A Study Of Learner-centered Listening Materials In Foreign Language Acquisition

The importance of listening in language learning can never be overestimated. Through reception, we build up our linguistic system without which we cannot speak o r w rite. In o rder to train a dult s tudents' listening s kills w ith s uccess, i t i s necessary that listening materials must be regularly adjusted according to students' current level and the progress they are making.The main objective of this thesis is to find out non-English-majors' attitudes towards second language listening materials and generalize the characteristics of learner-centered second language listening materials that aim to meet non-English-majors' requirements and provide a better insight into the nature of listening materials and their development.The study is mainly composed of three sections, namely, personal information, students' attitudes toward English learning and personal interests, and students' attitudes toward English listening training and listening materials.Findings of this study support the following points. Firstly, non-English-major undergraduates attach great importance to listening materials. Secondly, factors that affect students' listening comprehension are: large vocabulary, fast rate of delivery, and great information density. Thirdly, interesting listening materials relating to what students have learned at an appropriate difficulty level are preferable.