LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:4 April 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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English Listening Comprehension Problems of Students from
China Learning English in Malaysia

Wu Xiao Juan
Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin

Abstract

This research discusses the English listening comprehension problems of university international students from China. The research used a qualitative method to collect data from three Chinese students taking English Listening Comprehension (ELC) in University Sains Malaysian (USM). This study is a research report related to the problems encountered by China’s students in ELC learning. The interview was conducted to investigate students’ perspective through the main question concerning the problems of the Chinese students in their ELC self-learning process, in three steps, which include the pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening. Findings from this study indicate that the main problem faced by the Chinese students is the lack of prior knowledge in English vocabulary, and this inhibits their understanding in the listening process. Moreover, the differences in the accent of the native speakers prohibit the proper understanding of the listening content, the short span of concentration, and the learning habits of Chinese students were discussed as the problems of the ELC learning. This enhances the data availability and the interpretative analysis. In order to validate the data and the analysis, experiences and documents analyses were conducted. This research laid a good foundation for further research; it provided useful information concerning the effective strategies to enhance students’ listening skills and will improve the instruction of English listening class to achieve the win-win situation.

Keywords: English listening strategies, English listening problems, Listening habit, vocabulary

1. Introduction

The study of English in China has been and still is an important subject for worldwide communication. And approximately 90% of published academic articles are written in English (Crystal, 1997). The situation in China is that language traditionally is treated as an academic subject, and China’s student have been required to study English as a Foreign Language (EFL) beginning from secondary school. But the problem has persisted over the decades because the aim of English teaching in China has been primarily to train students to pass various kinds of examinations: entrance examinations for high schools and colleges have been especially emphasized (Lee, 1991).The traditional grammar-translation instructional methods have been widely adopted in both junior and senior high schools (Chen, 2003). Thus, a kind of examination-guided EFL instruction with heavy focus on lecturing from selected textbook materials has caused most students to fail the learning of real-life communicative English (Wang, 2008). The findings of this study are expected to provide useful information for devising and conducting more effective English as a Second Language (ESL) listening comprehension at the language center in USM.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Wu Xiao Juan (Corresponding author)
School of Educational Studies
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
PO box 11800
Penang
Malaysia
xiaojuanwu2005@yahoo.com.cn

Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin
School of Educational Studies
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
PO Box 11800
Penang
Malaysia
Jafre@usm.my
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