Abstract：Through research, it’s found that there are four approaches widely and commonly used in oral English training in China: The Direct Method, Audio-lingual Method, The Audiovisual Method and Cognitive Theory. And imitation, a unique and important part of Audio-lingual Method, has been proved by abundant researches to be an effective and necessary way to improve oral English.
Imitation has solid theoretical foundations — Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and relevant theories of linguistics psychology. Imitation is mainly directed at improving pronunciation, intonation and acquiring subconscious modes of English thinking, at the same time grasping grammatical rules. This thesis discusses the application of imitation to oral English training for English majors in Zengcheng College of South China Normal University by doing a questionnaire investigation. The result proves that imitation is positive for oral English training and it shows that there are some problems existing in their imitation practice. So this thesis finally provides some good methods of imitation to help students to learn their oral English effectively.
Key Words: imitation; oral Eglish; effectiveness
中文摘要：经调查研究，在中国，有四种英语口语训练方法被广泛并普遍地使用着，它们分别是：直接法、听说法、视听法和认知法。其中，模仿是听说法中一种独特的学习方法，大量的研究证明，模仿也是一种提高英语口语水平的有效而且必需的方法。
模仿有着坚实的理论基础—克拉申的输入假说和语言心理学中的相关理论。模仿主要是针对改善语音，语调和培养英语思维模式，同时帮助学习者掌握语法规则。本论文通过调查问卷的方式探讨模仿在华南师范大学增城学院英语专业学生英语口语训练中的运用情况。其结果证明模仿对华南师范大学增城学院英语专业学生提高英语口语水平具有积极的作用，但同时也表明学生的模仿练习中存着一些问题。因此论文最后提出了一些科学的方法以帮助学生更有效地进行模仿练习。
关键词：模仿；英语口语；作用
