Incorporating Strategy Training Into EFL Listening Class: From Theory To Practice

It has been 30 years or so since the studies on language learning strategies was pioneered by Rubin (1975), Naiman et al.(1978). Since 1990s, there has been a noticeable shift in focus from the identification, description and classification during 1980s to the instruction of language learning strategies with O'Malley & Chamot (1990) , Oxford(1990) and Wendon (1991) being the representatives. In China, the research into learning strategies was initiated in the early 1980s. Over the two decades, considerable investigation of learning strategy use among college students, primarily English majors (Huang Xiaohua, 1985; wen Qiufang, 1995, 1997, etc.) has yielded substantial fruits. Little work, however, has been done of implementing learning strategy program for improved learning among college students, particularly non-English majors. In view of the situation and given the fact that listening comprehension has long been considered as a big headache for EFL learners in China, as well as that there still exists a considerable gap between the theory where significance of listening strategies in facilitating listening comprehension has been repeatedly acknowledged (see Wang Churning & Qi Luxia, 1992; Jiang Zukang, 1994; Liu Shaolong, 1996; Huang Zidong, 1998; Wang Yu, 2000; Li Jiongying, 2002) and the practice where little change has been made in the way listening is conducted in class: tested rather than taught, an empirical study was designed with a view to exploring the impact of strategy training on listening performance of non-English majors and, meantime seeking the answer to the question: learners at what levels of listening abilities benefit most from integrative strategy training, high level, medium level or low level? In addition, the study pays as much attention to the process of the strategy training as to the outcome, hoping to find out a feasible way of incorporating strategy training into the regular class curriculum, which can be employed to promote the teaching practice in listening class and ultimately benefit students' listening practice both in and out of class.Sixty-two non-English majors from two intact classes participate in the one-term study, which virtually lasts fifteen weeks, with one class as experimental group receiving incorporative listening comprehension strategy training in class and the other receiving normal listening instruction as the control group. Prior to the training, a listening comprehension pretest is conducted for the purpose of ensuring that there are no significant differences between two groups and three subgroups at different levels of listening abilities are identified. In addition, a verbal report and a written questionnaire are administrated in the experimental group aiming at identifying their listening problems and examining their use of listening strategies, which in turn helps determine what listening strategies should be included. The training is enforced by adopting the five-phase CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach) model developed by O'Malley and Ghamot (1990) with other approaches to explicit training at different stages of training. After the experimental group being given fifteen-week treatment, both experimental group and control group are required to take a listening comprehension posttest to see whether there exists significant pre-post difference between the two groups and which subgroups in the experimental group exhibits the most striking pre-post difference. The data obtained are computed and analyzed via SPSS Version 11.0The results from the study indicate that incorporating strategy training into listening class plays a significant role in enhancing the listening comprehension of EFL learners, particularly, those at intermediate level followed by low-proficiency learners. At the same time, the findings of the study assert that combining the CALLA model together with other approaches to explicit strategy training as the situation varies at differing stages of training turns out to be a feasible way of implementing strategy training within t...