A Correlational Study On English Listening Proficiency And Tolerance Of Ambiguity In Senior Middle School

During the process of English learning,listening comprehension is a rather complex and difficult process.English learners may confront all kinds of differences in his mother language,including pronunciation,vocabulary,grammar,and even cultural background during listening.Therefore,listening comprehension is also a process that is full of ambiguities.Tolerance of ambiguity is known as the attitude learners grasp concerning unfamiliar,ambiguous,or uncertain situations in learning process.It regarded as one of the important factors that can influence foreign language learning.Recently,Researchers have studied the relationship between TOA and English learning level at home and abroad.They have established that TOA has correlation with listening efficiency.But many studies have been carried out to examine how TOA levels effect learners' listening in universities and vocational schools.There are few researches on how TOA levels affect listening proficiency in senior middle school.Therefore,it's necessary to study correlation between TOA and listening proficiency in senior middle schools.So this thesis aimed to examine the following issues:(1)What is the overall TOA level of senior middle students?(2)Is there a correlation between TOA levels and their listening proficiency in senior middle school?(3)Are there any changes of students' tolerance of ambiguity after the training of TOA? If there is,does this change influence the students' English listening comprehension or not?The author embraces questionnaires and listening tests to identify the correlation.100 students from a senior middle school in Lanzhou was investigated in the experimentation.The author carried out a seven-month training of TOA.The author gathers and examines the data by using SPSS 23.0.The conclusions are described as follows:(1)Most senior-one students have moderate TOA.(2)The circumstances of TOA are confidently related to their English listening proficiency.(3)Instructional training of tolerance of ambiguity can improve the level of tolerance of ambiguity and listening proficiency.From the investigation and experiment,TOA can influence foreign language learning.(1)It's essential for teachers to know the importance of TOA and the correlation between listening proficiency and TOA.Appropriate learning strategies should be put into practice.(2)Senior middle school students should know the definition of TOA and the relationship between TOA and listening proficiency,which can improve students' listening proficiency better.