Teaching English Listening To English Majors From A Constructivist Perspective

With the economic and social development, the exchanges between China and other countries are on the rise. As a result, the demand of foreign languages especially English increases in China. English listening, as a top priority in communication and a necessary way to learn language, is of vital importance. Great importance is attached to the teaching of English listening. As such, many researchers made investigation in this area. However, the present situation of the listening instruction in China is not very encouraging. We have tried many theories to guide our teaching but with little effectiveness. Inspired by this, the present research will employ constructivism to probe into English listening teaching, which is based on the former research.Rooted in the cognitive developmental theory of Piaget and in the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky, constructivism has emerged in recent years as a dominant paradigm in education and has a major intellectual impact on the development of pedagogy. Constructivist approaches to learning are gaining momentum in the field of second and foreign language learning. However, it is a new theory and not mature, how effective is it when it guides listening teaching? What will students who have become accustomed to traditional teaching react to constructivist listening class? In order to strengthen the reliability and validity of the study, data analysis and interview were used for experiment. Last semester, the writer taught listening to 2 classes of English majors (Class One and Class Two) at Qingdao University.Therefore, the writer put the theory of constructivism into practice and adopted constructive teaching in class One and still traditional teaching in class Two. Under the same conditions, the writer analyzed the two tests at the beginning and the end of the semester to test the effect of constructive teaching. At the same time, at the end of the semester, the writer interviewed the students in the experimental class on their feelings about the constructive class, and how this teaching affect their ideas on English study and listening, and the questions involve aspects of autonomy in study, self-reflection and problems, etc..The results of the research showed us that constructive teaching proves to be more effective than traditional teaching. Most students in the experiment class enjoy constructive listening class, and they come to have the correct perceptions of their active and central role in the teaching and learning of English listening; they are more actively involved in listening learning; they build their own learning strategies and could reflect on his own study. But on the other hand, due to many limitations, teachers and students do meet some problems and difficulties.This study remains open to be discussed and improved. And it will be beneficial if it can draw others'attention to the targeted area.