivatedbyonetestafteranother.Thisistypicallyevidentwhenyouenterthebookstoresoutsidetheuniversity.ThemostpopularEnglishbooksareallkindsofbooksconcerningtest！MostbookshelvesarefullofbooksprovidinginformationandtipsforCET4，TEM4，andentranceexaminationforpostgraduatestudies.Theteachingmaterialsusedinthelisteningclassaresolelytherecordingsfromthetextbookwhicharenotsuitableforteachinglisteningcomprehensionasacommunicativeskill.Theyaremerelywrittentextsreadandrecordedbysomenativespeakers.Ourteachersneverdoanychangetothelisteningmaterials.Theydesigntheirlessonsbasedontheoriginalmaterialsratherthanadaptorimprovethematerialstofitintheirownteachingcontext.3.Possiblesolutionstotheproblembasedonwhatisobservedinthelisteningclass，itisobviousthatthechangeofthetraditionalone-wayteachingmodeappearstobenecessaryandessentialtomotivatethestudentstoparticipateactivelyinclassandtoincreaseclassroominteraction.Thenthefollowingthreesuggestionsmightbethepossiblesolutionstochangetheteachingmodeofthelisteningclassinthecurrentuniversity.3.1ComplementaryteachingmodeThetraditionalteachingmodeisoneinfluentialfactortostudentsclassroomparticipationinthelisteningclass.Theone-wayteachingmodeinthelisteningclassmayresultinthereticenceofthestudents.Therefore，theimplementofinteractiveteachingmaybeone，notnecessarilytheonly，solutiontotheproblem.Cook2020pointsoutinteractiveteaching，comparedwithtraditionalteachingmode，emphasizesthemutualinteractionofthreeorientationsthatisbetweenteachersandstudents，betweenstudentsandstudents，andbetweenstudentsandthetexts.Itisnottheteacherbutthestudentsthatareincontroloftheclass.Xie2020suggeststhismodeofclassismorestudents-centeredthanteacher-centeredinwhichteachersshouldavoidplayingadominantandauthoritarianrole.Thestudentsinsuchclassesmayhaveandbewillingtotakemoreopportunitiestogetaccesstodifferenttypesoflanguageinputandalsotointeractwithothers.Then，inlisteningclass，studentsshouldhavetherighttodecidewhatandhowtolisten，whentostopandstart，anditwillbeusefulforthemtobealsoprovidedopportunitiestohaveaccesstodifferentlisteningmachines.Inthiscase，itisfeasibletodividethestudentsintosmallgroups，especiallyinalargeclass，andallowthemtousetheirownfacilitieslikeiPod，mobilephone，ormp3，etc.Theyneedtocommunicatewithothermembersofthegrouptochooseamaterialtolistentotogether，ortheymaylistentodifferentmaterialsattheirownspeedbythemselvesandthenexchangeideasaboutwhattheyhaveunderstoodfromthematerialtosupplementeachotherscomprehension.AnothersuggestionfromHarmer2020isthatteachersmayaskstudentstoclosetheireyes，andraisetheirhandswhenevertheyfeelaneedtostoporrepeattherecording.Inthisway，studentsmayfeelmuchmoresecuredbecausetheydonothavetoaskforapauseinfrontoftheirclassmates.However，ifwewanttoimplementtheinteractiveteachinginourlisteningclass，wewilldefinitelycomeacrossmanydifficultiesinactualpractice.Ontheonehand，weshouldthinkofthefactthatlisteninginstructionisforpedagogicalpurposes.Wecannotgotoofartoignoreitspedagogicalpurposes，andwedonotwantourstudentstolosecontrolinclass.Ontheotherhand，theinteractiveclasshasamuchhigherrequirementbothtotheteacherandtothestudents，particularlyinlisteningclass.ConsideringtherelativelylowandunbalancedEnglishproficiencyofthestudentsofthecurrentuniversity，itwillbeveryhardtodoso.Therefore，acomplementarymodeappearstobemorepractical.Interactiveteachingmaynotbecarriedoutthroughthewholeclass.Itoccursondifferentlevelsanddifferenttimeoftheteachingprocess.Teachersmayusesomeinteractivelisteningactivitiesinclassinsteadofmakingthewholeperiodofclassinteractive.Moreover，becausethelisteningclassinthisuniversityismadeupofsixty-seventystudents，itwillbedifficulttocarryouttheinteractiveactivitiestothewholeclass，sotheteachermayneedtodividestudentsintosmallgroups.Thentheteachershouldmonitorthewholeclasspayingattentiontothestudentstoseewhethertheyfeeldullortooexcited，andthenbereadytochangetheteachingmodeatanytime.Hemayalsoneedtogotosomegroupstoseeifthestudentsneedanyhelp.Aswemayseefromtable1，thepost-listeningstageseemstohavebeenignored，sotheteachershouldprovidemorepost-listeningactivitiestostudents.Theymaydosomepreparationworkforthenextclass，someextensivelisteningforgistoractivitieswhichallowthestudentsandtheteachertoexchangeideaswitheachother.3.2DesignauthenticactivitiesandmaterialsTheteacherhastodesignhisownactivitiesandheshouldrememberthattheactivitiesneedtobeauthentic，oratleastthematerialsshouldbeauthentic，forthestudentstobeexposedtothereal-lifecommunicativesituation.Theteachershouldalsobeawareofthefocusoftheactivity，becauseitislisteningweareteaching.Hemaybeanonlookeraswellasaparticipantoftheactivity.Theactivitiesshouldbeinterestingandabletogivestudentsreasonsforlistening.Feedbackfromtheteacherorfromthepeersisalsonecessary，andthestudentsareexpectedtogiveresponsetothefeedbacktomakethisprocessaconversation.Listeningmaterialsforaninteractiveactivityarebettertobeauthentic.AccordingtoWilson2020，theauthenticityofalisteningtextisdeterminedbythepurposeofthetext，thatistosay，thepurposeofpeopleusingthetextinreallifeistocommunicateratherthantoteachlanguageinclass.Itiseasytofindauthenticmaterialslikeradio，filmorTV，songs，andsoon，especiallythroughtheInternet.Asismentionedbefore，theteachersinthecurrentuniversityneverdoanychangetothelisteningmaterial.However，whatreallymattershereiswhattheteacherdoeswithandtothematerial.Theteacherhastoadaptthematerialtomeettheneedofthestudentsandtheactivity.Toputitinasimpleway，theteacherhastomakethematerialeasierormoredifficultaccordingtotheneedoftheactivityortheEnglishproficiencyofhisstudents.3.3CreatereasonsforlisteningGardnerLambert1972identifiestwoorientationsofmotivation：integrativeandinstrumental.Accordingtotheirtheoryofmotivation，thestudentsinthecurrentuniversityaremostlymotivatedbytheinstrumentalmotivation.Theirpurposesoflearninglisteningaremainlytopasstheexam，togettheCET4certificate，andtograduatesuccessfully，duetothefactthattheyarelivinginamonolingualcountrywherEnglishisregardedasaforeignlanguage.TheydonothaveopportunitiestouseEnglishintheirdailylife.Insufficientintegrativemotivationmayinfluencestudentsinterestinlearning.Therefore，tohelpstudentsconstructtheirintegrativemotivationoflisteningisseeminglytobeonepossibilitytocopewiththeproblem.Ontheonehand，peoplelistenfordifferentpurposesinreal-lifesituation.Bygivingourstudentsreasonsforlisteningandprovidingthemopportunitiestousethelanguemaymotivatethemtolistenandparticipateactively.Therefore，theteachermayincorporatesomemotivationalactivitiesinthepre-listeningstageusingadaptedauthenticmaterialswhichthestudentsareinterestedintocreatetheirshort-termmotivationinclass.Ontheotherhand，studentshavemoreopportunitiestogetaccesstovisualandaudiolanguagematerialsespeciallyviatheInternet，sotheteachermayencouragethestudentstodomoreextensive-listeningafterclass.Songs，filmsandvideoareextremelyattractivetothestudentsandtheteachercanalsotrytousemoreofthesematerialsinlisteningactivities.Inthisway，ourstudentsmaygraduallybecomeinterestedinEnglishcultureorpeopleandconsequentlythelanguage.4.ConclusionInthedomainofL2teaching，theteachingoflisteninghasbeenwidelystudiedinthepastdecades.However，comparativelylessattentionhasbeenfocusedontheinteractiveteachingoflistening.Thisarticleproposedacomplementarymodeoflisteningclasstodealwiththeissuesofstudentsreticenceandlackofmotivationinlisteningclassbyintegratingthetraditionalteachingmodewiththeinteractiveteachingmodeandpromotingstudentsmotivation.Furtherworkneedstodonetoexaminetheeffectivenessofthiscomplementarymodeoflisteninginstruction.References：【1】Cook，V.2020.Secondlanguagelearningandlanguageteaching.4thed.Beijing：ForeignLanguageTeachingandResearchPress.【2】Gardner，R.C.Lambert，W.E.1972.Attitudesandmotivationinsecondlanguagelearning.Rowley，Mass：NewburyHouse.【3】Harmer，J.2020.ThepracticeofEnglishlanguageteaching.4thed.Harlow：Longman.【4】Wilson，J.J.2020.Howtoteachlistening.2ndimpression.Harlow：PearsonLongman.【5】Xie，X.Y.2020.Whyarestudentsquiet？LookingattheChinesecontextandbeyond.ELTJournal.641，pp.10-20.作者簡介：阮晔1981-，女，汉族，贵州遵义人，遵义医学院讲师，硕士，研究方向：二语习得、英语教学。