Factors Related to the English Listening and Speaking Abilities of Undergraduate and Junior College Students in China: An Empirical Study Based on CGSS2021 Data

Background: In the context of global knowledge economy integration and the internationalization of higher education, English listening-speaking proficiency has emerged as a fundamental core literacy for university students. Nevertheless, Chinese university students generally face the predicament of Deaf and Mute English. Concurrently, existing research exhibits systematic limitations in its understanding of influencing factors, particularly lacking in-depth exploration of the rule of multi-dimensional factors, such as differences between undergraduate and junior college students, and family capital. Objective: To systematically examine the association between English listening-speaking proficiency among undergraduate and junior college students and multidimensional factors, including gender, academic stage (tertiary), institutional hierarchy, pre-tertiary institutional provenance, disciplinary category, family socioeconomic status, and parental educational attainment. Methods: Utilizing data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2021, 227 valid samples of undergraduate and junior college students were selected. A composite score of English listening-speaking proficiency(self-assessed listening+speaking)​was constructed. Stepwise multiple linear regression modeling was employed to analyze the independent predictive effects of explanatory variables: gender, age, ethnicity, tertiary program stage, pre-tertiary institutional classification, institutional hierarchy level, disciplinary category, family socioeconomic status, and parental educational attainment. Results: Respondents demonstrated overall below-average English listening-speaking proficiency (mean composite score: 5.63±1.58), exhibiting a pyramid-shaped structural imbalance wherein oral competence constituted a disproportionate disadvantage (40.97% scoring in the low-competency stratum). Multivariate analysis revealed: (1)male students' proficiency was significantly lower than female peers'(β = -0.413, p = 0.029); (2) undergraduates significantly outperformed junior college students (β = 1.212, p <0.001); (3) paternal educational attainment demonstrated a significant positive association with proficiency (β = 0.277, p <0 .001). Conclusion: Significant stratified differentiation manifests in undergraduate and junior college students' English listening-speaking proficiency, with the Deaf and Mute English predicament being prominent. Gender disparity, the academic stratification chasm (reflecting institutional segregation of educational resources), and the intergenerational transmission of paternal cultural capital constitute the core drivers of this competency differentiation. An imperative exists to systematically enhance students' pragmatic linguistic competence and bridge the competency divide by: reengineering curricular architecture, optimizing resource distribution, and pioneering intergenerational support mechanisms.