图示理论与英语听力教学

AbstractConsideringthefactthattheunderstandingoflisteningmaterialsistheinteractionalresultofthelistener’slanguageandschemaknowledge,schematheorynowisusedwidelyintheresearchareaofacquiringasecondlanguage.ThepaperaimstoexploretheapplicationsofschematheoryduringtheteachingofEnglishlisteningfromtheperspectivesoftheschematheory,itseffectsontheteachingofEnglishlistening,thestrategiesguidedbyschematheoryinlisteningteaching.Byimplementingacomparativestudyandanalysizingitsresults,theauthorhasfinallycometoaconclusion:TheteachingmodelofEnglishlisteningbasedonschematheoryismoreeffectivetoimprovestudents’listeningskillsthanthetraditionalteachingmodel;thebackgroundknowledgeproducesagreatimpactonthepromotionoflisteningcomprehension.Basedonsuchfindingspedagogicalimplicationshavebeenmadeinthehopeofhelpingteachersandstudentstouseschematheorytoamelioratethetraditionalteachingmodelandfinallytoapplythetechniquesandskillsguidedbyschematheorytopracticalteachingandlearning.KeyWords:schematheory;teachingofEnglishlistening;effects;experimentalresearch;teachingmodel

中文摘要鉴于听者对所听材料的理解是其语言知识和图式知识相互作用的结果，图式理论如今被广泛应用于第二语言教学研究中。本文试图从图式理论及其对英语听力教学的影响，图式理论支持的听力教学策略等方面来探讨图式理论对英语听力教学的启示。笔者通过进行对比实验以及分析实验数据，得出以下结论：以图式理论为基础的英语听力教学模式比传统的英语听力教学模式更能有效地提高学生听力理解能力；教授听力材料的背景知识对提高听力水平影响颇深。基于这些结论笔者对提高现有英语听力教学给出了相应建议，希望能够使得教育者与学习者有意识地利用图式理论来改变传统的教学模式，最终将在图式理论指导下的学习策略和方法运用于实际教学中。关键词：图式理论；英语听力教学；影响；实验研究；教学模式ChapterOneIntroduction1.1IntroductionListeningisoneofthecriticallanguageskillsthataremostlyusedinourdailylife.Studentsandteachershavebecomemoreawareofhoweffectivelisteningfunctionsinsecondlanguageacquisition.However,thecurrentteachingofEnglishlisteninginChinaisnotsatisfying,sinceitisregardedasastaticprocessandcharacterizedbygrammar–centeredness,whichtoagreatextenthasinhibitedthedevelopmentofstudents’listeningability.Itisverynecessarytoreformtheinefficientteachingmodelandtoexploreusefullisteninginstructions.Afterlong-termstudies,linguistshavefoundthatlisteningisaninteractiveprocessinwhichthelistenercouldcombinethenewinformationwithhispreviousknowledgeandexperience,inordertoreachafullcomprehension(LiuYumeietXiaoSu,2007).Therefore,studiesonschematheoryhavegainedgreatattentioninthefieldofEnglishteachingandhavebeenevokedsincethenbothintheforeigncountriesandinChina.Inthisdissertation,theauthorhasdecidedtoassociateschematheorywiththeteachingofEnglishlisteningandtocarryoutastudyinthehopeofinvestigatingtheinteractionbetweenthem.1.2AimandObjectivesThisdissertationaimstoapplyschematheorytotheteachingofEnglishlisteningandtoprovethefunctionsofschematheorybyimplementingastudy.Ingeneral,thestudyhasthefollowingthreeobjectives:(i)tostudyschematheoryanditsroleintheteachingprocedure,(ii)toexploretheeffectsofschematheoryonclassroomlisteningteaching,and(iii)topresentusefulsuggestionsoftransformingteachingmodelsinthefutureteachingprocess.1.3OrganizationThewholedissertationconsistsofsixchapters.ChapterOneisanintroductiontotheresearchtopic,theresearchbackgroundandthereasonsandpurposesofthestudy.ChapterTwoisthedetailedtheoreticalpremisesofschematheoryfromtheperspectivesofitsconcept,developmentandclassification.ChapterThreeismainlyabouttheinteractionbetweenschematheoryandthelisteningteaching,includingtheanalysisofthreelisteningstages,threelisteningabilitiesandtheeffectsofschematheory.ChapterFourisanelaborationofacomparativestudywhichaimstoprovehowschematheoryfunctionsactivelyintheteachingofEnglishlistening.AccordingtotheanalysisofthestudyinChapterFour,ChapterFivefocusesonthepedagogicalsuggestions,whichcanbedividedintothreecategoriesintermsofstudents,teachersandteachingmaterials.Thelastchapterisabouttheconclusionwheretheresearchresultsaresummarized.

ChapterTwoSchemaTheory2.1TheConceptofSchemaTheorySchematheoryhasbeenoneoftheprevailingtheoriesinthefieldoflanguageteachinginthepasttwentyyears.“Schema”referstopeople’sgeneralknowledgeabouttheworld,namelyone’s“pre-existentknowledge”or“backgroundknowledge”.Thetheoryofhowareaderoralistenerutilizeshisschematicknowledgetoachieveefficientcomprehensionwhenreadingorlisteningiscalledschematheory(Long,1989).Theapplicationofschematheoryintheteachingoflisteningbymeansofactivatingstudents’previousschemastoredintheirbrainsorbuildingnewschemabeforelisteningwillacceleratetheconstructionofmeaningandfacilitatelisteningcomprehensioninthelisteningprocess.Schematheoryholdstheviewthatlisteningcomprehensionisanactiveanddynamicprocessinwhichschematicknowledgeplaysanimportantrole.Successfullisteningisachievedthroughinteractivecombinationoflistener’sexistingschemaandtheincominginformationoflisteningmaterials.Inaddition,psychologicalexperimentshaveproventhatschemaplaysactivelyinlisteningcomprehensionandmemoryaccumulation(Carroll,1984).Firstly,schemapresentsapsychologicalframeworkforinterpretationofinformation,namely,apositivestateofunderstandingofnewknowledgeinthepreparation,sothatpeoplecanbuildamorespecificschemabyconnectingitwiththepriorknowledge.Secondly,schemawillhelpthedistributionofattention.Inthelisteningprocess,thebrainisactiveontheonehandtoprocessthepriorinformation,andontheotherhandtoobtainnewknowledge.Ifthebrainisnotguidedbyrelatedschemaforunderstandingthecontent,itiseasyforlearnerstodispersetheattentionandtoloseaccuratememory.Finally,schemaofferscluestointerpretation,editionandsummary.Listenersusethebackgroundknowledgeandstylisticschematomakejudgmentsanddrawconclusions,inthepurposeofspeedingupanddeepeningtheirunderstanding.Becauseoftheirlackofrelevantschema,listenerscannotunderstandthelisteningtexttoafullanddeepextent.2.2TheDevelopmentofSchemaTheory\o"Plato"PlatoelaboratedontheGreekdoctrineofidealtypes–suchastheperfectcirclethatexistsinthemindbutwhichnoonehaseverseen.\o"ImmanuelKant"ImmanuelKantfurtherdevelopedthenotionandintroducedtheword“schema”.Forexample,hedescribedthe“dog”schema:amentalpatternwhich“candelineatethefigureofafour-footedanimalinageneralmanner,withoutlimitationtoanysingledeterminantfactorasexperience,oranypossibleimagethatIcanrepresentinconcerto”.Earlydevelopmentsoftheideainpsychologyemergedwiththe\o"Gestaltpsychology"Gestaltpsychologistsand\o"Piaget"Piaget.In1926,theterm“schema”wasusedbyPiagetinhistheoryofdevelopment,whichdeemedthat“childrenadoptaseriesofschematounderstandtheworld”.R.C.Anderson,arespectededucationalpsychologist,alsomadecontributionstodevelopschematheory.SchematheorywasinitiallyintroducedintopsychologyandeducationthroughtheworkoftheBritishpsychologistSirFredericBartlett,withwhoseworkthetermcametobeusedinitsmodernsense.FurtherworkontheconceptofschemawasconductedbyBrewerandTreyenswhodemonstratedthattheschema-drivenexpectationofthepresenceofanobjectwassometimessufficienttotriggeritserroneousrecollection.2.3TheClassificationofSchemaTheoryTheschemathatinfluencelisteningcomprehensioncanbeclassifiedasthreemaintypes:languageschema,contentschemaandformschema(Long,1989).2.3.1LanguageSchemaLanguageschemareferstolisteners’priorknowledgeofthelanguage,whichinvolvedpronunciation,vocabularyandgrammar.Withouttheknowledgeoflanguage,listenerswillencounterobstaclesinthelisteningcomprehension.Languageschemainforeignlanguagelisteningfunctionsmoreimportantlythaninthenativelanguagelistening,becausecomprehensionofaforeignlanguageneedsaccuratedecoding,whichcannotbeobtainedmerelybyexperience.

2.3.2ContentSchemaContentschemaisthecontentandthesubjectofthetext,soitcanalsobecalledthematicschema.Whenlisteningtoafragmentofatext,listenersusuallypredictitstheme,whichenableslistenerstoguessthegeneralcontentofthetext.Tosomeextent,thethemeofthetextdirectlyaffectsthelevelofcomprehensionoflisteningmaterials.2.3.3FormSchemaFormschemaisequallyimportantasthecontentschema.Itreferstolisteners’knowledgeindiscourseandrhetoric.Understandingtheschematicstructureofthediscoursehelpslistenerstograspthemainideaandtoestablisheffectivepredictionandexpectation.Taking“makingreservationforahotelroom”forinstance,learnerswillassociatethethemetopriorknowledgesuchasahotelroom,telephone,price,place,etc.Thewholeprocessofbookingahotelroomnormallyinvolvesseveralsteps:opening,requirements,confirmation,closing.Withthesimilarpredictionguidedbyschema,listeners’comprehensionofmaterialswillbegreatlyenhanced.

ChapterThreeSchemaTheoryandTeachingofEnglishListeningInthehistoryoflanguage,people’sviewsonnatureoflisteninghavegonethroughmanychanges.Theytraditionallyobserveitasapassiveprocess,inwhichthelistenerresemblesatape-recorderwhosemaintaskissimplymemorizingwhatthespeakerhassaid.Duetothestudiesofschematheory,listeningisregardedasaprocessthatdealswiththenewinformationbyconnectingitwiththepriorknowledge.SchematheoryfunctionsvitallyintheteachingprocessofEnglishlistening.Accordingtoschematheory,theknowledgeinourbrainhasbeensystemizedtoformastructure,inwhichallsortsofinformationareconnectedwitheachother.Attheverybeginningofabsorbingnewknowledge,peopleusuallyassociateitwiththerelevantthingsthroughtheactivereflectionofthebrain,toactivatethenewschemawhichcanimproveunderstanding(MendelsohnetRubin,1995).Asuccessfullisteneriscompetentofcombiningtheverbalsystemwiththenon-verbalsystemofknowledge,soastogetthemosteffectiveaccesstoinformation.3.1ThreeStagesintheProcedureofTeachingUsingSchemaTheoryTheprocedureoflisteningteachingcanbedividedintothreestages:pre-listening,while-listeningandpost-listening.Eachofthethreestageshasitsownfeaturesandfunctionsinthelisteningprocess.Inthefirststage,teachersorganizesomewarm-upactivitiessuchasthediscussionofquestionsorkeywords,inordertohelpstudentstobuildthenewschemaandtoactivatethepreviousschema.Inthesecondstage,teachersremindstudentstousesometechniquesandstrategiestocomprehendandtorecalllisteningmaterials.Inthethirdstage,teachersusesomeexercisesofcombininglisteningwithspeakingandwritingtoconsolidatestudents’impressionofthegiveninformation(Rost,2006).Therefore,exploringthistypeofteachingmodelcorrectlytoemphasizethefunctionofpre-existentknowledgeinlisteningcomprehensionaswellastheroleofpre-listeningandpost-listeningcanimprovetheeffectoflisteningteaching.3.1.1Warm-upinPre-listeningStageAccordingtoschematheory,schemahasthefunctiontopredictintheprocessoflisteningbyinteractingtheinputinformationandthepriorknowledge(DongGuangzhietLiuLixin,2003).Withoutenoughpreparationtoactivatetherelevantschema,itisdifficultforstudentstounderstandthecontentoflisteningmaterials.Therefore,warm-upactivitiesservetoactivatetheschemainthemindsofstudentsaswellasinthecontentoflisteningmaterialsandtohelpstudentstobuildthenewschema.Theconstructionofschemainalistener’mindisthekeytounderstandlisteningmaterials.Thenarrowerscopeofknowledgethelistenerowns,theharderhebuildsthenewschema.Teachersshouldprovidesubstantialguidancetostudentstoactivatetherelevantschemaaccordingtospecificlisteningmaterials.Intheway,studentsshouldnotonlyhaveagoodcommandoflanguagebutalsounderstandthedifferencesbetweencultures,particularlybetweenthatofChinaandEnglish-speakingcountries,soastograduallyenrichandexpandtheirschema.Inthepre-listeningstage,teacherscanguidestudentstopreviewmaterials,suchasdifficultwords,specialsentences,customaryexpressionsandgrammaticalknowledgetohelpthemdevelopanewrelevantschema.Anothergoodwaytobuildandtoactivatethenewschemaistoproviderelatedpicturesandvideo,i.e.thebackgroundinformationoflisteningmaterials,whichusuallycomesfromsupplementarymaterialsanddiversifiedexercisessuchasdictation,multiplechoice,trueorfalse(MoYunguo,2002).Inaddition,anumberofteachingactivitiescanbeorganizedtoenablestudentstoenrichtheirknowledge.Forexample,certainscenescanbesettomakestudentsusethenewvocabularyandgrammar,aswellasdiscussions,debatesanddialogues,whichareveryhelpfulforstudentstograspthekeyelementinthelisteningprocess.3.1.2ComprehensioninWhile-listeningStageInthewhile-listeningstageoflisteningcomprehension,listenersusebothbottom-upandtop-downprocessestocomprehend.Knowingthecontextofalisteningtextandthepurposeforlisteninggreatlyreducestheburdenofcomprehension.Atthisstage,itisofgreatimportanceforstudentstobringtheinitiativeintofullplay.Successfulcomprehensioninvolvesthefollowingthreemaintypesofschema.(i)LanguageSchemaLinguisticschemaistheknowledgeaboutlinguistics,suchasvocabulary,grammarandlinguisticrules,withoutwhichwillleadtomisunderstandings.IntheactualinteractioninEnglish,agoodunderstandingdependsonthepriorlinguisticknowledge,thecertaincontent,thefamiliaritybetweenthespeakerandthelistenerandsoon,insteadoftheunderstandingofeachword.Forexample,ifthelistenerisfamiliarwiththephrase“afishoutofwater”,hewillcorrectlyunderstandthepurposeofthespeakerandwon’tinterpretthephrasefromitsliteralmeaning.(ii)ContentSchemaContentschemaplaysapredominantroleinthelisteningprocess,sinceitdeterminesthecontentinwhichthelanguageisused.Forexample:M:Goodmorning,Mrs.White,whatcanIdoforyou?W:Couldyoupleaselookovermywatch?Itsometimesgainsandsometimesloses.Q:Whatdidthewomanwanttohavedone?A.Tosellherwatch.B.Tobuyanewbook.C.Toasksomeonetofindherwatch.D.Tohaveherwatchchecked.Thecommonmeaningsof“gain”and“lose”are“acquire,obtain”and“miss”respectively,butintheabovedialogue,itisapparentthatthetwowordshavedifferentmeanings.Asthewomanrefersto“watch”and“lookover”inherremarks,wecancomeupwiththeassumptionthatthisdialoguehappensinawatch-repairingshopandshewantstohaveherwatchchecked.Inthiscontent,“gain”means“goquicker”while“lose”means“goslower”(WuHaiyan,2004).(iii)CulturalSchemaCulturalschemareferstothe“culture”blockoftheknowledgestructure,whichaccumulatesthroughpreviousexperiences.Inthelisteningprocess,thelistenermustdecodethelanguagecorrectlyaccordingtoculturalschema.InordertohaveabetterunderstandingofChristmasforstudents,forinstance,diversifiedactivitiesshouldbeorganizedforstudentstobuildandtoactivateappropriateculturalschema,suchasusingEnglishtodiscussthetopicsonWesternfestivalsandtraditions,andmakingcomparisonbetweenChineseandWesterncultures,thustoimprovetheirlisteningcomprehension.3.1.3ConsolidationinPost-listeningStageTheusualwayofclasslisteningteachingisdoingthenextpracticeimmediatelyafterthecompletionofonepractice.Beingignorantofthefactthatlisteningmaterialsinvolvesimportantculturalbackgroundknowledge,teachersrarelyhelpstudentstoreviewthelisteningmaterialsandhencemissagoodopportunitytoconsolidatetheimpressionofknowledgeinstudents’minds(YiZhen,2005).Therefore,theconsolidationinpost-listeningstageisanimportantphaseintheteachingprocedureoflistening.Teacherscantakesomemeasurestohelpstudentstoconsolidatetheschema,suchasusingquizzestostudyculturalbackgroundknowledge,askingstudentstorepeatortakenotesandorganizingstudentstoplayroles.Accordingtodifferentmaterials,differentlearningstagesanddifferentlevelsofstudents,teacherscanchooseappropriatemethodstoimprovestudents’learninghabits.Aftertheexplanationandreviewoflisteningmaterialsbyteachers,studentscanacquireabetterunderstandingofthegiveninformationanddeepentheschema.Meanwhile,theycanstorethenewbackgroundknowledgeinalong-termmemoryforthefurtherpreparationforlisteningcomprehension.Themorebackgroundknowledgestudentsacquire,themorebenefitstheycangetinthelisteningprocess.Inthisway,students’listeningskillscanbeimprovedgreatly.3.2ThreeAbilitiesintheProcessofListeningStrengthenedbySchemaTheoryCognitivepsychologistsregardlisteningasamentalprocessofinteractingtheexistingknowledgeandtheinputinformationtransportedbyacousticsignals.Intheprocessoflistening,schematheorycanstrengthenthreelisteningabilitiesasbelow.3.2.1ReasoningAbilitySchemaplaysavitalroleinfosteringreasoningability(Widdowson,1983).IntheteachingprocessofEnglishlistening,thefunctionsofstudents’reasoningabilitytotheirlisteningcomprehensionareself-evident.Reasoningcannotonlyenablestudentstomakepredictionstounknownlisteningmaterials,butalsomakethembeawareoftheconnotationofspeakers,whichwasstudiedintheprincipleofcooperationbyGriceinhisexplanationofhowlistenersunderstandthecommunicativediscourse.Gricebelievesthatitisreasoningthathelplistenerstounderstandtheimplicationsofone’sremarks,insteadofdecodingthelanguage.3.2.2UnderstandingAbilityAccordingtoLynch(1998:13),everytimewhenapersonisreceivinginformation,hisunderstandingofthegiveninformationcallsfortheinvolvementofexistingknowledge,namelyschema.Therefore,themoreschemalistenersbearinmind,themorecorrectlyandaccuratelytheycomprehendthelisteningmaterials;themorebackgroundknowledgetheyacquire,themorebenefitstheygaintocreatenewschemaandtoformavirtuouscycleoflisteningcomprehension.3.2.3MemoryAbilityRumelhart(1982:21)haspointedoutthat“Schemadescribesthelayoutofthecontentsofourmemory.”Inotherwords,schemaprovidesaframeoftherelevantconceptsinmemoryfortheinformationrecipients.IntheEnglishteachingprocess,thereisnodoubtthatstudents’memoryabilityhasagreatimpactonlisteningcomprehension.Ifthememorystoredinmindcanbeactivatedappropriately,studentscancollecttherelevantexistinginformationfromtheirmemory.3.3TheEffectsofSchemaTheoryonTeachingofEnglishListeningSchematheoryproducesmarkedinfluencesonunderstandinglisteningcomprehensioninfirstandsecondlanguage.Listeningisaskillthatrequirescoordinationofthelistener’smentalpowerswithanoutsideforce,whichisthree-dimensionalwiththeears,themindandtheeyes.Ithasmadeclearthatunderstandingtheroleofschemainthelisteningprocessprovidestheoreticalfoundationandinsightsintowhystudentsmayfailtocomprehendlisteningmaterials.AccordingtoaresearchconductedbyJohnFlowerdewandLindsayMiller(2005),asstudentsarefamiliarwiththethemeofthelistening(i.e.,possesscontentschema),awareofthediscourselevelandstructureofthetext(i.e.,possessformschema),andskillfulindecodingfeaturestorecognizewordsandsentences(i.e.,possesslanguageschema),theyareinabetterpositiontocomprehendlisteningmaterials.Deficiencyinanyoftheaboveschemaswillresultinacomprehensiondeficit.However,studentsmayhavesufficientschema,yetunabletocomprehendthetextifsuchschemaisnotappropriatelyactivated.Whenthenewinformationisintegratedwiththeexistingbackgroundknowledgeandisputintotheappropriateslots,schemaisconsideredasbeingactivated.(ShiXushengetLvYanping,2004)ChapterFourExperimentalResearchandAnalysisInordertoverifytheactivefunctionofschematheoryinimprovingstudents’Englishlisteningcomprehension,theauthorconductedasmall-scaleteachingexperimentwithtwoteams.TheteachingmodelsupportedbyschematheorywasadoptedintheExperimentalTeamwhilethetraditionalteachingmodelwasusedintheControlTeam.Aftertheexperiment,thetwoteamsweregiventhesametestandthescoreswerecomparedandanalyzedbytheauthor.4.1ResearchPurposeandSubjectThepurposeoftheresearchistoprovethatschematheoryfunctionsactivelyinteaching.Thesubjectsofthisresearcharecomposedof100ChinesestudentsselectedfromtwoclassesinGradeSixinJiujiangPrimarySchoolofJiangxiProvince.Allofthemarehighlyfamiliarwiththeformatsofthelisteningtaskssothattheunfamiliaritytothetasksshouldnotbeafactorthatcandisturbtheirperformanceintheresearchprocess.Inaddition,theyhavelearnedoverfiveyearsofEnglishandacquiredsometechniquesandskillsinlistening.Thisfeatureguaranteesthatallthesubjectsareabletoyieldsomeobservableandanalyzabledatafortheresearch.4.2ResearchDesignThedatacollectingprocesswasfinallycarriedoutbytheauthorherselfonMarch12,2010,mainlyconsistingofthefollowingfoursteps:(i)Theauthorrequiredthe100subjectstoformtheExperimentalTeamandtheControlTeam,eachincluding50participants.Accordingtotheirperformanceofthelasttest,thelisteninglevelofthetwoteamswasassessedtoberelativelycloseorthesame.(ii)Theauthorspent30minutesonthesubjectsintheExperimentalTeaminexplainingkeywordsandphrasesfromthelisteningmaterial(SeeAppendixA)andthenthebackgroundknowledgeoftheOlympicGames,includingitshistory,organizationandimportance.(iii)AllthesubjectsintheExperimentalTeamandtheControlTeamwererequiredtoanswerthequestions(SeeAppendixB)whilelisteningtothematerial(SeeAppendixA)andthenhandtheiranswersheetsinimmediatelyaftertherecordingwasover.(iv)Allthesubjects’scoreswererecordedandthefinaldatafromeachteamwasassessedintheresearch.Asubjectwhogotthescoresunder6wasconsideredasfailed.4.3ResearchResultTable4-1:AccuracyofQuestionsoftheTwoTeamsAccuracyQsoftheTestQsonBackgroundKnowledgeQsonLanguageKnowledgeFullScore100%60%40%ExperimentalTeam70%40%30%ControlTeam50%30%20%Table4-2:PassNumberandRateoftheTwoTeamsTotalNumberPassNumberPassRateExperimentalTeam504386%ControlTeam503162%Table4-3:TheNumberofSubjectsinDifferentScoreBracketsoftheTwoTeamsTheNumberofStudentsScoresExperimentalTeamControlTeam10319538105716969135310424324201100000ExplanationsofTable4-1,Table4-2andTable4-3:Intermsoftheaccuracyofthequestions,thesubjectsintheExperimentalTeamheld20%higheraccuracythanthatoftheControlTeam.Subjectswhowereaccessibletomorebackgroundandlanguageknowledgehadabetterunderstandingofthecontentthanthosewhowerenot.Intermsofthepassnumberofsubjects,therewere43and31subjectsintheExperimentalTeamandtheControlTeamrespectively.Theformerkept24%higherofthepassratethanthatofthelatter,whenturningthenumberintopercentage.Intermsofthenumberofsubjectsdividedindifferentbracketsaccordingtotheirscores,thenumberofthesubjectswhogot7scoreswas16intheExperimentalTeam,whereas13subjectsscored6intheControlTeam,bothofwhichwerecountedasthebiggestgroupintheirownteam.Asasignificantfeatureshowninthetable,themajorityofthesubjectsintheExperimentalTeamwerescored6,7and8whilethescorebracketswereintensifiedinthescoresof5,6and7.4.4ResearchAnalysisAccordingtotheaboveexperimentalanalysisanddiscussion,theauthorprovedthattheteachingmodelofEnglishlisteningbasedonschematheoryismoreefficientthanthetraditionaloneinEnglishlisteninginstruction.Inaddition,thebackgroundknowledgeproducesagreatimpactonthepromotionoflisteningcomprehension.Inotherwords,strategiesrelatedtotheenhancementofbackgroundknowledgemaybemoreefficientinhelpingEnglishteacherstopreventstudentsfromwastingtimeonguessingtheansweraimlessly,hencetoimprovetheeffectivenessoflisteningcomprehension.Althoughthestudyhasyieldedapromisingresult,itstillhassomelimitations,whichthefuturestudiesshouldtakeintoconsideration.Firstofall,becauseofthetimelimitation,thenumberofsubjectsusedinthisstudyisstillinadequate,sofuturestudiestargetingalargernumberofsamplesarestillneeded.Thepatternoftestissimple,sothereisaneedforustofurthermuchbroaderresearches.Furthermore,thelisteninglevelsofthesubjectsintwoteamsarenotaccuratelythesame;henceithasinfluencesontheresultofthisresearch.ChapterFiveTheMethodsofImprovingListeningSkillsItisabigchallengeforEnglishteacherstoapplyschematheorytotheteachingoflistening.Regardlessofmanylimitationssuchastheteachers’qualityandthelisteningenvironment,methodsherebyaregiventopromoteeffectivelisteningskillsandteachingstrategies,inthehopeofmakingsomeenlightenmenttothecurrentteachingofEnglishlistening.5.1FromthePerspectiveofStudentsToimprovetheirlisteningskills,studentsneedtomastersomelisteningtechniquesandstrategiestodevelopasmatureandactivelisteners,forexample,thinkingaroundthetopicbylisteningbetweenthelines,summarizingwhathasbeenheard,puttingwhattheyhearintotheirownwords,takingnotestogetasmuchoutofalectureaspossible,makingeffortstoignorephysicalproblems,payingattentiontothemessage,andnotinterruptinginthemid