The Application Of Schema Theory In College Spoken English Teaching

In foreign language teaching, the four basic skills have been greatly improved on the part of Chinese college students in the past decades. However, speaking is still the most difficult skill for the majority of college students. In spite of this, the application of schema theory in college spoken English teaching can provide more convenience for and have good learning effects on learners.According to schema theory, a schema is an active organization of past reactions or past experiences. Language comprehension depends largely on learners'background knowledge. Therefore, schema theory plays an important role in information activation and spoken English output. On the basis of schema theory, this study aims at investigating whether schema-oriented teaching is effective in college spoken English teaching and revealing the function of schematic knowledge through the analysis.Focusing on schema activation, this thesis explores the possible teaching activities and strategies in spoken English from schematic perspective, including schema activation through key words and background knowledge, association and analogy, and the establishment of schematic network. An 18-week teaching experiment has been conducted with the application of schema theory in the experimental group with 31 students. Another class with 32 students is the control group. The comparison between the pre-test data and post-test data from two groups shows that spoken English proficiency of the experimental group has improved greatly. It proves that the schema-oriented teaching is applicable and effective in spoken English teaching. Schema theory, with its theoretical and practical feasibility and effectiveness, has broken through some traditional views on the nature of speaking and shed new lights on the teaching and learning of EFL speaking.