Abstract:Interlanguage fossilization is a common phenomenon in second language acquisition. To a great extent, interlanguage fossilization blocks second language learners’ acquisition of the target language. This paper introduces the concept, the classification and causes of interlanguage fossilization. Then the phenomenon of interlanguage fossilization is extended to the category of oral English. The author conducts the investigation of English majors from Grade 2009 to Grade 2012 in Honghe University. The goal of this research is to present the phenomenon of interlanguage fossilization, and to explore its implications for oral English teaching, thus improving teachers’ oral English teaching strategies, with the purpose of helping  English majors make further progress in oral English.

Key words: Interlanguage; Fossilization; Oral English Teaching; Implications

Contents

摘要

Abstract

1 INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 The Background of the Research-1

1.2 The Purpose of this Study-2

1.3 Research Questions-2

2 LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 The Concept of Interlanguage-3

2.2 The Concept of Fossilization-3

2.3 The Types of Fossilization-5

2.3.1 Individual and group fossilization-5

2.3.2 Temporary fossilization and permanent fossilization-6

2.4 The Causes of Interlanguage Fossilization-7

2.4.1 Selinker’s five central processes-7

2.4.2 Vigil & Oller’ s interactional model-8

3 METHEDOLOGY-10

3.1 Research Subject-10

3.2 Research Methods and Instruments-10

3.3 Data Collection-11

3.4 Data Analysis-11

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS-14

4.1 The Situation of Interlanguage Fossilization on Students’ Oral English-14

4.1.1 Students’ oral English learning background-14

4.1.2 Students’ motivation, attitudes and methods toward learning oral English-14

4.1.3 Students’ psychology condition toward oral English learning-15

4.2 Implications for Oral English Teaching-15

4.2.1 Increasing the quantity of oral English practice-15

4.2.2 Emphasizing the quality of English input-16

4.2.3 Attaching importance to errors-17

4.2.4 Enhancing students’ psychological quality-17

4.2.5 Providing students appropriate feedback-18

5 CONCLUSION-19

5.1 Findings of the Research-19

5.2 Limitations of the Research-20

REFERENCES-21

APPENDIX-23

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-25