Application Of Constructivist Theory In Vocational College Oral English Classroom Teaching

The present research is an empirical study of the application of constructivist theory in vocational college oral English classroom teaching in an attempt to explore a new oral English teaching method for vocational college. The researcher proposed a constructivist-based college oral English classroom teaching framework based on the literature review. Then, a semester-long empirical experiment was conducted in two groups, one of which served as the experimental group where the constructivist-based oral English classroom teaching was put into practice, and another of which served as the control group that was instructed with the traditional teaching method.The pre-test and post-test on oral English proficiency were employed in both groups. The results of independent and paired-samples T-test (p<0.05) respectively revealed that after one semester's oral English classroom teaching, the experimental group students'oral English not only significantly exceeded that of the control group but also made their own significant progress compared with the beginning of the semester. However, the control group did not make much progress. Then a discussion is made based on the statistical data derived from the experiment and the data collected from questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews. Finally a conclusion is drawn: constructivist-based oral English classroom teaching can promote vocational college students'interest and confidence in English learning and is supportive for students'communicative interaction and collaboration, thereby facilitating critical thinking, creative thinking, meaning construction and language production.