Research On The Application Of Metacognitive Strategies To Junior English Listening Learning

In foreign language learning, listening, as a very important part of the four basic language skills, plays a significant role in the development of learners'language ability. Listening comprehension is anything but a passive activity. It is an active and complex process, the improvement of which provides a positive effect on the enhancement of learners'overall foreign language level. Therefore, listening comprehension, which possesses a critical position in second language acquisition, deserves a deep and thorough research and analysis.With the constant and deeper research on learning strategies, the function of metacognition is being emphasized and the potential and the significance of metacognitive strategies are gradually realized by more and more people. Metacognitive strategy is a higher-order executive skill which involves the ability of consciously using metacognitive knowledge to plan, monitor and evaluate the learning process. Since 1970s, lots of linguistic scholars home and abroad have made considerable research in the area of metacognitive theories and metacognitive strategies involved in language teaching and learning. In recent years, some scholars have brought metacognition into English listening teaching. They found a new way to the study of listening teaching. There are numerable studies on the effects of integrating the training of metacognitive strategies into listening teaching to university students. However, the use of metacognitive strategies by junior English learners are studied by comparatively few researchers and deserves a deeper study.In order to study the effectiveness of employing metacognitve strategies in second language learners'English listening, this study carries out a 16-week metacognitive-strategy-training-based experiment on 115 grade three junior middle school students from Jiyang Chuang Xin Middle School. This experiment is designed to deal with two specific questions: (1) What is the general situation of students'using metacognitive strategies in junior middle school? (2) Does using metacognitive strategies have positive effects on improving students'actual listening performance? The students'use of metacognitive strategies is considered in the following three aspects, namely planning and arranging for preparations before listening, monitoring learning behavior during listening and evaluating study performance after listening.To begin the teaching experiment, the author divides 115 students into two classes—experimental class and controlled class. In the experimental class, students are taught the knowledge of metacognitive strategies and trained to apply planning strategy, self-monitoring strategy and self-evaluating strategy to their listening process effectively to improve their listening level. In the controlled class, no metacognitive strategy training was given to the students. Through the investigation and analysis of two classes'use of metacognitive strategies, the study finds that the experimental class uses metacognitive strategies much better than the controlled class. Compared to the controlled class, the experimental class gets better achievement through metacognitive strategy training. Data analysis shows that the metacognitive-strategy-training-based listening teaching has a positive effect on students'planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluating in order to find problems and weak points for further corresponding adjustment of strategies. Using metacognitive stategies in listening truly helps students to listening actively and their listening level has been improved.The result suggests that English teachers should think about integrating metacognitive strategy learning and training into students'listening study. Although metacognitive strategy training will take up some normal teaching time, it contributes to the enhancement of students'ability of effectively planning, monitoring and evaluating their listening, and helps to stimulate students'motivation and optimize the means to improve their listening level.