英语本科生毕业论文设计 On the Influence and Strategy of Lexical Phrases to Listening Comprehension

1、.本科毕业论文题目：On the Influence and Strategy of Lexical Phrases to Listening Comprehension 学院： 外语学院 班级： 07级专升本2班 姓名： 康晓娟 指导教师： 赵 芳 职称： 副教授 完成日期： 2009 年 5 月 30 日 :14On the Influence and Strategy of Lexical Phrases to Listening ComprehensionAbstract: Lexical phases are described as prefabricated language c

2、hucks of various length. It is a form and function composite. Many linguists have done much research on it and indicated it is very useful to English listening comprehension. In this study, the author takes advantage of Natting and DiCarrico and other researchers theories of lexical phrases.This stu

3、dy investigates the influence of lexical phrases to English listening comprehension. The author demonstrates this study from three aspects: the definition of lexical phrases, the category of lexical phrases and the function of lexical phrases. These are the bases to improve listening comprehension.

4、At last, the author will put forward some strategies about how to learn lexical phrases to learners. The finding suggests that lexical phrases can improve learners listening comprehension and is good for cultivating students sense of lexical learning and lexical phrases using in listening. It is als

5、o good for learners confidence in English listening. The lexical phrases approach will be helpful to them. Finally, the author will put forward some limitations for the study and point out some limitations for the future research.Key words: lexical phrases; listening comprehension; strategy Contents

6、Abstract(Chinese)(I)Contents(II)1 Introduction(1)2 Literature review(1)3 The importance of the listening comprehension and its difficulty(2)4 The influence of lexical phrases to listening comprehension(3)4.1 The definition of lexical phrases(3)4.2 The category of lexical phases(4)4.3 Pragmatic funct

7、ion of lexical phrases(6)4.4 The relationship between lexical phrases and listening comprehension(9)5 Strategies about how to apply the lexical phrases approach(11)6 Conclusions(12)References(12)Abstract(Chinese)(14)1 IntroductionThe paper is a study of the influence of lexical phases to listening c

8、omprehension and strategy. It analyses on the influence and strategy of lexical phases to listening comprehension theoretically. Among the four skills in English learning: reading, listening, writing, speaking, however, listening is still a weak point for most English learners in China (Chen) 1. A l

9、ot of English learners, even those with advanced English level, have difficulty in listening comprehension. So in order to improve the English learners listening comprehension, the author tries to find a new way (lexical phrase approach) to improve the learners listening comprehension.The paper cont

10、ains four parts. In part one, the author will show the importance of listening comprehension in English learning. In order to solve this problem, the author puts forward an effective way of using the lexical phrases approach. In part two, the author will study the influence of lexical phrases to lis

11、tening comprehension. In this part, the author will introduce what is lexical phrase to English listening learner from three aspects: first, the author will introduce the definition of lexical phases to listening learners, which mainly using the theory of Nattinger and DeCarrico; second, the author

12、introduce the four categories of the lexical phrases, which is very important to the listening comprehension; third, the author will introduce the function of the lexical phrases. To improve listening comprehension, listening learners must grasp these theories clearly. Then the author will analyze t

13、he relationship between lexical phrases and listening comprehension. Lexical phrases help listening learners to deduce the short-term memory load of human brain, improve listeners comprehension of spoken discourses and increase learners comprehending speed. In part three, the author will put forward

14、 some important ways to learn the lexical phrases. In part four, the author will conclude the whole thesis.2 Literature reviewLots of linguists and researchers have been trying to explore effective ways of listening, resulting in emergence of various theories and methods (e.g. Richards, Ridgway, Wan

15、g Peihong, ZhuYuncui and Xu zhenyu). Many researchers are interested in the function of lexical phrases in language learning and they have realized that the lexical phrases perform an important function on improving learners, productive skills (including speaking and writing), for example, Nattinger

16、 suggests that teaching should be based on the idea that language production is the piecing together of ready-made units appropriate for a particular situation. Lewis first coins in producing fluent speech. In China, Li claims that English lexical phrases can promote native-like fluency, native-like

17、 selection and raise pragmatic consciousness. Zhang points out the more proficient the English learners are in using English, the more lexical phrases they use in producing their speech with fluency and idiomaticity 2. Li claims lexical phrases play an important role in English writing, especially i

18、n English writing for foreign trade.But few studies have been found on the influence of lexical phrases to listening comprehension. So the author will use the lexical phrases approach to improve English learners listening comprehension.3 The importance of the listening comprehension and its difficul

19、tyListening comprehension is one of the essential abilities of any language in communication since at least 42% of information exchange is involved in listening when we communicate in our daily life (Cooper) 3. According to Krashen, listening plays an important role in language learning, “the role o

20、f listening is a tool for understanding and a key factor in facilitating language learning” and Feyten “listening has emerged as an important component in the process of second language acquisition”. While we will meet many difficulties in listening comprehension, Li Dongmei states that listening co

21、mprehension is a complex process of constructing the meaning from the messages sent by speakers. The influential factors can be the speakers pronunciation, speed of delivery and intonation, the familiarity and complexity of the content, and the listeners knowledge of the target language. Zhu Fangche

22、ng puts forward, since listening comprehension is strongly restricted by time, listeners memory intensity, deductive ability and listeners previous knowledge restrict the achievement of listening comprehension, and they can determine the speed of the listeners information processing 4. For example,

23、learners find longer utterances very hard to understand, owing to limitations on short-term memory load, or what seems clear to a native speaker would often be misinterpreted or seen as ambiguous by a listener, owning to his/her inability to recognize the form and function of many syntactic structur

24、es. In order to solve this problem, the author puts forward lexical phases approach to improve the learners listening comprehension. 4 The influence of lexical phrases to listening comprehension 4.1 The definition of lexical phrasesTo study the influence of the lexical phrases to listening comprehen

25、sion, we should first review the lexical phrases theory. Research using large databases of written and spoken language called corpora has shown that multi-word lexical units are ubiquitous in language use, at least in English (Moon) 5. Those multi-word units or even longer strings of language, which

26、 can be called lexical phrases, are form and function synthesis (Nattinger and DeCarrico) 6. They are prefabricated chunks of language, thus “a lot of meaning can be conveyed without having to stop and analyze every word of the phrases” (Levelle). Being ready-made, they can be stored in and retrieve

27、d from memory as wholes. The role of formulaic, many-word lexical units has been stressed in both first and second language acquisition research. They have been referred to by many different labels, including “preassernbled speech” (Bolinger)7, “gambits” (Keller), “formulaic frames with analyzed slo

28、ts” (Peters), “formulaic chunk” (Widdowson), “lexicalized stems” (Pawley and Syder)8. Nattinger and DeCarrico present a fairly similar analysis of what they call lexical phrases with four phrase types which increase in the likelihood of variability and discontinuity on the base of the “lexicalized s

29、tems” used by Pawely and Syder. These phrases, which function as a structural or semantic unit, were also defined in different ways. Lewis defines them as socially sanctioned independent units. These may be individual words, or full sentences that convey fixed social or pragmatic meaning within a gi

30、ven community. Nattinger and DeCarrico define them as a lexica-grammatical unit, conventionalized form/function composites that occur more frequently and have more idiomatically determined meaning than language that is put together each time. In the traditional view, language consists of vocabulary

31、and grammar and vocabulary has been thought of individual words. More and more linguists (e.g. Becker, Hakuta, etc.), however, have suggested the existence and the importance of prefabricated language chunks such as so much for and what-is-that. Research has also provided the evidence for many units

32、 larger than individual orthographic words. Multi-word lexical units larger than individual orthographic words. Multi-word lexical units (MWU) or lexical patterning beyond even the MWU level. For example, a single meaning is attached to each of the following: give up, burn the midnight oil, how do y

33、ou do. These strings of language recur frequently and are often connected with the functional usage of language (Schmitt and Carter). Such strings or prefabricated chunks have been called various names, including lexical phrases (Nattinger and DeCarrico), lexical chunks (Lewis, see Moudraia, etc.),

34、lexicalized sentence stems (Pawley and Syder), and ready-made (complex) units (Cowie) 9. In this part, the author will refer to these chunks as lexical phrases, and mainly take Nattinger and DeCarricos defined lexical phrases as “multi-word phenomena that exist somewhere between the traditional pole

35、s of lexicon and syntax, conventionalized form/functionally”. And it is especially true of spoken discourse (McCarthy and Carter) 10. On the other hand, lexical phrases can be stored in and retrieved from human memory as automatized units. It appears fairly certain that utterances of spontaneous spo

36、ken language contain phrases and clauses that gave been stored as wholes. These are used in combination with creatively stretches of language. Just as Miller and Weinert put it, it is likely that the basis of fluent speech is “an intricate interweaving of formulaic and newly constructed segments” 11

37、. Thus speech is produced as the use of automatized chunks or cluster of words combined with newly assembled strings of words. These units or patterns of lexical items and phrases provide frames and strings to help build and comprehend sentences and increase both the encoding and decoding speed of s

38、peech. They “focus the attention of the listener while allowing the speaker time to formulate the utterance further” (Chambers). Formulaic language units or formulae of these types are retrieved at many points in the comprehending process of the flow of the speech. According to Yao Baoliang 12, lexi

39、cal phrases can meet the demands of the complex process of listening comprehension, because lexical phrase contain four important categories.4.2 The category of lexical phases A. Polywords are canonical or non-canonical shaped chunk, fixed with unbroken sequence of words. They function as some indiv

40、idual lexical items, such as shifting topic, making summaries, making an approval, etc. For example:(1) By the way (Topic shifter)(2) For the most part (Qualifier)(3) So long (Parting)(4) You know (clarifier)(5) So far so good (Approval maker)(6) As it were (Exemplifier)Some other lexical items, suc

41、h as nevertheless, moreover, however, etc, are considered as a special class of polywords.B. Institutionalized expressions: Sentence length invariable phrases, usually functioning as separate items. They are habitual or conventional sentence idioms that allow very little lexical variation. They cons

42、ist of an unbroken sequence of words and often function as separate utterances, such as advising, warning approving, formulas for social interaction, and all of those chunks that a speaker has found efficient to store as units. For example:(1)Easy come, easy go. (warning)(2)One swallow does not make

43、 a summer. (Advising)(3)How do you do? (Greeting)(4)Nice to meet you. (Closing)(5)Have a good time. (Parting) C. Phrasal constraints: Slot and filler phrase. They are short-to-medium-length chunks, allowing lexical and phrasal variation. They are both canonical and non-canonical. Like institutionali

44、zed expressions, they are continuous. Phrasal constraints serve a variety of functions. For example :(1) a_ ago (Temporal realtor): a day ago; a year ago; a very long time ago;(2) good _(Greeting): good morning; good afternoon; good evening;(3) see you _(Parting): see you soon; see you later; see yo

45、u tomorrow;(4) as far as I _ (Qualifier): as far as I know; as far as I can tell;(5) the _-er, the _-er (Comparator): the sooner; the better; the busier; the happier;(6)for_ (Exemplifier): for instance, for example;(7) yours _(Closing): yours truly; yours sincerely.D. Sentence builders: Lexical phra

46、ses that provide the frame work for whole sentences. They have some slots for topics to provide the framework for the whole or subjects for expressions of the whole idea. These chunks are both canonical and non-canonical, allowing variation of phrasal and clausal elements. They are both continuous a

47、nd discontinuous. For example:(1) Modal + you +VP (for me)? (Requesting);Could you do me a favor? Would you help me?(2) Not only. but also. (relater);Not only had his brother graduated from this school, but also his sister.(3) My point is that. (summarizer);My point is that he should do it all by hi

48、mself.(4) I think that. (assertion);I think that it is a good idea; I think they ought to do it. (5)It seems (to me) (that). (assertion);It seems to me that its going to take a long time. Sentence builders are different from phrasal constraints in that the latter allows less variability, and this va

49、riability is at the lexical or phrasal level, not the clausal level. Compared with sentence builders and phrasal constraints, polywords are more arbitrary, and they are shorter and simpler. They allow no flexibility at all. Institutionalized chunks share some features with polywords. Although instit

50、utionalized chunks may have the sentence length, they are short and simple, too. Polywords would appear at a point on the more arbitrary end of the continuum. “For listening learning, the four categories may be reduced to three, with institutionalized expressions being incorporated into the polyword

51、 category, since institutionalized expressions are more or less sentence-length polywords.” (Nattinger and DeCarrico). Lexical phrases represent various categories of meaning and pragmatic characteristics of discourse and conversational structure that exist in many different types of situations. The

52、y are somewhat similar in aim to Wilkins notional-functional categories where emphasis is on the lexicon needed to perform specific speech “functions” for common situations (Wilkins) 13. Weem emphasize that ours are intended to be pedagogical as well as theoretical categories, devised for use as pra

53、ctical instruments for the classroom.4.3 Pragmatic function of lexical phrases Lexical phrases are related to particular functions. To represent various categories of meaning and pragmatic functions of lexical phrases, Nattinger and DeCarrico group lexical phrases as:A. “social interactions” which s

54、erve to describe the social relationship; (a) Conversational maintenance: lexical phrases in “conversational maintenance” can make the conversation begin, continue and end. For example: excuse me; pardon me; hello; hi; hey; thanks; all right; see you later, etc. (b) Conversational purpose: lexical p

55、hrases in “conversational purpose” are employed to signal why the conversation takes place. For instance: thanks; if you dont mind do you.; is/are/there.; are they.; would you like.; of course; no way; I see; I know; thats great; I dont agree.; I really appreciate.; what a pity !B. “Necessary topics

56、” which serve to express the topics that learners will need to talk about frequently; In this group, lexical phrases mark some topics that learners may be asked or they often talk about in their daily conversations. For example: my name is.; Im from.; do you speak.; I speak.; how much/big is.; lots

57、of.; Id like to.; a table for.; how much does. cost. C. “Discourse devices” which connect meaning and structure of a discourse. Lexical phrases in this group function as devices to link the meanings and structures of a discourse. For example: as a result of; the day before.; in spite of .; and then;

58、 the next is .; around here; over there; at/on the corner of; you know; at any rate; as a matter of effect; for example: not only.but also.; as far as I know; there is no doubt that.; in a word ; my point is that.Lexical phrases in these three groups may serve different functions. Fox example, lexical phases in social interactions can function as expressing gratitude, making a request, making a compliment, and so on. And those in necessary top