时间：2022-08-11 03:10:20
Abstract： As we all know， listening， speaking， reading， and writing are four basic skills in language teaching and learning. Listening plays an important role in improving other skills. There are some factors influencing students' listening abilities. So it's important for teachers to improve students' listening abilities.
Keywords： secondary schools； English listening； barriers
I. Background study
According to one survey， nearly 50% of students regard listening comprehension as the most difficult part among all kinds of examinations.What most teachers do in classes is merely to play the recorder and check answers. Therefore， in teaching listening comprehension， it is very essential for teachers to find the problems that students have and suitable ways to solve the problems.
II．The factors influencing the listening abilities
2.1 The teacher aspect
The English teachers who learn English in China have limited experiences to go abroad. They have few chances to go to English-speaking countries to study. Hence， English teachers should improve themselves through other aspects .
2.2 The English environment
In China， English is a foreign language. So the English environment is different from western countries. Both students and teachers are under the condition that different from western countries. Therefore， students in China need the authentic language environment which is difficult to be created for teachers .
2.3 The learning aspect
There are some learning aspects influencing students' listening comprehension， such as Phonetics and Phonology， tempo， lexicology and grammar， listening habits， cultural background and psychological factors.
2.3.1 Barriers on Phonetics and Phonology
"Phonetics is the scientific study of speech and is concerned with defining and classifying speech sounds. Phonology is the study of the sound patterns in human language." English usually exists some problems exactly on Phonetics and Phonology， such as the mistakes on intonation， pronunciation and all kinds of skills， such as word stress， sentence stress， motion of sound， assimilation， sound-linking and incomplete explosion， etc. So Phonetics and Phonology will directly help students' listening comprehension. Teachers should help students to find the difference of pronunciation by themselves. For example，they cannot distinguish the words， such as“sit-sea”and“bed-bad”.
2.3.2 Barriers on tempo
Tempo means the speed of speaking. Chinese students who tend to use a rapid tempo in speaking usually don't have such a tempo in listening. They usually listen to the teachers who always read under the average speed in daily life. That's why Chinese students can not catch up with normal speed of listening materials. Students can speed up the tempo by reading books， for there are some skills on it. English teachers should try their best to teach students how to grasp the knowledge about sentence stress， rhythm， sound and intonation， etc.
2.3.3 Barriers on lexicology and grammar
During listening comprehension， students should not only recognise sounds， but also learn vocabularies. Students should learn more vocabularies in order to listen smoothly. Grammar can help students to grasp the implication of the listening materials. If you don't have a solid foundation on grammar you will get a low mark in listening comprehension. Therefore， students should broaden their vocabularies and learn grammar well.
2.3.4 Barriers on listening habits
The main purpose of listening is to understand the main idea of the listening materials. During the listening comprehension， students should try to grasp the main idea，and not every word or sentence. If you stop to think during listening， you can't catch up with the listening materials. Therefore， it is necessary for the teacher to help students form good listening habits.
2.3.5 Barriers on cultural background
It is necessary for students to fulfill some background knowledge about the English-speaking countries， such as history， culture， customs and habits， even life styles. Some students who lack of cultural background are always making mistakes during the listening comprehension.
2.3.6 Barriers on psychological factors
It is very essential for students to have a good state when listen to the materials. Students should not be disturbed by a new word or a sentence. On the other hand， the eternal aspects， such as the noise made by outside world， the quality of the recorders， the loudness and the articulation of the sounds， etc， may become the obstructions influencing the students' listening.
III. Conclusion
Above all， those are factors influencing students' listening abilities. Teachers can apply them to their teaching activities and gain insights about stimulating students' listening potentials.
作者简介：胡天秀，山东师范大学，教育学院，小学教育专业。