论大学生英语口语障及其对策--college-students’-psychological-barriers-in-spoken-english-and-their-co.doc

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College Students’ Psychological Barriers in Spoken English and Their Countermeasures

Introduction
With the continuous development of social and economic activities around the world, no matter in terms of individuals or even of nations, oral English ability plays a more and more important role. Since the policy of reform and open, it gradually becomes quite frequent for our nation to attend various activities within the scope of the whole world, so the corresponding requirement of oral English is improving at the same time. But in our country, under the influence of exam-oriented education system as well as some other factors, we attach more importance to reading and writing, however listening and speaking trainings are not be emphasized appropriately, which leads to the phenomenon of “dumb English”. After the study of the situation, we can conclude that the appearance of “dumb English” is not an accident, it is caused by many factors, among these factors, psychological condition is the main element. In order to improve the situation and help student to overcome the obstacles that they may encounter in their process of oral English learning, this paper analyzes the relevant types and causes of psychological barriers and then puts forward several primary countermeasures.

I. To three factors affecting college students’ oral English
There are a lot of factors that tend to cause college students’ psychological barriers in spoken English. Among these reasons, the article attaches special attention to the problem that because of the fact that psychological barrier is the main major to restrict the development of students’ oral English, psychological disorders affect college students' oral English progress in every aspect .
A. Self-confidence
After doing a large number of studies, Kr-ashen concluded that learner’s personality factors can be related to foreign language learning effect. Self-confidence is one of the most important one among these personality factors. Self-confidence reveals our positive view and education about own ability and knowledge level. A person who has strong self-confidence dares to speak English out and seldom be afraid of making mistakes. Being given to more chances to practice oral English, their performances are quite obvious. However, people lack of confidence dare not to speak English and is afraid of errors or mistakes. The fact that they hold negative attitude toward their own capacity will allowed them less opportunity to practice English activity so that their English can not make an improvement accordingly. Gradually, they may produce resistance of practicing spoken English.
B. Motivation
In the process of learning a foreign language, strong learning motivation will bring very satisfying results to us that out of our expectation. Driven by the strong learning motivation, students are more likely to put into oral English study and their attention is more intensive and concentrated. Thus, they will be active and initiative to learn better method to practice their oral English, which can lead a good learning result. However, people who lack of learning motivation or with motivation that is less stronger, will produce inactive mood, In the process of learning, they feel difficult to focus on .
From the investigation, we can find that there are many obstacles in the process of learning English for college students. Especially for those who entered in the college with low starting point, they have more psychological barriers because of lacking enough learning motivation. And some college students who have less sense of self-discipline too outgoing or naughty feel difficult to be patient to practice oral English. For the reason that they can’t grasp the main method to study English, which produce the negative mood and critical emotion. That is how mute English developed. Meanwhile, college student’s autonomous learning situation is a fact we begin to worry about. On the one hand, many firms or employers regarded the certificate of CET4 and CET6 as the standard to check the employees’ ability. Such phenomenon has influence on most college students, because they have strong desire and motivation to learn English well. But, we should accept the fact that motivation only can’t lead to good result.
C. Anxiety
From the point of learners’ individual factors, the biggest obstacle that influences one’s oral learning is anxiety. Anxiety refers to a temporary emotional state in the process of language learning, the characteristics of this state are the nervous or anxiety feelings that will affect learners to be afraid of mistakes. Language anxiety is considered to be one of the most emotional factors that affect one’s language learning result. In oral English class, many learners are worried about that their language proficiency and language ability may lag behind others; they have little confidence in their own pronunciation, intonation and the understanding of language material. A number of students feel nervous and anxious when they speak English in front of students and teachers. With the deepening of the study, the anxiety they accumulated is more strong and intensive, which produces another different emotional factor, named self inhibition. Inhibition is the act of evasion and retreat that learners adopt in order to protect themselves. At the beginning of learning a new language, some students whose ability are relatively weak gradually generate a sense of gap between themselves and others else. At first, they might not be urged or encouraged by their teachers timely and patiently, their self-confidence become weaker and weaker. Comparatively speaking, in order to protect themselves from being criticized and ridiculed, higher their level of self inhibition is. It can be reflected in the classroom and appears such a situation: they have little sense of performance, they keep silent, then communication barriers deliberately settled between themselves and others, etc.
When people go in for the job they are not very familiar with, they can easily produce anxiety. For college students in China, before entering the university, there are few opportunities for their oral English training and guidance. Therefore, its perception of oral English study is not very obvious, which is prone to anxiety.

II. Causes analysis of the three factors
Among these obstacles, the study found that factors such as nonconfidence, lack of learning motivation, language anxiety are the major obstacles to today 's college students and which have restricted the improvement of students ’ oral English.
A. Nonconfidence
For us college students, many factors will lead the cause that we have little confidence in our second language. One of the most important factor is the negative influence that the exam-oriented education system bringing to English teaching in China. Under the exam-oriented education system, our primary and high education in order to improve graduation rates mainly focus on the writing part, pays sufficient attention to the cultivation of student’s ability to read and write. However, they emphasize little or none on listening and reading. Therefore, not being trained or improved much, students in China, after entering the university, will have a sense of inferiority to speak English. Besides, personality is a quite important factor. Generally speaking, extroverts are more confident than introverts.
B. Lack of learning motivation
Related psychologists have carried on the classification of learning motivations, they think learning motivations can be divided into two types: integrative motivation and instrumental motivation. Integrative motivation refers to that the purpose of language learning is in order to be able to feed into the community of this language and be able to communication with each other by taking advantage of both this language and the community it belongs. However, instrumental motivation refers to that by learning a language; we can obtain economic interests or interests of other aspects. In the long run, integrative motivation is stronger than instrumental motivation. For most Chinese college students, their learning motivation mainly belongs to instrumental motivation. Therefore, it is not difficult to be understood that why their learning motivation is not so strong as expected.
C. Anxiety reaction to foreign language
According to the theory of construction, students should be the center part of the classroom activity. Teachers are not allowed to treat students as passive recipients of external stimulation and knowledge objects. The content of the textbook knowledge shouldn't only be provided by teachers, but students should be active to construct the meaning that books display. Therefore, listening-speaking courses, without students' participation, will be difficult to achieve the desired effect. This kind of language anxiety and self restrain constitute the biggest obstacle in the oral English learning. Moderate anxiety is beneficial for language learning, but no matter the level of anxiety is too high or too low will not be conductive at to language learning. The low degree of anxiety is resulted from passive learning motivation. However, a high degree of anxiety can prompt students produce passive emotions such as tension, anxiety, worry, etc. Furthermore, it will cause great limit to people's cognitive ability, and then hinder students in learning English smoothly.

III. Countermeasures to deal with these obstacles
It is generally known that the purpose of foreign language teaching is to cultivate learners' communicative competence, being lack of language ability make it impossible for students to obtain the strong capacity of communication, therefore, it will become the central task to overcome the psychological barrier and to improve students' oral English communicative competence as well as implement the reform of college English teaching.
A. Creating situational teaching model
In the process of learning English, practice plays a very important role. Only combine the language knowledge with the actual situation can we convert the” dumb" knowledge into our spoken ability. Therefore, in the process of oral English teaching, teachers should create specific or situational teaching mode, which assemble authenticity, interest, participation together as an organic whole. Thus will not only help to arouse students' enthusiasm and interest of learning English, but also enhance students' self-confidence to a certain extent so as to enable students to master the rules to use particular skills and methods. For establishing a specific situation, teachers should pay attention to combine with students' actual situation, at the same time, check the diversity and the operability scenarios will benefit for students' oral English.
Create an English environment where students can express themselves open to public. As a English teacher, he or she should know how to create an English speaking environment for students including the effective activities in class. As far as I concerned, a natural English speaking environment should include three parts: classroom, students and teachers. Class teaching should be adhered to the principle of "three stimulus". My suggestion is that we should try to express our point of view in English. If any student can't speak it out immediately, we should encourage them to speak English without correcting his mistakes in grammar, then the teacher can correct his errors in front of the whole class. In this way, the classroom environment will greatly stimulate the students to concentrate on his attention, to practice to think in English, to be active to answer teachers' questions. The principle of” three stimulus" increases the chances to open one's mouth and speak English out when they communicating with teachers, it is more effective when the teacher raises some open questions.
This, of course, affords them opportunities to show themselves in group activities and improve their speaking ability in time. When it comes the English culture week, teachers can take the valuable opportunity to start the English corner in the class. The arrival of the foreign teachers add more harmonious elements to the atmosphere. In the class, students participate in the group activities openly and after class, they spend time on chatting with their foreign teacher. The first time that student’s talk with foreigners is quite impressive for them.
Adopting a good oral habit is one of the best ways to form effective English learning. It is a shortcut for students to develop their independent learning habit and mutual cooperation spirit. Create happy and relaxed language environment, students will gradually become brave and confident when they speak English. To obtain happiness from speaking is the basic condition for them to absorb the knowledge. Only by this ways can students improve their skills in listening, reading and writing as well.
B. Build relaxed and pleasant environment
Classroom is the main channel for students’ language development. For a long time, however, due to the influence of the traditional education ideas and methods, it turned over the students-oriented status, bring to the students serious psychological barriers of language, it suppresses their language performance and limits the development of their speeches and thinking mode. Students often keep silent when the classroom performance comes. Especially for those who seems to have been forgotten by teachers, they never present themselves in front of the whole class, therefore, teaching in class, especially in English class, teachers should try to create the language environment filled with freedom, democracy and individualism. It will raise students’ good psychological language and stimulate students to participate in language learning with interest.
That how to view the status of students in education and in the process of teaching is the watershed of modern education and traditional education. According to the spirit of primary education reform, the teaching process is the process of equal dialogue, is a process of mutual changes that teachers and students meet with. In the process, no one is the embodiment of truth, and each student and teachers have to power or right to be understood. So teachers should not regarded as the absolute authority, they should participate in the interaction with students.
One famous educator said: there is an ingrained need inside, people always think himself is a discover, researcher, explorer, in the mental world of the students, it is particular strong.’’ The idea that he trust children, respect children use his mind to shape one’s soul is the treasure among countless educational thoughts. As long as students have such kind of psychological quality, they would become open to speak, to ask questions