The Application of Krashen’s Monitor Model in Outside—classroom Listening for College Students

侯杰

【Abstract】Thanks to the contribution of the whole society， the situation of English listening teaching has been greatly progressed. However， Inside classroom teaching is so limited that it is impossible for the college students to have enough practice to be excellent at English listening. Based on the Krashens monitor model， this paper brings peoples attention to outside-classroom listening and gives effective suggestions in listening teaching.

【Key words】input hypothesis； affective filter hypothesis； outside-classroom listening

1. Introduction

During the current processing English teaching revolution， sufficient emphasis should be laid to outside classroom listening practice. However the present situation of outside-classroom listening is not satisfactory and cannot meet the requirement of the development of teaching reformation. According to the current situation in the college， a number of students have lower level of English ability， and they have no idea about how to effectively take advantage of listening resources and do not have sufficient useful listening strategies. In the cultivation of listening ability of college students， the English teachers should have a general knowledge of theories related to it； meanwhile， adopt more effective strategies in outside-classroom listening.

2. Listening Comprehension Theory from Krashen

Monitor Model put forward by the famous American linguist Krashen in the 1970s has profound influence on second language teaching and foreign language teaching. Among his five central hypothesizes， the currently applied listening related theories includes the input hypothesis and the affective filter hypothesis.

2.1 Language Input Hypothesis

The Language input hypothesis explains how the learners acquire a second language. According to his theory， the only way we can acquire a language is by receiving comprehensible input. Krashen has provided us with the principle of “i+1” input. According to this hypothesis， only when the language materials level are slightly higher than present language level， it can help the learners improve their study.

2.2 Affective Filter Hypothesis

Krashen argues that comprehensible input is a necessary， but not a sufficient condition for successful acquisition. He identifies three kinds of effective variables related to all aspects of second language acquisition： motivation， self-confidence and anxiety. Krashen claims that learners with a lower filter are better equipped for success in second language acquisition， otherwise， low motivation， low self-esteem and debilitating anxiety can combine to “raise” the affective filter and form a “mental block” that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition.endprint

3. Suggestions for Teachers

In order to improve the listening ability of college students， efforts should be made in the following aspects.

The teachers should make the students realize the importance of listening ability， and encourage them to have the strong desire to achieve listening improvement， and make them more active in conducting outside classroom listening practice. Because only when sufficient time is spent in English listening， can improvement of it be achieved.

Meanwhile， it is necessary to take outside classroom listening as part of English program. Teachers should combine the outside classroom listening into inside classroom listening， that is， the teachers put forward specific requirements for outside classroom listening and check the results inside classroom from time to time. When making teaching plans， they can take outside classroom listening into consideration and thus connecting outside classroom listening and inside classroom listening together.

In addition， teachers should be appointed to give the students suitable guide and suggestions for self-teaching. According to Krashens comprehensible input hypothesis， teachers should， depending on the listening ability of the students， recommend and provide listening resources， websites or books to the different groups of students with different English levels. Under the guide of “affective filter hypothesis”， the teacher should recommend adequate effective language information which is needed to impel the learners interest and motivation. If possible， a set of listening materials should be compiled for students. These courses should be divided into three levels： primary， vantage and higher level. The school library and information centre should cooperate with the English teachers to provide more convenience to the students.

References：

[1]Krashen，S.Second Language Acquisition and for Second Language Learning[M].Pergamon Press，1981：23，37，59.

[2]Rod，Ellis.Understanding Second Language Acquisition[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，1999：83，97.

[3]陳小娟.Krashen二語習得理論對大學英語聽力教學的啟示[J].科教文匯，2006，（10）：74.endprint