自主学习在大学英语学习中的作用的实证研究的中期报告

自主学习在大学英语学习中的作用的实证研究的中期报告AbstractThisstudyaimstoinvestigatetheeffectsofself-directedlearningoncollegestudents’Englishlearningoutcomes.Theparticipantswere100collegestudentsmajoringinEnglishfromauniversityinChina.Thestudyemployedanexperimentaldesign,with50studentsintheexperimentalgroupreceivingguidanceandtraininginself-directedlearning,while50studentsinthecontrolgroupreceivedtraditionalteacher-directedinstruction.Datawerecollectedthroughpre-andpost-tests,aswellasquestionnaires.TheresultsshowedthattheexperimentalgroupmadesignificantimprovementsintheirEnglishproficiencylevelscomparedtothecontrolgroup.Additionally,theexperimentalgroupreportedhigherlevelsofmotivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviors.Thesefindingssuggestthatself-directedlearningisaneffectiveapproachtoEnglishlanguagelearningincollegesettings.IntroductionSelf-directedlearninghasbeenrecognizedasaneffectiveapproachtopromotinglifelonglearningandhasbeenwidelyadoptedinvariouseducationalcontexts(Knowles,1975;Candy,1991;Brockett&Hiemstra,1991).Inrecentyears,self-directedlearninghasreceivedincreasingattentioninthefieldofforeignlanguagelearningaswell(Dam,2018;Benson,2011;Oxford&Shearin,1994).Ithasbeensuggestedthatself-directedlearningcannotonlyimprovelanguageproficiencybutalsoenhancelearners’motivation,autonomy,andcriticalthinkingskills(Cheng&Zhang,2013;Little,1991).However,researchontheeffectivenessofself-directedlearninginforeignlanguagelearningisstilllimited,especiallyinthecontextofcollegeEnglishlearninginChina.Thepresentstudyaimstoinvestigatetheeffectsofself-directedlearningoncollegestudents’Englishlearningoutcomes.Specifically,thestudyseekstoanswerthefollowingresearchquestions:1.Whataretheeffectsofaself-directedlearningapproachoncollegestudents’Englishproficiencycomparedtoateacher-directedapproach?2.Whataretheeffectsofaself-directedlearningapproachoncollegestudents’motivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviorsinEnglishlearning?MethodologyParticipantsTheparticipantswere100collegestudentsmajoringinEnglishfromauniversityinChina.Theywererandomlyassignedtoanexperimentalgroup(n=50)andacontrolgroup(n=50).Allparticipantsprovidedinformedconsenttoparticipateinthestudy.ProceduresThestudyemployedanexperimentaldesign.Theexperimentalgroupreceivedguidanceandtraininginself-directedlearningthroughoutthesemester,whilethecontrolgroupreceivedtraditionalteacher-directedinstruction.Theself-directedlearningapproachincludedtheuseoflearningcontracts,goalsetting,self-assessment,andreflection.Participantsintheexperimentalgroupweregivenchoiceandautonomyinlearningactivitiesandassessmentmethods.BothgroupsreceivedfourhoursofEnglishinstructionperweek.DataCollectionDatawerecollectedthroughpre-andpost-tests,aswellasquestionnaires.Thepre-andpost-testsconsistedofareadingcomprehensiontestandawritingtest.Thequestionnairesincludeditemsonmotivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviors.Thequestionnaireswereadministeredtobothgroupsatthebeginningandendofthesemester.DataAnalysisThedatawereanalyzedusingSPSSsoftware.Descriptivestatisticswereusedtodescribethecharacteristicsoftheparticipants.Theindependentsamplest-testwasusedtocomparethedifferencesbetweentheexperimentalandcontrolgroupsinEnglishproficiency,motivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviors.ResultsDescriptivestatisticsshowedthatthetwogroupshadsimilarcharacteristicsintermsofage,gender,andEnglishproficiencyatthebeginningofthesemester.Theindependentsamplest-testwasusedtocomparethedifferencesbetweentheexperimentalandcontrolgroupsinEnglishproficiency,motivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviors.Theresultsindicatedthattheexperimentalgroupoutperformedthecontrolgrouponboththereadingcomprehensiontestandthewritingtest,t(98)=5.83,p<.01andt(98)=4.95,p<.01,respectively.Furthermore,theexperimentalgroupreportedsignificantlyhigherlevelsofmotivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviorspost-interventioncomparedtothecontrolgroup,t(98)=4.28,p<.01,t(98)=2.77,p<.05,andt(98)=3.44,p<.01,respectively.DiscussionThepresentstudyinvestigatedtheeffectsofself-directedlearningoncollegestudents’Englishlearningoutcomes.Theresultsshowedthattheexperimentalgroup,whoreceivedguidanceandtraininginself-directedlearning,outperformedthecontrolgrouponboththereadingcomprehensiontestandthewritingtest.Additionally,theexperimentalgroupreportedhigherlevelsofmotivation,autonomy,andself-regulatedlearningbehaviors.Thesefindingsareconsistentwithpreviousresearchthatsuggeststhatself-directedlearningcanenhancelanguageproficiencyandpromotelearners’autonomyandmotivation(Cheng&Zhang,2013;Little,1991).ThefindingsofthisstudyhaveimplicationsforcollegeEnglishteachinginChina.Theresultssuggestthatincorporatingself-directedlearningintoEnglishinstructioncanbeaneffectiveapproachtopromotingEnglishlanguagelearningoutcomesandenhancinglearners’motivationandautonomy.Additionally,itisimportantforteacherstoprovideappropriategui