中国学生英语口语交际中的回避现象研究

中国学生英语口语交际中的回避现象研究AbstractTheavoidancephenomenoninChinesestudents'EnglishoralcommunicationhaslongbeenatopicofconcernforbothChineseandforeignEnglishteachers.ThispaperaimstoexplorethecausesandmanifestationsofavoidanceinChinesestudents'Englishoralcommunication,aswellasproposingpotentialsolutionstohelpstudentsovercomethisissue.ByreviewingpreviousstudiesandanalyzingfactorssuchasChineseculture,learningenvironmentandteachingmethods,thisresearchhighlightstheimportanceofcreatingapositivecommunicationatmosphereandintegratingrelevantculturalandlinguisticknowledgeintotheclassroomteaching.ItishopedthatthisresearchcanprovidepracticalimplicationsforEnglishlanguageteachingandlearninginChina.Keywords:Chinesestudents,Englishoralcommunication,avoidancephenomenon,culturalandlinguisticfactors,communicationatmosphere.IntroductionAsChinacontinuesitsrapiddevelopmentandengagementwiththeglobalcommunity,theimportanceofEnglishlanguageproficiencyhasbecomeincreasinglyimportantinvariousaspectsoflife,suchashighereducation,employmentandinternationalcommunication.However,despitetheemphasisonEnglishlanguagelearninginChina,manyChinesestudentsoftenencounterbarrierswhenitcomestospeakingfluentlyandconfidentlyinoralcommunicationcontexts.OneofthemostcommonandrecognizedphenomenainChinesestudents'Englishoralcommunicationistheavoidancephenomenon.AccordingtoOxford(1999),avoidancereferstotheactofchoosingtonotspeak,ortoavoidcertaintopicsinacommunicationcontext.Thisphenomenonischaracterizedbyhesitation,lackofconfidenceandlowparticipationinoralcommunication.Therefore,itisnecessarytoexplorethecausesandmanifestationsofavoidanceinChinesestudents'Englishoralcommunication,andproposepotentialapproachestohelpthemovercomethisissue.CausesofAvoidanceinChineseStudents'EnglishOralCommunicationCulturalFactorsOneoftheprimaryreasonsfortheavoidancephenomenoninChinesestudents'Englishoralcommunicationiscausedbyculturalfactors.Chineseculturevaluesmodesty,wherepeoplearetaughttobehumbleandnottoassertthemselvesinfrontofothers.ThisculturalnormcontrastswiththetypicalWesterncommunicationstylethatvaluesassertivenessanddirectness.Asaresult,Chinesestudentsmayfeeluncomfortableandhesitanttocontributetotheconversationorexpresstheiropinions,fearingthattheirideasmayberegardedasinappropriateorimpolite(Chen,2007).Moreover,Chinesestudentsprioritizetheiridentityaspartofagrouporcommunity,ratherthanindividualism,whichfurtherheightenstheanxietyofbeingperceivednegativelybytheirpeersorteachers(Dörnyei,2001).Giventheseculturalsensitivities,itisimportantforteacherstobeawareofthesedifferencesandcreateapositiveandinclusivecommunicationatmospheretoencouragestudentstoparticipateinclassdiscussion.LearningEnvironmentFactorsApartfromculturalfactors,thelearningenvironmentalsoplaysacrucialroleindeterminingstudents'engagementandparticipationinoralcommunication.InChina,Englishlanguagelearningoftenfocusesheavilyongrammar,vocabularyandtranslation,whileoralcommunicationskillsreceivelessattention(Zhang,2015).ThiscreatesalearningenvironmentwherestudentsarenotsufficientlyexposedtoEnglishconversationpractice,andtheclassroomdynamicsmayreinforcetheavoidancephenomenon.Specifically,studentswhoareslowerintheirlanguageacquisitionorlessconfidentintheirspeakingabilitiesmayfeelembarrassedorintimidatedbytheirpeerswhoaremorefluent,andthusavoidspeakingaltogether(Liu,2006).Therefore,itisnecessarytocreateadiverseandinteractivelearningenvironmentwherestudentshavethechancetocommunicatewitheachotherusingEnglishbeyondtheclassroomsettings.TeachingMethodsFactorsTheteachingmethodsadoptedbyteachersalsohaveasignificantimpactonstudents'willingnesstoparticipateinoralcommunication.Traditionalteachingmethodssuchaslecture-stylepresentations,rotememorizationandteacher-centeredinstructionmaydiscouragestudentsfromactivelyengaginginclassdiscussionorpracticingtheiroralcommunicationskills(Jin,2015).Furthermore,teachers'attitudesandexpectationstowardsstudents'oralcommunicationabilitycaneitherreinforceorinhibitavoidance.Forinstance,teacherswhoaretoocriticalorimpatientmaycreateanegativelearningatmospherewherestudentsaremorepronetoavoidingcommunicationaltogether(Yu&Watkins,2017).Therefore,teachersneedtoadoptinnovativeteachingmethods,suchasinteractiveactivities,gamesandrole-playing,tomakelearningmorefunandengaging.Moreover,teachersshoulddemonstratepatienceandsupporttowardsstudents'communicationattempts,regardlessoftheiraccuracyorfluency.ManifestationsofAvoidanceinChineseStudents'EnglishOralCommunicationAspreviouslymentioned,theavoidancephenomenoninChinesestudents'Englishoralcommunicationcanmanifestinseveralways.Thefollowingaresomeofthemostcommonmanifestationsobserved:LimitedVocabularyandGrammar:Studentsmayusesimplevocabularyorbasicsentencestructurestoavoidmakingmistakesorbeingembarrassedinfrontofothers.SilentParticipation:Somestudentsmayprefertoremainsilentduringclassdiscussionorgroupwork,andonlycontributewhencalleduponbytheteacher.L1Dependency:ChinesestudentsmayrelyontheirfirstlanguagetoexpressthemselvesinsteadofusingEnglish,whichislesseffectiveindevelopingtheiroralcommunicationabilities.TopicAvoidance:Studentsmayshyawayfromtopicsthattheyarenotfamiliarwithorfeeluncomfortablediscussing,resultinginanarrowrangeofdiscussiontopicsinclass.NervousnessandHesitation:Studentsmayfeelnervousorhesitanttospeak,resultinginlongpausesorstammeringthatfurtherdeterthemfromengaginginoralcommunication.PotentialSolutionstoOvercomeAvoidanceinChineseStudents'EnglishOralCommunicationBasedontheprevioussection,thereareseveraleffectivestrategiesthatteacherscanadopttohelpChinesestudentsovercometheavoidancephenomenonandimprovetheiroralcommunicationskills:CreatingaPositiveCommunicationAtmosphere:Teachersshouldencouragestudentstoexpressthemselvesfreelyandprovideasupportiveandinclusivelearningenvironmentthataccommodatesdifferentculturalbackgroundsandlanguagelevels.IntegratingRelevantCulturalandLinguisticKnowledge:Teachersshouldcreateopportunitiesforstudentstolearnabouttheculturaldifferencesandlinguisticfeaturesthatimpacttheircommunicationstyle.ProvidingAmplePracticeOpportunities:TeachersshouldincorporatevariedandinteractiveactivitiesthatallowstudentstopracticeoralcommunicationskillsandbuildconfidenceinusingEnglish.AdoptingInnovativeTeachingMethods:Teachersshouldadoptlearner-centeredteachingmethods,suchasgroupwork,role-playing,orgames,thatstimulatestudents'interestsandhelpthemdeveloptheircommunicationabilities.EncouragingPeerFeedbackandSupport:Teachersshouldencouragestudentstoprovidefeedbackandsupporttoeachother,whichnotonlyfostersacollaborativelearningatmospherebutalsoenhancesstudents'oralcommuni