Discourse markers in college English listening instruction: An empirical study of Chinese learners

Abstract

Discourse markers can clearly indicate the organization of discourse, remind the hearer of the preceding and the following contents, and express clearly the concrete speech acts. The aims of this study are to explore the relationship between the discourse-marker-based model and listening comprehension as well as the different effects of such a kind of instruction on liberal arts and science students. 120 Chinese college students of non-English major, who are from two different departments of Xi'an University of Science and Technology, are the research subjects. An experiment has been carried out by applying the theory of discourse markers to enhance the English listening skill proficiency. Based on the results of the data analysis, the conclusion can be drawn that discourse-marker-based listening instruction can improve students' listening comprehension of non-English major and liberal arts students benefit more from discourse-marker-based listening instruction.