A Research On The Application Of Context To College English Text Comprehension

The thesis mainly discussed the application of context to text comprehension.Context and text tightly depend on each other. On one hand, discourses producecontext; on the other hand, comprehending a text relies on the context. Context playsa crucial role in text comprehension. Therefore, the application of context to textcomprehension will provide a strategy for language learners, and give implications tolanguage teaching.It found that many students can read a text fluently by themselves, but can’tunderstand the text comprehensively and profoundly. Among numerous reasons, oneis that students neglect the context when they read a text. Therefore, it is necessary toapply the context to the text comprehension. Taking advantage of the relationshipbetween context and the text provides reading strategies for students.The experiment is designed according to the research questions. Firstly it meansto find difficulties with which students confront in textual comprehension. Secondly,it aims to find strategies which help students solve problems. It takes two months todo the experiment. The subject is sophomore from two classes majoring in English.They are divided into the control group and the experimental group. The process ofexperiment mainly has three phrases: pre-test, intervention and post-test. Theexperimental group receives teacher’s intervention while the control group does not.That is to say only the experimental group is taught how to apply contextual theory totext comprehension. Research data are collected through tests, questionnaires and -interviews. Test is one of the main methods for collecting data and analyzing data.Questionnaire and interview are students’ views toward context. Both quantitative andqualitative methods for analyzing research questions are taken.By analyzing the data aims to see whether the contextual theory takes effect intext comprehension. After experiment, it concluded that the application of context totext comprehension takes effect during the experiment. Firstly, grasping thecorresponding relationship between context and meaning will promote students tolearn more vocabularies and grammars etc. Secondly, high proficiency languagelearners do well in using context than those low proficiency language learners. Thirdly,it will enhance students’ awareness of context when they comprehend a text. Inaddition, it offers some pedagogical implications for teacher. There are also variouslimits of the study. Above all, the sample of the experiment is too narrow and limited.Second, the personal cognition and learning style of students will affect theexperimental results.