Schema Theory and Listening Strategies

Originated from cognitive psychology,the schema theory has been extensively used in English listening teaching.Schemata are assumed to be a set of propositions and images which reflect an individual's experience.Observed from this perspective,listening comprehension is virtually an interaction between the pre-existent knowledge and the newly input messages.This paper probes the insight into the procedure of information processing,which is the interaction of top-down processing and bottom-up processing,and explains in detail the role of schema in English listening comprehension: understanding,choosing and anticipating.At the end of his paper it discusses the application of schema theory in listening teaching,emphasizes that the effective stimulation of schema can speed up the process of comprehension.It further suggests that the accumulation of schema can remarkably enhance the efficiency of listening comprehension.