（语言学及应用语言学专业论文）自主学习中心在大学生语言学习中的作用探索.pdf

中文摘要 i 摘摘 要要 本文首先从理论的角度阐释与分析了“自主学习”及其课堂外实现场所“自 主学习中心”的概念和相关要素，进而结合数据统计分析方法，以重庆大学自主 学习中心为例对自主学习中心在大学生语言学习上所发挥的作用进行了实例分析 和总结。 随着中国加入 wto， 社会和经济的发展对大学英语教学提出了新的挑战。 忽略语言交际应用的传统教学方式暴露出其弱处。时代发展的需要迫使大学英语 教育由以往注重读、写技能的培养转变为重视听、说及交际能力的培养；教学模 式也从“以教师为中心”逐渐向“以学生为中心”发生转变。在大学英语教学改 革的大背景下，基于建构主义，人文主义心理学和认知心理学这三个理论而发展 起来的自主学习理论日益受到教育学者的关注和支持，并已有大量关于自主学习 理论及其课堂外实现场所“自主学习中心”的理论研究及实践研究结果面世。本 文即是对“自主学习中心”在大学生英语学习中所发挥的作用进行的一次理论及 实践探索。本文主要分为五个部分： 第一章：介绍此次研究的目的、意义，以及整篇论文的结构框架。该研究以 重庆大学自主学习中心为分析实例，探索应大学英语教育改革要求和实践自主学 习理论需要而建立的新式学习场所自主学习中心在大学生语言学习中所发挥 的作用；研究的结果将为自主学习中心今后的发展和后继研究提供数据参考和经 验借鉴。 第二章：文献综述从理论角度具体阐述自主学习理论和自主学习中心的概念 及其要素。第一部分分析自主学习理论的定义、理论基础、构成要素、影响因素、 类型和国内外研究综述等。第二部分介绍自主学习中心的定义、构成要素、活动 形式和国内外研究综述等。 第三章：运用数据统计方法具体分析了重庆大学自主学习中心在大学生英语 学习中所发挥的作用。第一部分介绍该自主学习中心的情况。第二部分提出研究 假设：该自主学习中心在提高学生语言学习，特别是听力和口语技巧，交流技巧， 培养自主学习意识和能力等等方面，发挥了积极的作用。第三部分列举所用的数 据收集手段(考试成绩分析，问卷调查和采访)。第四部分运用数据统计方法对所收 集的数据进行统计分析。 第四章：研究结果显示假设正确，即重庆大学的自主学习中心在促进学生英 语语言学习方面发挥了积极作用，如英语听说能力提高，英语交际应用能力提高， 自主学习意识与能力的提高，语言学习兴趣的提高等等。 重庆大学硕士学位论文 ii 第五章：总结该研究的结果，探讨研究不足之处，并对日后的研究工作提出 远景展望。 关键词：自主学习，自主学习中心，大学生语言学习，作用 abstract iii abstract this dissertation probes into the effect of self-access centers on students language learning through case study and statistic analysis of the center in chongqing university, from theoretical and practical perspectives of self-access language learning (sall) and self-access centers (sac). after china joined wto, new challenges to college language teaching and learning appeared with the rapid development of the society. some demerits of the traditional teaching and learning methods, which put little emphasis on the practice of communicating and application skills has been exposed. in this circumstance, the focus of english language teaching has changed from emphasizing reading and writing skills to listening and speaking skills; teaching mode has also changed from “teacher-centeredness” to “student-centeredness”. with the reform of college english teaching and learning, sall, which is based on the theories of constructivism, humanistic psychology, and cognitive psychology, has attracted more and more scholars attention and support. a lot of theoretical and practical research into sall and sac has made achievements as well. this paper is a theoretical and practical study of the effect of self-access centers on college students language learning. there are five parts in this dissertation: chapter one: it introduces the aims and significance of the study, and gives an overall survey of this paper. taking the center in chongqing university as an example, the chapter discusses the effect of the self-access center, the new learning environment established in response to the requirement of the reform of college english teaching and the needs of practicing self-access language learning theory, on college students language learning. the research results will contribute to the further research and development of the center. chapter two is the literature review providing an introduction to the definition and elements of sall and sac. the first part involves salls definition, basic theories, elements, elements influencing sall, types and research in and abroad. the second part introduces sacs definition, elements, activities, research in and abroad, etc. chapter three is a statistic analysis of the effect of the self-access center of chongqing university on college students language learning. the first part gives a brief introduction to the self-access center in chongqing university. the second part proposes a hypothesis: this center plays a positive role in the improvement of listening, 重庆大学硕士学位论文 iv speaking and communicating skills, as well as the cultivation of learner autonomy. the third part gives a list of the study instruments (language tests score analysis, questionnaire analysis, and interview investigation). part four processes a statistic analysis of those data collected with those instruments. chapter four is the research results which show that the hypothesis proposed is proved to be correct. that is to say, this center plays a positive role in the improvement of listening, speaking and communicating skills, as well as the cultivation of learner autonomy, the stimulation of learning interest, etc. chapter five gives a conclusion of the results of the study, as well as the limitations of the study. suggestions for further study are also proposed. key words: self-access learning, self-access centers, college students language learning, effect chapter one introduction 1 chapter one introduction 1.1 aims of the present study in recent years, self-access language learning (sall), which is developed on theories of constructivism, humanistic psychology, and cognitive psychology, as well as self-access center (sac), where the sall theory is put into practice out of classroom, has attracted more and more attention from educators all over the world. the international interest in sall and sac has manifested itself in forms of papers, books and conference presentations, and in practice. china is not an exception. actually, some of the key universities in china, e.g. hong kong university, city university of hong kong, etc. are among the largest and the most active sacs around the world. generally speaking, a sac is usually supposed to have the following effects on the college students english language learning (cotterall and reinders, 2001; gardner feng qi hua weifen, 2003): 1. it improves students listening skill; 2. it improves students speaking skill; 3. it improves students communicating skill; 4. it improves students learner autonomy; 5. it stimulates students interest in english language learning; etc. the study aims to find out whether the self-access center plays a positive role in improving college students english language learning or not, supported with persuasive evidence concluded from close investigations into and statistic analysis of a real case. 1.2 significance of the present study analyzed in the background of economic development of china, this is not a coincidence for the phenomena of sacs prosperity. taking china as an example, since china joined wto and made world-attractive achievements in its economic reforms, new challenges to college language teaching and learning appeared with the great needs for talents with comprehensive ability of english application. some demerits of the traditional teaching and learning methods, which put little emphasis on practice of listening, speaking, and communicating skills, have been criticized. to meet the needs of the society and time, the focus of college english language teaching has changed 重庆大学硕士学位论文 2 from emphasizing reading and writing skills to listening and speaking skills; teaching mode has also changed from being “teacher-centered” to “student-centered”. the sac is acknowledged as one of the best forms to implement the reform of college english teaching and learning and the theory of sall (cotterall and reinders, 2001; gardner gui qingyang, 2004; hua weifen, 2003). yet, as a brand new teaching and learning conception, while the sac is acknowledged as one of the best forms to implement the reform of college english teaching and learning and the theory of sall, still some people doubt about its effect on the college students english language learning (gardner littlewood, 1999; fan jieping, 2004; feng qi 2. the study results can be persuasive to stimulate those who support it, and to change preconceived ideas of those who suspect its effects. 3. the study results will contribute to the further research and development of the sacs, including the one we will study into. 1.3 general survey of the paper there are five parts of this paper. chapter one introduces the aims and significance of the present study. the study aims to prove the effects of the self-access center on college students language learning, supported with evidence concluded from close investigations into and statistic analysis of a real case. since china joined wto and made great achievements in its economic reforms, the great needs for talents with comprehensive ability of english application resulted in the reform to college language teaching and learning. the focus of college english language teaching since then has changed from emphasizing reading and writing skills to listening and speaking skills; teaching mode has also changed from being “teacher-centered” to “student-centered”. the sac is acknowledged as one of the best forms to implement the reform of college english teaching and learning and the theory of sall. since some people still doubt about the new teaching and learning conception, it is of essential necessity and significance to study on its effect on language chapter one introduction 3 learning of college students, in the view of providing persuasive evidence for those who suspect it, and contributing to its further development. chapter two is a literature review on the definition, elements, and development in and abroad of sall and sac. self-access is, as sheerin (qtd. in salvia, 1999) stated that, “a way of describing learning materials that are designed and organized in such a way that students could select and work on tasks on their own.” its theoretical basis consists of three- constructivism, humanistic psychology, and cognitive psychology. the learning environment is constructed with a number of elements. they are resources, people, management, system, learner reflection, counseling, etc., each interacting learner with the environment in a unique way. despite the constructing elements, there are also some elements that influence the effect of sall, for example, the intrinsic cognitive structure, cognitive style, emotion, motivation, learning strategy, and affective factors. as a new conception of teaching and learning, sall may be questioned by those who are unknowledgeable about it or hostile to it. david gardener and lindsay miller (2002) suggested ways in which these questions, about efficiency, cost, effectiveness, coverage of skills, etc., can be answered. there are some models of individual learning centers, e.g. study center, withdrawal center, programmed learning center, etc. influenced by the needs of the learners, availability of resources, and the institution in general, self-access system must be flexibly applied. the second part introduces the sac and its elements. generally speaking, self-access center is a comprehensive language-learning environment. it is equipped with physical settings, resources, materials, counseling, staff, etc. activities, like english club, tv viewing, native-speaker contacts in sac can be designed for individual use, with partner or a group share. the significance of establishing sac is also concluded with statistic analysis of learner needs. at the end of the chapter, the research and development on sall and sac in and abroad are given a detailed description. chapter three deals with the experimental study, including the hypothesis, study instruments, data collection and statistic analysis of the data collected. this study is done in the sac in chongqing university. the first part of this chapter gives a brief introduction of the sac. before going on with the study, a hypothesis is proposed beforehand: this center plays a positive role in the improvement of college students listening, speaking and communicating skills, as well as the cultivation of learner autonomy. the third part gives a list of the study instruments (language tests score analysis, questionnaires analysis, and interviews investigation). then a statistic analysis 重庆大学硕士学位论文 4 of those data collected with the instruments is processed. in the language tests analysis, a horizontal contrast of the listening finals in the second level between the experimental class and the controlled class, and the cet-4 scores between grades 2003 and 2004 having been engaged in sall in the sac and the other grades learning english in the traditional classrooms is conducted with statistic analysis, and results reveal that the experimental class and grades did perform better than the controlled class and grades in english language learning, especially in the listening; the vertical contrast finds out the positive correlation of on-line time and on-line grade within an experimental class. the analysis proves that in general the more time students study in the center, the better their listening and speaking skills will be. the questionnaires investigation includes three parts: the questionnaires separately done when students studied english in their first month, the second month, and the second year in the sac. a contrast between the questionnaires done in different times is conducted and the results reflect the changes in their psychological state and learning situations. the interviews are carried out in two ways: one-to-one interview and group discussion. the results also prove the correctness of the hypothesis. chapter four gives a detailed analysis of the research results. with the three research instruments: language test analysis, questionnaires, and interviews, the results show that the hypothesis proposed is proved to be correct. that is to say, this center plays a positive role in the improvement of listening, speaking and communicating skills, as well as the cultivation of learner autonomy and learner strategy, and the stimulation of learning interest, etc. chapter five presents a conclusion of the study. in conclusion, the sac in chongqing university plays a positive role in improving the language learning of college students. though sacs may be different in details, for example, physical setting, equipments, staff, learning materials, they share the same constructing purpose, and those which fail to exert its basic effects needs to be reconsidered about its significance for development and details in operation. the limitations of the study may be embodied in the quality of the language test sample, the scale and quality of the questionnaires distributed to students, and the scale and quality of the students interview. finally, suggestions for further study of the effects of the sacs on college students english language learning are proposed. chapter two literature review 5 chapter two literature review 2.1 self-access language learning 2.1.1 definitions of self-access language learning sheerin stated (qtd in salvia, 1999, p.95-96), self-access is a way of describing learning materials that are designed and organized in such a way that students can select and work on tasks on their own (although this does not preclude the possibilities of various kinds of support), and obtain feedback on their performance, for example by comparing their answers to a key which accompanies the material. according to sheerin, self-access refers to materials that are made available for learners to work on their own. and it is the way in which teachers and learners use self-access facilities, which determine whether independent learning takes place (salvia, 1999). however，self-access is not synonymous with learner autonomy, because sa resource does not automatically make learners autonomous when learners do not take an active and independent part in decision-making process. learners who have class learning with a teacher are not necessarily less autonomous than those who learn english in a self-access environment unless they are passively defining their learning objectives, implementing their learning strategies and dependently monitoring their learning, etc. so, dam in1995 pointed out that autonomy could also be enhanced inside classroom (salvia, 1999). thus, salvia (1999) concluded that self-access could be seen as one context in which autonomy could be developed, and a sa approach was a means to develop learner autonomy. as some scholars, such as dickinson in1987, little in 1991, sheerin in1997 and sturtridge in 1997 (salvia, 1999), pointed out that autonomy included defining ones learning objectives, identifying ones progress in language learning, selecting and implementing learning strategies, identifying learning styles that did not seem to work and trying others, monitoring ones learning, etc. self-access language learning aims at achieving the target of students being able to be autonomous, and to take charge of their own learning. 2.1.2 basic theories of self-access language learning the development of self-access theory is closely related to the development of 重庆大学硕士学位论文 6 educational psychology. there are three main basic educational psychology theories that paved the way for the development of self-access language learning: constructivism, humanistic psychology, and cognitive psychology. all of them emphasize the principle and significance of student-centeredness rather than teacher-centeredness. the core principle they enjoy inspires the concept of self-access and enhances its development. 1. constructivism inspired by cognitive development psychology established by the sweden psychologist- piaget, and social interactionism by vygotsky, constructivism takes the view that knowledge is acquired by learners, who make use of necessary study resources and helps from others in certain social and cultural context, instead of being taught by teachers (qi hongbo, 2002). constructivists think that it is the learner him/herself who sets a definition to the world in his/her own understanding. learners construct and perceive the reality on the basis of their own experience, hence the difference in understanding. they focus knowledge construction more on their intrinsic psychology, belief and previous knowledge store (piaget, 1972). constructivis