时间：2022-09-12 09:56:04
Abstract：Researches on the teaching of English listening in China have mainly focused on the product of listening in the 20th century. However， much attention is also paid to a process-based approach to investigating listening in recent years. To this approach， such issues as top-down and bottom-up processes， input and text， and learning strategies are discussed in details to show how a process-based approach to teaching listening works.
Key words：process-based； listening strategies； the teaching of listening
中图分类号：H319 文献标识码： A 文章编号：1672-1578（2014）6-0001-02＼
1 An overview on Process-based approach to the teaching of listening
Traditional research on the teaching of listening has mainly focused on the product of listening， that is， how to use products such as listening comprehension test scores or recall protocols to evaluate the effect of certain listening teaching methods， or how successful listeners have done in certain tasks （Vandergrift， 2007）. This is important， as they give researchers an objective measure for telling how much students understand what was tested. However， any understanding on the teaching of listening will be considered incomplete if it does not take into account of the process， as has been pointed out by Goh， listening is a mental process. （2002）
A process-based approach to investigating second language listening has drawn considerable attention and a lot of research has been done in recent years. It focuses on questions such as what are happening in listeners’ mind in the listening processes， and how listeners come to understand what they are listening to， etc.. Many researchers in this field argue that the comprehension processes of L1 listening is similar to that in L2 listening， the difference lies in the fact that in L2 listening， listeners’ comprehension are constrained by linguistic and sociolinguistic factors. Since listening is a covert process， as many researchers have pointed out， that we can not observe or know exactly what is going on in listeners’ mind， so ways must be found out to investigate the process of listening. In investigating the cognitive processes happening to L2 listeners， retrospection techniques such as questionnaires， stimulated recalls and interviews are employed to tap the processes and experience of listeners at a later moment in time， which then can provide researchers with useful insights into the cognitive processes reported by the listeners. When used repeatedly， questionnaires can help researchers track the changes in awareness of the listening process （Vandergrift， 2007）. Furthermore， introspection techniques such as ‘think aloud’ during listening are also used to tap the thinking processes of listeners. Those think-aloud data collected can shed light on such questions as how listeners come to different understandings of a text. （Goh， 2000）.
3 Input and context
Parallel to the concept of bottom-up and top-down processes， Field （2008） made two distinctions in the operation of the listening processes--decoding and meaning building. Field intentionally avoided using the term bottom-up and top-down， as he considered them confusing. According to Field， decoding means translating the speech signal into speech sounds， words and clauses， and finally into a literal meaning； and meaning building refers to adding to the bare meaning provided by decoding and relating it to what has been said before. In decoding， the main goals of a listener are to identify words and then trace a grammatical pattern in the words that has been assembled. The final product of decoding is not in the form of the language； instead， it is a piece of information that has been turned into an abstract idea. While in meaning building， ‘listeners （a） expands on the meaning of what the speaker says， and （b） adds incoming pieces of information to her overall picture of the talk or conversation’（p.125）. Field also made a distinction between the types of information that supply the material for decoding and meaning building. According to him， there are three types： input， linguistic knowledge， and context. He argued that both input and context play an important part in listening， regardless of the level of the listener， and whether it is in L1 or L2 listening. Like in the argument for bottom-up and top-down processes， the important difference lies in the fact that lower-level learners are more likely to make use of context to compensate for inadequate decoding skills， while advanced learners employs context to enrich understanding of a message. From his research， Field has drawn some useful implications for the listening teacher who would like to adopt a process-based approach to listening and provided some general guidelines for implementation.
4 Learning strategies for listening
Learning strategies for listening are defined in slightly different ways by different scholars， but the common concept is that they are techniques or approaches used by listeners in order to facilitate their learning. Chamot（1995， cited in Mendelsohn， 2006） classified them into three main types： meta-cognitive， cognitive， and social/affective strategies. Mendelsohn （2006） believed that in teaching listening comprehension， instructors should teach all of the three kinds of learning strategies. In this respective， Goh （2002） and Mendelsohn （2006） provide listening teachers with some specific examples of listening strategies and tactics for operationalising them， such as pre-listening preparation， inferencing， prediction， confidence building， visualizing， etc.
5 Summary
The main aspects of process-based approach to the teaching of listening comprehension is reviewed and discussed， including its theoretical framework， its strong points and limitations etc.. As it is shown that the approach is of great importance and value in teaching listening， but listening teachers should bear in mind the fact that no single approach can satisfy language teaching， whether it is the teaching of listening or other language skills. Therefore， a combination of different approaches and strategies could be a better solution.
References：
[1]Chamot， A. U. Learning strategies and listening comprehension. In D Mendelsohn， and J. Rubin （eds.）. A Guide for the Teaching of Second Language Listening[J].Dominie Presss.1995.
[2]Eysenck， M.W. Principles of Cognitive Psychology[M].Erlbaum Ltd.1993.
[3]Field， J. Listening in the Language Classroom[M].Cambridge： Cambridge University Press，2008.
[4]Goh， C. C. M. A cognitive perspective on language learners’ listening problems[J]. System， 2000，28： 55-76.
[5]Goh， C. Teaching Listening in the Language Classroom[J]. Singapore： SEAMEO Regional Language Centre， 2002.
[6]Mendelsohn， D. Learning how to listen using learning strategies[J]. In Uso， Juan & Martinez， Flor （eds.）， 2006：75-90.
[7]Vandergrift， L.Recent developments in second and foreign language listening comprehension research[J]. Language Teaching， 2007.40： 191-210.
作者简介：谌婷（1979-），女，贵州省兴义市人，讲师，硕士，研究方向：英语语言学。