Application Of Input Hypothesis In The Teaching Of College English Writing

As one of the basic four language skills, writing acts as the basic way of using the language, and at the same time an important means to test language competence. With great development in the field of College English teaching and learning as well as increasing social demands on the graduates'competence in EFL (English as Foreign Language) writing, more and more college students are eager to develop their writing abilities. EFL writing at the tertiary level now becomes a major concern, enjoying the equal importance with other language skills such as reading, speaking, listening and translation in College English (for non-English majors) curriculum. For many years, many classroom teachers have been experimenting with teaching approaches to EFL writing in order to develop an effective way suitable for College English context in China. However, research into improving the effectiveness of EFL writing instruction at university level still remains undeveloped.Mainly based on Krashen's Input Hypothesis of his"Monitor Model,"this thesis has first propounded a new input model: laying stress on linguistic input, and taking account of affective input and cultural input. In this thesis, linguistic input can be divided into three levels: the input of vocabulary, the input of grammar and the input of imitation. The three levels are not isolated from each other, but carried out in the course of language learning at the same time. Apart from the learning of language itself, writing teachers should pay attention to the input of affect and culture. Since students often hold a fear in English writing, in order to ensure the maximum effectiveness in linguistic input, writing teachers should adopt some approaches to lower the negative influence of affective filter in students. Besides, language learning is not just a mastery and use of a foreign language, which is close related to culture. While students are learning language, they should study the cultural knowledge of that language so as to make a further understanding and grasp of the language they learn.In the conclusion, the author has summed up what has been done in this thesis and has pointed out the room left for further study and modification in the field of teaching experience.