【正文】 they learn English rather passively motivated extrinsically by examinations. Some who want to study English also lack of effective learning methods and strategies, accordingly, their overall language proficiency is not high, even rather low.l Lack of teaching resourcesFirst, in most fiveyearprogram normal school, there are big classes with more than forty students. But the English teachers are limited. Often a teacher must give lessons to four or five different classes. And the students’ individual level often cannot be taken into consideration. What’s more, this situation is worsened by the quality of some teachers performing in fiveyearprogram normal school. Because they have not been taught listening themselves, they have few skills in listening teaching. Most of them teach listening tending to test students rather than to train their listening skills just according to the exam and the teachers’ experience.Second, the allotment of teaching periods is not reasonable. Among all the teaching time, English teaching takes up only 34 periods per week and due to instructional time constraints, it is difficult for teachers to train students and improve their listening petence. The current teaching practice of listening prehension in fiveyearprogram normal school is so inadequate and insufficient that students have had relatively few chances to receive training in this skill that can really help build up their listening prehension. Third, the listening materials are not sufficient. Listening is not designed by many different course books or teaching materials used at this level. There is a small quantity of formal listening materials for fiveyearprogram normal school students. The teachers can only use the listening texts in the textbooks。 prehensible listening materials 58 Producing emotional barriers 61 Creating students’ motivation 62 Enhancing students’ selfconfidence 63 Lowering students’ anxiety 64 Summary 66Chapter Six Conclusion 67 Bibliography 69Appendices 73Chapter One Introduction Introduction to the researchEnglish listening is a pulsory part for the students in fiveyearprogram normal school that is included in each test. This research is about learners’ reported perception on barriers affecting listening prehension. Although the obstacles cannot be observed and defined precisely and directly, we can study them by asking learners to tell us about them. This is what the present research tries to demonstrate. It reports the findings of a questionnaire study that reveals learners’ perceptions and beliefs about listening prehension obstacles encountered by the students in fiveyearprogram normal school, aiming to identify the corresponding listening strategies used by this particular group of learners to improve students’ English listening petence. Purpose and significance of the studySignificance: Firstly, the significance of the study stems from the importance of listening in foreign language learning. Listening is of great importance to both learning in general and second language learning in particular. In 1983, Krashen and Terrell wrote that listening prehension plays a fundamental role in second and foreign language acquisition and is critical to the munication process. Rost (1994) listed several reasons to show the important role listening plays in second language learning and instruction: First, listening provides prehensible input for the learner which is essential for any learning to occur. Second, listeners need to interact with speakers to achieve understanding. Third, listening exercises help learners draw their attention to new forms (vocabulary, grammar, interaction patterns) in the language. Thus listening prehension provides the right conditions for language acquisition and development of other language skills (Krashen, 1995). Secondly, listening is the most frequently used language activity because the average adult spends approximately three times as much time listening as reading (Rankin 1929). W. M. Rivers and M. S. Temperley (1978) stated, “45 percent of the time adults spend in munication activities is on listening, 30 percent on speaking, 16 percent on reading and 9 percent on writing.” Bird (1953) stated that college students spend 42 percent of their time in listening, 25 percent in speaking, 15 percent in reading and 18 percent in writing.Thirdly, in recent years, with the reform and development in all walks of life and the implementation of the opening policy to the outside world in China, English has bee one of the most important municative tools, not merely a kind of the knowledge of a language. As China develops faster and opens more, people have more opportunities to contact with foreigners, and their appetite for improving listening ability has bee insatiable. Thereby, listening naturally bees a basic life skill for students in fiveyearprogram normal school.Fourthly, after graduation, the fiveyearprogram normal school students will bee primary school teachers. We all know in primary school children learn English mainly by listening, then imitating and doing activities, which requires the students in fiveyearprogram normal school first themselves are good listeners. Only so may they be petent for teaching their pupils. Fifthly, English listening takes quite a proportion in class instruction and in the paper examination. Wilt (1950) pointed out that percent of the daily classroom time is spent in listening. Rost (1994, p141142) also pointed out listening is vital in language classroom. Now in most fiveyearprogram normal schools of Shandong Province, students are expected to pass the PETS at least Level B, and in the written examination of PETS of any level, the proportion of the listening part is 20%. Only when students have passed the PETS can they get the graduation certificate. So, learning of listening may help improve students’ score and graduate eas