The Function Of English Recitation In EFL Learning

In China, students can get high scores in their English tests, but display a poor performance in their English productive ability. The reasons for this are complicated. But one of the important reasons is that Chinese English teachers have laid too much emphasis on the input activities rather than on the output activities in their language teaching and research. So the English learners are provided with much input for comprehension, but few opportunities to produce output. Actually, input and output are two essential factors for successful L2 learning. Both input and output play important roles in foreign language learning. Input is the source of output, and output is the result of input. Input refers to the language materials that L2 learners receive through their exposure to target language environment, especially through listening and reading, while output is defined as the actual production and use of the target language, including speaking and writing. Krashen's Comprehensible Input Hypothesis holds that people acquire the second languages only if acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to comprehensible input that belongs to level i+1. As a complement to the Input Hypothesis, Swain puts forward the Output Hypothesis, in which the learner production (i.e. output) is regarded as a key factor to language acquisition. Swain also states that comprehensible output is just as important as comprehensible input. The cognitive theory views the mind as a creative, dynamic agent of learning, and language learning is regarded as an active constructing process. According to the cognitive theory, language learning is an internal process, not an external force. Language study should follow a holistic process which contains input, intake and output of the target language.Based on the theories of behaviorist, Krashen's Input Hypothesis (1985), Swain's Output Hypothesis and cognitive accounts of SLA, the thesis presents a practical and feasible method used to develop students' output ability in College English teaching--recitation. Specifically, in this thesis, the research is undertaken with the main focus on exploring the following questions: first, can students improve their writing and speaking ability by reinforcing the practice of reciting English passages? If they can, how does it work? Second, what attitudes do learners hold toward the method of reciting and how to recite effectively? By means of the theoretical research, experiments and interviews, this research examined the effect of recitation on improving the students' oral and written English. The experiment that lasted 10 weeks was designed specifically to collect the first-hand data of parallel groups' pre-test and post-test. All the data were processed with the software SPSS.The results conclude that recitation is helpful to improve the students' productive ability—oral English and written English. In addition, based on the research, the author also gave some suggestions on how to recite effectively and finally, the thesis briefly pointed out the limitations and further plan of this research.