A Study between the Individual Differences and the English Learning Strategies of Non-English Majors in College1.doc

个体差异与非英语专业大学生英语学习策略选择的研究a study between the individual differences and the english learning strategies of non-english majors in collegeabstract: for all language learners, language learning strategies has made great contributions to the study of second language learning. it helps us learning language correct, fast and effective. however, all learning strategies have advantages and disadvantages. meanwhile, the individual differences influence the learning strategies choice. so, we must choose the language learning strategies that suitable ourselves according to individual differences. although much research has been done on the language learning strategies, studies on individual differences are still insufficient. in this paper, the author has done some researches on individual differences and learning strategies choice. according to the data analysis, we could conclude that the individual differences influence the learning strategies choice and the ways of choosing learning strategies according to individual differences.key words: learning strategies; individual differences; non-english majors; choose;摘要：对于语言学习者来说，语言学习策略在语言学习中起着重要的作用。它能够帮助我们准确的、快速的、有效的掌握和学习语言。然而，所有的语言学习策略都有它们的优点和缺点。而且个体差异也影响着学习策略的选择。所以，我们应当根据自身的特点，来选择适合自己的学习策略。尽管有关与语言学习策略的研究众多，但是对个体差异的研究，仍不够充分。在本文中，作者对个体差异与学习策略的选择作了研究，根据调查的数据进行比较分析，我们能够得出相应的结论，理解个体差异是如何影响学习策略的选择和根据个体差异选择适合自己的学习策略的方法。关键词：学习策略；个体差异；非英语专业学生；选择； contentsi. introduction .1ii. literature review.2a. individual differences.2 1. concept of individual differences.22. categories of individual differences.2a. motivation.3b. anxiety .4b. learning strategies.41. concept of learning strategies.42. categories of learning strategies.4iii. study and analysis .5a. subjects .6b. instruments.6c. data analysis and findings.7iv. conclusion.11works cited.13appendix.14i. introductionsince the early seventies, researches concerning the second language learning have shifted from methods of teaching to learners characteristics and their influence on the process of acquire an second language. instead of seeking the best method as only way to facilitate second language acquisition, more and more researchers have initiated studies on the learner, they have been pay more attention to individual differences in second language learning. the issue of accounting for individual differences in second language acquisition has initiated numerous studies in the past three decades (horwitz 125). the focus of these studies has been on tracing what factors may affect the way students learning second language. within the fast growing field of researches on individual differences, the study of language learning strategies deserves particular attention. second /foreign language learning strategies, as one individual difference variable, has gained increasing attention among researchers and teachers interested in exploring how languages are learned (ellis, 199). although important advances have been made in language learning strategies, significant questions concerning what factors affect the choice of language learning strategies need to be further explored. there are many factors influencing learning strategy choice and among which, learning motivation is a very important one. gardner (1985) points out that motivation is the prime determining factor in language learning success because motivation, along with attitudes, determines the extent of active personal engagement in language learning and would be reflected in strategy choice. oxford and nyikos (1989) also state that of all the variables measured, motivation is the most powerful influence on the reported use of language learning strategies.in contemporary china, most people are english learners. english is playing an important role in chinese society. however, most of people can not master this language well though they spend amount of time, energy and money on it. one of main reasons is that they can not find out the proper way for themselves and master the learning strategies. most of them usually use traditional english learning strategies to acquire information. it is so regret that many people can not be successful, because they ignore the individual differences. everyone is a unique and individual unit in society. everyone has different characters. so, if we want to learn english well, we must master correct learning strategies to improve our english efficiency and enhance our ability of learning english. meanwhile, we must clear that the relationship between the students individual differences and the english learning strategies choice and know the factors that influence of english learning strategies choice. it is a key point to learn english well that we choose the correct learning strategies and find the suitable ways, based on the awareness of individual differences. so i want to try my best to do this research about english learning strategies choice and individual differences. this research aims to investigate the language learning strategies used by non-english majors in college, focusing on identifying individual differences in their english learning. considerable attention will be paid to factors affecting the students choice of language learning strategies, as a way of establishing which learning strategies could be considered to be high value for english learners. given these, the purposes on this thesis are:1. to let the non-english majors know the relationship between the individual differences and english learning strategies. 2. to let the non-english majors know the importance of individual differences.ii. literature reviewa. individual differences1. concept of individual differencesat present, most of the studies in this field focus on the effects individual differences. the majority of the studies on individual differences have sought to find out what aspects of second language acquisition are influenced by individual learner differences, what the specific effects are, and how individual factors interact with general learning factors. it has always been difficult to give a concise and correct definition of individual differences. although there have been a large number of researches in individual differences. however, no authoritative answer has been given to “what are individual differences?” there is a sample definition of “individual differences” proposed by a linguist:individual differences refer to the individual characteristics that influence by many factors, it usually exist in different bodies and take on internal and external twoaspects. such as motivation and attitude (rubin 41).2. categories of individual differences individual differences need to be classified into specific variables for the sake of investigations. altman puts forward that individual differences include the variables such as age, sex, previous experiences in language learning, proficiency in the native language , personality factors, language aptitude, attitudes and motivation, generally intelligences, sense modality preference, sociological preference, cognitive styles, and learner strategies. the study by larsen-freeman and long suggests that the factors that constitute the majority of individual differences include age, socio-psychological factors, personality, cognitive styles, hemisphere specialization, and learning strategies. eills includes beliefs about language learning, affective states and general factors in his framework for investigating individual learner differences.there are more categories of individual differences proposed by some linguists. researchers employ different series of variables to label some internal or external behaviors and qualities, but due to the fact that these behaviors and qualities are no easy to identified. according to some researchers study, there is a concise and correct sample as the following：individual differences are classified into language aptitude, motivation, attitude, language learning strategies, and cognitive and effective factors such as anxiety (skehan 145).a. motivationin the early study of motivation, gardner (185) define it as a combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitude towards learning the language. motivation refers to the direct efforts individual learners make to learn the language (eills 198). this thesis mainly uses gardners definition of motivation.there are more categories of motivation proposed by some linguists. gardners classification of motivation mainly uses in this thesis. motivations are classified into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (gardner 185). this classification according to whether learning a language is a means to achieve an end a goal or it ends in itself. extrinsic motivation is goal-directed and the learner is willing to spare no efforts on the task sheerly out of his desire or expectation to achieve certain aim, while the learner with intrinsic motivation learns a language for sake of his own interest. the motivation is intrinsic whenever students interest and enjoyment are generated by the experience of learning, and the reason for performing the activity lies in the activity itself.b. anxietyanxiety is commonly considered as one of the most important factors that influence the learning strategies choice. spielberger (482) defines anxiety as “an unpleasant emotional state or condition which is characterized by subjective felling of tension, apprehension, and worry, and by activation or arousal of the automatic nervous system”. leary (99) offers this definition of anxiety “anxiety refers to the cognitive-affective response characterized by physiological arousal (indicative of sympathetic nervous system activation) and apprehension regarding a potentially negative outcome that the individual perceives as impending.” rachman (188) define anxiety as “the tense anticipation of a threatening but vague event; a felling of uneasy suspense.” in a word, anxiety has a negative effect on the language learning process. this thesis mainly uses spielbergers definition of anxiety. b. learning strategies1. concept of learning strategiesin general, definitions of learning strategies have been descriptive, overlapping and uncertain. however, with the development of these researches on learning strategies, there has been an enormous amount of definition in learning strategies by some linguistics. to compare these similarities and disparities in defining language learning strategies, i think the precise one is defining by oxford:language learning strategies are behaviors or actions which learners use to make language learning more successful, more self directed and more enjoyable, more transferable to new situations (oxford 190).2. categories of learning strategiesfrom the viewpoint of language itself, oxford suggests direct and indirect strategies as two constituents of learning strategies, each of which is further divided into subcategories. learning strategies that directly contribute to the target language learning are called direct strategies, and the strategies that provide indirect support forlanguage learning through focusing, planning, evaluating, controlling anxiety, increasing cooperation and other means are called indirect strategies. she develops her strategy inventory for language learning (sill), which uses factor analyses to group learning strategies into six categories. direct strategies directly involve the target language including memory strategies, cognitive strategies and compensation strategies. indirect strategies include meta-cognitive strategies, affective strategies and social strategies used to provide indirect support for language learning through focusing, planning, evaluation, seeking, and opportunities, controlling anxiety, increasing cooperation and empathy and other means (che 178).a. direct strategiesmemory strategies (e.g., acronyms, sound similarities, images, key words) help learners link one second or foreign language item or concept with another but do not necessarily involve deep understanding. the main function of memory strategies as following: creating mental linkages; applying images and sounds; reviewing well; employing action.cognitive strategies (e.g., through reasoning, analysis, organizing, and synthesizing) enable the learner to manipulate the language material in direct way. the main function of cognitive strategies as following: practicing; receiving and sending message strategies; analyzing and reasoning; creating structure for input and output.compensation strategies (e.g., guessing from the context; circumlocution; and gestures and pause words) help make up for missing knowledge. the main function of compensation strategies as following: guessing intelligently; overcoming limitations in speaking and writing.b. indirect strategiesmeta-cognitive strategies (e.g., identifying ones own preferences and needs, planning, monitoring mistakes, and evaluating task success) are used to manage the learning process overall. the main function of meta-cognitive strategies as following: centering the learning; arranging and planning the learning; evaluating the learning process.affective strategies (e.g., identifying ones mood and anxiety level, talking about feelings, rewarding oneself, self-encouraging and using deep breathing or positive self-talk) help learners manage their emotions and motivation level.social strategies (e.g., asking questions, asking for clarifications, asking for help, talking with a native-speaking conversation partner, and exploring cultural and social norms) enable the learner to learn via interaction with others and to understand the target culture.iii. study and analysis a. subjects 120 two-year non-english majors from different classes and from the same university shihezi university. they were responded to the questionnaire in october 2008 and october 2009. this questionnaire survey last for one year. the subjects had studied two-year non-english majors in different classes in the same university. they were going to pass the cet4. half of them majored in arts while the other half majored in science& technology. all the participants received uniform instructions on how to complete the questionnaires. they knew that: (1) the study was not test; (2) there were no right or wrong answers; (3) the study was not associated with the instructor or the university; (4) they were not required to identify themselves in the survey; (5) the obtained responses would be handled with absolute confidentiality. b. instrumentsin the study, the questionnaire was designed, based on wen qiufangs motivation questionnaire, horwitzs foreign language classroom anxiety scale (flcas) and oxfords strategy inventory for language learning (sill). the explanation about the questionnaire is considered in the following section.the questionnaire is composed of two parts (for details，see appendix i ).part one contains two questions about personal information, such as class and major. part two has forty-four questions about foreign language learning. there are nine questions about motivation, from 1 to 6 concerns about extrinsic motivation, from 7 to 9, concerns about intrinsic motivation. in this section contains thirteen questions about foreign language anxiety, from 10 to 22. (for details，see appendix i ). in this section contains twenty-two questions about foreign language learning strategies. this section including 22 items:(1) memory strategies (items 23 to 26)，(2) cognitive strategies (items 27 to 30), (3) compensation strategies (items 31 to 33), (4) meta-cognitive strategies (items 34 to 37), (5) affective strategies (items 38 to 4o), (6) social strategies (item 41 to 44). these items in it were also rated from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5).in order to avoid a misunderstanding over some statements，all of the statements were in chinese. the instructions for how to respond to the questionnaire and the response choices were in chinese.all the 120 participants completed the items as required. the researcher examined the answer sheets one by one when they were collected. after being checked，sorted and rearranged for the convenience of future data analysis，the data were put into the computer with the program spss13.0. statistics of frequency distributions were performed for all questionnaires items to identify any possible deviant cases. no missing items were found since the whole process of questionnaire administration was rigidly controlled.c. data analysis and findingsamong the non-english majors motivation types，extrinsic motivation standsat the top place. the followings are intrinsic motivation，strong motivation，extrinsic motivation and poor motivation. the data obtained from the questionnaire are shown through table1.1.table 1.1 non-english majors motivation typelearning motivationintrinsic motivationextrinsic motivationstrong motivationpoor motivationno. of the participants2270820percentage (%)18.3%58.3%6.7%16.7%the data shows that most non-english majors are extrinsically motivated to study english. that implies that their motivation mostly comes from their awareness of the value of english. as a social medium, contributing to the realization of such dreams as passing examinations，finding well-paid jobs and seeking developing opportunities. few of them genuinely show great interest in english learning. that indicates that the power