The Effects Of Register And Genre On College English Listening Teaching

Register and genre are two important theories in Systemic Functional Grammar. Register is defined by Halliday as variation according to use. We typically use certain recognizable configurations of linguistic resources in certain contexts. There are three dimensions of variation which characterize any register:field, tenor and mode (Halliday & Hasan,1985:41). Genre, in Martin's view, is a staged, goal-oriented and purposeful activity, in which speakers involve as members of a certain culture. It is communicative purpose which brings any genre into being, shaping the schematic structure of the discourse and influencing choices of content and style (Martin,1984: 86).Halliday regards register as a form of prediction:given that we know the situation, the social context of language use, we can predict a great deal about the language that will occur, with reasonable probability of being right (Halliday, 1978:32). In light of this feature of register, one can predict the general content and the diction of a discourse according to the text characteristics, like the title or the topic sentence. Rost states that in listening comprehension, from a purely cognitive perspective, part of the listener's initial task is to determine the genre—what kind of text it is and to activate the kind of listening orientation which is most useful to interpret the text (Rost,2005:126). In other words, genre is of great help in predicting the basic frame and the key points of a discourse. If the listeners can make guesses as to the sort of things which is going to be said next, they will be much more likely to perceive it and understand it well (Ur,2000:16). Therefore, register and genre-based listening instruction is beneficial to listening comprehension and plays a crucial role in listening teaching.Although scholars at home and abroad gradually realize the far-reaching influence of register and genre on how to teach and learn a second language, they have concentrated mostly on the relationship between the two theories and writing or reading. In view of the situation, by combing the theories of register and genre with listening teaching, this research aims for investigating the influence of register and genre-based listening instruction on the improvement of students'listening comprehension. Furthermore, the different effects on students with different listening proficiency levels and with different genders are analyzed. Besides, the reasons for the differences are discussed.The subjects of this research are 80 freshmen from Anhui University. They participate in one-term experiment, lasting for 16 weeks. They are from two intact classes with different majors (except English major). Class one, the Experiment Group, receive register and genre-based listening instruction. Class two, the Control Group, receive the traditional listening teaching. Before the experiment, a pre-test is administered in order to assess that there is no significant difference in listening proficiency between the two groups. Meanwhile, according to the pre-test results, two subgroups with different listening proficiency levels of the Experiment Group are identified. Besides, a pre-questionnaire is distributed to learn about students'attitudes to listening comprehension and their main obstacles in listening. During the experiment, students'class performances are observed and recorded. At the end of the experiment, a post-test is administered to find the changes after receiving different listening instructions. Besides, the Experiment Group is required to complete a post-questionnaire, which is used for understanding students'attitudes towards register and genre-based listening instruction. Based on the pre-and post-test, pre-and post-questionnaire, class observation and interviews, this research discusses the influence of register and genre-based listening instruction on the improvement of students'listening comprehension.The research results show that:(1) Register theory and genre theory are beneficial for improving students'listening comprehension. (2) Register and genre-based listening instruction has different effects on students with different listening proficiency levels. Students with low level benefit more than those with high level. Their different attitudes to the two theories are the major causes of the difference. (3) Female students make greater progress than male students. Out-of-class reading facilities female students'mastery and application of the theories. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One introduces the background and significance of the study as well as the organization of the thesis. Chapter Two reviews the characteristics of listening comprehension and the development of register and genre theories. What's more, the empirical studies at home and abroad are presented. Chapter Three focuses on the research questions, subjects, instruments, data collection and data analysis. Chapter Four presents the teaching experiment. Chapter Five is concerned with the results and discussion. On the ground of the tests, questionnaires, class observation and interviews, this thesis proves that listening proficiency can be enhanced under the register and genre-based listening instruction. Chapter Six is the conclusion. It reveals the major findings and implications of the study, points out the limitations and offers suggestions for future studies.