作者：Sun Yanyan
　　【Abstract】Nowadays the Listening class in Senior High Schools in China is usually examination-oriented， which cannot stimulate real-life listening. The paper discusses the solutions and highlights that Communicative Language Teaching （CLT） is an applicable approach to improving students’ communicative competence.
　　【Key words】Communicative Language Teaching； Listening Class； China
　　With the globalization， English has become a medium of interpersonal communication in the world. As a result， it’s essential for students to know how they should use English in a real situation， which our classes often ignore. Listening affects the improvement of students’ overall language level. Therefore， it widely deserves attention how students’ listening ability is improved in an authentic context. Communicative Language Teaching （CLT） approach focuses on cultivating students’ English communicative competence. The paper aims to apply CLT approach to the listening class in senior schools in China to make it more real-life， interactive and effective.
　　Communicative Language Teaching approach was founded by applied linguists Christopher Candi and Henry Widdow Son and others in the late 1960s，， which focuses on meaning and communication and incorporating authentic input. The goal of CLT is to develop language learners’ communicative competence through meaningful interaction.
　　Nowadays many listening materials in China are usually examination-oriented， the majority of which consists of formal and carefully enunciated language. In real life， the speech is typically informal and colloquial， so the traditional listening cannot stimulate real-life listening. Furthermore， the listening materials we use at present are usually long and difficult. As students try to understand what has been said， more information is constantly arriving. After listening， students are required to answer the detailed questions based on the listening materials， which are often difficult.
　　The traditional teaching method applied to listening class is too rigid. After listening， the teacher checks students’ answers and explains some vocabulary occasionally who usually concerns whether students have got right answers. In addition， students often get answers until the long speech ends. Listening is a challenge of not only comprehension but also memory.
　　It is necessary that listening should be integrated with speaking， reading and writing in the teaching process. Combining present situation of the listening class with the characteristics of communicative language teaching， the author analyses how to apply CLT approach to listening teaching.