英语专业毕业论文-A Study on Motivation of Primary School Students in English Learning.doc

本科生毕业论文（设计） 题题 目：目：a study on motivation of primary school students in english learning 原创性声明 本人郑重声明：所提交的学位论文是本人在导师指导下， 独立进行研究取得的成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外，论 文中不含其他人已经发表或撰写过的研究成果，也不包含为 获得聊城大学或其他教育机构的学位证书而使用过的材料。 对本文的研究作出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明 确方式标明。本人承担本声明的相应责任。 学位论文作者签名： 日期 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 指 导 教 师 签 名： 日期 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） abstract with the development of economy in our country, english learning has become more and more important that people begin to learn english with full enthusiasm even from younger age. english is taught in grade three or grade one of primary schools and even in kindergartens. in order to meet the tendency, the new english curriculum standard is carried out in recent years throughout china. one of the aims of the reform is to stimulate and cultivate students interest and their confidence in learning the language.motivation is critical in english learning, thus, how to effectively motivate beginners of english learning is an important problem. key words: primary school students; motivation; english; learning 摘摘 要要 随着我国经济的发展，英语学习变得越来越重要。越来越多的人满怀激情的 投入到英语学习中.小学三年级或一年级甚至幼儿园已经开设了英语课。为了应 对这种趋势，新课改在全国范围内实施。新课改的一个重要目标就是要激发小学 生的对英语的学习兴趣，增强他们对这门语言学习的信心。学习动机在学习过程 中起着重要作用,如何有效得地激发英语初学者的学习动机是一个非常重要的问 题。 关键词关键词：小学生；动机; 英语；学习 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） contents 1. introduction1 2. the importance of the study1 3. characteristics of primary school students3 4. a summary of already studies about motivation in english learning4 4.1 definition of motivation.4 4.2 five basic human needs .4 4.3 sources of motivation6 5. initiating and sustaining motivation.8 5.1 general principles of motivating students .8 5.2 ways of motivating primary school students in english learning11 6. conclusion.13 bibliography14 acknowledgements.15 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 0 a study on motivation of primary school students in english learning 作者：作者：袁文燕袁文燕 专业：英专业：英 语语 指导教师：张庆艳指导教师：张庆艳 1. introduction in accordance with the development of the society and economy, more and more people swarm into the tide of learning english. english learners have been younger and younger. english courses are taught in grade one or grade three of primary school and even kindergarten. the new english curriculum reform is underway throughout china. since 2001, a design of basic requirement for primary school english has been introduced. one of its goals is to stimulate and cultivate students interest and their confidence in learning the language. 2. the importance of the study as far as english language learning is concerned, despite the achievement gained as the reform is in progress during the phase, there remain significant problems for further achievement in primary school english teaching. firstly，the traditional english teaching in primary school overemphasizes the delivery of textbook knowledge but ignores the development of students language ability and their real needs. students have few chances to develop their potential and creativity. secondly, teaching methods are lack of flexibility and diversity. the main methods include asking students to imitate the teacher or the tape and memorize words, sentences and grammar mechanically, which turn students into containers of knowledge instead of active language learners. thirdly, ignorance of emotional education and regardless of effective ways of motivating students are common during the process of english teaching. fourthly, characteristics of primary school students and features of their psychology are both neglected. in some cases, teaching methods for higher grade students are used for primary school students, which obviously violates the cognitive rules of second language acquisition. what is worse, quite a few students complain that 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 1 they are afraid of being criticized by their teacher when they do not do well. consequently, they feel frustrated and lose interest in learning. a good begun is half done. primary school students are beginners of english learning. their experience of english learning in primary school lays a foundation for their further study of english. so we should attach enough attention to the phase of teaching. motivation plays a critical role in english learning. it is of great significance to motivate these beginners. although some parents send their children to some after- school english class on the weekends in the hope of promoting the childrens english learning, some of the teachers and parents are in frustration of recognition of the childrens low attitude and grades in english learning. therefore, as teachers, we should know the psychological theory and the process of english learning in order to encourage and enhance the english learning of students. language learning is a very complicated process that is influenced by many factors. besides the intelligent factors, the non-intelligent factors -motivation, attitude, interest, age, methods, will and character-are the direct and the most important factors to english learning. because the behavior of english learners is dominated by cognition, in other words, the learner has a desire which is a drive to persist in english learning. for example, two students sit next to each other in a class but they act very differently. one takes an active part in class activities, jumps into assignments and gets good grades, while the other seldom participates in discussion and hesitates on assignments. why? this situation is typical. theories of motivation can help us understand the differences. in jkobovits research, he shows that the mainly influential factors to english learning are: motivation which takes up 33%，aptitude which takes up 33%, intelligence which takes up 20%, and others which take up 14% (cited in jia guanjie, 1996). therefore, teachers and parents are interested in motivation, which can drive students in english learning actively. there is a wildly-held belief that younger second language learners generally do better than old learners. children have a greater need to be motivated and they are easily to be motivated. they exercise a good deal of both cognitive and affective efforts in order to internalize both native and second language. teachers should motivate their spirit and sustain their interest in 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 2 english learning by adopting some means that are closely related to characteristics of children for their age and their features of psychology. 3. characteristics of primary school students the age of students is often taken into consideration in the decision about how and what to teach. people of different ages have different needs, competence and cognitive skills. primary school students are no exception. they learn differently from older children and adolescents and adults in the following ways. (1) they respond to meaning even if they do not understand individual words. they often learn indirectly rather than directly- that they take in information from all sides, learning from everything around them rather than only focusing on the precise topic they are being taught. (2) their understanding comes not just from explanation, but also from what they see and hear and, crucially, have a chance to touch and interact with. (3) they generally display an enthusiasm for learning and curiosity about the world around them. (4) they have a need for individual attention and approval from the teacher. (5) they are keen to talk about themselves, and respond well to learning that uses themselves and their own lives as main topics in the classroom. (6) it is very hard for them to concentrate on study for a long time. they have a limited attention span unless activities are extremely engaging and they can easily get bored, and lose interest after ten minutes or so. 4. a summary of already studies about motivation in english learning 4.1 definition of motivation people are always motivated; in fact, they are never unmotivated. they may not be motivated to what we prefer them to do, but it can never be truly said they are unmotivated. in psychology, motivation is a force that energizes and directs a individual towards a goal. it is some kind of internal drive which drives someone to do 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 3 things in order to achieve something. william and richard burden suggest that motivation is a state of cognitive arouser which provokes a decision to act as a result of which there is a sustained intellectual and/or physical effort so that a person can achieve some goals. they go on to point out that the strength of that motivation will depend on how much value the individual on the outcome he or she wishes to achieve. adults may have clearly defined or vague goals. childrens goals, on the other hand, are more amorphous and less easy to describe, but they can still be very powerful. just as a force moves an object, motivation moves a person. more visualized, if individuals are machines, motivation is the very engine that powers and directs individuals behavior. motives serves three important functions: 1) energizing us (i.e., turning the key and starting the motivational engine), 2) directing us (pointing us in a particular direction), and 3) helping us select the behavior most appropriate for achieving our goals. in a word, motivation is an inner state that arouses an individuals desire for a goal and maintains his or her efforts in a certain direction and time. 4.1.2 intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation intrinsic motivation: internal desires to perform a particular task. people do certain activities because it gives them pleasure and develops a particular skill. extrinsic motivation: factors external to the individual and unrelated to the task they are performing. examples include money, good grades, and other rewards. 4.2 five basic human needs intrinsically motivated students are bound to do much better in classroom activities, because they are willing and eager to learn new material. their learning experience is more meaningful, and they go deeper into the subject to fully understand it. on the other hand, extrinsically motivated students may have to be bribed to perform the same tasks. a theorists by the name of abraham maslow, has concluded that before we can be intrinsically motivated we must first satisfy some more basic human needs. there are five basic levels of human needs. 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 4 4.2.1 physiological needs we are motivated to satisfy needs that ensure our physical survival. needs in this group include food, water, air, shelter, and clothing. most people have satisfied their physiological needs, which allow them to concentrate on higher level needs. for some though, physiological needs are dominant and are the biggest needs in their lives. 4.2.2 safety needs once physiological needs are met one can concentrate on bringing safety and security to our lives. safety and security needs include order, stability, routine, familiarity, control over ones life and environment, certainty and health. 4.2.3 social needs these needs include love, affection, belonging and acceptance. people look for these needs in relationships with other people and are motivated for these needs by the love from their families. 4.2.4 esteem needs all people have a need for stable, firmly based, usually high evaluation of themselves for self-respect or self-esteem and for the esteem of others. these needs may therefore be classified into two subsidiary sets. these are, first, the desire for strength, achievement, and adequacy, mastery of competence, confidence, independence and freedom. second, we have what we call the desire for reputation or prestige (defining it as respect from other people), status, fame, glory, dominance, importance, recognition, dignity or appreciation. 4.2.5 need for self-actualization this level of hierarchy is concentrated on an individual being able to reach their full potential as a human being. once someone has satisfied the first four levels of needs then they have the ability to concentrate on functioning to their highest potential. but even if all these needs are satisfied, we may often still expect that a new discontent and restlessness will soon develop, unless the individual is doing what they are fitted for. musicians must play music; artists must paint if they are to be at peace with 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 5 themselves. what humans can be, they must be. they must be true to their own nature. the first four needs are what we call deficiency needs, because they come from things we are lacking. these needs can be met only by external sources, by the environment, people or things going on around us. self-actualization is a growth need. this doesnt just address what we are lacking in our lives, but it gives us room to grow and develop as an individual. this need is always intrinsically motivated, because we do it out of pure enjoyment and desire to grow. maslow, does explain that self-actualization is rarely achieved, even as adults. but teachers must make sure students have satisfied their deficiency needs in order to move on to their growth one. intrinsic motivation will not occur until they are well fed, safe in their environment, and can love and respect the teachers and their classmates. 4.3 sources of motivation the motivation that brings students to the task of learning english can be affected and influenced by many factors. it is worth considering what and who these are. 4.3.1 the society we live in outside any classroom there are attitudes towards language learning and the english language in particular. how important is the learning of english considered to be in the society? in a school situation, for example, is the language learning part of the curriculum of high or low status? if school students are offered the choice of two languages to learn, which one will they choose and why? are the culture images associated with english positive or negative? all these views of language learning will affect the students attitude to the language being studied, and the nature and strength of the degree of motivation the students brings to class and whether or not that motivation continues. for example, with the requirement of economic development in china, english has become more and more important that people begin to learn english with full enthusiasm. mastery of foreign languages, especially english is considered as a passport to ones future success .so learning english has become a very prevalent tendency. the important role of 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 6 english in china has driven more and more people to learn it. 4.3.2 significant others apart from the culture of the world around the students, their attitudes to language learning will be greatly affected by the influence of people who are close to them .the attitude of parents and old siblings will be crucial. for example, many parents in china find a tutor for their children to improve their english. this behaviour implies that their parents attach great importance to english learning. as a result, most children can come to realize that a good command of english is of great meaning to them and they should work hard on it. the attitudes of the students peers are also very crucial. if they are critical of the subject or activity, the students own motivation may suffer. if they are enthusiastic learners, however they may take the student along with them . the teacher is clearly a major factor in the continuance of a students motivation. teachers take on multiple roles, as controllers, organizers, assessors, participants, resources, tutors, and observers. all roles, after all, aim to facilitate the students process in some way or other. therefore teachers attitude to the language and the task of learning will be vital. teachers enthusiasm is crucial factor in students motivation. if a teacher becomes bored or apathetic, students will do too. on the contrary, a teacher who is full of passion for the job will devote himself/herself to teaching and always thinks all kinds of ways to improve his/her teaching. consequently, their students will be affected by their teachers devotion. 4.3.3 the method it is vital both teacher and students have some confidence in the way teaching and learning take place. if the method being used is boring and single, students motivation can be disastrously affected and lose confidence in english learning. however, when students favor the method, success is much more likely. 5. initiating and sustaining motivation you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink. motivating students is a little like that. it involves not only leading them to english, but also 聊城大学毕业论文（设计）聊城大学毕业论文（设计） 7 making them thirty for knowledge and understanding of it. english teachers are organizers or leaders in teaching. they have the responsibility to increase their students inclination to perform willingly and actively in english learning. special attention should be paid to primary school students because they are beginners of english learning and have their own characteristics that need to be considered by teachers. there are some principles that teachers should bear in mind and follow when motivating primary school students. most importantly, they should master all kinds of methods and make good use of them to enhance primary school students motivation in english learning if they want to make some difference. 5.1 general principles of motivating students (1) a teacher is not just a teacher and he/she is a person too. no matter what class demographics are, there is one sure way to motivate students into participating. sometimes primary school students tend to have the mentality that teachers are just teachers. they exist in school and nowhere else. however, if the teacher let them see him/her as a person and not just a teacher, he/she might see a change in how they react to the class and class activities. if they respect the teacher, they wil