A Study Of Fossilization In College Students’ Oral English

Recently, many researchers have paid much attention to fossilization phenomena in the field of applied linguistics. Similarly, the research on fossilization not only plays a significant role on the practice of oral teaching but also benefits the instruction of oral teaching. Fossilization refers to a state that cannot be improved if incorrect target language (TL) has been learnt for quite a long time or to a certain extend.Over 30 years’study, quite a majority of researchers have approved of the chief two characteristics in second language acquisition (SLA). Namely, the fossilization ceases prematurely developing under quite ideal learning conditions, and the language construction of fossilization is not effected by environmental factors such as teaching interaction and language input. Selinker (1972), who was the first one concerning the interlanguage (IL) phenomena faced by language learners, induces the causes of fossilization phenomena from a pedagogical view, including language transfer, transfer of education, strategies of TL learning, strategies of TL communication and overgeneralization. In his view, the IL is the only way that must be experienced by every second language learner if wanting to acquire TL. It is no exaggeration to say that the theory of fossilization come up by Selinker offers theoretically basis for the study of SLA as the status of an interdisciplinary science. Based on Selinker’conclusion on factors causing fossilization, Ellis (1994) has divided the possible causes of fossilization into inner factors and outer factors.The studies of fossilization in China focus on the application of overseas theory achievement, in which most of researches focus on the phenomena of fossilization and the causes of fossilization. And some studies are centered in enlightenment to foreign language learning and teaching. Researchers believe that the IL system existing in vast majority of Chinese students maintains at the stage of temporary fossilization, namely, plateau phenomenon or grate two phenomenon. Some researchers found that although the first language is translated into the second language, the lexical usages are between the first language and the second language, hence fossilization happens. Chen Yaping (1997), one of researchers who are concerned on fossilization, on the base of the causes of fossilization, reviewing the hypotheses from abroad in this study, classified these presumptions into interior sources, exterior sources and interactive sources. And he initially classified the "plateau phenomena" from the psychological perspective. In his paper, by taking the university students majoring in English as researching subject, he illustrates the phenomena that the students’improvement of language application ability decreases or even ceases developing after them entering the level of grade two in university. Base on Chen Yaping’s discussion, Cai Shuping (2001) makes analyses on effects of mother language and culture negative transfers on fossilization by some different factors such as mother language’s pronunciations, lexicon, grammar, structure and culture, further demonstrating the potential reasons of fossilization associated with cognitive learning models. A number of researchers at home have concentrated on exploring the implications achieved from the summary of fossilization phenomena and causes of fossilization in the field of oral English teaching. Gao Xianli (2003) analyzes some partial statements and practice existing in oral teaching on the basis of the causes and classifications of fossilization, and proposes the main four strategies motivating oral language teaching, such as activating teaching content, activating classroom activity, activating students’minds and activating participation consciousness of students. Yanbin (2003) has concluded some stratagems to avoid fossilization in oral English teaching, such as optimizing the environment of oral English teaching, improving the value of oral teaching stuffs, enlightening students’ interests, enhancing construction of the teaching team and strengthening the training of mandarin.Both researchers at home and abroad have been studying on fossilization generally focusing on causes of fossilization phenomenon. They are dedicated to the study of features of IL, hypothetical and historical enlightenments for the localizable linguistic phenomena and some inferences for TL instruction. Nevertheless, they have not made an empirical study by taking the college students as subjects. Great efforts as Selinker and other researchers have made, there remains indistinct and confusing in the fossilization phenomena in the oral English teaching. In consequence, the means to solve fossilization and to motivate the oral English teaching has been a significant and instructive problem.On the foundation of the researchers’prior study about causes of the fossilization phenomena, and connected to the current oral English teaching state, this thesis conducts the form of the combination of oral tests and questionnaire, and analyses of the main causes of some fossilization phenomena in oral English teaching. According to the errors in college school, making analyses on some causes of fossilization phenomena in the oral English teaching, the author tries to find out the effective ways to eliminate the fossilized errors to improve the oral English teaching. This thesis is focused on following factors:1) What features of oral fossilization do no English major in independent college possess.2) what teaching measures are taken to solve oral fossilization.The thesis is composed by the six parts following. At the initial part, the writer sets up the study background of fossilization, and gives the explanation of the significance of avoiding fossilization. In the second part, the author sets out the research review of fossilization phenomena in the second language fossilization, after that, analyses the factors which result in fossilization phenomena. In the third part, the author explains the research procedure, purpose and elements including research objective, subjects, and instruments. In the fourth part, author discusses on the results of the oral test and questionnaire in the perspectives of pragmatic fossilization, phonological fossilization and lexical fossilization. In the next part, the writer demonstrates the five ways to avoid the errors caused by fossilization in the oral English teaching process, such as eliminating the first language interference, enhancing learning motivation. In the sixth part, the author draws a conclusion of the article by summarizing the effective strategies and pointing out its significance in English teaching.