摘 要

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Research background 1

1.2 Need for the study 1

1.3 Organization of the thesis 2

2. Literature Review 3

2.1 Theoretical foundation: the LIH hypothesis and LTH hypotjesis 3

2.2 Evidence from studies on reading 3

2.3 Evidence from studies on listening 5

2.5 The present study..............................................................................................6

3. Methodology 7

3.1 Research questions 7

3.2 Research design 7

3.3 Operationalizing variables 7

3.3.1 L2 listening ability and L2 proficiency 7

3.3.2 L1 listening ability 7

3.4 Data collection and analysis 9

4.Results and Discussion 10

4.1 Results 10

4.2 Discussion 11

5. Conclusion 13

5.1 Major findings of the study 13

5.2 Implications 13

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for futher research 14

Reference 16

Acknowledgments 18

Appendix I The L2 listenig test 19

Appendix II L1 lsitening test 22

Appendix III Audioscript...........................................................................................25

Abstract

Since the 1980s, based on the hypothesis put forward by Alderson (1984), many scholars have conducted a lot of research on second language reading. However, few researchers have started from the perspective of second language listening. This thesis reports on a study exploring the relative contributions of first language (L1) listening ability and second language (L2) proficiency to L2 listening ability. Specific research questions to be addressed are as follows:

1. Is L2 profieciency a significant factor of L2 listening ability? If so, to what degree?
2. Is L1 listening ability also a significant factor of L2 listening ability? If so, to what degree?

51 Chinese-speaking freshmen learning English participated in this study. All the students have participated in CET-4 test. These 51 students completed a Chinese listening test and an English listening test, and their scores represented their L1 and L2 listening ability. Meanwhile, Their CET-4 scores represented their L2 proficiency. All participants completed the test within the specified time, and the data on the tests were real and valid.

Several major findings are obtained through a multiple regression analysis:

1. L2 proficiency contributed significantly to L2 listening ability (p = 0.041＜0.05). That is, students who have higher L2 proficiency performed better in the L2 listening than those students who have lower L2 proficiency.
2. The contribution of L1 listening ability to L2 listening ability is also significant(p = 0.031＜0.05). This shows that those with higher L1 listening ability performed better in the L2 listening than those with lower L2 proficiency.
3. Given very similar standardized coefficients of L1 listening ability (Beta = 0.293) and L2 proficiency (Beta = 0.276), both L1 listening ability and L2 proficiency contribute equally to L2 listening ability.

This thesis discusses the results based on the LTH and LIH hypothesis and other similar studies on L2 reading ability. The results showed that this study has both theoretical and pedagogical implications. Theoretically, it displays a clearer picture that both L1 listening ability and L2 proficiency contribute to L2 listening ability, lending support to the language interdependence hypothesis. Pedagogically, skills used in L1 , such as reasoning skills in listening, may have a positive transfer to L2 listening. As a result, English learners may obtain a benefit if they train their logical thinking through exercises concerning L1 listening ability.

Keywords: L1 listening ability, L2 profieciency, L2 listening ability, LIH

中文摘要

自20世纪80年代以来，基于Alderson（1984）提出的假设，许多学者对二语阅读进行了大量研究。然而，很少有人从二语听力的角度出发。本文报道了一项研究，探讨了第一语言（L1）听力能力和第二语言（L2）熟练程度对L2听力能力的贡献。需要解决的具体研究问题如下：

1. 二语水平会影响二语听力能力吗？
2. 母语听力能力会影响二语听力能力吗？

参与本次研究的是51名母语为中文的英语专业大一新生，他们全部参加过大学英语四级考试。这51名学生分别完成了中文听力测试和英文听力测试，所得的分数被用来衡量他们的母语听力水平和二语听力水平。同时，他们的四级成绩代表了他们的二语水平。所有参与者都在规定时间内完成了测试，实验数据真实有效。

SPSS多元回归分析表明：

1. 二语水平对二语听力能力有显著作用（p = 0.041＜0.05）。也就是说，二语水平越高的人在二语听力上会表现得更好。
2. 母语听力能力对二语听力能力有显著作用（p = 0.031＜0.05）。这表明，母语听力水平越高的人二语听力越好。
3. 从这两个自变量的标准系数，即贝塔值来看，两者的数值非常接近，母语听力能力（Beta = 0.293）和二语水平（Beta = 0.276）都对二语听力有显著贡献。

本文根据语言阈值和语言相互依赖假设以及关于L2阅读能力问题的类似研究来讨论结果。结果表明，本研究具有理论和教学意义。从理论上看，母语听力能力和二语水平对二语听力能力有显著贡献，这一结论证实了语言相互依赖假设。从教学意义上来说，母语中使用的技能，如听力中的推理技能，可能对第二语言听力有积极的影响。因此，如果英语学习者通过关于L1听力能力的练习来训练他们的逻辑思维，可以获得积极的影响。

关键词：母语听力能力；二语听力能力；二语水平；语言相互依存假说

1. Introduction

1.1 Research background

In the 1980s, with the continuous deepening of reading research in second language, many scholars raised some groundbreaking questions. Alderson (1984) came up with two important hypotheses:

1. Poor reading in L2 is due to poor ability in L1; therefore, poor L1 readers will read poorly in L2 and good L1 readers will read well in L2.
2. Poor reading in L2 is due to inadequate knowledge of L2.

Since then, many foreign researchers have studied these two hypotheses (Carrell, 1991; Bossers, 1991; Bernhardt amp; Kamil, 1995; Lee amp; Schallert, 1997). These theses strongly proved that both L1 reading ability and L2 proficiency contribute to L2 reading ability.

Listening, like reading, is a language skill. Therefore, many researchers compared these two factors in their theses. Rivers (1975) announced that people should develop listening and reading skills simultaneously. Bymes (1985) pointed out that both reading and listening are receptive activities in which the reader and the listener actively participate in understanding. Reading and listening can be seen as a process of problem solving. Therefore, for both of them, something in common is the mode of thinking. The present study, exploring the relative contribution of L1 listening ability and L2 proficiency to L2 listening ability, addresses the ability/ proficiency question as it relates to L2 listening ability (Hadley, 2004:178).

1.2 Need for the study

Most of the research on reading ability mentioned above focuses on the language or alphabetic language of Indo-European languages (such as English and French, Turkish and German, etc.). However, such studies on non-homologous languages (ex. English and Chinese) are not much. Bao Gui (2008) explored Alderson’s hypotheses, with Chisese-speaking English learners as objects. But the contribution of L1 (Chinese) listening ability and L2 (English) language proficiency to L2 listening ability has not heretofore been discussed.

The study may give a brand new perspective to the difficulties in English listening. If students' listening ability can be transferred from L1 to L2, they can benefit from strategy guidance. Moreover, in English teaching, teachers should appropriately increase L1 listening practice to improve L2 listening level.

1.3 Organization of the thesis

This thesis is divided into five parts. The first chapter serves as the general introduction. First, the research background is presented. Second, need for the research is stated. Finally,the organization of the research is stated. Chapter two is an overview of the literature, including some researches on L2 reading and experiments designed by researchers. Meanwhile, the research gaps and research questions will also be mentioned. In Chapter three, the methodology is presented for this research, including the experimental design, subjects, variables and operational definitions, reading materials and tasks, instruments and scoring. Chapter four reports and discusses the major findings. Chapter five summarizes the main findings of the research. Then it discusses the theoretical and pedagogical implications. The last part is the limitations of this study and suggestions for future research.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical foundation: the LIH hypothesis and LTH hypotjesis

Similar to the first hypothesis of Alderson (1984), the linguistic interdependence hypoyhesis (LIH) assumes that previously learned language processes, such as reading or listening, can be transferred across languages once learned. This view suggests that when we study a different language, we don’t need to learn language skills again. Instead, we can use skills in another language environment as needed.

The LIH hypothesis, also called the common underlying proficiency (CUP), was raised by Cummins (1979), which holds that the reading ability of different languages is the same in essence, and the transfer of reading ability of native language is independent of the level of second language. In his thesis, Cummins studied preschool children with different L1 levels and found that their ability to learn a foreign language was uneven after they arrived at school. Combining the LIH hypothesis, he came to such a conclusion: there is an interaction between the language of instruction and the type of competence the child has developed in his L1 prior to school.