A Study On The Promotion Of Learner Autonomy In English Listening In Secondary Vocational School

English listening is assuming great importance with the rapid growth of China's economy and opening to the outside world. English has been the most important international language for cross-cultural communication. But the present situation of Chinese students' listening ability is far from satisfactory, especially in Secondary Vocational Schools (SVS). For many students, learning English is just for passing Public English Test System (PETS). There exists autonomy crisis rather than intellectual crisis among the English learners, so there is a pressing need to develop learner autonomy among them.The concept of learner autonomy has been widely accepted in the field of language teaching since the 1980s. Under the influence of humanistic psychology, cognitive learning theory and constructivism theory, learner autonomy has gained momentum and become the focus of relevant researches in the past two decades. The shift from "teacher-centered" classroom teaching mode to "learner-centered" teaching mode calls for learners' responsibility for their own learning. This thesis aims to make a tentative study of promoting learner autonomy in English listening teaching in SVS.This thesis first deals with the definitions, theoretical basis and current studies of learner autonomy. Then, based on the analysis of the previous theory related learner autonomy, it elaborates a teaching experiment carried out in Jinan Health School of Shandong Province where 90 first-grade students from two intact classes were involved. The study aims to foster learner autonomy in English listening. The researcher proposes three research questions: 1) What is the present situation of learner autonomy in English learning in SVS? 2) To what extent can developing autonomy help improve learners'listening performance? 3) Does autonomous learning program help the students develop a good habit of listening in their spare time? In order to examine if there is significant difference between the two classes before and after the experiment in their listening performance, two listening tests were conducted before and after the experiment respectively. In order to get clear of students'current autonomy level, the author designed a questionnaire, the results of which revealed that their autonomy level was low. A teaching experiment was carried out to solve the existing problems on promoting learner autonomy. It took the following measures: encouraging the students to listen more, practicing learning strategies in class, integrating listening and speaking, and giving the students assignments. After the experiment the author used an interview to investigate the autonomy level in the experimental class. The experiment lasted a semester and the instruments concerned questionnaires, language tests and an interview. In this research, the author adopted a mixed approach involving both quantitative and qualitative research methods. What's more, the data obtained from the questionnaires and language tests were analyzed by SPSS.The results of the research indicate that autonomous classroom teaching is more effective than traditional teacher-centered teaching. Not only have the subjects of the experimental group made much progress in English listening performance but they have formed a good habit of autonomous listening. Thus, teachers can promote learner autonomy in English teaching in SVS by making preparations for learner autonomy. It includes changing beliefs on teaching and their roles, building up students' self-confidence, raising students' interest and awareness of learner autonomy and helping them grasp effective learning strategies.The study of learner autonomy in SVS in China is still at its initial stage. The author hopes this study can provide some guidance for English teaching in SVS.