农业院校学生自主学习态度的调查与研究英文

1、2006 年 10 月中国英语教学(双月刊)Oct . 2006第 29 卷 第 5 期C EL EA J our nal (Bi m ont hly)V ol . 29 N o .5A SURVEY ON ENGL ISH MAJORSp ATTITUDESTOWARDS L EARNER AUTONOMY 3Qi S hujunS ha n dong A gricult ural U nive rsit yL i Qia nGua ngdong U nive rsit y ofForeign St udiesAbs t ractLearner autonomy( L A ) has att

2、 ractedmore and more attention especiall y i n t he westernw orld si nce1970s . In recent years , a considerable nu mber ofChi nese researchers have begun to show great i nterest i n LA .However , research on LA wit h Chi nese st udents has not yetcome to any def i nite concl usion aboutt heapplicab

3、ilit y ofLA i nt he localcontext .Thisst udy ai ms toelicit some usef ul i nf or mationbased ont hei nvestigation ofChi nesest udentsattit udestowardsLA .Thequestionnaire is comp osed of 24 state ments ,2pppp2ppconcerni ng t he st udentsattit udes and perception towards language learni ng , teachers

4、 and learners roles , andperception of t heir capabilit y i n language learni ng .Theresults i ndicate t hat st udents show p ositi ve attit udestowards LA ; t hey have a general desire to be i nvol ved in t he language learni ng p rocess and believe i n t he val ueof ef f ort and selfdiscipli ne .

5、The paper t hen , based on t he results of t he st udy , p uts f or ward a f ew tentati vesuggestions as tohow to f acilitate t he develop ment of LA i n Chi nese pedagogicalcontext . Teachers shouldt ransf er more power to st udents i n classroom , and p rovide more room f or st udenti nvol ve ment

6、 i n languageteachi ng . Meanw hile , it is essential to raise st udents awareness f or Autonomous Language learni ng ( ALL) and enhance t heir abilities i n doi ng so .Ke y w o r dslearner autonomy ; Autonomous Language Learni ng ; self manage ment ; cooperati ve learni ngInt roductionI n rece nt d

7、eca des a signif ica nt s hif t has t a ke n place i n la nguage educati on a nd applied li nguistics , t hat is , t he lea r ne r a nd t he lea r ne r s lea r ni ng have bee n more a nd more e mp hasized . A numbe r of resea rc he rs bega n t o i nvestigat e t he lea r ner s i ndivi dual f act ors

8、a nd t he lea r ni ng p r ocess t o p r omot e t hela nguage lea r ni ng . As Ca rl R . R oge rs ( 1969 :104) st at es :“The only ma n w ho is educat ed is t he ma n w ho has lea r ne d how t o a dap t a nd c ha nge ; t he ma n w ho has realized t hat no knowle dge is secure ; t hat only t he p r oc

9、ess of see ki ng knowle dge gives a basis f or securit y . ”Owi ng t o t he devel op me nt a nd accep t a nceof L A as a n i mp ort a nt ge ne ral goal i n t he last 20 yea rs ,a nd wit h t he p r omoti on of2more a nd more educat ors have realize dt hat it is quit elif e l ong lea r ni ng ;necessa

10、ry t o e quip t he lea r ne rs wit h t he a bilit y of “lea r ni ng how t o lea r n ”. A nd t he ai mof educati on ismore t ha n just t ra ns mit ti ng knowle dge , rat he r ,t he e nd p r oduct of e ducati on is a n i ndep e nde nt lea r ner( McDevit t 1997 :34) .p“”3 本文为山东省教育厅课题新世纪高校外语人才终身学习策略研究成果

11、之一。编号J 03 W19 66 1994-2006 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved.C EL EA J our na l 69Howeve r , it may not be always t he case t hat st ude nts a re li kely or a re rea dy t o t a ke c ha rge of t hei r lea r ni ng . They ma y not wa nt t o t a ke

12、 more resp onsi bilit y f or lea r ni ng eit her due t o lac k of a bilit y or because of negative at tit udes t owa r ds L A . A dditi onally , L A i n la nguage lea r ni ng is s ometi mes viewe d as awest e r n concep t unsuit a ble t o non west e r n cont exts , suc h as t hose i n East Asia , i

13、ncludi ng Chi na , w hic h ha ve dif f e re nt educati onal t ra diti ons . The t eac he r ce nt e red a nd aut horit y orie nt ed t ra diti on of Chi neseeducati on does not see m a p r omisi ng gr ound f or t he p r omoti on of L A( Cha n 2003) .Muc h evi de nce hass how n t hat Chi nese st ude nt

14、s app ea r lessmotivat ed a nd rea dy t o lea r na ut onomously t ha n t hei rwest er np eers . He nce , t he p rese nt resea rc h was2 ppp2ppp2done i n or dert o f i nd outst ude ntsat tit udesa nd p e rcep ti ont owa r ds L A , t eac her a nd lea r ne r r oles , ext er nal assess me nt a nd t hei

15、r cap a bilit y i n ma nagi ng t he la nguage lea r ni ng .I n t his p ap e r , t he mai n bul k of t he a rticle consists of f our p a rts .Pa rt one is a brief over view of t hecur re nt lit e rat ure conce r ni ng L A . Pa rt t w o illust rat es t he met hodol ogy of t he p rese nt st udy . The s

16、ubjects , i nst r ume nts , p r ocedures a nd dat a a nalysis a re de monst rat e d resp ectively . Results a nd discussi on a re p r ovi ded i n Pa rts t hree . Pa rt f our concludes t he i mplicati ons a nd applicati ons of t he st udy .1 . Litera t ure ReviewA ut onomy f i rst e nt ere d i nt o t

17、 he f iel d of la nguage t eac hi ng t hr ough t he Council of Eur op e s M oder n L a nguage Pr oject i n 1971 , a nd over t he last 20 yea rs , it has bee n a recur ri ng t opic i n la nguage t eac hi ng . N owa da ys , aut onomy is wi dely accep t e d as a desi ra ble goal i n educati on , a nd“f

18、 ew t eac he rs will disagree wit h t he i mp ort a nce of helpi ng la nguage lea r ners become more a ut onomous as lea r ne rs ”( We nde n 1991 : 11) .1 . 1 Aut onomy i n la nguage lea rni ngThe concep t of “a ut onomous lea r ni ng”( AL ) st e m med f r om debat es a bout t he devel op me nt of l

19、if e l ong lea r ni ng s kills a nd t he devel op me nt of i ndep e nde nt t hi n ke rs i n t he t we ntiet h ce nt ur y . Howeve r , wit hrega r d t o w hat L A isa nd t he app r oac hes t o p r omoti on of L A , t here stillexists cont r ove rsy . Dif f e re ntw rit ers ha ve descri be d a nd def

20、i ne d t he concep ts i n dif f ere nt ways or t e r mi nol ogy .Holec ( 1981 : 3 )def i nes a ut onomy as “t he a bilit y t o t a ke c ha rgeof one sow nlea r ni ng ”. Hedevel op e d t his def i niti on f urt he r i n 1985 by t al ki ng a bout aut onomy as a concep t ual t ool .Holec has bee na maj

21、 or i nf lue nce on t he debat e a bout aut onomy i n la nguage lea r ni ng a ndhis i nitialdefi niti on has bee nt a ke n as a st a rti ng p oi nt f or muc h subseque nt w or k i n t his a rea . Quit e a la rge numbe r of resea rc hers hol dt he sa me view wit h Holec a nd rega r d a ut onomy as a

22、n a bilit y t hathas t o be acqui re d . Dic ki ns on ( 1987 )accep ts t he def i niti on of aut onomy as“complet e resp onsi bilit y f orone s lea r ni ng , ca r ried out wit hout t hei nvolve me nt of a t eac he r or p edagogicmat erials ”. L at e r , he ext e ndsit as “a cap acit y t o i ncludea

23、nat tit ude t o lea r ni ng”. M oreover , someot her resea rc he rs a nd educat orsdef i ne aut onomy f r omdif f e re nta ngles , s ome see it as a p ers onal aut onomy , a nd some rega r d it as a p olitical concep t . As L it tle( 1990:7)suggests t hat L A is esse ntially a mat t er of t he lea r

24、 ne r s psyc hol ogical relati on t o t he p r ocess a nd cont e nt of lea r ni ng . Ke n ny ( 1993 : 436 ) clai ms t hat a ut onomy is not only t he f reedom t o lea r n but als o t he opp ort unit y t o become a p e rson .W he n reviewi ng rece nt lit e rat ure on L A i n la nguage lea r ni ng , i

25、t is clea r t hat some def i niti ons viewaut onomy as a cap acit y f orma ki ng i nf or me d decisi ons a bout one s ow n lea r ni ng ,a nd s ome st at e t hatpright a nd opp ort unit y f or s ocial t ra nsf or mati on .Howeve r , no mat t e raut onomy is a questi on of lea r nersw hat def i niti o

26、ns a re give n ,mostagree on s ome asp ect of resp onsi bilit y t ra ns mit t e d f r om t eac he r t ost ude nt .I n a w or d , all t he def i niti ons ha ve s omet hi ng i n com mon : t hey e nt ail cap acit y a nd willi ngness on t hep a rt of lea r ner t oact i ndep e nde ntlya nd i n coop e rat

27、i onwit hot he rs , s oas t o be a s ociallyresp onsi blepp e rs on .1 . 2 Cha racteristics of a ut onomous lea rnerSi nce lea r neraut onomy placest he lea r ne r at t he ce nt e rof f ocus ,t he c ha ract eristicaut onomousure . Thus , t he a ut onomous lea r ner is exp ect e d t o t a ke c ha rge

28、 of ever ylea r ne r is wi dely def i ne d i n lit e rat267 1994-2006 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved.A S ur ve y on Engli s h Ma j o r s A t t i t ud e s t ow a r ds L e a r ne r Au t onomyQi Shu j un&L i Qi anst age of his or he rlea r ni n

29、g , suc h as , def i ni ng ai ms , c hoosi ngmat e rials a ndevaluati ngt hei r p r ogress i nla nguage lea r ni ng .Some p a rticula r ki nds of k nowledge , s killsa ndat tit udest owa r ds la nguage lea r ni ngc ha ract erize or lea d t o t he AL . A nd at tit udes a nd a bilit y a re t hecore of

30、L A i n la nguagelea r ni ng ,devel opi ng p ositi ve at tit udes t owa r ds L A a nd t he necessa r y s kills a re rega r de d as cr ucial t o t hesuccess oft he devel op me nt of L A . So aut onomous lea r ne rs s houl d p ossess bot h t he at tit udes of willi ngness t owa r ds la nguage lea r ni

31、 ng , a nd t he a bilit y of t a ki ng c ha rge of t hei r ow n lea r ni ng .1 . 3 Review of related resea rc hEver si nce t he concep t of a ut onomy has f ound a place i n mai nst rea m educati on ove r t he last t we nt yyea rs , ithas greatly cap t ure d t he i nt erests ofe ducati onalists a nd

32、 resea rc he rs . Some resea rc he rs f ocus ont he a bst ract concep t ofL Af r om dif f e re ntasp ects ;s omeot hersa re concer nedwit ht hep racticalapplicati on oft heaut onomy i nt o va ri ouscont exts( B oud 1988 ; Ca ndy1998 ; Dic ki ns on1993 ; L ee &Cot t e ral 1993 ;Ma rs hall1996 ;N una

33、n 1997 ) .I n Chi na , s ome Chi neseresea rc he rs( Che ng 1991 ; Wei2002 ; Xia o 2002 )begi nt o s how greati nt erest i nL A ,a ndhave ma de t e nt ativest udiesonit .Someresea rc he rs on L Ai n Chi naa rea boutt he t he oriesa ndsome ot hersf ocus ont hest rat egy t rai ni ng t op r omot e L A

34、.Neve rt heless ,t hei nvestigati onofChi nesest ude nts i nt his fiel disstill li mit e d .V a ri ousasp ects still need be st udied f urt he r .Wit h t he p urp ose of i nvestigati ng how st ude nts i n dif f e re nt cont exts react t o a nd t hi nk a bout L A a ndalt er native modesof st udy ,st

35、ude ntsresp onses i nt hest udiesa re illust rat e d .Thef i ndi ngs f r omt hesest udies p r ovi de i nsight i nt o howlea r ne rsapp r oac ha ndreact t o lea r ni ng sit uati ons .Holec ( 1987 : 151 )notices t hat st ude nts werea blet o c hoosemat erials ,met hods ,a nd t ec hni quesw hile it was

36、 diff icult f ort he m t odef i ne objectivesa ndevaluat ep r ogress .I na st udy on lea r nerat tit udes t owa r ds self di recti on ,B r oa dy( 1996 : 228 ) has f ound t hat st ude nts t hi nkt he t eac her s houl dbegui di ng rat her t ha n cont r olli ngeve ryt hi ng i nt heclass r oom ,but t he

37、ylackt heconf i de ncei n t hei r lea r ni ng .Knowles( 1986 : 60 )p22p222concludes t hat st ude nts react p ositively t o selfdi recti on as it e n ha nces motivati on a nd resp onsi bilit y . Theresults ofGa r dne ra ndMille rst udy( 1997 )s howt hatst ude nts a remuc hp ositive a bout self access

38、lea r ni ng , a nd t hey consi de r it a n eff ective way t o i mp r ove t hei r Englis h .I n sum , t he st udies i n lit erat ure s how lea r nersge nerally value self di recti on a nd a re willi ng t o selfdi rect lea r ni ng i n a supp ortive cont ext . B ut , still t here a re s ome rep orts a

39、bout lea r ne r resist a nce t owa r ds aut onomy . These resea rc h st udies on AL la rgely f ocus on t he west er n lea r ne rs w ho a re p e rceived as bei ng more recep tive t o AL . “Dif f e re nt cont exts a re li kely t o p r oduce dif f ere nt p ractices a nd out comes”( Cha n 2001) , a nd c

40、ult ural orie nt ati ons p a rtly i nf lue nce at tit udes , beliefs a nd be havi or , s o resea rc h is neede d i ndiff e re nt cont exts t hat t a ke i nt o accountdive rse cult ural orie nt ati ons a nd p ast lea r ni ng exp erie nces .The ref ore , t he aut hordesigne d t hei nvestigati on t oex

41、a mi net he Englis h Maj orsat tit udes t owa r dsALi n Chi na t hr ough a questi on nai re . The p ap e r at t e mp ts t o i nvestigat et he f oll owi ngquesti ons : W hata rept owa r ds AL ? W hat a re t hepviewspr ole i n la nguaget he st ude nts at tit udesst ude ntsof t eac he r slea r ni ng ?

42、A re t hey willi ng t o t a ke more resp onsi bilit y f or t hei r la nguage lea r ni ng ? To w hat ext e nt a re t hey a ble t o lea r n aut onomously ?2 .Met hodologyThis p a rt gives a det ailed expla nati on of t he objecti ves , subjects , i nst rume nts , a nd p r oce dures of t he st udy .2 .

43、 1 ObjectivesThe mai n objective of t he st udy is t o exa mi ne t he vali dit y of L A i n Chi nese p edagogical cont ext a ndexpl ore p ossi ble st rat egies f or p romoti ng L A i n t he EL T class r oom i n Chi na .p2 . 2 S ubjectsSop homores at t he College ofForeign L a nguages of Sha ndong Ag

44、ricult uralU nive rsit y ,maj ori ng i nEnglis h we re p a rticip a nts i nt his i nvestigati on .60 st ude nts we re surveye d , 41f e males , 19males . Age2havebee n lea r ni ng Englis h f or a bout seve n yea rs ,a nd t hey ha ve dif f e re ntra nge is 19 23 . The st ude ntsp e rs onalities a nd

45、dif f e re nt p rf icie ncyplevels i nEnglis h as well .68 1994-2006 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved.C EL EA J our na l 692 . 3 Inst ru mentsA questi onnaire wasapplied as t he mai n i nst rume nts f or t his st udy . Itwas p ri ma ril y t he

46、onet hatbased up on t he usi ngofa lea r ner at tit udes st udy by B r oa dy( 1996 : 234 ) ,a nd someot her it e mswerea dap t ed f r om Sc ha rle( 2000) .The sur vey questi on nai re consist e dof 24 st at e me nts ,measuri ng t helevel ofst ude ntsat tit udest owa r ds AL L on a five p oi nt L i k

47、ert Scale( 1 = st r ongly disagree , 2 = disagree , 3 = neut ral , 4 = agree , 5 =2ppppst r ongly agree) , w hic h mai nly covere d f our asp ects of st ude ntsat tit udes t owa r ds t hei r ow n resp onsi bilit y( r oles) a nd i nitiative i n la nguage lea r ni ng , t hei r p e rcep ti ons of t eac

48、 hers r oles , st ude nts at tit udes t owa r ds ext e r nal assess me nts a nd st ude nts conf i de nce i n la nguage lea r ni ng .2 . 4 Dat a collection a nd p rocedures a nalysisA qua ntit ative a nalysis was ca r rie d out i n t he i nvestigati on i n or de r t o a nswe r t he questi ons p ut f

49、orwa r d by t he aut hor .The a dmi nist rati on of t he st udy was conduct e d i n t he st ude ntsEnglis h class duri ng Ap ril i n 2005 .St ude nts we re assure d t hat t hei r na mes w oul d be kep t a nonymous i n or der t o exp ress t hei r t r ue i deas a ndat tit udes t o la nguagelea r ni ng

50、 .All t oget he r 60 questi onnai re dat awe re collect eda nd a nalyze d by t heSt atisticalPackage f or Social Scie nce (S PSS) . I n t he i nvestigati on t he descrip tive st atistics was applie d t ocalculat et he p e rce nt ages , mea ns a nd t he st a nda r ddeviati onofall t heva ria bles concer ned i n t hequesti onnai re .23 . Res ults a nd Discussion3 . 1Res ultspppppppp 2p1This secti on p re