A Study on the Strategies of Improving English Listening Comprehension among Non-English Major Undergraduates from the Perspective of Schema Theory

Abstract

More and more attention is paid on listening comprehension in recent years. However, learners usually put more emphasis on vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation or accent to enhance the listening performance. This paper aims to analyze students’ listening attitudes and abilities from the perspective of schema theory and discuss the strategies and application of schema theory in English listening comprehension. Interviews and questionnaires are both included in this paper among non-English major undergraduates in order to figure out the obstacles in the listening procedure and try to address the issue to improve the English listening abilities. The results showed that some of the learners have the consciousness and awareness to apply the schema theory to the listening comprehension. Therefore, the significance of questionnaires and interviews supports that the schema theory might be effective in English listening learning.