A Study Of The Oral English Competence Of Junior High School Students

With the further improvement of globalization and internationalization,mastering a lingua franca,especially spoken English,has become a basic quality of modern citizens.However,for a long time,due to the influence of exam-oriented education,teachers haven't attached great importance to oral English in foreign language teaching practice,especially in the elementary education stage.Therefore,it is necessary to explore effective ways to improve students' oral English competence by understanding the current situation of students' oral English competence in the elementary education stage and analyzing the major affecting factors.However,most of the current studies focus on oral English evaluation standards.Studies on factors influencing oral English competence fail to comprehensively evaluate the present situation of students,oral English competence.In this study,the author adopts evaluation standards on the New Curriculum Standard to evaluate the oral English competence of 31 students in Grade 9 in the High School Affiliated to Hunan University.The current situation and characteristics are analyzed through oral English presentations.The evaluation standards consist of six aspects:accuracy,fluency,appropriateness,fulfillment,communicative strategies,and attitudes.Then by interviewing three English teachers of Grade 9 in this school,major factors affecting junior high school students' oral English competence are studied.Research questions of this thesis are as follows.(1)What are the characteristics of junior high school students' oral English competence in terms of accuracy,fluency,appropriateness,fulfillment,communicative strategies and attitudes?(2)What are the major factors affecting junior high school students' oral English competence?The scoring reliability and validity of oral English competence assessment were analyzed to make the data convincing.Descriptive statistics analysis would be used to describe subjects' oral English competence.Correlation analysis would be used to see the relationships of accuracy,fluency,appropriateness,fulfillment,communicative strategies and attitudes between each other.Research results showed that most students could express their intentions and complete the oral task accurately,fluently and appropriately,but they were weak in communicative strategies and attitudes,expressing opinions in a flat tone,without ups and downs,without direct eye contact,without gestures and emotions.Major factors affecting junior high school students' oral English competence were environmental factors,strategic factors and students' self-confidence.Based on the above findings,the author put forward some pertinent measures and suggestions on how to improve junior high school students' oral English competence in order to improve teaching and meet the new demands of social development on modern citizens and foreign language talents.