A Study On The English Listening Comprehension Frustrations Of Rural High School Students

As a receptive skill,listening comprehension plays an important role in language learning,and it has been a research focus of scholars worldwide.But judging by the related literature in China,researches concerning English listening of the rural high school students are rarely seen,which prompts the present study focusing on the English listening comprehension frustrations of rural high school students,with the hope that it provides insights into improving English teaching in the rural high schools.Based on Schema Theory and Krashen’s Input as well as Affective Filter theory,with 200 Grade 2 students from Mengshan high school as research subjects,and by means of questionnaire and interview,the present study aims to explore questions as follows:(1)What is the general picture of English listening comprehension frustrations of high school students in the rural area?(2)What are the main causes of the listening comprehension frustrations of rural high school students?(3)Does there exist any significant difference of rural high school students’ listening frustrations in terms of gender and field of study? And(4)How is students’ English listening comprehension frustration related with their English academic performance in the rural high school?Results indicate that:(1)The level of English listening comprehension among rural high school students is relatively low;in other words,most students in rural high school are suffering frustrations in their listening.(2)The main causes of rural high school students’ English listening frustrations lie in their insufficiency of English language knowledge,such as grammar,vocabulary,pronunciation and Englishcultural background information.(3)Students who study in liberal art have fewer English listening comprehension frustrations than those students who study science.And the overall male students experience more listening comprehension frustrations than female students on the whole.(4)There is a negative correlation found between English listening comprehension frustrations and English academic performance in rural high school.Based on the research results,some pedagogical suggestions for eliminating rural high students’ English comprehension frustrations and improving their English academic performance are proposed.These suggestions are guiding students to consolidate English basic knowledge,helping students to master listening strategies and leading students to set up a positive learning attitude.